———- Forwarded message ———-
From: California Report
Date: Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 12:47 PM
Subject: IMPORTANT: Removal of Ron Nehring and Tony Krvaric for Conduct Unbecoming of Republican Leaders…
To: DailyKos SanDiego

———- Forwarded message ———-
Date: Sat, Feb 6, 2010 at 2:34 PM
Subject: IMPORTANT: Removal of Ron Nehring and Tony Krvaric for Conduct Unbecoming of Republican Leaders
To: newtgingrich@newt.org, sharrison@speakergingrich.com, darrell@mail.house.gov, dale.neugebauer@mail.house.gov, Senator.Hollingsworth@sen.ca.gov, jerry.vandeweghe@sen.ca.gov, mwgpolo@aol.com, mgarrick@gmail.com, pcslate@roadrunner.com, pam.slater@sdcounty.ca.gov, John.Weil@sdcounty.ca.gov, jerrysanders@sandiego.gov, kmishell@sandiego.gov, william.gore@sdsheriff.org, bonniedumanis@hotmail.com, terpeluk@acgrep.com, rnaylor@nmgovlaw.com, Duf Sundheim , aday@sycuan-nsn.gov, dtucker@sycuan-nsn.gov, rscheid@viejas-nsn.gov, srivera@sycuan.com, Tom Del Beccaro , tom@politicalvanguard.com, PublicAffairs@sdcda.org
Cc: Michaelene Mansour , News , “Cubbison, Gene (NBC Universal, KNSD)” , “Piller, Charles – Sacramento” , writemalkin@gmail.com, cmarinucci@sfchronicle.com, foxnewsonline@foxnews.com, scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org, Dave Maass , logan.jenkins@uniontrib.com

Dear Fellow Republican Colleagues,

Newt Gingrich, Past Speaker House of Representatives
Peter Terpeluk, Chairman of the RNC Finance Committee
Bob Naylor, Past Chairman CAGOP
Duff Sundheim, Past Chairman CAGOP
Tom Del Beccaro, Vice Chair CAGOP
Darrell Issa, Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee
Dennis Hollingsworth, Senate Republican Leader
Martin Garrick, Assembly Republican Leader
Pam Slater-Price, Chairwoman County Board of Supervisors
William Gore, Sheriff of San Diego County
Bonnie Dumanis, District Attorney of San Diego County
Jerry Sanders, Major City of San Diego

As should be very clear this afternoon, there are some very disturbing facts in the media about the Chairman of the California Republican Party, Ron Nehring, and the Chairman of the San Diego Republican Party, Tony Krvaric.

Given that there will be a very public and well covered press conference calling for their resignation after the monthly San Diego Republican Party Meeting this Monday evening, we would like for you to review the facts and act now, to save the Party from having this even more public press conference, calling for these two culprits to resign.

You can do this by contacting Tony and Ron directly and have them resign prior to Monday’s meeting.

FACT: Ron Nehring physically beat his girlfriend, Michaelene Mansour.

FACT: Ron Nehring threatened her life if she ever reported the violence to the authorities.

FACT: Tony Krvaric, acting on behalf of Ron Nehring, harassed Michaelen Mansour and her employer, Sycuan Casino, to have her fired.

FACT: At Monday’s meeting, Ron and Tony, plan to continue their harassment of Michaelene Mansour and a Candidate for Congress, since these items came to public light. This is the concerned candidate privately responded to a widely distributed and very public email to state leaders during the last CAGOP convention, to affirm the concerns about these acts of domestic violence and harassment.

This behavior cannot be permitted or allowed to continue.

Ron Nehring, 619-743-6402 or 916-448.9496 ron@ronnehring.com
Tony Krvaric, 858-699-3000 or 858-699-3000 or 858-450-4600 tony@tonykrvaric.com

http://media.sacbee.com/static/img/sacramento-bee.png

Controversy over leader roils California GOP
By Charles Piller cpiller@sacbee.com
Published Saturday, Feb. 06, 2010

A long-simmering controversy about the private life of California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring has erupted into a divisive public conflict within the political organization.

This week the San Diego Republican Party executive committee, led by Tony Krvaric, chair of that county’s party, called a meeting Monday to discuss removing Michael Crimmins, an ex-officio member of its central committee. The executive committee recommended Crimmins’ expulsion, in part for sending an e-mail to state party leaders raising concerns about behavior by Nehring and Krvaric.

The controversy follows other concerns raised by some party activists about Nehring’s leadership during a critical midterm election year.

Crimmins, a retired Marine Corps officer and congressional candidate in the 53rd District in San Diego County, referenced allegations, initiated in an anonymous e-mail broadly disseminated to the party and media last fall, that Nehring physically abused a former romantic partner.

