South Carolina mayor settles insider trading charges -- he still has a job?

In a press release, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had filed insider trading charges against Beaufort, South Carolina mayor William J. Rauch. The SEC alleges that he "purchased stock in Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (OTC: ACTC), immediately after one of its executives informed him about a breakthrough embryonic stem cell technique that the company was about to disclose publicly. According to the SEC's complaint, Rauch was told the information was confidential, and he had previously signed an agreement with the company that barred him from using confidential company information for his own benefit."

He agreed to pay $20,708 in disgorgement, $2,576 in prejudgment interest, $20,708 in penalties, and promised not to do it again -- without admitting or denying guilt, of course.

But it gets worse. According to the SEC's complaint (PDF File):

In mid-2005, Rauch entered into a written Finder's Fee Agreement ("Agreement") with Advanced Cell. Under the Agreement, Rauch agreed to refer potential investors to Advanced Cell. In exchange for Rauch's services, Advanced Cell granted Rauch an option to buy 48,000 shares of Advanced Cell stock and promised him a referral fee equal to a percentage of any amounts raised.

Translation: The mayor of Beaufort, South Carolina, in addition to the fact that he just settled insider trading charges, was also a shill for a penny stock, telling people he knew to invest in the company while pocketing a "referral fee" from the company. Given that he apparently had few qualms about trading on insider information, it seems likely that he had no problem steering people into shares of Advanced Cell Technology without disclosing his massive conflict of interest.

The announcement of the embryonic stem cell technique sent shares of the stock up to $1.83. They closed yesterday at 2.5 cents. I recognize that the standards of ethics for elected officials are pretty low, but citizens of Beaufort should give this clown the boot.