South Carolina’s State Grand Jury on Tuesday indicted Lexington County Sheriff James Metts on charges of corruption and accepting bribes.
Gov. Nikki Haley issued an executive order late Tuesday afternoon suspending Metts from office immediately and appointed Alfred Lewis McCarty as interim sheriff. Lexington County Council Chairman Johnny Jeffcoat said McCarty will be sworn in Wednesday and that a special election will be scheduled to choose someone to serve the remainder of Metts’ term.
Metts, 68, was indicted along with former Lexington Town Councilman Danny Frazier and local business owner Gregorio M. Leon. Former South Congaree Police Chief Jason Amodio was also indicted on unrelated charges.
The indictments accuse Frazier and Leon of bribing Metts to interfere with the identification and processing of illegal immigrants.
“These indictments are the product of close cooperation among the Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, SLED, the FBI and other agencies,” said South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. ”This ongoing federal and state partnership demonstrates our commitment to prosecuting public corruption wherever it is found.”
In addition to the agencies mentioned by Wilson, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office said the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Homeland Security assisted in the investigation.
The full charges against Metts are conspiracy to violate federal law and interfere with government function, use of interstate facility to facilitate bribery in violation of South Carolina code, use of interstate wire to defraud the citizens of Lexington County of their right to honest services, and conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens.
According to the indictments, Leon employed illegal immigrants at restaurants he owned in the Columbia area. “Beginning in or around September of 2011, Metts agreed with Frazier and Leon to use his position, power, and influence t.o affect the identification and processing of illegal aliens held in the Lexington County Detention Center,” the indictments say.
Specifically, Metts is accused of using his power as sheriff to keep at least four of Leon’s employees from being entered in a federal illegal immigrant database when arrested. Leon allegedly paid Metts for the illegal acts, with Frazier acting as a middleman. Frazier was hired as a sheriff’s department business liaison by Metts, a position created as a favor to Frazier according to the indictments.
Danny Frazier (file photo)
Frazier was suspended from that position in August 2012 pending the results of an investigation involving illegal gambling. He resigned from the Lexington Town Council in January 2014, saying that he had moved outside town limits.
The indictment adds that “others known and unknown” were involved in the conspiracy to commit the crimes, but those others are not named.
Metts has served as sheriff of Lexington County since 1972. McCarty is a former Chief Deputy in the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and was Metts’ second in command when McCarty retired in 1999.
McCarty released a statement Tuesday evening saying:
“I am honored that the Governor has entrusted me with this responsibility and I look forward to resuming my relationship with the fine staff and officers of this department and continuing our positive alliances with other agencies and their staff. We have great people employed here and we will maintain the highest professional standards this department has been associated with in the past. I look forward to working with each and every one of you. My number one priority is maintaining integrity and public confidence in this department.”
All those indicted face felony charges and will be prosecuted by Wilson’s office. Metts and Frazier did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
