Tom Sponseller, SC lobbyist, msg 2/19/12(Found Deceased)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Police-find-body-of-missing-SC-hospitality-exec-3367292.php
Coroner: Missing SC hospitality exec killed self
MEG KINNARD, Associated Press
February 28, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The president of South Carolina's Hospitality Association killed himself in the parking garage of his office building, a coroner said Tuesday, and officials said the man's co-workers found a note referring to a federal investigation into the association's finances,

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said it appears that Tom Sponseller killed himself with a gunshot to his head.

Sponseller's body was found Tuesday behind two locked doors in a parking garage below his office hours after co-workers found the note, authorities said. A 9 mm handgun belonging to Sponseller was also found at the scene, police said.

Sponseller had been missing for 10 days, and the garage was searched three times before the body was found. Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott said his officers didn't have access to the electrical room where the body was discovered until around 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Sponseller's co-workers called investigators once they found the note, which was not in plain view in Sponseller's office. Scott said that call led to Tuesday's search.

Scott said his heart went out to Sponseller's wife Meg and his family and he planned to review police department procedures to figure out how Sponseller's body could have remained so near to his office — his Mercedes sedan was parked in the garage — while friends and family spent more than a week looking for him.

"I just hate it for Meg and his family that we didn't find him sooner. It was just unfortunate with the way the room was designed, the lack of a key, the cadaver dogs not hitting on it," Scott said.
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Because the search for Sponseller was a missing persons investigation and authorities had no indication a crime had occurred, it limited how thoroughly officers could inspect his office, Scott said.
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On Monday, federal officials confirmed to The Associated Press they were investigating several hundred thousand dollars missing from the group that lobbies for South Carolina's $14 billion tourism industry. U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Michael Williams said agents began looking into the group's books several months ago but Sponseller had not been investigated specifically.

Instead, Williams said agents were focusing on Rachel Duncan, who has served as an accounting director for the association. There was no answer Tuesday at a number listed for Duncan. Her attorney has declined to comment on the investigation but said Duncan had been cooperating with the probe into Sponseller's disappearance.

Court records show Duncan is fighting foreclosure on a Lexington County property and in October was ordered by a judge to pay a bank nearly $4,000.
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[MuffyBee]

It appears this article was posted prior to the discovery of Mr. Sponseller's body, but I find it interesting because of the "gambling" allegations.

http://www.thestate.com/2012/02/28/2170210/gambling-key-to-probe-into-missing.html
‘Gambling’ key to probe into missing money
Secret Service not actively involved in investigating lobbyist’s disappearance
JOHN MONK NOELLE PHILLIPS
February 28, 2012

“Gambling” allegations are central to an ongoing federal investigation into several hundred thousand dollars in money that is missing from the South Carolina Hospitality Association, a top federal law enforcement official said Monday.

That investigation is centered on an employee of the association, Rachel Duncan, the association’s accountant, said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Michael Williams.

“Ms. Duncan has been interviewed, and she is a target of our financial crime investigation,” Williams said. He declined to elaborate on what kind of gambling allegations are involved.

 ::snipping2::

[cookie]

weird

[MuffyBee]

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=725114
CPD, Coroner report Sponseller's death as suicide
by Brian McConchie
February 29, 2012

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Investigators say the 61-year-old was found dead in a locked "room within a room" inside a lower level parking garage attached to the South Carolina Hospitality Association chief's downtown Columbia office building.

In a Tuesday afternoon news conference, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said it appears Sponseller suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

"Although he has been found and everything indicates it was self-inflicted, the police department and our office is going to continue to investigate this until we can come up with as many answers as we can for the family and the public," said Watts.
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Authorities went back to Sponseller's office building Tuesday after a hospitality association representative found a suicide note from the former executive.

Sources confirm to WACH Fox that Rick Erwin, the interim director of the SC Hospitality Association, found the note in a locked drawer in Sponseller's desk. Police had previously searched the office.

The full contents of the note have not been released.  However, sources with knowledge of the note, indicate Sponseller references a federal investigation into the SC Hospitality Association over hundreds of thousands of dollars in missing money.  They say he expresses a sense of concern and responsibility that the money disappeared under his watch.

The probe into the association's finances is still open and is being conducted by the Secret Service. They say Sponseller is not the target of their investigation.  It has been more focused on the agency's former accounting director Rachel Duncan.
 ::snipping2::
The SC Hospitality Association launched an independent audit of its books last week.  Sources close to their investigation tell WACH Fox that auditors have found multiple ways funds have been embezzled from the agency.  The audit will likely be complete within a week.

