Former Latta mayor drops guilty plea, to be tried in September

FLORENCE — Former Latta mayor Lenneau Berry opted Thursday not to plead guilty to charges of stealing government funds and is expected to stand trial in federal court in September.

Berry, 57, and Harold J. Kornblut, 56, both of Latta, were indicted on the charges in late January, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins.

But plans outlined in a seven-page plea agreement signed July 20 by Berry and the lawyers in the case have been scrapped as he prepares to move forward with a jury trial.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Day II, who is prosecuting the case, agreed that the government wouldn’t pursue charges against Berry’s wife, Shelia Berry, if he pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Immediately after the hearing, Day said he isn’t yet sure if the prosecution will bring forth charges against Shelia Berry, who is accused of being involved in the former mayor’s alleged wrongdoing.

Federal agents allege that while Lenneau Berry was collecting Social Security disability payments from 2004 to 2008, he was also receiving disqualifying salary income as the mayor of Latta, and from his employment with Kornblut at a tax service.

Agents charge that Lenneau Berry directed that his city and tax service paychecks be issued in his wife’s name so that he could continue to collect disability. Kornblut is charged for his role in knowingly issuing the tax service checks to further the fraud.

The maximum penalty Lenneau Berry and Kornblut could receive is a $250,000 fine and 10 years in prison. The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration.

Day said the case against Kornblut is pending.

Lenneau Berry’s guilty plea withdrawal will have no effect on that case, Day said.

Kornblut is being considered for a program with the the probation office which would allow him to do community service restitution in exchange for charges being dismissed, Day said.

Lenneau Berry is serving 2½ years on probation after pleading guilty May 19 to state charges of misconduct in office, obstruction of justice and insurance fraud.

He was sentenced to four years in prison, suspended to 30 months’ probation, after he pleaded guilty to misconduct in office, said Mark Plowden, a spokesman for S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster.

Circuit Judge Steven John also ordered the former mayor to pay $2,757.51 in restitution.

Lenneau Berry also received separate two-year sentences — also suspended to 30 months’ probation — on five counts of obstruction of justice and making a false statement (insurance fraud).

During the investigation, it came to light that Lenneau Berry lied to the Hartford insurance company about his employment, Plowden said.

Lenneau Berry’s probation sentences run concurrently.

Lenneau Berry was indicted in November 2006 on one count of common law official misconduct in office and five counts of common law obstruction of justice.

An indictment states he “willfully, dishonestly, and with bad faith and corrupt intent,” engaged in misconduct in office by misusing Latta town property, funds and resources from early January 2002 to Nov. 14, 2006, the day the indictment was issued.

Gov. Mark Sanford suspended Lenneau Berry from office the following day.

Lenneau Berry was re-elected as mayor in 2005. His first term began in 2001.

His obstruction of justice charge is the result of “interfering with the disposition of a lawful traffic citation,” issued separately for local bail bondsman Frederick DeBerry, Joshua Ryan Herring, Amy Elizabeth Moore, Jamie Lyn Cook and Latonyia Ann Hunter, according to an indictment.

Lenneau Berry was assigned a $25,000 surety bond at a hearing in Columbia on Nov. 20, 2006, and was ordered to return all town property to the town of Latta immediately.

While he was at that hearing, his house was burglarized, according to a Latta Police Department incident report.

A black powder gun was one of the items stolen from Berry’s home, according to the incident report. A black powder gun also has been listed among receipts as a purchase made using Lenneau Berry’s town-issued credit card.

In all, items including computer equipment, jewelry, firearms, televisions and silver coins were reported stolen. The value of the items stolen was reported to be $10,600.

SLED announced it would investigate the town of Latta in January 2006 after an audit by Munn and Associates of Florence showed “material weaknesses” in the town’s finances.

That audit found Shelia Berry was paid $7,000 during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005. According to the audit, the money was paid to his wife to run the town’s baseball program.

That payment, which was not documented in the town’s meetings, also was in violation of the town’s nepotism ordinance that prohibits the hiring of any close relative by the mayor.

Other questions that arose from the audit were related to the mayor’s son, who made “several unauthorized purchases,” according to the audit.

Auditors also reported problems related to personal use of town vehicles, missing building permits, overriding of the competitive-bids process and excessive mileage reimbursements.

During a Jan. 12, 2006, council meeting, Lenneau Berry responded to the audit and its findings, saying he did nothing wrong.

After obtaining the records of town credit card use by the mayor through a Morning News and WBTW News13 Freedom of Information Act request, it was revealed that he charged purchases ranging from personal household items to meals at a Hooters restaurant in Myrtle Beach.

The credit card records show Lenneau Berry’s town credit card also was used for purchases from Home Shopping Network and Kurama restaurant in Hilton Head.

According to records, he used an Exxon Mobil credit card to charge $8,700 in gasoline from June 2004 until December 2005 and he was reimbursed $5,000 for gasoline at 36 cents a mile by the town during the same time period.

At a town council meeting Feb. 9, 2006, Lenneau Berry announced he would throw out his town-issued gasoline credit card and only receive reimbursements for business trips. During that same meeting, council members voted to have regular expense reports presented at all future meetings.

Council also has established an audit committee, composed of town residents with finance experience, and later received a positive audit from Munn and Associates.