ALLEN ADMITS CULPABILITY, HINTS AT OTHERS INVOLVED

A former Republican Party activist has admitted to her part in an illegal robo-call scandal that muddied the waters of last year’s State House District 81 primary.

Ginny Allen, the former Aiken County GOP treasurer, was arrested by State Law Enforcement Division agents in December 2008 and charged with six counts of making unsolicited consumer phone calls.

As part of her pre-trial intervention, Allen wrote a letter fessing up to her role in the scheme, which manipulated a phone’s caller ID to make individuals believe they were receiving a phone call from a business owned by State Sen. Greg Ryberg. The automated call attacked outgoing Rep. Skipper Perry while endorsing candidate Scott Singer.

“I regret my participation in the negative campaign tactics surrounding the automated robo-calls during the recent state Senate race, and I want to be very clear that Senator Ryberg had no knowledge or any involvement,” Allen wrote in the letter.

The letter was sent to Ryberg, Solicitor Strom Thurmond Jr., Allen’s defense attorney Greg Harlow, and Singer, who was most harmed by the robo-calls.

“I appreciate her effort to make the public apology,” Singer told the Aiken Standard. “But when folks are running for office, the focus should be on candidates, not some of the sideshows that are coming into play. People have such little faith in their government and those who hold political office. When someone engages in negative politics, people very quickly accept it.”

In Allen’s letter, she hinted that there were others involved but did not name names.

“My part in this negative ploy has weighed heavily on my heart,” she wrote. “I furthermore regret any harm it may have caused any candidate as well as voters that may have lost faith in the democratic process.”

Rep. Tom Young, who benefited from the calls and went on to defeat Singer, did not comment.

As for the others involved, we may never know. But, suffice it to say, Allen does keep some rather shady company.