Columbia (WLTX) - A man who worked in the South Carolina attorney general's office is no longer with the agency, a day after police reported he was caught with a woman at a local cemetery.
Officials with the State Attorney General's office say attorney Roland Corning, 66, no longer works for their department. Attorney General Henry McMaster told reporters that Corning was given the option to resign, and did so.
A report filed by a Columbia Police officer states the officer saw a vehicle in a secluded part of Elmwood Cemetery in the middle of the afternoon on October 26. The officer said there have been past complaints of illegal activity--including sex acts and drug abuse--in that area.
The officer reported that when he got near the car, the vehicle sped off. According to the report, the officer got back in his patrol vehicle and attempted to catch up with the car. A visitor to the cemetery flagged down the officer, and with the help of other patrolmen, the car was stopped on Wayne Street.
The officer said he determined the driver was Corning, and the passenger was an 18-year-old employee of Platinum Plus, a Richland County strip club.
According to the report, the pair gave conflicting information for being at the cemetery, and to their relationship. At that point, the officer said Corning identified himself as an attorney, and produced a state attorney general's badge.
The officer says Corning gave him permission to search the car. In the report, the officer said he found a bottle containing half a Viagra Pill and sex toys.
At that point, the officer released the female (whose car was around the corner) and Corning; an almost textbook perfect stop according to Columbia Police Chief Tandy Carter.
"Didn't see anything illegal about the stop; the gentlemen provided all of the necessary information, he also gave consent to search, the officer searched the vehicle, didn't find anything illegal and after that he was released. It was almost textbook perfect," Carter said.
Corning reportedly mentioned to the officer that he was on his lunch break.
The officer that stopped Corning is married to one of Corning's co-workers. The officer called his wife to verify that Corning was a lawyer with the AG's office. After confirming the information for the officer, the co-worker then reported the incident to her supervisor. Within two hours of the incident, McMaster was aware that it happened. and within two hours Corning was no longer an employee of the office.
A spokesman for the attorney general's office says Corning worked with securities cases, dealing mainly with financial fraud. Corning is also a former state lawmaker.
Attorney General Henry McMaster says Corning was given to option to resign, which he did, based on his 'inappropriate conduct'.
"This was inappropriate conduct for an Assistant Attorney General and it is for that reason that Mr. Corning as of Monday afternoon, hours after the incident, is no longer an employee of the Attorney General's Office," McMaster said.
10/29/2009 8:56:38 AM
