COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Jason Amodio (46) of Lexington, South Carolina was sentenced to eight months of home confinement and four years of probation. Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. sentenced Amodio in federal court in Columbia, for Lying to a Federal Grand Jury, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1623. Evidence established that during a joint federal and state investigation into illegal gambling, extortion under color of law, mail and wire fraud, and related public corruption in Lexington County, Amodio appeared before a federal grand jury. Asked about the purpose of a particular check payable to Amodio, Amodio claimed that the check was a loan. In fact, Amodio knew this was false and that the check was an improper payment from an attorney in Lexington. Amodio had assisted in convincing a family to hire that attorney to file a civil lawsuit after a car wreck had left one member of the family dead and one injured. When the attorney received a fee in return for his representation, that attorney then paid Amodio through an intermediary.

United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated, “We must ensure that the public has confidence that officials have integrity and are truthful. Mr. Amodio transported himself from the Chief of Police to a felon because he betrayed this basic tenant.”

The Court arrived at the sentence by factoring in the cooperation that Mr. Amodio has provided and is currently providing in an on-going public corruption probe. Additionally, Mr. Amodio has agreed to plead guilty in state court to a charge of misconduct in office. This case is part of a joint investigation of the FBI, SLED, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office into public corruption and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jay N. Richardson and Jim May and Assistant Deputy Attorney Generals Creighton Waters and Brian Petrano.