The absence of a federal criminal charge against Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin is being cited in court papers as a reason for a judge to go easy when re-sentencing a former S.C. State University board chairman, convicted of racketeering and taking kickbacks.

Jonathan Pinson, a high-flying and once-respected Greenville businessman, is scheduled to be resentenced Thursday in Charleston by U.S. District Judge David Norton, who presided over Pinson’s 2014 trial.

After Pinson was found guilty then, Norton sentenced him to five years in federal prison. However, Pinson appealed and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals told Norton to issue a new sentence.

At Pinson’s trial, federal prosecutors implied – but never said directly – that Benjamin was involved in one of Pinson’s schemes, at the Village at Rivers Edge public housing project in north Columbia. Evidence showed Pinson and others – but not Benjamin – diverted federal money intended for that project to their own use.

Pinson and Benjamin received bank loans to develop the Village at Rivers Edge project but used some of that money to “line their own pockets,” assistant U.S. Attorney DeWayne Pearson told the jury in 2014. However, Pearson stopped short of accusing Benjamin of criminal activity.

In a recent court filing urging leniency for Pinson, Pinson’s attorney Jim Griffin said a federal pre-sentencing report for Pinson wrongly characterizes Benjamin as being involved in the scheme involving the housing project.

But, wrote Griffin, “There is no evidence to support a finding ... that Steve Benjamin or Tony Lawton were participants in criminal conduct involving the Village at Rivers Edge.” (Lawton is a former Columbia community development director.)

In a telephone interview, Benjamin said Monday he was pleased by Griffin’s description of his role in the Rivers Edge project.

“I’ve always maintained that I’ve done nothing wrong. Time and the facts have borne that truth out,” said Benjamin. “All I can do is to keep prayed up and keep working for the people.”

The issue of how many people were involved in the Rivers Edge scheme is important because it can directly affect Pinson’s sentence. Under federal criminal law, the government can ask for more prison time for Pinson if it can prove that he and at least four other people were involved in a criminal scheme.

However, since no charges ever were brought against Benjamin or Lawton, only four defendants — Pinson and three others — were found guilty of crimes at Rivers Edge, Griffin’s filing said.

Griffin wrote the only evidence the jury heard about Benjamin was “a salacious story about an all-expense-paid trip” to Orlando.

On that trip, Benjamin, Pinson and two S.C. State University officials were flown to Orlando by developer Richard Zahn. Zahn wined and dined them, and took them to a strip club, according to evidence at trial.

In his filing, Griffin wrote Pinson should get leniency for a variety of reasons.

“Jonathan has already received significant punishment for his criminal conduct,” Griffin wrote. “Jonathan has been essentially unemployable for the last five years. He is no longer accepted in the business community. ... His family business that he had successfully developed has all but folded,” Griffin wrote.

“He (also) has been shunned in social circles that once welcomed him.”

Moreover, wrote Griffin, none of those found guilty of participating in or covering up Pinson’s schemes received a prison sentence.

Pinson and Benjamin bought the land for Village at River’s Edge in 2006 for $2 million. But days before he announced he would run for mayor of Columbia in 2009, Benjamin sold his interest in the project to Pinson. Benjamin has denied knowing of any illegal activity at the Rivers Edge project. Pinson and Benjamin also shared ownerships in several Columbia restaurants and the Columbia Hilton Hotel.

The government spent three years investigating and bringing its case against Pinson and a half dozen co-defendants. Originally, federal prosecutors targeted Benjamin, but they shifted their focus to Pinson. The 2014 trial involved four schemes orchestrated by Pinson, including one involving the Village at Rivers Edge. The others involved Marion County and S.C. State University.

The trial cast a bright light on how S.C. politicians can use their public offices to hustle favors and money from people seeking special treatment or to do business with a public agency.