General Discussion

Are_grits_groceries

(17,111 posts) Tue Feb 28, 2012, 02:32 PM Feb 2012

Well our SC missing person was found dead. Homicide? (NOW REPORTED AS A SUICIDE....3pm)

Tom Sponseller Found Dead

S.C. Hospital Association CEO Tom Sponseller is dead, Columbia, S.C. police are confirming. Sponseller’s body was discovered Tuesday morning in a parking garage on Lady Street near his workplace – near where he was last seen ten days ago.

He was 61 years old, and is survived by his wife, three grown children and several grandchildren.
How did cops miss his body? Especially after conducting a thorough search of the premises that included dogs specially trained to locate cadavers? Once again, the case of the missing – now deceased lobbyist – continues to raise more questions than answers.

The saga surrounding Sponseller’s disappearance – and the hundreds of thousands of dollars that have also vanished from his organization – remains as murky as ever this week, even after the discovery of his body.

Last Thursday, FITS broke the news that “as much as $900,000 of association money” was missing – possibly embezzled – and that a woman who worked at the organization was somehow involved in the mystery.
<snip>
http://www.fitsnews.com/2012/02/28/tom-sponseller-found-dead/

Sad......
Wonder how he died?

10 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Well our SC missing person was found dead. Homicide? (NOW REPORTED AS A SUICIDE....3pm) (Original Post) Are_grits_groceries Feb 2012 OP

Why is this a secret service investigation? aquart Feb 2012 #1

I was going to say, no mention of computer crimes, forgery, counterfitting or 'killin' talk' Taverner Feb 2012 #2

I heard that it was because their was 'money ' involved. Are_grits_groceries Feb 2012 #5

The Secret Service does investigate some major fraud cases pinboy3niner Feb 2012 #6

Well, if they are looking for strange doings, Are_grits_groceries Feb 2012 #9

cherchez la femme FarCenter Feb 2012 #10

I am sorry for his family's loss. NOW how the FREAK do they miss a body? What is going on? Justice wanted Feb 2012 #3

You beat me to the post. Something hinky about this, all right. Why didn't the cadaver-sniffing raccoon Feb 2012 #4

Gunshot to head......... Historic NY Feb 2012 #7

This may not have been Sponseller's first try: Are_grits_groceries Feb 2012 #8

aquart

(69,014 posts)

1. Why is this a secret service investigation?

Reply to Are_grits_groceries (Original post)

Tue Feb 28, 2012, 02:39 PM

Feb 2012

Taverner

(55,476 posts)

2. I was going to say, no mention of computer crimes, forgery, counterfitting or 'killin' talk'

Reply to aquart (Reply #1)

Tue Feb 28, 2012, 02:42 PM

Feb 2012

Are_grits_groceries

(17,111 posts)

5. I heard that it was because their was 'money ' involved.

Reply to aquart (Reply #1)

Tue Feb 28, 2012, 03:48 PM

Feb 2012

I don't believe that's the reason. I don't know why embezzlement requires their services.

As for the cadaver dogs missing the body? Who knows? Just another day in SC.

pinboy3niner

(53,339 posts)

6. The Secret Service does investigate some major fraud cases

Reply to Are_grits_groceries (Reply #5)

Tue Feb 28, 2012, 03:56 PM

Feb 2012

That may be the reason, or there may have been computer crime involved. If it's because of the fraud, they probably have some defined selection criteria for which cases they take.

Are_grits_groceries

(17,111 posts)

9. Well, if they are looking for strange doings,

Reply to pinboy3niner (Reply #6)

Tue Feb 28, 2012, 05:19 PM

Feb 2012

they have come to the right state. If it's SC, it's going to be weird.

FarCenter

(19,429 posts)

10. cherchez la femme

Reply to Are_grits_groceries (Reply #9)

Tue Feb 28, 2012, 06:21 PM

Feb 2012

Last Thursday, FITS broke the news that “as much as $900,000? was missing – possibly embezzled – from the S.C. Hospitality Association, and that a woman who until recently worked at the organization was somehow involved in the mystery. Shortly thereafter, the mainstream media started chasing the money trail.

Where will that trail eventually lead?

Well we know that the woman in question – 41-year-old Rachel Duncan – has been named as the target of a Secret Service investigation into the missing funds. No word yet on whether she is connected to Sponseller’s death.

Justice wanted

(2,657 posts)

3. I am sorry for his family's loss. NOW how the FREAK do they miss a body? What is going on?

Reply to Are_grits_groceries (Original post)

Tue Feb 28, 2012, 02:51 PM

Feb 2012

raccoon

(31,135 posts)

4. You beat me to the post. Something hinky about this, all right. Why didn't the cadaver-sniffing

Reply to Are_grits_groceries (Original post)

Tue Feb 28, 2012, 03:42 PM

Feb 2012

dogs find the body earlier--IF it was there?

Historic NY

(37,462 posts)

7. Gunshot to head.........

Reply to Are_grits_groceries (Original post)

Tue Feb 28, 2012, 04:55 PM

Feb 2012

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said it appears that Tom Sponseller killed himself with a gunshot wound to his head.

Sponseller's body was found Tuesday behind two locked doors in a parking garage below his office hours after co-workers found the note, authorities said.

Sponseller had been missing for 10 days, and the garage was searched three times before the body was found. But Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott said his officers didn't have access to the closet where the body was discovered until around 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Scott said the note was not in plain view in Sponseller's office. Sponseller's co-workers called investigators once they found it, leading to Tuesday's search.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/02/28/2087691/police-missing-sc-hospitality.html#storylink=cpy

Are_grits_groceries

(17,111 posts)

8. This may not have been Sponseller's first try:

Reply to Historic NY (Reply #7)

Tue Feb 28, 2012, 05:15 PM

Feb 2012

<snip>
If Sponseller indeed took his own life, it may not have been his first attempt.

As we reported last week, shortly after the lobbyist went missing police “reopened an investigation into a single-car accident involving Sponseller that occurred last year.”

Multiple law enforcement sources have confirmed to FITS that this accident is now being viewed as a suicide attempt.
http://www.fitsnews.com/2012/02/28/tom-sponseller-found-dead/

Damn!
He needed help long before now. Was he just depressed or was he caught in some hot mess?

Reply to this discussion