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Ravenel enters drug treatment facility in Arizona
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
In the wake of his indictment on federal drug trafficking charges, Thomas Ravenel has entered a drug treatment facility in Tucson, Ariz.
Ravenel, the multimillionaire founder of the Charleston-based Ravenel Development Co. was just six months into his first term as state treasurer when he was charged on June 19 with possession of less than 500 grams of cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Gov. Mark Sanford immediately suspended Ravenel from his position and replaced him, at least temporarily, with Columbia attorney Ken Wingate.
In a letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph R. McCrorey and U.S. Attorneys Reginald Lloyd and William Witherspoon, E. Bart Daniel, who is representing Ravenel, said the son of one of South Carolina’s most prominent families had entered the Sierra Tucson Center in Tucson, Ariz., for treatment.
He had been referred to the facility by Dr. William F. Maguire Jr. of Lowcountry Medical Associates in Charleston on June 25.
Earlier that day Arthur Ravenel Jr., the former Congressman, state representative and state senator, had told the Associated Press that his son had a drug problem.
Located in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, the Sierra Tucson Center uses the 12-Step philosophy of Alcoholic’s Anonymous as the basis of its treatment for chemical dependency. The facility also incorporates psychiatric, medical and emerging alternative therapies in its treatment.
Patients undergo an individualized treatment program, which may include disease and recovery education, relapse prevention, equine-assisted therapy, adventure therapy, and grief and spirituality sessions.
While the total cost of treatment at Sierra Tucson is based on the patient’s individualized needs and treatment plan, the typical cost for addiction treatment is $1,285 per day.
Daniel informed the court that as a result of his ongoing treatment, Ravenel will not be at his arraignment on July 9 in Columbia. Instead, Daniel and fellow defense attorney Gedney M. Howe III will appear to represent him.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. After his incarceration, Ravenel would also be subject to three years of supervised released and a special assessment of $100.
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