UPDATED… See below…
This just in from the AP…
COLUMBIA, SC (AP) – A long-serving city councilman in South Carolina’s capital has agreed to plead guilty to federal tax evasion charges.
Cromartie is not up for re-election this year. He has served on Columbia’s city council for more than 25 years.
Court documents show E.W. Cromartie II agreed last week to plead guilty to failing to pay more than $25,000 in federal income taxes in 2004.
A plea agreement shows he also admits to making more than $200,000 in small cash deposits and withdrawals to avoid IRS minimums on transaction reporting requirements.
No date has been set for him to enter the plea.
Cromartie could face up to 25 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines. Neither Cromartie nor his attorney immediately returned messages seeking comment.
Talking about a game-changer!!!
And to top it all… E.W. had a list of who’s who over at his office today. The Pulse spotted the following folks making their way into a meeting at the Cromartie Law Firm:
- Gil Walker
- Bobby Gist
- and Steve Benjamin
We don’t know if this was the councilman’s inner circle for legal advice… or his attempt to still play in the political game while he still can.
… more to come…
UPDATE (4:00p)
The AP is now reporting…
As part of his plea agreement, Cromartie agrees to resign from public office and surrender his law license. He also agrees to file amended tax returns, cooperate with prosecutors and take a polygraph test.
Sources close to The Pulse say to expect Cromartie to make his public appearance in federal court in early April.
Doesn’t suprise me at all. Parks in handicap zones and doesn’t pay taxes.. He would get elected again if he could run because his people don’t care.
[...] Read the original post: The Pulse of Columbia » Cromartie Pleading Guilty [...]
I GUESS THIS MEANS WE WILL HAVE TO WAIT FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER HE IS RELEASED BEFORE WE CAN ELECT HIM AGAIN. WHY DONT WE JUST PUT ALL THE CROOKS IN OFFICE, THEN WE WONT HAVE TO WORRY WHICH ONES ARE LEGIT. SEEMS LIKE THE HONEST AND HARD WORKING ARE FEW AND FAR IN BETWEEN. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS AROUND HERE, IT IS TIME COLUMBIA AND SURROUNDING AREAS WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES…..
AT LAST!!! I tip my hat & curtsy to whomever had the courage to investigate Cromartie & bring his longstanding corruption to the point that he not only had to admit guilt but, will hopefully do time. I’ll be especially proud if it is a Black person or group. Black people have known of Cromartie’s illegality before & since he’s been in office. Cromatie’s get-by was to do favors for people in his community and in turn he got their vote. Boy, the price we pay for subsidizing corruption for meager favors. I thought Cromartie would have been outted when he was identified as a landlord failing to keep homes up to standard for Black renters in his community. I was appalled. But, apparently not enough Cromartie voters cared more for the renters as much as the city. Good by to Bad Rubbish. He stayed too long and voters R 2 BLAME. Corruption, regardless of skin color hurts us all. Most people aren’t even surprised by this result; we should be ashamed of our derelection of duty! Plz xcuz mzpelngz.
The Pulse needs to create a Facebook fan page before the April elections. There are hundreds of people in Cola who would we receptive to the Pulse message if they knew about it. Facebook is the best way to lead the charge – and hopefully enact some real change in April.
[...] The Pulse | Cromartie Pleading Guilty [...]
[...] leaked word of tax discrepancies from one of Finlay’s companies, but keep in mind it was Benjamin who sat quietly in a back room at E.W. Cromartie’s office the day that The Dean’…. As reporters surrounded The Cromartie Law Firm on Harden Street, The Dean made a hasty exit to [...]