FORMER STATE LAWMAKER SENTENCED ON MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGE
Former S.C. Rep. Thad Viers has been sentenced to 37 months in a federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $900,000 in restitution for his role in an insurance scam. Viers was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks on one money laundering count – which he pleaded guilty to back in April.
He will turn himself into U.S. Marshals on Friday to begin his sentence.
Thirteen other charges against Viers were dropped when he entered his plea – all of them related to his dealings with a shady paving contractor who was looking to hide more than $500,000 worth of assets from an insurance company seeking to collect on a $6 million debt.
That contractor, 55-year-old Marlon Davis Weaver, was sentenced to 12 months and one day for his role in the scam – and was ordered to repay $1.2 million. Another co-defendant – Conway, S.C. pastor Archie Larue Evans – got seven years in jail.
Hendricks could have sentenced Viers to ten years behind bars for his role in the conspiracy – which included accepting a retainer check from Weaver and then routing money into other accounts in an effort to conceal assets from the insurance company.
Viers served nearly a decade in the S.C. House of Representatives beginning in 2003. He resigned his seat in March of 2012 prior to being indicted on harassment charges related to his toxic relationship with Candace Bessinger – the granddaughter of South Carolina barbecue magnate Maurice Bessinger. He later pleaded guilty to those charges and served sixty days in jail.
Prior to that, in 2006, Viers pleaded “no contest” to threatening a Columbia, S.C. man who was romantically involved with his first wife.
At the time the harassment charges became public knowledge, Viers was a leading candidate for the South Carolina seventh congressional district seat – and had received the endorsement of S.C. governor Nikki Haley in his campaign.
Viers’ unexpectedly stiff sentence would seem to indicate that he did not cooperate with prosecutors in their investigation of corruption related to the “Coastal Kickback,” a brazen 2009 campaign finance scandal in which hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash were funneled through a fabricated network of corporations to select politicians in exchange for their support of a local tax hike.
Will there ever be justice in that case?
We doubt it …
74 comments
Stainless Steel Bracelets Baby!
You take joy in other people’s suffering?
its called jail, suffering is the point
When Hillary does her time I hope you feel the same.
I will.
You ain’t bad for a RINO, Matlock. :)
Ditto – the only thing that could make that better is for her to take Huma and Bill with her.
Not Huma. Then she could enjoy her time behind bars.
Has the Hildabeast ever eaten bacon? If so wouldn’t that make her off limits to Huma, you know eating pork by proxy and all.
Probably so, but I would think it would be more enjoyable to be Hildabeast eating Huma than to be Huma and have to eat Hildabeast.
100+
+10
yep you all have been saying she is going to jail since 1992, that fact pretty much says it all.
Self imposed suffering does have a certain appeal to me.
What’s most interesting is that he has four hands.
Those are his feet…
Lol
He must be supporting his self with his tail.
He’s sitting in Bubba’s lap practicing some stretching techniques for next weekend…
Spending the night with Boz?
His cell mate will reassure him that anal stretching is as healthy as pilates.
Damn.I thought FitsNews and Boz said he was cutting a deal on the alleged ‘Chambergate/Coastal Kickback’ scheme and ‘Myrtle Beach Mafia’ for a lessor sentence?
Apparently he didn’t have any information to give.
If I ever stated that on here, it was total speculation on my part. I had no inside information on it.
Or, there was no magical conspiracy.
Nothing ever magical about it, and I never claimed there was.
People conspire all the time. It’s what politics is all about. That some of the conspiracies are legal, and some of the are not, doesn’t change that. There’s nothing magic about making a bust of conspiratorial activities go away. All it takes is money, influence and connections. In a word, power.
Brad Dean is arguably the most powerful man in the state. Ever talk to him? He’s noting special. He has zero charisma. He doesn’t appear to be above average in intelligence. Nothing in his background suggest he should be so powerful.
Like Barack Obama, he’s just another tool.
Wonder if he also had a barter company?
Ha, ha, ha, ha….
Now that is more like it!!!! Too bad Jimmy and Danny, and company didn’t get sentences like this!!!!
Has Thad turned in or otherwise disposed of his firearms collection, yet?
Them tities ain’t gonna help you now.
I believe it’s “titties”, two T’s-
Just trying to be a helper.
Thank you. Actually, with that face, he’s gonna need to worrie about his own titties.
I believe the technical term is “moobs”, but your point is taken.
/// Will there ever be justice in that case?
We doubt it … ///
Me too. Doesn’t mean laws were not broken. Doesn’t mean people should not go to jail. Just that justice will not be done. This is, after all, South Carolina.
