Team Giuliani

The state treasurer of South Carolina, a Republican, has a side gig.

South Carolina Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, a former real estate developer who became a rising political star after his election last year, was indicted Tuesday on federal cocaine charges.

The millionaire is accused of buying less than 500 grams of the drug to share with other people in late 2005, U.S. Attorney Reggie Lloyd said. Ravenel, 44, is charged with distribution of cocaine, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

(OK, maybe he doesn't make a LIVING selling coke, but that's the charge, so I'm running with it.)

And remember, the Bush Administration wants those mandatory minimum sentencing laws, so he'll be serving time.

The very last line of the story is this oh-by-the-way nugget:

Thomas Ravenel is also the state chairman for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.

So Giuliani has one former business partner who's about to be indicted for wiretap fraud and tax evasion, and now a state chair who's a coke dealer. Good judgment. Are Jimmy Conway and Paul Cicero and Tommy DeVito senior staffers as well?