Thomas Ravenel, South Carolina State Treasurer, Indicted on Drug Charges

The prestigious Ravenel family of South Carolina faces a public setback today as Thomas Ravenel, the South Carolina State Treasurer, faces charges of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute according to the Associated Press. He was indicted on Tuesday with the charges. Ravenel and his attorney, Joel Collins, had no comment as of press time. Ravenel will face arraignment on July 9 in Columbia's federal court.

Ravenel is accused of purchasing less than 500 grams of cocaine with the intent to share with others back in 2005. The charge levies a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Before Ravenel was elected to office in 2006, suspicion was already in place by state investigators. They did not have enough evidence to charge him at the time. The State Law Enforcement Division had to turn the case over to the Federal Bureau of Investigations in April 2007 because Ravenel held a political position handling state money.

Since the charges were filed, South Carolina governor Mark Sanford has since suspended Thomas Ravenel from his position. Should Ravenel be convicted of the charges, the state lawmakers would decide on a permanent replacement. For now will be replaced in interim with Ken Wingate, a prominent South Carolina attorney and accountant. Mark Sanford was not pleased with the situation and hoped that it was resolved quickly.

"These are obviously very serious allegations that we're constitutionally bound to act upon, and they'll ultimately be decided by the courts." Sanford said in a statement.

State Treasurer is not the only position Thomas Ravenel held at the time of the charges. He was also the state chairperson for New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign in South Carolina. The Giuliani campaign has already stated that Ravenel has stepped down.

Thomas Ravenel's career started as a commercial real estate developer and founded the Ravenel Development Company. His father, Arthur Ravenel, Jr., was a major politician out of Charleston, South Carolina. He served eight years as a state representative, state senator for six years, and a U.S. House of representative's member for eight years... Arthur Ravenel even has a newly-built cable suspension bridge named after him in Charleston. Thomas Ravenel's political career began back in 2004 when he ran for state Senate, a campaign done with his own funding. Although he was not elected, Ravenel became widely known in national politics as a future star and finished 3^rd in a close race. In 2006 he ran for State Treasurer against Grady Patterson and won.

SOURCE:

Jim Davenport, "SC Treasurer Indicted On Drug Charges", Associated Press/ sfgate.com.

URL:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/06/19/national/a141416D01.DTL