In a memo mailed this week to its central committee members, the executive committee called Crimmins’ claims “malicious rumors and false charges.” No criminal complaint or legal actions have been filed by the alleged victim.

A separate, anonymous response was distributed via e-mail Thursday among party activists and the press, announcing a news conference of San Diego party leaders after the Monday meeting that purportedly would call for the removal of Krvaric and Nehring from their posts. One justification, the e-mail stated, was that the two men allegedly harassed Nehring’s girlfriend when she considered bringing her allegations to the attention of legal authorities.

In a statement sent by the party office, Nehring called the allegations false and the situation “witch-hunt politics.”

“Truth is always the best defense and there is absolutely no truth to any of this,” he said. “I have never assaulted anyone in my life and I deeply resent these libelous allegations.”

Krvaric, in another statement issued by the state Republican Party, said that Crimmins has been accused of several transgressions, including veiled threats to other party members, “inappropriate and harassing” actions, and “remarks with a racial meaning.”

Those accusations are “malicious” and “patently false,” Crimmins said.

In his Sept. 25 e-mail, Crimmins accused Krvaric and Nehring of actions “atrociously abusive of their power.” This referred to Krvaric’s alleged pressure on Sycuan Resort near San Diego, to end the employment of Nehring’s former girlfriend, Michaelene Mansour. Mansour left her job as a resort manager late last year.

A Sycuan representative said the resort would not comment on personnel matters.
E-mails, text messages
A Sacramento Bee investigation of Mansour’s allegations included a review of thousands of e-mails and text messages Mansour said were exchanged with Nehring, and photos showing bruises allegedly associated with the abuse. The Bee interviewed Mansour, several women who said they’d had relationships with Nehring, and Republican activists.

None of the other women alleged Nehring physically abused them. Sheriff’s Department and police records in San Diego County and the city of El Cajon, where both Nehring and Mansour live, turned up no charges.

One woman who spoke on the record was Elizabeth Blackney, a political writer in Oregon who formerly was active in California Republican political affairs. She said she’d had a brief romantic relationship with Nehring in 2006.

“Ron was 100 percent a gentleman with me,” Blackney said.

Blackney cautioned that Nehring’s critics might include women who pursue powerful men in order to advance their careers but also said young or insecure women might easily regard him as emotionally abusive.

“Ron is an extremely intense person on his best days,” Blackney said. “He can be very intimidating.”

In interviews, Mansour detailed an episode that involved Nehring allegedly throwing her against a wall, shoving her to the floor and dragging her out of his home east of San Diego in May 2008. In lengthy online exchanges, provided by Mansour, Nehring appears to acknowledge only that she was thrown out of the house.

An e-mail from ron@ronnehring. com, dated Nov. 9, 2008, criticizes Mansour for “relentless calling, emails, text messages, etc.,” adding “This is the kind of extreme behavior that reminds me of what you did when I had to force you out of my house.”

Then, in a nearly four-hour instant message exchange dated Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008, that begins with Mansour’s greeting: “You are loved!,” “NehringRon” implores her to stop overloading him with messages.

“This is the same kind of behavior that led you to refuse to leave my house…”

Later, he continues, “I have listened to ZERO of your voice mail messages for MONTHS because they go ON AND ON AND ON.”

She responds: “You are hurtng(sic) me.”

“TOUGH SH–,” he responds. “What the f— do you think you did to ME when I had to DRAG you out of my f—ing house?”
Long history in politics
Nehring, who is unmarried, is a protégé of the influential anti-tax activist Grover Norquist. He has been a political volunteer and leader going back to his college days at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

After serving as party chair, Nehring worked his way up to vice state chair and has been elected twice as statewide party chair, with his final term to end next winter. Last year he was appointed chair of the national Republican Party’s State Party Chairmen Committee.

Mansour, also single, is a longtime Republican activist in the San Diego area, but she said she never met Nehring until they found each other on Match.com. She worked as a hotel manager at Sycuan and volunteers on campaigns. She’s currently unemployed.

Mansour and Nehring met in 2006. They quickly became involved romantically, Mansour said, and early in the relationship, he talked about marriage and children.

Photographs of the couple, provided to The Bee by Mansour, show the two broadly smiling while vacationing in San Francisco and the Middle East.

But Mansour claimed Nehring became incensed when she quizzed him about suspected infidelities. Several women contacted independently by The Bee said that they also had been involved with Nehring during the time he was seeing Mansour.

After the alleged abuse, Mansour said, she considered legal action, but never followed through. Mansour acknowledged that she continued to hope that the relationship could be repaired.

