SC lieutenant governor resigns, pleads guilty
Mar 9, 2012, 8:52 PM
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – South Carolina’s disgraced lieutenant governor has pleaded guilty to seven counts of violating state ethics laws hours after he resigned from office.
Ken Ard was sentenced Friday to five years’ probation and 300 hours of public service. He pleaded to four counts of unlawful reimbursement of campaign funds; two counts of failure to report on campaign documents and 1 count of using campaign funds for personal use.
Attorney General Alan Wilson said Ard gave $75,000 of his own money to people who then gave that money back to him as individual contributions.
The 48-year-old Republican has already paid a $48,000 civil ethics fine for using money from his 2010 campaign to pay for personal items, like clothes, football tickets and a flat-screen TV.
The state’s Senate Pro Tem will take over as lieutenant governor.
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