6/19/07

Republican Campaign Chairman Busted Distributing Cocaine

Via Josh Marshall at TPM, Rudy Giuiliani's campaign Chairman in South Carolina is busted for dsitributing coke:
Hmmmm. I'm used to Republicans getting indicted, but not for dealing coke.

SC State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel indicted for conspiracy to distribute crack.

A video of the pusher, Ravenel, endorsing his boss:



We always told you it was right-wing crack they were smoking. Proof positive that it is true.

[update] MSNBC has more details on this:
The investigation into Ravenel arose from a drug case last year in Charleston, Lloyd said. State Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart said his agents were aware of the allegations before Ravenel was elected in November, but didn't have enough information to pursue criminal charges until they turned the case over to the FBI in April.

Ravenel and Miller, who is in custody, each face on charge of distribution of cocaine, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

"The investigation is just beginning," Lloyd said.

Gov. Mark Sanford suspended Ravenel immediately based on the serious nature of the charge. The governor said he would name an interim treasurer soon.

Gov. Mark Sandford endorsed Ravenel for the Treasurer job in the last campaign.

As for his support of the Giuiliani campaign:
Scott Malyerck, Ravenel's spokesman, said his boss traveled with Giuliani, Gov. Mark Sanford and Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom in a fly-around geared to fiscal issues several months ago and became impressed with his views on spending, taxation and free trade.

"It's a matter of (compatible) philosophies," Malyerck said of the alliance.

There has been no comment from Giuliani or Sanford on whether Ravenel spent unusually long amounts of time the bathroom on the flight, or if they had a smoking section for them all to enjoy some right-wing crack together.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

In America people are innocent until proven guilty, whether you like them or not.

Connecticut Man1 said...

Yep. I agree. And given he was busted with coke, and indicted for it, I anticipate that he will be found guilty.

Think about the report here. They aren't talking about an 8-ball, or a couple of grams. Amounts that would likely get a very short amount of prison time, if any for a first offense.

They are reporting "under 500 grams". 500 grams is a bit more than 1.1 pounds.

They aren't talking a personal stash here. They are talking a very large quantity.

As for the rest of those that associated with him, well, you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. It also says a lot about their judgement.

fuzzyturtle said...

well.. that explains why Rudy calls himself 'America's Mayor' and thinks having press conferences makes him a 'HERO of 9/11'... HE'S HIGH.

that can be the only rational explaination.

I'd want him to run only because he wont get the vote in NYC. Hero my ass.

Connecticut Man1 said...

Rudy sure did run a great PR campaign during that time of crisis, FT, but a hard look at what he was actually doing has left New Yorkers with an even more bitter taste left in their mouths from his tenure as mayor.

"Hero my ass"

Even I had bought into that PR campaign at the time, but you are 100% correct. I think you may have been the one that pointed me to the stories that changed my mind about him originally?