In this heavily caffeinated edition of the FITSNews Week In Review we dove right into recent bombshell Murdaugh crime and corruption saga developments.

For months informed speculators – ourselves included – have posited it is highly unlikely a few ‘lone wolves’ could have successfully executed the complex financial crimes Alex Murdaugh, Cory Fleming, and Russell Laffitte stand accused of committing.

Are we to believe that a rouge banker hid hundreds of thousands of dollars of fraud over an extended period of time from the other members of the Palmetto State Bank board of directors?

Are we to believe that a rouge lawyer hid similarly serious crimes from his law partners?

Until this week the answer to these questions were yes, but according to sources close to the federal prosecution of Russell Laffitte, audio referenced at secretive hearing held Thursday addressed a $680,000 payout to Alex Murdaugh’s former law firm.

The alleged details of the recording call the 'lone wolf' narrative into question, and could usher in an expansion of the prosecution of alleged co-conspirators. 

The Murdaugh saga has exposed the world to a side of the South Carolina justice - or injustice - system that many hadn't seen before. 

Are the alleged crimes, crimes which should have been detected and prosecuted years ago, indicative of systemic rot in the Palmetto State? Are they evidence of a dynasty built on decades of uncontested power in the state's southeastern corner? Or are they merely evidence of a few bad apples? 

These questions remain unanswered, and have led to many debates between those who argue that the state's Judicial system is fundamentally flawed and those who believe it is fundamentally benevolent

The alleged details of the recording call the ‘lone wolf’ narrative into question, and could usher in an expansion of the prosecution of alleged co-conspirators.

The Murdaugh saga has exposed the world to a side of the South Carolina justice – or injustice – system that many hadn’t seen before.

Are the alleged crimes, crimes which should have been detected and prosecuted years ago, indicative of systemic rot in the Palmetto State? Are they evidence of a dynasty built on decades of uncontested power in the state’s southeastern corner? Or are they merely evidence of a few bad apples?

These questions remain unanswered, and have led to many debates between those who argue that the state’s Judicial system is fundamentally flawed and those who believe it is fundamentally benevolent.

FITSNews founding editor Will Folks had a spirited discussion with Strom Law attorney Alexandra Beneventoin which the two debated the efficacy of the state's judicial system.