In my opinion, justice was not done in Thad’s case, either. He should have gotten a suspended sentence and a fine. That’s it. Other have done far, far, worse, and have fared much, much better.
But then, they were never the front runners v the chosen one, Tom Rice. He’s never been forgiven for that. Whether or not he had anything to tell on that is irrelevant now.
It’s irrelevant because that probe is done. The fix on that was put in, long ago.
Who broke em Boz? Who should go to jail? Name some names.You are nothing but a gutless,lying fool,in my opinion. NOTHING you EVER allege has EVER been true.Why don’t you just leave your fucking neighbors alone? Don’t you get tired of spreading this bull shit?
Defending Toal and Nettles now, are ya?
Wanna go for Clyburn, and make it a Dem-loving Trifecta?
Hey flip, I see you voted my comment up with your Disqus account.
You must have been for what I said before you were against it.
Sybil strikes again.
“Sybil strikes again.” +10
Guest • 5 years ago
Jeffy01, this ain’t the piddling, corrupt SC Ethics Commission with their thumbs up their asses, or the understaffed and underfunded (and by no means immune to pressures from the Good Old Boys) SLED we’re talking about here, ya know. It’s da Feds, pal.
I defy you to cite one single historical instance where the FBI and the IRS have jointly investigated a case like this for over a year and nothing ever came of it. That is just a tired line that is being spouted locally and in Columbia by people who fervently WISH it would all go away, for whatever reason, and dirty pols who hope they can buy back some diminished political capital between now and November by convincing enough people that this total line of bullshit it true.
It’s just like the idiotic assertion by Brad Dean of the MBACC that MB out-performed Orlando in the last few months, or David Brittain, one of the two likely sources of almost ALL the donations in question, claiming we had the best Summer in 50 years. Nothing but smoke and mirrors.
Investigations of this kind do not even get to the point they were at when first this one was first reported by the Sun News and FITS unless they already basically know what happened and who the perps are.
Everything that comes after that is just making the evil dooers sweat and getting more of ’em to rat each other out, etc., to make a better and stronger case for DOJ.
Jeffy01 • 5 years ago
yawnnnnnnnn. Nothing will ever come of this. Other than Boz and his blood pressure.
Thad is an attorney – probably the most offensive part to the judge – and former legislator who laundered money in a high finance, low life insurance fraud.
Sometimes it pisses off the judge when an officer of the court proves to be a criminal.
Nettle and Toal, and all their minions who hear these cases, have let any number of worse offenders slide in the past. This guy was marked to do some time, because he’s gone against the interests of their pets one time too many.
This was federal court, for chrissakes.
Do tell Guest • 2 years ago
Why don’t you just post that shit yourself? You can do it right here, in the comments.
I for one would appreciate some insight on why this taking so long, because the facts are pretty simple. It seems to me that if the Feds had any hope of making a bust, they would have done it by now.
Tell me I’m wrong and why.1
Guest Do tell • 2 years ago
Probes of this kind routinely take several years. That’s the simple explanation. This one has been slowed down by more than one person of interest passing away — and by the highly complicated nature of the whole scam. Plus new avenues to explore keep opening up, as they try to cover up, hide money, etc.
That’s it for right now. You’re right. I can tell it here. Will won’t keep this up for long, though, and people will lose interest again.1
jeffy01 Guest • 2 years ago
so Boz is now a “reliable source”? Ha. I agree he is a creepy old guy stalker…but not a “reliable” source.
Guest jeffy01 • 2 years ago
And you’re still a snarky dipshit who is obsessed with my fat old semi-white ass.
/// And you’re still a snarky dipshit who is obsessed with my fat old semi-white ass. ///
Jeffy still is that. He’s not alone, although it’s obvious that what appears to be several people on here (more like hundreds) constantly posting the same obsessive bullshit about me are really only a small handful.
And their balls are even less than a small handful.
Federal judges in South Carolina are South Carolina citizens, and often cronies of powerful people such as Toal.
Toal and Nettles are related, for chrissakes, and well known to be in league with each other.
The all-powerful Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is a 5-Star Affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce — which LOVES the way they do things. That’s why the head of that national/international org will meet with Brad Dean any time he shows up in DC. If anyone believe the US Chamber and the O Admin are really 100% at odds with each other, they just aren’t paying attention.
You seem to suggest the all connected with the Fed G are somehow sacrosanct pillars of virtue who are far above all the gutter trash politics and graft in this state.
Naive much?
He was sentenced by Judge Hendricks, but I’m sure that’s all part of the conspiracy, right?
