Mayor Rodney Turner of Lyman, South Carolina was arrested along with an associate on computer hacking and wiretap charges. It is important to recognize that while cyber crime receives the majority of attention these days, oral communication is still very much at risk and needs protection. None of the reports we read gave any indication of the wiretapping techniques used but they do refer to interception of oral communications. We will be following this story to see if there is any indication of how wiretapping of the town hall was accomplished.
From Gannett Greenville Online:
The mayor of the town of Lyman was arrested Wednesday in connection to a wiretapping investigation, state law enforcement officials said.
Rodney Dean Turner, 58, of 303 Earl Drive, was charged with wiretapping, misconduct in office and misconduct in office by a public official, according to warrants.
Warrants allege Turner failed to faithfully execute the responsibilities and power of his office by oppressing the rights of others and acting independently of Lyman’s Town Council on matters under their jurisdiction between July 8, 2008 and Aug. 14, 2014.
Warrants also allege Turner was acting in his official capacity as mayor when he entered into secret negotiations on a pending legal matter without the knowledge or consent of council, causing the Town of Lyman to spend more than $200,000 in legal fees. The mayor is further alleged to have created, renewed or extended franchises as well as contracted to lease lands owned by the municipality, “all without ordinance,” warrants said.
An Inman man, Gary Christopher Martin, 65, of 231 Blackstock Road, was also arrested in connection to the case, according to the S.C. Law Enforcement Division. Martin was charged in warrants with wiretapping and computer crime act — third degree. Warrants allege Martin hacked into the town of Lyman’s computer server on 10 separate occasions after his contract was terminated.
Both men are accused in warrants of attempting to intercept oral communications of town employees and people conducting business in and around Town Hall.
Turner and Martin were booked into the Spartanburg County Detention Center, where they were released on bond Wednesday night. The case was investigated by SLED at the request of the EPA and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. The state Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case.