South Carolina Senator Phil Leventis of Sumter has sent a letter to Governor Mark Sanford calling for the removal of the state’s director of the SC Department of Corrections, Jon Ozmint. In the letter, Leventis says, “His (Ozmint) actions as director are marked by a lack of candor, arrogance and a poor leadership style. He has created a culture of intimidation, harassment and special favors at the Department. He has accepted, promoted and even participated in behavior by senior mangers[sic] that has resulted in state and federal juries finding culpability for civil conspiracy to harm other senior officials within his department at a cost of to the taxpayers of hundreds of thousands of dollars. His leadership and his administration are marked by direct and intense efforts to avoid transparency, oversight and accountability.”
Leventis says the governor needs to take action and remove Ozmint. If Sanford does not remove the corrections chief, Leventis says that would send a signal to the state the the governor condones Ozmint’s recent behavior. The senator says Sanford needs to practice what he preaches and hold one of his cabinet officials accountable.
