Friday, March 9, 2012 21:29 EST
South Carolina’s Republican Lieutenant Governor Ken Ard resigned on Friday just before being indicted on seven counts of misusing campaign money.
An hour after the indictment was announced, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years of probation and a $5000 fine. He could have faced as much as seven years in prison and $35,000 in fines.
Ard was elected in November 2010 with 55% of the vote, but by the following February the state ethics commission had begun investigating his campaign finances and he was charged with 106 civil violations. Ard admitted to these and paid a fine, but a grand jury soon began the criminal investigation that led to the current indictment.
According to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Ard had tried “to create the false appearance of a groundswell of political support through fictitious or bogus campaign contributions.”
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