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The top appointed government official in Beaufort County, South Carolina is the subject of an ongoing misconduct investigation, according to multiple sources familiar with the status of the inquiry – and a remarkably nondescript incident report obtained exclusively by this media outlet.
County administrator Eric Greenway – who once served in the office of former Democratic congressman John Spratt – has been the focus of multiple complaints in recent months. One of those complaints has apparently sparked a referral for a criminal inquiry, although it remains to be seen which law enforcement agency will oversee that inquiry – and which solicitor would prosecute any charges that might follow from it.
Greenway was tapped by Beaufort’s elected council to lead the county on an interim basis in November 2020. Seven months later, in May 2021, he was unanimously chosen by council members to take over the position on a permanent basis. At the time, council chairman Joseph Passiment praised Greenway for bringing “stability, increased morale and … a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience” to the post, which pays $210,000 annually not counting benefits.
This news outlet has been provided with documents detailing numerous questionable fiduciary decisions made by Greenway since he has assumed this role. In fact, we were in the process of initiating an investigation into those documents when we stumbled upon an incident report published by the Beaufort County sheriff’s office.
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According to the incident report (.pdf), a complaint was filed on May 11, 2023 “regarding activities that may constitute misconduct by Eric Greenway.” On June 29, 2023, Greenway was designated a “suspect” in this nascent misconduct investigation.
According to the document, the dates of the alleged misconduct spanned from January 9, 2023 and May 11, 2023, the date the complaint was filed.
The decision to move forward with a criminal inquiry was reportedly made by sheriff PJ Tanner in consultation with S.C. fourteenth circuit solicitor Duffie Stone, according to the report.
“After reviewing the information received and following a consultation with solicitor Duffie Stone, it was determined that the complaint will be forwarded to an independent agency for investigation,” it noted.
What the original complaint consisted of – and which “independent agency” will investigate it – is not immediately clear. The complete “investigation narrative” of the incident report is less than fifty words. So far, all we know about the investigation is that it is probing a matter unrelated to any of the materials with which we have been supplied.
To be clear: Greenway has not been implicated in any criminal activity at this time. Assuming the forthcoming investigation were to produce credible allegations of misconduct, it would then be up to a grand jury to determine whether probable cause existed to charge him criminally – at which point he would avail himself of our criminal justice system.
Which is another way of saying there are a lot of steps ahead of us in this saga …
This news outlet reached out to Greenway earlier today regarding this matter, and we will certainly extend to him – and any of his supporters – our open microphone throughout this process to address any specific allegations which may be leveled against him.
Count on this news outlet to keep our audience updated on what we are able to uncover related to this emerging inquiry … including a report on the documented, dubious disbursements tied to Greenway which are apparently unrelated to the investigation referenced in the document below.
UPDATE | Details on investigation …
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THE INCIDENT REPORT …
(Via: Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
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