Harrell Pleads Guilty to Illegal Use of Campaign Funds

House Speaker Robert W. Harrell Jr. of South Carolina pleaded guilty Thursday to illegally using campaign funds, resigned his elective office and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in a potentially wider investigation into statehouse corruption.

Mr. Harrell, 58, a Republican from Charleston and one of the most powerful figures in state government, was elected to the House in 1992 and elected speaker in 2005. At a hearing Thursday morning in Columbia, the state capital, he was sentenced to six one-year prison terms for his guilty pleas on six misdemeanor charges of using campaign funds for personal expenses.

But the sentence was suspended in exchange for cooperation with federal prosecutors and South Carolina’s First Circuit Solicitor’s Office. In a five-page plea agreement, Mr. Harrell agreed to give “thorough and complete debriefings” of his knowledge of “unlawful activities.” Mr. Harrell was also placed on three years’ probation.

The agreement sent a fresh wave of jitters through Columbia, where a wider investigation is believed to be underway. The State newspaper, citing unnamed law enforcement and legislative sources, reported this month that state and local law enforcement had been interviewing other House members about possible campaign violations and illegal vote-swapping.

“There’s some nervousness around town that several folks are in jeopardy,” said Mark E. Tompkins, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina.

Full Story Here