Ex-GOP official admits part in robo-calls scam 11/10/2009 9:22 PM
By MIKE GELLATLY Staff writer
Almost a year after first being charged with setting up illegal, automated phone calls in an attempt to sway the outcome of an election, a former Aiken Republican party board member has admitted to the activity and is "deeply sorry."
Virginia "Ginny" Allen of Driftwood Circle in Aiken is charged with six counts of making unsolicited consumer phone calls. Allen is accused of paying to have political robo-calls made to Aiken County residents in early June without properly disclosing the person behind the calls, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said at the time.
In a letter seemingly sent as part of her pretrial intervention program (PTI), Allen addressed Sen. Greg Ryberg "and the voters of Senate District 24" to apologize for her conduct and repeatedly stated that Ryberg had nothing to do with the incident.
"I regret my participation in the negative campaign tactics surrounding the automated robo-calls during the recent state Senate race, and I want to be very clear that Sen. Ryberg had no knowledge or any involvement," Allen wrote in the letter carbon copied to Solicitor Strom Thurmond Jr. and her defense attorney Greg Harlow.
Investigators said Allen manipulated the caller ID to show the number of "REI Incorporated," a business owned and operated by Sen. Ryberg but did not have the senator's permission to do so.
"The apology appears to be sincere, it lays out exactly what happened," Ryberg said of the letter, Tuesday. "As far as I'm concerned, it's behind us." The South Carolina Senator said he felt PTI was appropriate for the case.
"I think the judicial body made a decision as to what the best course of action would be, and I support what they have done here. I wanted to get the story out, we need to move on."
The calls endorsed Ryberg for the District 24 Senate seat and Aiken County Councilman Scott Singer for S.C. House District 81 seat. Ryberg handily beat North Augusta City Councilman Jason Whinghter in that race, but Singer later lost in a run-off with Tom Young.
Allen indicates in the letter that she did not act alone in the criminal, politically-motivated act but does not comment on others involved.
"This was a harsh, mean tactic used by political operatives during this very tight race," she wrote. "My part in this negative ploy has weighed heavily on my heart. ... I furthermore regret any harm it may have caused any candidate as well as voters that may have lost faith in the democratic process."
The fear of further jading an already skeptical electorate was echoed by Singer, who lost a close race.
"I appreciate her effort to make the public apology," he said. "But when folks are running for office, the focus should be on candidates, not some of the sideshows that are coming into play. People have such little faith in their government and those who hold political office. When someone engages in negative politics, people very quickly accept it."
Young would only say that his campaign had no involvement whatsoever with the incident.
Messages left requesting comment from Whinghter were not returned Tuesday.
Pretrial intervention was created by an Act of the South Carolina General Assembly in 1980. It is an intervention program in which selected offenders may participate as an alternative to prosecution.
Contact Mike Gellatly at mgellatly@aikenstandard.com.
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Posted by: Dick Smith On: Friday, November 13, 2009 9:21 PM
Comment Title: The public deserves to know
Thanks to the Aiken Standard for taking a strong position on this case. All the guilty must pay a price. The pillory will be sufficient.
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Posted by: Chuck On: Friday, November 13, 2009 4:54 PM
Comment Title: Diogenes
I was kinda hoping Diogenes would name names too since he seems so sure of who it is. I guess bravery is one thing he lacks. Does anyone else know the names? If it's such common knowledge, I'd sure like to know.
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Posted by: On: Friday, November 13, 2009 4:43 PM
Comment Title: Silly Charge
You boys need to try to run a campaign up North. This is nothing compared to the tactics used there and even in the cities in South Carolina. You Baptist have lost your minds worry about something as silly as this.
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Posted by: Diogenes On: Friday, November 13, 2009 1:46 PM
Comment Title: RE: To Walter
Walter I don't know who this hack's co-conspirators were though I have heard who she was working with when it all took place. So I just kind of put two and two together and drew a conclusion, something I'm sure you never do. Also, when she was arrested originally and the article appeared, names were named on the comment section from the article though they quickly disappeared. The names were the same people involved so it seemed logical to conclude they were involved. But who knows? Maybe not and that's why the names were removed. She could be a lone gunwoman. It is certainly gossip but from what I've heard, the politicians all know who was involved or not, who was investigated, etc., so it should come out from them, whether she acted alone or with others. I was just hoping someone would be honest about this. I hate those calls anyway, whether legitimate or not. See you around Walter.
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Posted by: On: Friday, November 13, 2009 11:20 AM
Comment Title: Ryberg's Piss Poor Record
Isn't Senator Ryberg the fool who nominated New Ellenton Magistrate Patrick D. Sullivan to the bench only to have him get suspended on September 7, 2007 by the SC Supreme Court without pay, then Sullivan modified his suspension order to state that it was with pay and sent a copy to County Administer Clay Killian to get paid, resulting in more discipline and a extended suspension without pay until June 29, 2009? His term expires April 2011 wonder what your dumb a** boy from Wisconsin Ryberg going to do then?
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Posted by: John On: Friday, November 13, 2009 10:39 AM
Comment Title: Pot meet kettle
Walter when did people start using their real name on the internet? I think it's required in robo-calls for politicians but not for someone giving us their two cents about something. Get real man, nobody does that, which of course is why people make crazy comments like the last two. Annyhoo, it seems that the victims of the crime in this case know who was involved so surely they can spill the beans.
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Posted by: Walter from Aiken On: Friday, November 13, 2009 9:41 AM
Comment Title: Re: Diogenes - LOL!
