Danny Frazier
Danny Frazier
Lexington, SC (WLTX) - Lexington Town Councilman Danny Frazier has rejected a request from his fellow councilmembers to resign from office.
The request came after a special meeting of the council early Friday evening. The meeting was called after reports and rumors surfaced that suggested Frazier may be involved in questionable business practices.
Earlier this week, Frazier released a statement News19 saying he made a serious error in judgment when talking to a friend. Frazier says he had a conversation with someone who was interested in getting a new business venture and that he bragged about having friends--public officials--who would help them out. In the note, he also apologized to the Lexington community.
The council met behind closed doors for about an hour before coming out and announcing their 5-1 decision to call for his resignation, saying the public trust had been affected. Frazier, though, refused that request, and stood by his earlier statement.
Members of the community also asked for Frazier to resign, but he refused that request as well.
Thursday, Lexington County Sheriff James Metts suspended Frazier from his position as a part-time community liaison with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. In an open letter to the community, Metts says Frazier is suspended until the State Law Enforcement Division investigates some of Frazier's business practices, including if he has ties to video gaming.
Meanwhile, Metts returned nearly $5,500 in campaign contributions from businesses with ties to the video gaming industry.
Metts said he only became aware this week that some of the financial contributions came from people and vending machine companies affiliated with the illegal industry. He said any implication or assertion that he is somehow involved with video gaming isnt true.
Finally, the Lexington County Council wants law enforcement to crack down on the use of Internet Cafe's and Video Poker machines around the county. The council sent a list of suspected internet cafes to the sheriff's department today asking Metts to look into the matter.