MORNING HEADLINES | Suspended North Charleston City Council member Mike A. Brown and three others pleaded not guilty Tuesday following last month’s FBI’s sweeping public corruption case that centered on South Carolina’s third-largest city. Others who pleaded not guilty were Hason “Tory” Fields, Rose Lorenzo and Michelle Stent-Hilton.
“We maintain our innocence,” said Brown’s attorney, state Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia. “It’s an unfortunate situation but we’re going to work our way through it. “We’re going to review the discovery. But at this point, we maintain our innocence.“
Brown faces three counts of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud in his alleged role to leverage influence on city council. He has not formally resigned from North Charleston City Council but S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster suspended him recently.
Lorenzo and Stent-Hilton pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, theft and money laundering involving federal funds, while Fields pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud for allegedly using bribes to influence a council member.
Others involved in alleged conspiracy schemes included former North Charleston City Councilmen Jerome Heyward and Sandino Moses, nonprofit founder Donavan Moten and lobbyist Aaron Hicks. They appeared Feb. 28 before U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel to plead guilty to various federal charges.
The FBI began an investigation in February 2024 that included wiretaps of Heyward’s phone calls when investigators say many of the alleged bribes were documented. Federal prosecutors and the FBI announced charges and indictments on Feb. 26 following a 12-month investigation.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
