Four Williamsburg County Public Works employees are out on $10,000 bond each after being arrested on charges of embezzlement. The defendants, Zella Major, 48 of Cades, Anthony Tisdale, 42 of Greeleyville, Marvin Lee Anderson, 53 of Kingstree and Jimmy Graham, 50 of Kingstree, were questioned the week prior to the arrests. Some are alleged to have been removing metal scrap from the Public Works facility on County Camp Road and selling it to a Hemingway scrap metal facility for personal gain.
Law enforcement was notified on July 28, of the possibility that some Public Works employees were selling metal to Don’s Car Crushing and receiving the funds for personal use after employees at Don’s reported the suspicious behavior to the Williamsburg County Supervisor’s Office who then notified the Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office.
Some Public Works employees handle the disassembly of bridges which contains metal rebar, a product that is stored at the Salters landfill and that the county sells for revenue. Some of the defendants are alleged to have taken the material to the scrap metal facility in a county owned vehicle and requested that the check be issued to them instead of to the county. The incident is reported to have occurred on more than one occasion.
The investigation revealed approximately $3,300 was made through the transactions.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was notified of the crime but because of a backload could not take the case so the sheriff’s office decided to move forward with the process.
Because the crime is of a financial nature, SLED will review the case. If convicted, the four defendants could face up to a five-year prison term.
SLED is also in the process of investigating an unrelated case regarding another Williams-burg County employee who has since resigned her position in the water and sewer department.