The matter of the missing money is being handled as a separate issue from Sponseller's disappearance and apparent suicide.
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According to Chief Scott, how the area in which Sponseller was found was accessed is currently unknown. By the amount of cigarrette butts in and around the room, it is believed it was used as a smoking area. Sponseller was a smoker. The room itself was not known for having traffic and was described as an electrical or utility-type room.

The room could not be accessed until Tuesday after the room's locks were re-keyed.

"Anything we do we learn from it and we definitely learned from this," said Scott. "We're not done. this investigation is still going."
Video and map at link.

[Sister]

so sad and very confusing.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/176230/2/Coroner-Sponseller-Died-Near-Time-He-was-Reported-Missing?odyssey=tab|topnews|bc|large
Coroner: Tom Sponseller Died Near Time He was Reported Missing
February 29, 2012

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - The Richland County Coroner says SC Hospitality Association's CEO and lobbyist Tom Sponseller died near the time he was reported missing.

Gary Watts released the findings of a preliminary autopsy Wednesday afternoon.

Watts confirmed again that Sponseller, 61, died from a single gunshot wound to the head. It's believed the wound was self-inflicted.

Other tests results are still pending.
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(Interesting Comments)

[MuffyBee]

It sounds to me like LE had probably decided  with the money from his department missing,  Mr. Sponseller was on the lam.  That he went missing on his own volition, resulting in a half baked search and investigation.  JMHO


http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2012/mar/01/police-open-sponseller-search-probe/
Police open Sponseller search probe
March 1, 2012

Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott said Wednesday he is opening an internal investigation into why officers from his department failed for 10 days to find a missing lobbyist's body in an office building's underground garage.

Scott said he also will look into why officers failed for 10 days to examine a desk in Tom Sponseller's office that contained a note left behind by Sponseller and packaging for a 9 mm pistol.

Sources have said the note expressed remorse over an investigation into money missing from the S.C. Hospitality Association.
Sponseller was found dead Tuesday morning of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a room off the underground garage under his building. Until then, it was a missing-person investigation.

The note and the packaging for a Taurus 9mm pistol prompted police to again search the garage under the building at 1122 Lady St., where Sponseller's office was on the 12th floor. His body was found shortly afterward.

"I'm not happy with what went on, and I'm going to make corrections," Scott said. "At the end of the day, everything wasn't done that should have been done."

Asked if some officers might find themselves on patrol duty after his review, Scott said depending on what he finds, "It may be more serious than that."

However, Scott made it clear that he would keep an open mind and review all aspects of what was done and not done during the 10 days that police were engaged in a search for Sponseller, the well-connected S.C. Hospitality Association executive director who has been described as the face of the state's $14 billion tourist industry.

"I'm looking at everything," Scott said.

Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said a number of issues need to be addressed.
More...

[cookie]

with these Barney Fifes on duty, how are they so sure that this was even a suicide?

[yuknomenot]

with these Barney Fifes on duty, how are they so sure that this was even a suicide?

  Surely they are Barney Fifes and weren't attempting a coverup.

[KittyMom]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/01/sc-restaurant-execs-suicide-note-am-huge-disappointment/
Restaurant lobbyist's suicide note laments loss of $900,000, saying, 'I am a huge disappointment'
 

In a suicide note found in his locked desk, a South Carolina restaurant lobbyist who shot and killed himself in a parking garage called himself "a huge disappointment" for not discovering the theft of agency funds sooner.

"It is quite disappointing that all the work our members and staff put into building one of the best associations in the state has been jeopardized by the stupid actions of one person and not detected until the amount was so large the police found it first because I had failed to make sure everything was right," Sponseller wrote.
"I am sorry it ended like this," the note continued. "I am a huge disappointment to everyone, my family, my friends, business associates and others. I let everyone down and have embarrassed those who I love the most, my wife, kids, and grandkids. I am so sorry I have failed you. Please find a way to forgive me in your hearts."

 

Rachel Duncan should feel horrible.  This poor guy blames himself for her actions.  So sad.

[KittyMom]

http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=725855#.T1A6ffGvKSo
Columbia police officers lose jobs over Sponseller investigation

[yuknomenot]

http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=725855#.T1A6ffGvKSo
Columbia police officers lose jobs over Sponseller investigation

Much credit to Chief Scott, he doesn't mess around.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/03/02/3060853/2-ousted-from-sc-police-force.html
2 ousted from SC police force after Sponseller investigation
By Noelle Phillips
March 2, 2012

COLUMBIA Two commanders who are longtime veterans of the Columbia police force are no longer with the department as a result of an internal review into the case of a missing lobbyist whose body was found Tuesday.

