How much of the $50,000 they extorted prior to Union County’s purchase of the American Federal Building did Donnie Betenbaugh get and how much did Willie Randall Jr. get?

That’s one of the questions federal authorities will be seeking to answer as they continue their investigation into corruption in Union County.

The question emerged in U.S. District Court in Spartanburg on Tuesday morning when Betenbaugh pleaded guilty to one count of extortion. Betenbaugh, the former supervisor for Union County, entered his plea as part of an agreement negotiated with the government by this attorneys.

Under the terms of the agreement, Betenbaugh must cooperate fully with authorities in their ongoing investigation including taking and passing any and all polygraph tests the government requires him to take. In exchange for his cooperation, the government is recommending Betenbaugh be sentenced to five months in federal prison followed by five months in a halfway house, then three years supervised released. He will also be required to make restitution and pay fines in an amount determined by the court and pay a special assessment fee of $100.

Betenbaugh was indicted in October on 40 charges involving corruption and drug activity. If he fully cooperates with the government the other 39 charges will be dropped when he is sentenced on the extortion charge.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Moore said if Betenbaugh does not fully cooperate with investigators, including passing the polygraph tests, he will not be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea. Instead, the government will ask the court to impose a harsher sentence on the extortion charge and will prosecute him on the other 39 charges.

The maximum sentence Betenbaugh could receive on the extortion charge is 20 years and a $250,000 fine. If convicted on all 40 charges he could be sentenced to more than six centuries in prison.

In presenting the government’s case Tuesday, Moore said in March 2005, Betenbaugh and Randall colluded in the extortion of a $50,000 bribe from the owner of the American Federal Building who was seeking to sell the building to the county. Moore said the extortion effort began when Randall went to the owner and asked him how much it was worth to him to make the sale happen. He said the owner initially offered Betenbaugh and Randall $25,000 but they demanded and got $50,000 and Betenbaugh proceeded to push the sale through.

While they’ve both admitted their participation in the extortion scheme, Moore said Betenbaugh and Randall have given investigators conflicting accounts as to how the money was split. Both will be asked about this during their polygraph sessions.

Betenbaugh and Randall were originally indicted on counts of conspiracy, extortion, soliciting and accepting bribes, money laundering, structuring financial transactions to evade federal reporting requirements and allowing the tax assessor’s office to be used to store and distribute cocaine and Hydrocodone.

On Jan. 14, Randall pleaded guilty to six of those charges and is awating sentencing. He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and a mixture containing methamphetamine. He is awaiting sentencing on that charge as well. As part of his agreement with the government, Randall is also required to cooperate fully with investigators, including taking and passing polygraph tests.

“It appears that both Mr. Betenbaugh and Mr. Randall took a portion of the bribe money, but we have conflicting stories from each on how much they took,” said U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald. “As called for in their respective plea agreements, we will be administering polygraphs to both men.”

Their differences over how much they each got may be the least of the discrepancies in the stories Betenbaugh and Randall have told federal investigators.

McDonald said the government decided to enter into a negotiated agreement with Betenbaugh after his attorneys provided evidence that called into question Randall’s credibility and reliability as one of the government’s primary witnesses against Betenbaugh. He would not elaborate on the nature of the evidence presented but said that determining who is telling the truth will be part of the ongoing investigation.

“Given the credible information we received from Mr. Betenbaugh on the eve of the trial that discredited Mr. Randall’s version of certain events, we could not allow Mr. Randall to take the stand and testify untruthfully in this case,” McDonald said. “We have a duty to maintain the integrity of the justice system. Without Mr. Randall’s testimony, we faced difficulty proving most of our indicted case. A negotiated plea under these circumstances was appropriate.”

McDonald admitted the sentence recommended for Betenbaugh by the government may seem lenient and that it can be frustrating to prosecutors and investigators to have to enter into such agreement to secure a guilty plea and a defendant’s cooperation. However, McDonald said the bottom line is that in doing so, the government has secured a public admission of criminal activity and government corruption from Betenbaugh.

“We have exposed Betenbaugh as a corrupt politician,” McDonald said. “He is a convicted felon.”