Former South Carolina Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Stealing Charitable Funds and Keeping Pills Meant for Destruction
Chuck Wright, who for years led the Spartanburg Sheriff's Department, admitted to embezzling money and stealing controlled substances
Former Sheriff Chuck Wright, 60, pleaded guilty to three federal charges after admitting that he stole nearly $80,000 from the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Department's charity fund in South Carolina and that He also misappropriated pain medication that was supposed to be destroyed. According to court documents, Wright admitted to the crimes of conspiracy to commit theft, wire fraud, and obtaining controlled substances through misrepresentation. In a statement released by his lawyers, Wright expressed remorse: “I wasted my dream job with my actions and I apologize to the people of Spartanburg and my brothers in law enforcement.” The former official, who led the department for years, assured that he will take full responsibility and will never work in the police force again. Corruption within the police force: Federal prosecutors detailed that Wright embezzled funds intended to help officers facing financial hardship, even falsely claiming he needed money to send an officer to Washington to pay tribute to a fallen colleague. The money ended up in his own accounts. It was also found that Wright retained nearly 150 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills that he was required to dispose of as part of a drug take-back program, and used a blank check from the charity fund to pay his distributor for those drugs. Investigators indicated that many of the former sheriff's actions occurred while he was battling an addiction to painkillers. One more in a long list. Wright became the twelfth South Carolina sheriff to be convicted or plead guilty in the past 15 years to crimes committed while in office. Misconduct in those cases has included extortion, cover-ups, bribery, and assault.
Federal prosecutor Bryan Stirling stated that the case demonstrates the authorities' commitment to combating corruption: “Nothing infuriates a law enforcement officer more than seeing the police overstep their bounds.”
Although the three combined charges could carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, Wright is expected to receive a shorter sentence, in addition to paying $440,000 in restitution.
The former sheriff also faces more than 60 state-level ethics violations for using his official credit card for personal expenses, including App Store purchases and satellite radio subscription payments.