Former South Carolina elections director arrested after using state card to buy fuel, agents say

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s former elections director was arrested Friday and charged with using a state credit card to pay for more than $5,400 in fuel as he drove his state car for personal use.

Howard Knapp, 40, was charged with embezzlement, misconduct in office and eight counts of using his office for personal gain.

Knapp, who was fired last month, also was charged as an accessory after his deputy director allegedly put a recording device inside a boardroom where the state Election Commission was discussing Knapp’s job in a closed door meeting, according to arrest warrants.

State agents said their investigation into Knapp continues.

Knapp’s lawyer suggested problems with the board or others led to trumped up charges.

“This is all about politics. We look forward to a very public trial. See you there,” Knapp’s lawyer Joe McCullough told reporters Friday after Knapp was released from jail on a promise to return for future court hearings.

Also arrested on Friday was the former deputy director of the agency, 41-year-old Paige Salonich. She was fired for a profane outburst after hearing Knapp had been fired, officials said. She had left behind a recording device in the boardroom in an “attempt to intercept confidential communications without consent,” according to a warrant signed by a State Law Enforcement Division agent. Her lawyer didn’t comment after her bond hearing.

After Knapp and Salonich were ordered out of the agency’s office, Knapp called other employees asking for help to get the recorder out of the room, agents said.

The state Election Commission issued a statement Friday saying none of the charges against Knapp had anything to do with the integrity of elections.

At a meeting earlier this month, South Carolina Election Commission Chairman Dennis Shedd said the agency is reviewing the purchase of 3,200 ballot scanners in 2024 for about $32 million that was recommended by Knapp.

“We’re finding out new stuff that old management did,” Shedd said