U.S. Senate candidate Greene's obscenity trial postponed

MANNING — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alvin Greene had the first cloud that’s been hanging over him lifted Friday when the State Law Enforcement Division cleared him of doing anything wrong in paying his $10,440 filing fee.

But the second cloud, a felony obscenity charge, isn’t going away anytime soon. The trial on the charge was supposed to start Monday but was postponed indefinitely by the solicitor’s office.

SLED investigated where Greene got the money to pay his filing fee, since he’s unemployed, and why he was assigned a public defender if he had the $10,440 he later paid for the filing fee.

SLED looked at his bank records and court proceedings and found that he did, in fact, save the money himself from his Army pay. He served 13 years in the Air Force and Army but has been unemployed since last year.

SLED also found that the court asked Greene what his monthly income was, but did not ask if he had any savings. He qualified for a public defender based on his income and was assigned one, but later released him and hired a private attorney.
Greene’s reaction to SLED’S findings? “Good. It was like I said all along.”

He said he was hoping the obscenity charge could be taken care of quickly but now doesn’t know if it will be resolved before the November election. He’s charged with showing pornography to a University of South Carolina student in a dorm computer lab and asking to go to her room with her. He won’t discuss what happened because the court case is pending.

Greene came out of nowhere to win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, defeating former judge and state lawmaker Vic Rawl. Greene got nearly 60 percent of the vote despite not having any money and virtually no campaign.

He now has a website, www.alvingreeneforussenator.com, and is trying to raise money through donations given through the site.

Because of his improbable story, he said, he’s been contacted for a possible book and movie deal. He won’t give details, but says he knows who he would want to play him in the movie.

“Yes, I told them Denzel Washington,” he said. Greene said its because he thinks there’s a resemblance, but mainly because of Washington’s excellence as a dramatic actor.

He’ll also be giving his first public speech since his victory. The Manning NAACP invited him to speak Sunday afternoon when he said he’ll lay out his platform of jobs, education and justice.

Greene said he wants to create jobs by investing in the state’s and the nation’s infrastructure, particularly roads.

When asked how he would pay for widening existing roads or building new ones, Greene would say only, “Getting our priorities in order, the priorities of government: jobs, education and justice.”

Other than his speech to the NAACP, Greene said he’s staying busy with his campaign.

“I’m just planning. I don’t have anything in particular right now that my campaign is totally putting on right now. Nothing formally planned. But I’m busy with my campaign and trying to get my message out to everyone across the state,” he said.