Read what I said again. They’re all part of the same corrupt networks. If it’s “conspiracy” to be part of a network of politicians and special interests, then I guess both major party and the all the minor ones as well are “conspiracies”, huh, bub?
Boz, all I’m saying is: look at whether or not any person convicted of any crime is a lawyer, an ‘officer of the court’, and you will likely find some comment from the judge and a stiff sentence.
This case was a criminal conspiracy. For a corrupt lawyer who violated his oath, Viers actually got off pretty light, but it might be long enough for him to get into shape.
I still contend he got the shaft. And for the reasons I stated.
I trust NONE of these judges in SC, federal or otherwise.
Just a few years ago you apparently wanted Viers to go ‘down’ according to archived posts on FitsNews.
I’ve learned a lot since then.
Obviously, you have learned nothing.
You ain’t learned nothing.You just seek new victims after the allegations you spew prove to be false about the old victims.
“Nettle and Toal, and all their minions who hear these cases, have let any number of worse offenders slide in the past”
Name some.
nitrat Guest • 2 years ago
Boz, I commend you for your desire to expose the corruption in your neck of the woods.
But, you have always given Will Folks credit for being far more than he ever was or ever has the capacity to be.
He is a political hack toady turned blogger. He is not and never has been a journalist, much less an excellent investigative journalist like David Wren.
Give your info to Wren. He may not package it and turn out a story on your timeline, he’s always adding the numbers. Also, he’s a professional who doesn’t have a political agenda that can shut him up when someone with a bigger check comes along.5
Guest nitrat • 2 years ago
I’ve been giving info to Wren for 4 years now. Other investigative reporters here as well. I don’t know everything about the case, and have not personally spoken to a fed agent in over a year and a half — but I’m in steady contact with around 7 people who have been interviewed, so I know what they’re looking for. I’m also in contact with 3 who Burrows has contacted recently.
….
SO?
Lying NARC!
I have indeed turned in drug dealers for selling hard drugs to minors. If that makes me a narc, then that’s what I am. Sharing information with two FBI agents about political misdeeds, though, when persons who had been interviewed told them I might have some info for them, is not “narking.”
Get your terms straight.
?
Ok. Now that this out of the way, time for another report on the HoneyBadger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb6bWsa_LdQ
Here’s a “different” kind of Honey Badger report.
Warning: NSFW
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6ezs2QbuFTQ
Another of South Carolina’s belligerent, know-it-all, corrupt, and entitled Republican politicians finally takes up residence where he belongs.
Yeah, and Ken Ard got probation and is back on the radio.
NYT mentioned him in a piece a couple of weeks ago without bothering to mention WHY he was the former SC lt gov. I emailed the writer about that omission, but haven’t gotten a response.
lol “back on the radio.”
WOW! Is that impressive, or what, to have a dinky ass radio show in a backwoods market?
But you’re right about pols bouncing back, and people forgetting about their past. But it becomes much tougher when they do time. Which is why Thad is doing time. The powers that be want him neutralized.
You’re being ridiculous.
I am looking at a past post by Boz where HE apparently thought he needed to be ‘neutralized’.Go figure.
You’re being ridiculed. By almost everyone.
So you just said that the U.S.District Judge is corrupt and that is why Viers was sentenced to prison? The ‘powers’ wanted him neutralized.
I am gonna bet he disagrees with your allegation.
FUCK HIM, then. I can say anything I want to about a public figure like him. And don’t pull out that bullshit about Kelley and Wren, and about Bingham and Folks.
You know damned well TSN has never paid a dime to Kelley, and the Bingham suit is a similar exercise in harassment.
This is AMERICA, asshole. Citizens don’t have to be terrorized by control freak judges and testicular deficient trolls.
There are Dem pols in SC that are worse than Viers ever thought about being. One of them is the mayor of Columbia. Another is a US Congressman. Y’all get too damned hung up on this party and ideology bullshit.
I’m not hung up on party at all, but which group holds every statewide office and controls both Houses of the legislature and the governor’s office? The party with ZERO power has very few opportunities for misbehavior.
Just because they are not the majority party does not mean they are not deeply corrupt. Google David Wren’s excellent exposes of the graft, corruption, nepotism and pork barrel politics associated with James Clyburn and his family. Look at the many PACs run by Democrat “bundlers” like Robin Tallon, that go toward electing crooked tools like Tom Rice (a RINO supreme). Look at Steve Benjamin. It’s a myth that all the corruption is on the GOP side, just because they are the majority party. The rich Dems have the ability to tap into fed money that the GOPers don’t have. So they work together.
Bobby Harrell should be sitting in a prison cell right now.
With Jean Toal beside him.
You people don’t have the guts to try and put these people in jail.