Ex-SC DOT commissioner who violated probation by soliciting prostitute gets prison time

COLUMBIA — A former South Carolina transportation commissioner was sentenced to seven months in federal prison Wednesday after he violated probation by soliciting a prostitute.

John Hardee was originally sentenced in August to 45 days of house arrest and probation for telling a contractor to delete emails amid a federal investigation into potential bribery when he was on the state’s roads board.

But within a matter of hours after striking his plea deal, Hardee was ensnared in an undercover operation by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department after he attempted to solicit a deputy who was posing as a prostitute. Evidence against Hardee included text messages showing him negotiating a “QV” or “quick visit” with the undercover officer.

That landed Hardee, the son-in-law of S.C. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, back in federal court for violating his parole.

Read more: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/ex-sc-dot-commissioner-who-violated-probation-by-soliciting-prostitute/article_2f721604-e4ab-11e9-9e73-13f7ead62b81.html