WHEREAS, a federal grand jury indicted Vander Moore Gore, Jr. on June 20, 2001 for allegedly conspiring to distribute and posses with the intent to distribute controlled substances in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 846; and

WHEREAS, conspiring to distribute and posses with the intent to distribute controlled substances is a crime of moral turpitude; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Gore is a Town Councilman of Atlantic Beach, South Carolina, and, consequently, is an officer of the State or its political subdivisions; and

WHEREAS, Article VI, Section 8, of the South Carolina Constitution provides that "[a]ny officer of the State or its political subdivisions . . . who has been indicted by a grand jury for a crime involving moral turpitude or who has waived such indictment if permitted by law may be suspended by the Governor until he shall have been acquitted."

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the State of South Carolina, I hereby suspend Vander Moore Gore, Jr. as Town Councilman of Atlantic Beach.