Longtime North Myrtle Beach politician indicted in state House corruption probe

Former S.C. House Rep. Tracy Edge from North Myrtle Beach was indicted on criminal conspiracy, common law misconduct in office, statutory misconduct in office and perjury charges in Columbia Wednesday.

Edge, 50, R-Horry, served in the District 104 seat, which covers portions of the North Myrtle Beach area, including Cherry Grove and Little River.

Edge represented the district from 1996 to 2014.

When reached by phone Thursday morning, Edge declined to comment on the recent indictments.

His attorney Alex Imgrund stated, “Tracy denies the charges and he is very much looking forward to his date in court.”

The indictments came Wednesday in the midst of a lengthy, and still ongoing, State House corruption probe.

“Defendant combined with Richard M. Quinn, Sr., and others, whose names are both known and unknown to the State Grand Jury, to use the office and position of members of the South Carolina General Assembly to willfully and dishonestly fail to properly and faithfully discharge the duties of public office … and to commit acts and omissions constituting official misconduct, fraud, corruption, or habitual neglect,” an indictment on the criminal conspiracy charge states.

Quinn, 73, a widely known and used, longtime political consultant in the Palmetto State and was indicted on felony charge of criminal conspiracy and a charge of illegal lobbying for failing to register as a lobbyist, documents show.

The dates of Edge’s alleged criminal conspiracy and misconduct range from about Sept. 1, 2006 through Aug. 11, 2014, according to the indictment.

An indictment on a perjury charge states: “on or about March 15, 2017, in Richland County, … Edge, willfully gave false, misleading, or incomplete testimony while under oath in a court of record, judicial, administrative, or regulatory proceeding in the State.”

The indictment alleges he “offered false, misleading, or incomplete testimony regarding his knowledge of entities doing business with First Impressions, Inc. d/b/a Richard Quinn and Associates.”

Edge was also indicted on a misconduct in office charge, and that indict states: “the Defendant, while an elected member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and candidate for state office, repeatedly violated provisions of the Ethics Government Accountability and Campaign Reform Act of 1991.”

A common law misconduct in office indictment says he used “the office and position of Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and Candidate for State Office to willfully and dishonestly violate provisions of the Ethics Government Accountability and Campaign Reform act of 1991.”

Edge lives in North Myrtle Beach and was former vice president at Burroughs and Chapin Corporation, which owns property along the Grand Strand, including Broadway at the Beach and Barefoot Landing.

The Sun News has reached out to a representative from Burroughs and Chapin for more information on his role in the company.

Edge is also a managing partner with Edge Holdings, LLC, which operates at the Jamaica Motel in North Myrtle Beach, according to a representative at the motel.

Between 1999 and 2006 Edge won Legislator of the Year awards from various associations, including the South Carolina Disabilities and Special Needs Association and the South Carolina Landowners Association.

Edge graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1989 with a Bachelors of Arts. In 1991 he graduated from West Virginia University with a Masters of Science.

Others indicted Wednesday were:

Former S.C. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Harrison, 66, R-Richland, on charges of criminal conspiracy, common law misconduct in office and statutory misconduct in office.

Sen. John Courson, 72, R-Richland, was charged with criminal conspiracy and statutory misconduct in office.

Rep. Rick Quinn Jr., 52, a Lexington Republican and the son of Richard Quinn Sr., was charged with criminal conspiracy.

Attorneys for three of the men indicted Wednesday said they are innocent.

Two former legislators have already pleaded guilty in the State House corruption probe.

Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, was charged with filing false campaign reports and misconduct in office, who was House Speaker when charged in 2014 with filing false campaign reports and misconduct in office. He pleaded guilty to misconduct in office and later resigned. He served in the House from 1989 to 2012.

Former Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Berkeley, pleaded guilty to misconduct in office and resigned in August.

Staff writer for The State, John Monk contributed to this report.

This story was originally published October 19, 2017 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Longtime North Myrtle Beach politician indicted in state House corruption probe."