Chief Randy Scott announced late Thursday that the deputy chief of administration/investigations has been fired. He also said he had accepted the retirement of the captain of investigations.

The internal probe into the department’s mishandling of the search will continue, Scott said in a statement.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/03/03/2694834/hundreds-gather-for-sponseller.html
Hundreds gather for Sponseller service
March 3, 2012

[MuffyBee]

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=726113
Police chief issues statement in wake of firings
by Adam Pinsker
March 2, 2012

Columbia, (WACH) - A day after two senior investigators were dismissed from the Columbia Police Department, Chief Randy Scott issued a statement reassuring residents of his confidence in the force.

The changes were made in the wake of the investigation into missing Columbia lobbyist Tom Sponseller.
More...
Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www2.wsav.com/news/2012/mar/02/sc-suicide-prevention-conference-educates-clergy-f-ar-3339652/
SC Suicide Prevention Conference Educates Clergy, Family, Friends
By: Robert Kittle | WSAV-TV
March 2, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. --

The death of South Carolina Hospitality Association CEO Tom Sponseller has focused a lot of attention in the state on suicide, but a conference that had been planned before his death was already focused on helping people recognize the warning signs and how they can respond.

"Helping the Hurting: Faith Communities Response to Suicide," in Columbia Friday, is an annual conference sponsored by Mental Health America of South Carolina.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.thestate.com/2012/03/04/2176818/hospitality-association-aims-to.html
Hospitality Association aims to rebuild, restore image
By JEFF WILKINSON - jwilkinson@thestate.com
March 4, 2012
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“We made mistakes,” Rick Erwin, the Greenville restaurateur who is chairman of the Hospitality Association, said in an exclusive interview with The State newspaper shortly before Sponseller’s funeral.
Erwin — owner of Rick Erwin’s West End Grille and Rick Erwin’s Nantucket Seafood Grill, both in Greenville — has ordered a comprehensive outside audit of the association’s finances.

He said such an audit hasn’t been conducted in some time; he can’t recall how long.

Erwin said that on Thursday, during the first board meeting since Sponseller’s death, he will urge members to adopt regular audits as a matter of policy. “Maybe even in the bylaws,” he said, and “not leave it up to any individual to make that decision.”

 ::snipping2::
Sponseller disappeared from his downtown Columbia office Feb. 18. Ten days later, co-workers broke into his desk and found a three-page, handwritten letter. Empty original packaging from a gun was found in the drawer with the note.

Later that day, police found Sponseller’s body, with a gunshot wound to the head, in a locked room in the building’s parking garage. The room had not been searched by police during three previous sweeps of the building and garage. Two high-ranking Columbia officers were pushed out of the police department after the botched search.

Sponseller’s note referred to an ongoing federal investigation into the disappearance of several hundred thousand dollars from the association of which he was president and chief executive. U.S. Secret Service agents are conducting an investigation into the group’s missing money.

Rachel Duncan, the association’s accountant who worked for Sponseller, is a target in that investigation, the Secret Service has confirmed. Federal officials say gambling is involved.

However, Michael Williams, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Columbia office, did not rule out Sponseller’s involvement, saying last week, “He was not the initial target of the investigation, and it’s still too early to comment any further at this point.”

Duncan and Sponseller presented internal financial statements to the association. But it could have been years since outside audits of those statements had been conducted, sources tell The State.

That is a sign the board failed in its responsibility to oversee the association’s staff, critics say.
More...

[MuffyBee]

The article posted below is a couple of days old, but it has a lot of background information.

http://www.thestate.com/2012/03/01/2172804/chief-opens-probe-into-sponseller.html
Chief opens probe into Sponseller search
By JOHN MONK and NOELLE PHILLIPS - nophillips@thestate.com,
March 1, 2012

(93 comments at time of this posting)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wistv.com/story/17049866/secret-service
SCHA investigation in hands of federal prosecutors[/b
Posted February 29, 2012, Updated March 1, 2012

Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=725338   
Financial official at SC Hospitality Association no longer employed
by Brian McConchie
Posted February 12, 2012, Updated March 1, 2012

COLUMBIA, SC - A source confirms to WACH Fox that a top financial official at the South Carolina Hospitality Association no longer works for the agency.

Rachel Duncan, the association's director of accounting and membership, was informed of her termination this week.  Duncan's name was first mentioned late last week when news surfaced the Secret Service was investigating hundreds of thousands in missing dollars at the agency.
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Video at Link