Former South Congaree Police Chief Pleads Guilty

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Columbia , S.C. (WOLO) — A former midlands Police Chief accused of extortion and fraud was in Federal Court Thursday. South Congaree Police Chief, Jason Amodio, was indicted in July of last year. Federal investigators said he accepted payments in return for seized gambling machines. Early Thursday morning, Amodio walked into the Federal Courthouse alongside his attorney, prepared to enter a plea agreement. Inside the courthouse, the 46-year old plead guilty to one count of knowingly making false statements to a grand jury. Prosecutors said during a trial investigating corruption in Lexington County, Amodio lied about the use for a large sum of money. Under the plea agreement, the sentencing calls for 4 years of probation and 8 months on house arrest wearing an ankle bracelet. The judge will officially rule on the sentencing in about 2 months. Meanwhile, in South Congaree, Police Chief Josh Shumpert said the community is focusing on going forward. “As a town and as a Police Chief here in town, it’s great to be able to move forward,” said Chief Shumpert. “For me personally, we moved forward from day 1. The old chief is gone, I’ve been in the position here for the past 2 years as Police Chief and we work on building the Police Department back up from that point and building public trust.” After the hearing, Amodio and prosecutors both declined comment.