He was once the editor of the Neo-Confederate Southern Partisan magazine although he later recanted the views he held while in that position.
[8] See also: South Carolina Statehouse corruption investigation During the South Carolina Statehouse campaign finance investigation into then-South Carolina House Member Bobby Harrell's campaign account, solicitor David Pascoe found evidence that James Merrill and Rick Quinn Jr. had engaged in ethics violations and possible public corruption while they served their respective terms as South Carolina House of Representatives Majority Leader.
Both Quinn and his father were implicated after Merrill told investigators that while Quinn Jr. was House Majority Leader, he had had Republican caucus members use his family's print shop for campaign materials which investigators believed was a possible violation of the South Carolina Campaign Reform Act.
In 2018, the released Grand Jury Report found that "corporate entities retained Richard Quinn for the purpose of gaining access to and influence over public officials, and by failing to report Mr. Quinn's services, influenced the outcome of legislative matters with no accountability or disclosure to the public in violation of the State Lobbying Act.
[11] His obituary indicated he suffered from a rare esophageal condition he had battled intermittently for 25 years.