Treasury staff gets ethics law refresher

COLUMBIA — The state treasurer's office staff is being reminded that they can't use agency computers for outside interests, including work on presidential campaigns, interim Treasurer Ken Wingate said Tuesday.

E-mails obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request recently showed the agency's spokesman and then-Treasurer Thomas Ravenel exchanged e-mails promoting former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.

A federal grand jury indicted Ravenel last month on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute less than 500 grams of cocaine. Republican Gov. Mark Sanford suspended the multimillionaire real estate developer from office and tapped Wingate as interim treasurer.

Wingate said he met Tuesday with agency spokesman Scott Malyerck "about the procedures and policies of the office to reinforce that the state's equipment — telephones, computers, et cetera — are to be used just for state business."

Wingate said Malyerck was not disciplined, and other staff members will get the same refresher.

State ethics laws prohibit using taxpayer-owned computers and other property for a political campaign, state Ethics Commission Executive Director Herb Hayden said.

Between February and April, Malyerck e-mailed Ravenel at least six times during office hours regarding Giuliani's campaign, according to e-mails reviewed by The Associated Press.

The e-mails included:

--An April 9 note directing Ravenel to Giuliani's campaign Internet site and videos of his speeches.

--An April 11 exchange of an opinion piece Ravenel sent to newspapers touting Giuliani's experience. Malyerck sent the op-ed to Ravenel, who edited the piece and sent it back. Malyerck said he didn't write the piece.

--Instructions from Malyerck on April 20 for Ravenel to follow up with two reporters on the same day Giuliani became the first primary contender to pay state GOP filing fees to get on the ballot.

--A Feb. 20 message Malyerck forwarded from a Giuliani campaign staffer about the former New York mayor leading in a poll.

Ravenel's indictment three weeks ago shocked Republicans with high expectations for him.

U.S. Attorney Reggie Lloyd has said Ravenel's charge involves him purchasing the drug and sharing it with friends, not selling it.

Ravenel's lawyers told a federal magistrate last week that he is not guilty of the charge, which carries up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Meanwhile, Ravenel, 44, is in a 30-day program at an Arizona treatment center.