Mystery behind Beaufort County’s $35K blanket purchase deepens with surprising discovery

The trail following the most infamous blankets in Beaufort County history is again heating up with a new revelation in its seventh month that part, or maybe all, of the $35,644 order is sitting on the floor of a county warehouse storeroom in the boxes and bags used to deliver it.

The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette obtained a set of six photographs showing the weighted blankets and blanket covers stacked neatly on commercial flooring. As of Tuesday at 2 p.m., the newspapers independently verified the order was still in the county’s possession in the Harris Pillow warehouse off of U.S. 21 in Beaufort.

The set of images were provided to the newspapers on condition of anonymity. The request was granted because the paper visually verified the blankets’ location, and the photographer’s identity was not material to the story.

Where did this start?

The blankets were ordered this spring by former County Administrator Eric Greenway over the objections of his hand-picked opioid-consultant-turned-county-employee, former Wellness Director Lisa Lynch. It is unclear if the county’s rules governing procurement were followed in this purchase.

In June, Greenway told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette that the blankets could be useful, saying, “A variety of reasons existed for considering the purchase of the blankets. After receiving input, we felt the blankets could be useful tools in the addiction and mental illness initiatives the county had planned.”

In a later interview with the newspapers, Lynch said they were too expensive and not needed.

Greenway and Lynch have since been fired. On July 3, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office announced that Greenway was under investigation for alleged misconduct by a joint task force of the 14th and 1st Solicitor’s Offices.

Where did the blankets come from?

The blankets were sold to the county by R&R Home, a company owned by the husband of former Deputy County Administrator Whitney Richland. Owner Andrew Richland did not respond to phone and inquiries left Tuesday evening to verify the status of the $35,000 invoice that, if unpaid as of Tuesday, would be 129 days past due. Terms of any past due penalties or fees are not detailed on the April 21 invoice. Richland left her county job in August and little additional information about her departure is known.

In April, Greenway confirmed there were conversations about a potential blanket purchase. However, he denied that the county actually acquired the blankets, saying, “The purchase was stopped.”

With the location of the blankets in county possession, questions about custody and ownership fall to Interim Administrator John Robinson.

During an unscheduled visit Tuesday afternoon to Robinson’s county office seeking comment on this new information, a reporter was invited into what became a closed-door conversation that included Robinson and county attorney Brittany Ward.

At the outset of the meeting, Ward demanded that nothing be recorded and all conversations were off the record. The reporter did not agree to those terms nor to Ward’s additional request that all questions be submitted via email. The meeting ended without any exchange of information.

As of Tuesday evening, anyone with knowledge of what is going on with the blankets has chosen to not respond to the newspaper’s questions. This includes County Chairman Joe Passiment, Robinson, Ward, and Andrew Richland.

The newspapers did not reach out to Greenway or Lynch as their comments on the blankets have already been reported.

Questions remain about who owns the blankets, whether the county or the vendor is out $35,000 for the submitted invoice and who at the county is responsible for solving this mystery.

Additional details will be reported as information becomes available.

This story was originally published September 27, 2023 at 9:24 AM.