S.C. GOP wants state probe of document-shredding charge
By The Associated Press
11.02.02
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican leaders yesterday called for state agents to investigate allegations that the head of the Department of Juvenile Justice ordered public documents shredded.
A worker who scheduled appointments for DJJ Director Gina Wood said in a sworn statement that Wood asked the employee to destroy documents after Republicans requested copies of them under the state's open records law.
Wood denied any improprieties in an affidavit of her own.
"At no time have I directed any DJJ employee to destroy, modify or amend my calendar or any public documents. Nor have I had any conversation with any employees of the department, which indicated that I would ever suppress or destroy public documents," she said.
Republicans want the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate whether any documents were ordered shredded and want agents sent to other Cabinet agencies to secure other documents the GOP is supposed to get under Freedom of Information Act requests filed in recent months.
The GOP wants copies of an e-mail they say was written by a Hodges' staffer about a company with ties to the governor's former chief of staff. Hodges' office told Republicans last month that it cannot find any such e-mail, and the governor's spokesman said again Thursday evening that no such message exists.
In a subsequent lawsuit, the Republicans claimed the e-mail was sent in November 1999 and included a request from former Hodges chief of staff Kevin Geddings that agencies meet with Maximus Inc. to discuss issues tied to a potential state contract.
"We need to get SLED involved before any of the other documents are destroyed," said state Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Columbia, who is handling the Republicans' FOI request.
Shortly after receiving the note from Harrison, SLED consulted prosecutors in Columbia and decided to begin a preliminary investigation into the matter immediately, spokeswoman Kathryn Richardson said. She would not release details.
In a statement, Wood called the shredding charge "bizarre" and said she wanted to "say in no uncertain terms that today's accusation is a lie."
The GOP called for Wood to step down and suggested criminal charges could be filed if SLED finds laws may have been broken. Some Republicans leaders earlier this year called for Wood to be fired because they said DJJ did not do enough to stop sexual assaults at youth facilities.
Republicans also said Wood's actions, if proven true, show that Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges lacks leadership, which has been a theme of GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Sanford.
"What the Hodges administration refuses to do is give the South Carolina Republican party's fishing expedition special treatment at taxpayer expense," said Hodges' campaign manager, Jay Reiff. "This woman is a disgruntled employee. ... This is retaliation for recent personnel actions. She's not a credible person."
Reiff said the governor would not ask Wood to resign.
The sworn statement, signed Oct. 30, came from Mable Muldrow, 46, who worked as Wood's scheduler from April 2000 until last month. State GOP Chairman Katon Dawson gave the affidavit to reporters yesterday.
In April, Muldrow said Wood began asking that itineraries and other documents be pulled from files. At the time Wood said "that people can come in at any time and request to see these things," Muldrow said.
Muldrow received the Republicans' FOI request Aug. 28. She said she gave the request to her supervisor.
However, she said, she was never asked to gather the information, including the daily itineraries she typed on index cards for Wood.
Wood previously asked that those documents be shredded, Muldrow said, and Wood's requests were repeated at least three times after the GOP asked for the records.
"I knew one thing, it was wrong. And two, I would be held responsible for it," Muldrow said. "I'm not going to be like Enron and be the DJJ shredding queen."
After a September lunch involving Cabinet heads, Muldrow said she heard a conversation between Wood and her top deputy about the FOI requests.
"They're not going to get a damn thing from me," Muldrow recalled Wood saying.
Several days later, Muldrow said Wood came to her and asked whether the documents had been destroyed.
"I want these documents out of here," Muldrow recalled Wood saying. "Anyone can come in here at any time and ask to see these documents. I want those documents shredded."
Muldrow says her reluctance to shred documents brought trumped-up disciplinary actions against her and prompted her transfer. She said she was placed on unpaid suspension for a week after two reprimands on Oct. 14: one for not taking lunch before 2 p.m. and the other for not properly completing a sick leave slip from the previous week. She said she was reassigned to another Juvenile Justice facility on Oct. 23.
Wood maintained the woman was moved for work-related reasons only.
"The employee, Mable L. Muldrow, who submitted a false affidavit to the Republican Party on October 30, 2002, was suspended by her DJJ supervisor on October 16, 2002, for receiving three written reprimands within a four-month period," Wood said. "These reprimands were issued for unprofessional conduct (June 7, 2002), unauthorized absence from work (October 2, 2002), and insubordination (October 10, 2002). The employee was suspended, in lieu of termination, and reassigned to another area within the department."
House Majority Leader Rick Quinn, R-Columbia, said he would do anything he could to protect Muldrow's job and make sure she isn't punished for her actions.