January 28, 2009
Puported Blackmailer Allegedly Receives Beat-Down
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
From a shadowy underworld of conspiracies comes a story involving an unidentified blackmailer, an unnamed South Carolina state official, unspecified secrets, and alleged strong-arm tactics that have reportedly prompted state authorities to seek federal involvement.
According to a Jan. 25 article posted at FITSNews.com, which bills itself as an "unfair" and "imbalanced" purveyor of news, several members of the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (referred to as "SLED" in the article) beat an unidentified individual who had approached the Chairman of the State Republican Party, seeking $200,000 in hush money and offering a glimpse of damning evidence against a GOP S.C. state official.
The purported assault was allegedly accompanied by a warning for the blackmailer to flee the state. "This is what happens," the blackmailer was told, to those attempting to blackmail individuals holding state office, reported FITS.
FITS claimed that the story had been in circulation since late last year, and added that at first those who run the site did not believe it.
However, FITS then said that "multiple sources" had verified the story, including unnamed senior officials at SLED who reportedly claimed that SLED has sought the help of the FBI in carrying out an investigation.
Though one possible interpretation of the story is that the sensitive information allegedly used in the purported plot was sexual in nature, no concrete details have surfaced.
The FITS article stated that the site would be "sticking exclusively to what has been confirmed to us by law enforcement personnel, not political sources," on the advice of the site's legal counsel.
The site offered one name in the story, that of South Carolina State Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson, who, the site claimed, met with the alleged blackmailer to see allegedly damaging material concerning the unnamed state official, for which the blackmailer reportedly demanded $200,000.
The FITS article said that Dawson instructed the would-be extortionist to return on the following day. When the blackmailer complied, three SLED "heavies" took the blackmailer to an undisclosed location and delivered the purported beating.
Read the FITS article, "Rumors of a rogue band of 'heavies' within SLED have been the stuff of political legend for years in South Carolina, although this is the first time those rumors have been tied to a specific incident."
The article noted that if the story has a basis in fact, "everyone involved in this alleged affair would be guilty of committing a crime--the blackmailer for attempting to extort money from a public official, Dawson for failing to report the extortion attempt, and obviously the three SLED agents for dispensing vigilante justice."
The article said that Reggie Lloyd, chief of SLED, and state GOP officials would not comment.
However, the article said that the publication's founding editor had received threats against himself and his family.
"As a result of these threats, we have been forced to take additional protective measures," the FITS article stated.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
