Claims to fame: Former South Carolina Assistant Attorney General; former South Carolina Republican state representative (1987-94); “pro-life” (i.e., anti-choice) crusader; husband; suspected hooker’s john; suspected sex-toy perv; suspected Viagra-popper
Moral apex: Busted October 26, 2009, leaving a Columbia cemetery “on suspicion of illegal activity.” Pulled over with 66-year-old Corning in his car was an 18-year-old employee of the Platinum Plus Gentlemen’s Club.
Is that a strip joint? Oh, please! How gauche! The Platinum Plus Gentlemen’s Club is the “Ultimate Adult Entertainment Experience!” Its Web site (www.theplatinumplus.com) notes: “We are confident that we will have the right girl for you. Whether she is on stage, in our couch room or in our intimate and private VIP champagne lounge, the lovely ladies of Platinum Plus are here to make your night of decadance fun and inviting. So come out to Platinum Plus and let our beautiful and alluring entertainers show you a night of seduction and excitement. We guarantee you a [sic] exciting experience.”
So, it’s a strip joint then. Yep.
As for the “couch room” and the “intimate and private VIP champagne lounge,” we’re visualizing the lap-dance scene in Showgirls between Elizabeth Berkley and Kyle MacLachlan, as Gina Gershon (“I don’t know how good you are, darlin’, and I don’t know what it is you’re good at, but if it’s at the Cheetah, it’s not dancing, I know that much”) looks on.
Back to the bust: “Earlier,” reports The State, Officer Michael D. Wines “had witnessed the Ford Explorer that Corning was driving pull into a secluded portion of Elmwood Cemetery [about which] Wines had ‘received past complaints in ref. to illegal activity, i.e. sex acts and drug abuse..’.
“Once the occupants of the Explorer saw Wines’ patrol car, the driver ‘attempted to make a hasty retreat, spinning the tires in the driveway and accelerating rapidly.’”
Wines had to chase down the SUV. When he finally stopped Corning, the flustered Repub and the hook— his ladyfriend gave “conflicting statements” about the nature of their relationship, and the reason they were prowling around the area.
After Wines asked if there was anything illegal in the car, Corning said so, and allowed the cop to search the vehicle — where he found Viagra — for which Corning said he had a prescription — and some sex toys — which Corning said he always kept in the car “just in case.”
(Funny stuff: If you watch the raw police dash-cam video of the incident, keep your eye on the cop leaning in to the driver’s side of the vehicle during the search; at one point, he straightens up and his face breaks into a wide grin.)
Wines let both Corning and the whor— teenager go free, as neither had been witnessed committing any crime.
Fallout…so far: Corning “resigned” (read: was fired) from office.
Fun fact: In May of 2009, Corning’s boss, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, went on a rampage against Craigslist over sex ads:
As of 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, the craigslist South Carolina site continues to display advertisements for prostitution and graphic pornographic material. This content was not removed as we requested. We have no alternative but to move forward with criminal investigation and potential prosecution.
Greg Sandoval sums up the outcome: “Craigslist filed a lawsuit against McMaster’s office and a judge slapped it with a restraining order that prevented the attorney general from filing the charges. McMaster’s office never made good on the criminal charges.”
Suggested Bible reading for Mr. Corning:
Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them— Ezekiel 16:17
Suggested Joke of the Day for everyone else:
So, this 18-year-old “escort” was doing it all night long in a cemetery, on top of a big, cement slab. The next day, her back is killing her, so she goes to the doctor, who examines her and says: “Well, I can’t find anything wrong with your back, but it says here your ass died in 1897.”
