John Rickenbacker is back in politics.

James Clyburn, 6th District congressman and House majority whip, said Wednesday his office has hired the former Orangeburg County Council chairman to serve as a field representative and liaison between the office and district constituents.

Rickenbacker, who was released from a Columbia-based halfway house April 7 after serving a one-year sentence in a federal prison system for federal bribery and extortion charges, will begin working in his new position as early as today, depending on completion of the required applications.

“I think it is always important to give people a second chance,” Clyburn said via conference call Wednesday afternoon at The Times and Democrat. “Everybody is subject to make a mistake and when people make a mistake, they should not serve a lifetime regretting it. Once you pay your debt to society ... he has been a model. He deserves a second chance.”

“I am deeply grateful to have a second chance to rehabilitate my life,” Rickenbacker said in a brief prepared statement Wednesday afternoon about his new position. “I am especially grateful for the recently passed Second Chance Act.”

Rickenbacker will serve directly under 6th District Director Robert Nance and Carole Smith, who is a casework supervisor in Clyburn’s Columbia field office.

Rickenbacker’s primary duties will be to conduct visits throughout the district with constituents on their concerns related to senior issues such as Social Security or veteran disability benefits. A salary has not been settled upon yet.

Rickenbacker in June 2006 was indicted following a six-month sting operation in which he accepted about $50,000 from an undercover FBI agent posing as a consultant for a company interested in buying the Regional Medical Center.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year and one day in prison on April 2, 2007.

As part of his sentence, he also received three years of probation or supervised release, the payment of a $200 assessment fee, a $5,000 fine and completion of five days or 100 hours of community service.

Rickenbacker made full restitution of the $50,000 prior to sentencing and has since paid the fee, fine and completed his required community service.

Nance, who is responsible for hiring Clyburn’s local staff, said he approached the congressman about Rickenbacker in light of the community outreach void left by the death of longtime Clyburn district aide Isaac “Ike” Williams earlier this year.

The congressman gave the thumbs-up to the hire.

Nance said one of the last conversations he had with Williams was about finding Rickenbacker employment upon his release from prison.

“I knew John was getting out soon, I knew John’s personality, I knew John’s character,” Nance said. “What Ike was doing on a district-wide basis, John has been doing here in Orangeburg for years, if not for decades. We thought it was a natural fit and a natural progression.”

Nance said Rickenbacker will serve as a liaison for the congressman.

“It can run the gamut,” Nance said, noting the issues and concerns constituents have. “He will work on trying to cut the red tape on the state, local and federal levels to assist people. We think it will be a good fit. We are looking forward to it. I am just happy we can help him reconnect with society.”

“Everybody can make a mistake,” Nance said. “Rickenbacker has a proven track record of providing community service. You are talking about a guy who received the Order of the Palmetto from the governor” – the highest state civilian award.

Rickenbacker finished out his prison term in the Alston Wilkes Society residential re-entry center in Columbia.

Prior to that, he served the majority of his sentence in the Federal Correctional Institution in Bennettsville, a minimum-security facility.

Clyburn said his decision to make Rickenbacker a member of his staff came after many requests and an outpouring of support from constituents in the Orangeburg area wanting the former chairman to be hired.

Rumors in the Orangeburg area were already circulating in late March and early April prior to Rickenbacker’s official release that Clyburn had in fact hired the former council chairman.

As things would have it, on April 9 President George Bush signed into law the Federal Second Chance Act. The act, which is a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Clyburn, authorizes a grant program for the re-entry of offenders into the community by providing job-placement services to help facilitate the transition into the community.

“I asked myself, ‘Are you practicing what you preach here?’” Clyburn said, explaining how it would have been a case of hypocrisy not to follow through on his intent. “So I took a look at whether Rickenbacker could be a benefit in some way in my district.”

Clyburn said that he has known Rickenbacker since he was a young man out of college and has always thought “highly” of him. For someone who has given so many years to his local community, the decision was an easy one to make.

“He has had a tremendous relationship with people in the community, the people respect him, they love him and they want to see him get a second chance,” Clyburn said.

While he has not personally spoken to Rickenbacker since his release, Clyburn said he has no concerns or qualms about his decision.

Nance, who also has known Rickenbacker for many years, says he has had a chance to talk and meet with him since his release.

“He is the same Rickenbacker I have known for years,” he said. “His personality has not changed a bit.” 

Recommendation letters Clyburn’s decision was made even easier by letters of support and letters of acknowledgement about Rickenbacker that he received over the last month from sentencing U.S. District Judge Margaret B. Seymour, U.S. Probation Officer Michael Clyburn and attorney I.S. Leevy Johnson.

Seymour, in a letter dated May 8, 2008, though falling short of advising Clyburn to hire Rickenbacker, said she has “not received any information to indicate that he (Rickenbacker) is not in compliance at this time.”

Seymour acknowledged the outpouring of support received from the community during his court case.

In a letter dated May 12, Michael Clyburn said he had “no objection” to Rickenbacker’s employment with Clyburn, noting that he has complied with “all conditions of his supervision” and that in his new position he would be “required to provide monthly verification of employment by submitting a copy of his check stubs for the duration of his term of supervision.”

Michael Clyburn said Rickenbacker satisfied his community service condition by performing maintenance work for a one-week period for the city of Orangeburg in preparation for the annual Festival of Roses held earlier this month.

“To date, Mr. Rickenbacker’s adjustment to supervision has been very positive, and based on my communication with him, he seems very remorseful for committing the offenses for which he is under supervision,” Michael Clyburn said in the letter dated May 12.

Rickenbacker’s attorney Johnson provided an endorsement of his client in a letter sent to Clyburn May 13.

Johnson noted in his 40 years as a lawyer and representation of a number of elected officials charged with criminal conduct, he has never seen such an outpouring of support.

“The public rallied behind him,” Johnson wrote, noting that people provided not just moral support but also financially by raising funds for his son in college. “What you are doing by affording him an opportunity to work as a field representative is ideal for him and the people in your district. He loves people and enjoys serving them. I can think of no one better to fill the job slot.” 

Reaction

Orangeburg County Council Vice Chairwoman Janie Cooper, was noticeably excited when she heard the news, using words like “Yippee” and “overwhelmed” and “joy.”

“Oh, that is great! You are not teasing, are you?” Cooper asked. After being convinced the truth of the matter, she said, “He has paid those dues and is ready to get back to work, which is great. The congressman sees potential in that young man and his being in prison has not changed that.”

Cooper said there is no one more deserving of a second chance than Rickenbacker.

“Giving him a second chance is giving Orangeburg County and the state of South Carolina a better chance,” she said.

Rep. Jerry Govan said the decision to hire Rickenbacker is a win-win situation.

“In terms of having someone of John’s caliber on board, I can think of no one that knows people and has the rapport and relationship throughout the 6th Congressional District like John,” he said. “He will be a tremendous asset in that capacity.”

Govan said he thinks the community will continue to be supportive of Rickenbacker in his new position because he was a man who did a lot for the Orangeburg area.

“A lot of the progress we experienced here in Orangeburg County in terms of economic development is attributed to John Rickenbacker,” Govan said. “I don’t think people have forgotten that. I think most people in the area are people of faith who believe in forgiveness and tolerance. It should not matter what happened in the past and we should look to the future.” 

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached at gzaleski@times anddemocrat.com and 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories at www.TheTandD.com.

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