Any proof? Here’s what SLED found investigating Horry Schools $220M construction project
A seven-year investigation into a former building program at Horry County Schools yielded numerous allegations of bribery, but no proof of illegal or improper conduct was discovered.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division received a request from the S.C. Attorney General’s Office in December 2015 to investigate the “improper award” of the district’s construction contract to Firstfloor Energy Positive, according to SLED’s final investigative report, recently obtained by The Sun News from a Freedom of Information Act request.
The AG’s office was initially contacted by a Charleston attorney on behalf of Charles and McKenzie Jordan, the report states. Charles Jordan had previously owned Chancel Construction before it was taken over by his son McKenzie. The company had been sold in 2007 to M.B. Kahn Construction, which was one of the companies competing with Firstfloor to build five new schools for the district.
Charles Jordan later told SLED investigators he felt he had an obligation as a county taxpayer to report his concerns about building cost inaccuracies and misleading contractual clauses crafted by Firstfloor, according to the report. Neither Charles nor McKenzie Jordan responded to voicemail messages seeking comment.
The district had awarded the $220 million contract to Firstfloor in October 2015 despite submitting the highest bid of the companies being considered — nearly $60 million above the budget the district had initially set.
What was SLED investigating?
A significant portion of SLED’s investigative report focuses on the apparently close relationship between former HCS board chairman Joe DeFeo and Firstfloor CEO Robbie Ferris.
DeFeo pressured fellow board members and staff on the selection committee to favor Firstfloor, according to multiple people interviewed by SLED. He ultimately signed the final contract, which was outside of standard protocol for the district, multiple staff members have said.
Keith Powell, a contracted school board attorney at the time the contract was awarded, told investigators that everyone associated with the project was concerned and wondered why DeFeo was so involved in the process.
“DeFeo was aggressive and would just talk about anything to get his way,” Powell told SLED, according to the report, which noted that Powell had no information to prove the former chairman was being paid by Ferris or anyone associated with Firstfloor.
DeFeo died in 2018 before investigators had a chance to interview him, the report states. SLED first investigated Ferris in 2019. It’s unclear in the report why investigators waited years between an initial round of interviews with HCS personnel in late 2015, early 2016 and a second group of subjects in 2019. A SLED spokeswoman did not respond to questions about that gap or the gap between finishing those 2019 interviews and finalizing the report, which is dated Sept. 12, 2022.
Ferris admitted to investigators that he met and spoke frequently with DeFeo to update him about the construction project and answer any questions from him or other board members, but denied ever giving or offering anything of value to DeFeo or any board member, the SLED report states.
Ferris could not be reached for comment prior to publication.
SLED agents served a search warrant in 2019 to obtain records for bank accounts associated with Ferris and his companies, and they found no apparent irregularities in those documents, according to the report.
Investigators did interview every other HCS board member from that time besides DeFeo, and each one denied being offered or receiving any type of bribe or having knowledge of any other board member receiving gifts related to the construction project.
Moving past the controversy
15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson informed SLED last December that his office was declining prosecution after reviewing investigators’ case file.
Current HCS Board Chairman David Cox, who was a board member at the time, told The Sun News he’d always felt the instigation of the SLED investigation was a “hit piece.” He didn’t know who initiated the inquiry before being told by The Sun News, but he wasn’t surprised to find it was someone associated with a company that had a financial interest in competing with Firstfloor.
Cox also lamented the grief the investigation and associated press caused Ferris and Firstfloor, which suffered harm to its reputation despite doing nothing wrong and providing great school buildings.
HCS spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier told The Sun News the district is aware of SLED’s findings “and the closure it brings to this matter,” and is looking forward to the start of the 2023-24 school year.
This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 9:21 AM.