I find it laughabe that someone who uses a fake name - Diogenes - is talking about being honest. And he (or she) goes farther and is hoping beyond hope that somebody has the courage to name names (although Diogenes seems to know all the names in this so-called conspiracy). Why doesn't Diogenes name the names that he/she apparently knows??? Why wait for a blogger or Ginny Allen to spill the beans. Come on big man - NAME NAMES!!! I know there wasn't a conspiracy. Ginny Allen acted alone. Please Diogenes, please. By the way, I use my real name. Everybody knows who Walter from Aiken is.
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Posted by: Diogenes On: Friday, November 13, 2009 12:26 AM
Comment Title: Will anyone finally tell the truth?
Scott Singer, Tom Young and Jason Winghter had nothing to do with this. A local former SC State Senate candidate needs to be questioned...When will the cover-up of what really transpired be released? Who is Ginny Allen protecting and why? We want to know these facts so we can make informed votes next time around. And House candidates have to run every two years, not four. Don't you get it? The ploy was to make the Young voters mad at Ryberg for appearing to support Singer, which he did as did his former business partner and former resident of Aiken who claims he still lives here while at IOP. All of these fools are liars, crooks and thieves. Is there an honest one in the bunch? What happened to your self-imposed term limits Ryberg? You should leave with Sanfraud and we don't care who his Yankee wife endorses for Governor either. We need some more independent bloggers to step up and tell the truth about these self-promoting windbags.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, November 12, 2009 7:04 PM
Comment Title: Scott Singer
Great! This will give Scott Singer another 3 years of wining about losing to Tom Young!I used to admire Mr. Singer and went beyond supporting him. He was one of my heros. But I have seen how is really is a have moved on.
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Posted by: ConsLie On: Thursday, November 12, 2009 2:47 PM
Comment Title:
Just like Acorn was attacked so should the RNC be made to pay.What good for the goose is good for the gander: The RNC obviously is involved in this fraud. They need to be investigated by congress. She didnt do this by herself.
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Posted by: Ron On: Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:59 AM
Comment Title:
Certainly she is taking the fall for illegal activity. Pay Close Attention to her in the months and years to come...watch her standard of living rise, and investigate that. She reminds me of a lady I know who takes elderly men in and convinces them to let her take over their finances. ka-ching.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, November 12, 2009 7:04 AM
Comment Title: Who else is involved
I hope the Aiken Standard is not going to let this die a slow death. We need to know who else was involved in this scheme... The solicitor's office knows and should be called out to answer the question. The people of Aiken County have a right to know who else was involved and what was Scott Singer's role in all this.
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 10:57 PM
Comment Title: RE: Dumb Charge
One can only guess who thinks this is a dumb charge... Ginny, David or the other guilty parties. Shame on Ryberg and Singer for not bringing the details to light. Typical Republican behavior to cover the criminal behavior of their fellow party members.
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Posted by: I Know Better On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 10:18 PM
Comment Title: Political robocalls are already illegal in S.C.
To Ricky: South Carolina already prohibits robocalls, including all political robocalls. South Carolina Code ยง 16-17-445
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 9:41 PM
Comment Title: Dumb Charge
We can't believe that the state spent our resources going after a stupid charge like this. No one cares about this. Whoever decided to go after this foolishness, suspect it was dumb a## Ryberg, should be charged with misappropriations of tax payer funds. Only in Aiken does such foolishness go on.
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Posted by: lamont lambeau On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 6:48 PM
Comment Title: very slick
so ms. allen illegally attempts to sway an election, apparently successfully, since the guy is now in office. then all she has to do is publicly apologize and she's off the hook, her co conspirators remain unnamed and the winner can claim ignorance. a drunkards dream if i ever did see one. why have an election at all, wouldn't a simple coronation suffice?
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Posted by: catbird On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 5:13 PM
Comment Title: EX-GOP OFFICIAL ADMITS
Ginny, aren't you going to name names, or are you taking the fall for the political pros, cowards, leaving you as the scapegoat?
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Posted by: Ricky On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 3:53 PM
Comment Title:
Why don't you all ban robocalls in your state? Political hacks love them, as they are a relatively cheap way to shotgun the public with a lot of propaganda in a short time. There's no opportunity for the recipient to respond and they're generally full of personal attacks that have nothing to do with the issues.
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 9:33 AM
Comment Title: Not her first nasty trick
Ginny does not deserve a pass on this. For years as a party official, she used her connections and influence against her political enemies. Rumors abound that she was one of the primary authors of the awful Kaolin Kronicle, a blog that anonymously posted slanderous accusations about some of Aiken's prominent political figures. She deserved to be caught and she deserves everything she gets - and even more, being shown for what she is.
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 7:04 AM
Comment Title: No, alc....
She personifies republicans to a tee. Nothing but a bunch of liars, thieves and con-artists, and much worse than any Democrat out there, by far.
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Posted by: She's a keeper for the republican party On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 6:47 AM
Comment Title:
Sorry Charlie, She definitely earned her R behind her name.
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Posted by: alc On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 6:11 AM
Comment Title:
Pretty lady. Pretty silly (lying), lady. Sounds more like a Dem(wit).
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Posted by: ALC On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 6:02 AM
Comment Title:
Pretty lady. Pretty silly.
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Posted by: I Know What You Did Last Summer On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 4:55 AM
Comment Title: Let's name names!
I think her co-conspirators should be named publicly so that we have true accountability. Of course everyone knows the local and non-local fellow travelers of hers in this case. Their names are in the reports. Ryberg knows their names. Singer knows their names. Let's get it all out so that we know who were dealing dealing with in case one of them decides to run for the State Senate again. But really, she knew all along that to do what they did was illegal. Which begs the question, How stupid is she for charging this illegal act to her personal credit card? lol...
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 3:51 AM
Comment Title: PTI Confidential
We thought the Pre-Trial Intervention Program was suppose to be confidential. Is that true?
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