Former Union County Supervisor Pleads Guilty to Extortion

COLUMBIA, SC—Acting United States Attorney Kevin F. McDonald stated today that former Union County Supervisor Donald R. Betenbaugh pled guilty in federal court this morning to extorting a bribe, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951. United States District Judge Henry F. Floyd of Spartanburg accepted the plea and will sentence Betenbaugh at a later date.

Betenbaugh admitted that he and then-Union County Tax Assessor Willie E. Randall, Jr., demanded a $50,000.00 bribe from an individual who was attempting to sell a building to Union County. In exchange for the bribe, Betenbaugh agreed to use his official position as County Supervisor to see that the transaction took place. During today’s hearing, Betenbaugh admitted receiving some but not all of the bribe money, and prosecutors confirmed that position. Acting United States Attorney Kevin F. McDonald stated, “It appears that both Mr. Betenbaugh and Mr. Randall took a portion of the bribe money, but we have conflicting stories from each on how much they took. As called for in their respective plea agreements, we will be administering polygraphs to both men.” Randall pled guilty in the case last month.

Mr. McDonald stated that pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Betenbaugh will be sentenced to 10 months in custody, five of which could be served at a halfway house. The stipulated sentence was agreed upon after Betenbaugh provided evidence to prosecutors that Randall had misled them in certain aspects of the case. “Given the credible information we received from Mr. Betenbaugh on the eve of trial that discredited Mr. Randall’s version of certain events, we could not allow Mr. Randall to take the stand and testify untruthfully in this case. We have a duty to maintain the integrity of the justice system. Without Mr. Randall’s testimony, we faced difficulty proving most of our indicted case. A negotiated plea under these circumstances was appropriate,” said Mr. McDonald.

Mr. McDonald stated that the case was investigated by agents of the FBI, the IRS-Criminal Investigation, and SLED, and that Assistant United States Attorneys Mark C. Moore, Nancy C. Wicker, and J.D. Rowell of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.