Local church was the first victim

Staff Writer

EASLEY- An Easley man sentenced to eight years last week for stealing over $300,000 from an Easley company, an action that lead to that company's bankruptcy,

Robert Brent Bryson, 517 Dacusville Highway, pleaded guilty March 11 in a Greenville County courtroom on four counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent greater than $5,000.

Bryson was arrested April 20, 2007.

According to SLED arrest warrants, Bryson, who was employed as the controller of RJM Waste Equipment, 120 Allen Street, willfully and unlawfully took money from company accounts and placed that money in personally controlled accounts.

Bryson was "entrusted by the company to handle and disburse funds," the warrants said.

He "deceitfully removed funds from company accounts" between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2007, the four warrants said.

Sylvia Harrison, an assistant solicitor with the state's Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in Greenville, said that although Bryson could have been charged with each individual incident, law enforcement usually makes charges on the totality of the crime.

"He could have been charged with each and every crime," she said. "But, typically, law enforcement will combine incidents of this nature," she said.

On the four charges, Bryson could have received up to 40 years, Harrison said.

Ronald McCracken, part owner of RJM Waste Equipment, said that he was expecting the court to sentence Bryson to five years imprisonment, and was surprised when Judge Larry Patterson handed down an eight-year sentence.

"The prosecutor had offered the five-year sentence if Brent pleaded guilty, and the defense accepted," McCracken said. "But the judge said that he was elected to make the sentence, it was his job to impose it, and he didn't think five years was enough.

"That sentence came as a bit of a surprise to everyone in the courtroom," he said. "It brought a little closure, and that's important."

McCracken said that Bryson's concealing of the company's missing funds was as tragic as the crime itself.

"The embezzlement was bad, but the cover-up was worse," he said. "Brent was our go-to guy for financial information. But when we realized the company was losing money, we would go to Brent and ask how that was happening, and he was in the position of hiding what he was doing.

"And he was a trusted employee," he said.

McCracken said that the embezzlement of over $300,000 led to a loss of confidence in the company by one of the senior investors, who then demanded full payment.

"There was over $200,000 in assets seized for payment at one time," he said. "And then that $300,000 increased to over $1 million,"

The company was forced first into filing for Chapter 11 in bankruptcy court, hoping to save RJM Waste Equipment, but later had to increase the initial filing to Chapter 7, McCracken said.

"We just couldn't recover," he said. "Our last payroll went out in November, and 120 people lost their jobs, and their insurance.

"A lot of our employees had to go on the state insurance," he said.

McCracken said he is saddened by the loss of jobs Bryson's crimes eventually caused.

One employee, in particular, was suffering from Macular Degeneration Disease, a progressive eye disease that will eventually lead to blindness, he said.

"He was a good employee, and what he did for us, he could do well," he said. "Now, because of this disease, he is unemployable anywhere else, and had to sign up for disability while he really wanted to work."

McCracken said that he is also saddened over his former employee and friend's misuse of the trust placed in him and his recent prison sentence.

"There is no joy in seeing Brent having to go to jail," he said. "I know his wife and his children, and I know they will have a struggle.

"I feel sorry for Brent, and I forgive him," he said.

McCracken said that even though he is now faced with liquidating all his company's assets to pay their secured vendors, he is hoping that eventually the company can be re-established.

"I hope that one day we can come back," he said. "I am financially wrecked by this, and will need a partner, but I hope we can come back."

Rita-Sue Seaborn can be reached at 878-2453 or rseaborn@theeasleyprogress.com.