The long and sad saga of once prominent S.C. banker Russell Laffitte, whose fate intertwined with convicted killer Alex Murdaugh, closed a chapter Thursday.
Standing before a state judge at the Richland County courthouse, Laffitte, 54, pleaded guilty to eight of 21 banking fraud-related state charges against him as part of a negotiated plea agreement with the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
The crimes to which Laffitte — a tall man in a blue blazer who looked like he should be at a country club — pleaded guilty Thursday to charges including plundering bank accounts at his own bank, committing multiple counts of computer crimes, breach of trust and criminal conspiracy. In the process, Laffitte assisted infamous ex-lawyer and convicted murderer Murdaugh to steal from his own clients while using Laffitte’s bank as a place to launder stolen money…