SPARTANBURG Sheriff Faces Scrutiny for Over $53,600 in Extravagant County-Funded Expenses

SPARTANBURG Sheriff’s Spending Revealed: Fast Food, Ritzy Hotels, and Apple.com are Among the Major Expenditures

Good day folks! It seems that Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright is in the spotlight today- not for his relentless hard work to maintain law and order, rather due to his somewhat extravagant spending. Between December 2017 and April 2024, our dear Sheriff Wright reportedly spent more than $53,600 using his county-funded credit card.

The resulting calibration of Wright’s expenditures unveils spending on fancy steak dinners, high-end beach resorts, streaming services from Amazon Prime to Sirius XM radio, and even a $12,000 record with Apple.com. Quite an eclectic mix, wouldn’t you say?

The Sheriff is no stranger to the high life- his last year’s pay reportedly tipped slightly above $199,000 and that’s before you factor in the extra $15,000 state stipend. He certainly has taken the term public service to a new level.

These startling details were brought to light through a review of his six years worth of spending records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The county card presented by Wright has been a constant partner for his gustatory experiences with $8,000 being spent at eateries ranging from quick bites to fine dining establishments.

And the story doesn’t end at the city limits. Our audacious Sheriff has been hotel hopping with an impressive $8,000 spent on plush accommodations. Apple.com emerged as his biggest benefactor, receiving a whopping $11,883 across 429 charges.

The county council members, however, seem to be in the dark about Wright’s financial escapade as when approached regarding the matter, County Councilman, Justin McCorkle commented, “That’s kind of news to me.” Some were even hesitant to pocket the information without supporting evidence.

Now, about the $53,600 in spending, the records dating back to December 2017 were not retained by the county. Therefore, the Sheriff’s office did not provide any receipts too. This raises another eyebrow about this speculated public funds misuse.

Interestingly enough, Wright’s card is not a part of the county P-card program, which would have prevented him from dining at the likes of Stax’s Drake House or Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. As it stands, he was also allowed to subscribe to streaming services like Amazon Prime, which would have been a softball for the 140 county employees who are bound by the strict rules of the P-card program.

Along with Apple.com, Wright’s greatest expenditures lie in food and accommodations. He spent $8,001 at several South Carolina hotels, and another $8,200 on food, feathering his love for fast food joints with a total of $2,130 spent and pizza places, restaurants, buffets, and steakhouses with another $6,070.

Among his more eclectic purchases, the Sheriff made subscriptions to faith-based video streaming service Pure Flix, Amazon Prime, radio service Sirius XM, Shine on 9, and Florida based diet supplement brand Pure Clean Keto, among others.

As an endnote to this saga of calculated and calculated spending, Columbia-based attorney and government watchdog, John Crangle remarked, “Once you turn people loose with credit cards, it’s like giving an alcoholic the job as a manager of a liquor store.” One can only hope that such laissez-faire spending does not set a trend for other public officials.