Plaudits to Wilson in Frye case

By Brian Hicks

The Post and Courier

Friday, January 30, 2009

When police nabbed serial felon Jeffrey Frye at a North Charleston Econo Lodge on Monday — after he allegedly stuck up a first Citizens Bank in Summerville — it was just the latest chapter in the saga of a career criminal who has played the system like a fiddle.

This guy has 51 convictions over two decades yet has served less than seven years in jail. He is, by police accounts, a master manipulator, a guy who blubbers like a baby after he's caught stealing the purse of a woman keeping a bedside vigil at a local hospital for her dying son.

A guy who robs banks on Christmas Eve, then uses his training as a paralegal to worm his way out of harsh sentences. A man who hides behind substance abuse, claims he's a victim.

Now that's class — and exactly what's wrong with the system.

But now Frye may be going away for a long time. The feds have swooped in to prosecute the guy, who has inconveniently knocked over banks and kited checks in various state judicial circuits since leg warmers were in style.

If he becomes a long-term guest of the government, you should probably thank 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson.

Even though she likely will not be prosecuting Frye, it is Wilson's savvy decision and apolitical thinking that has helped put an end to Frye's long tradition of treating banks like his personal ATM.

Plenty to do

When state and federal prosecutors meet, sparks don't always fly.

Some solicitors get frustrated, like someone has tried to pull rank on them. Others fear it will look like they are shirking their duties, and fight to keep cases. The political ones get paranoid, fear that the feds have come in to steal an easy win, a slam dunk — the kind of case that generates positive headlines.

As a former federal prosecutor, Wilson has none of these problems. She simply has a unique perspective of the judicial system's big picture. She isn't threatened either.

If the feds want Frye, she sees it as a good way to ensure a career criminal goes to jail for a really long time while saving state taxpayers some money.

In case you haven't noticed, South Carolina has a tight budget.

"We've got plenty of cases to prosecute," Wilson said Thursday. "Any time I can lighten our load ... I'm not going to fight over it. If there was a situation where we were worried he wouldn't get a significant sentence, we might keep it."

But that's not the case here.

No nonsense

David Schwacke, the former 9th Circuit Solicitor, says Wilson chose wisely on the Frye case. With overlapping jurisdictions, there is a greater chance of something going wrong, some plea deal messing up the big picture. Plus, the feds can make Frye go away for a longer time.

"The way the sentencing guidelines are set up, it's best to go federal," he said. "It allows for a better consolidation for all the cases."

Wilson knows all of this, and her no-nonsense decision this week is a good sign that her experience is coming in quite handy. Already, folks around the courthouse are talking about her efforts to make sure all the courts and cops work together. That's smart.

Also, she isn't fretting over the lost opportunity for an easy mark in the win column or good publicity. Frankly, Scarlett doesn't give a damn. She just wants to put bad guys in jail.

That's exactly how a solicitor should think.

Reach Brian Hicks at 937-5561 or bhicks@postandcourier.com.

To read previous columns, go to Charleston.net/hicks.