CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Two former South Carolina Ports Authority officials say they’ve talked with FBI agents about an ongoing political corruption investigation including a suspended South Carolina legislator and his consultant father, The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Sunday.
Former ports authority executive Catherine Templeton and authority ex-chairman Pat McKinney said they were interviewed by the FBI and state investigators.
The FBI’s Columbia office didn’t respond to a message seeking comment. First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, the special prosecutor leading the corruption probe, declined to discuss the FBI’s involvement in the case.
McKinney said the agents focused on the work the consulting firm run by Richard Quinn Sr. did for the port. His son, state Rep. Rick Quinn Jr., was suspended from his seat after being charged with misconduct in office. McKinney pushed this year to suspend the port authority’s agreements with Richard Quinn.
“I was questioned in general about circumstances about them,” he said, referring to the Quinns. “They took notes.”
Rick Quinn is a former House majority leader. His father’s influential consulting firm represents more than 25 lawmakers, several large state agencies and some of the state’s biggest corporations.
Templeton said she spoke with agents from the FBI and the State Law Enforcement Division about three months ago, and that agents discussed the Quinns and others. SLED agents asked most of the questions, she said.
Templeton wants to unseat Gov. Henry McMaster in next year’s Republican primary. Quinn is a longtime McMaster consultant. McMaster ended his three-decade relationship with Quinn in May as the Statehouse probe heated up.
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Information from: The Post and Courier, https://www.postandcourier.com
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