Rumors of Nehring’s alleged abuse of Mansour were widely circulated last fall in anonymous e-mails and mailings to party and elected officials, and to reporters.

When members of the San Diego party moved against Crimmins this week, they in the process circulated the allegations of physical abuse to a much wider circle.
Party problems
Some of Nehring’s colleagues found claims that he would abuse a woman implausible.

“I’ve been with Ron in both official and social situations, and I’ve never seen him act once in a way that is inappropriate or reproachable,” said Thaddeus Taylor, Inyo County Republican Party chairman. “From my own personal knowledge of the man, it’s impossible.”

Mike Vallante, former chief operating officer of the state party, said the allegations follow other internal concerns about his performance as party leader.

“If this was just something that came out of the blue, people might say, ‘Forget it, it’s crazy.’ The problem is that there have been missteps all along the way,” said Vallante, who served as an executive for the Republican national convention in 2008.

In 2007, Nehring was widely criticized for hiring Michael Kamburowski, an Australian immigrant, as chief operating officer after Vallante left. Kamburowski resigned after it came to light that years earlier he had been involved in an immigration issue that resulted in his brief jailing and subsequent lawsuit against the government.

Nehring also caused consternation in the party after he hired a Canadian, Christopher Matthews, as his political director. Matthews left the job after it was reported that he had visa complications.

Last year, a complaint and affidavits about Krvaric and Nehring were filed by local San Diego party activists. Their concerns are now under investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Among the allegations, they claim that Nehring overused his expense account and that Krvaric ignored parliamentary procedures in an effort to control the central committee.

Under Nehring’s leadership, fundraising problems have radically shrunk the state party’s staff – a concern for some supporters in an important election year.

Some in the party worry the recent personal allegations could become a further distraction, Vallante said.

“Right now the focus should be on how do we raise the right kind of money,” he said, “that is going to help all of our candidates in 2010.”

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

The FEC told Republican committees in San Diego and three other counties that they may have to return the money that was targeted for voter registration or face audits or fines for violating campaign finance laws.

Tony Krvaric, chairman of the San Diego County Republican Party, said the money transfers “are completely in order and no one’s been asked to give anything back.”

The other GOP parties were in Sacramento, Orange and Stanislaus counties.

The FEC letter dated Sept. 17 was addressed to April Boling, treasurer of the San Diego Republican Party.

The letter describes the money as “Levin funds” that can not be accepted from other committees.

The letter suggests “further” legal action could be take, though there is no mention of previous legal action.

“Although the commission may take further legal action regarding the acceptance of impermissible Levin funds, prompt action by your committee to transfer-out or refund the funds will be taken into consideration,” wrote Kaitlin Eger, senior campaign finance analyst for the commission.

San Diego County Democratic Party criticized its Republican counterpart in a release stating “Republican voter drive runs afoul of federal rules.”

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/sep/24/sdgop-xx-xxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx-fec-questions/

You’re probably here because you’ve heard something about Tony Krvaric and wanted to learn more about why many San Diego Republicans believe that their local party Chairman is a criminal, a thug, a liar, a womanizer and some even believe that he lines his own pockets with Republican Party Money.

Should you really allow a leader in the Republican Party to:

1) “Steal” thousands from the GOP to pay for his prior trips to Washington, D.C. and to purchase a private laptop?

2) Harass, intimidate and illegally remove elected and appointed members of the Central Committee due to disagreeing with him?

3) Harassing wealthy republican donors to invest in his own personal business, Krvaric Capital. In fact, it has been rumored that Krvaric even contacted wealthy Congressman Darrell Issa to pressure him into investing with him… as well as Republican Business leader and Lincoln Club Chairman, Tom Sudberry. We expect both were wise enough to turn him down.

4) Violate state and local election laws by routing funds to illegally pay for paid voter registration efforts and other election activities that were questionable and condemned by their respective oversight bodies.

5) Most concerning is is that Tony Krvaric helped cover up acts of domestic violence committed by his friend, Ron Nehring, and then harassed and threatened the victim – including encouraging her employer, Sycuan, to have her fired. An effort which he succeeded in doing.

This site exists to share some of the allegations that have been leveled against Tony Krvaric – you can do your own research to verify the facts – but the truth is that Tony Krvaric is a bad man, he lacks integrity and he has no business being in the business of politics.

Please feel free to contact us with information you would like included on this website.

Dear Ms Diaz:

My name is Ryan Patrick Mulvey. I live at 12425 Rue Cheaumont, San
Diego, CA, 92131. My phone number is (858) 349-2058. My e-mail
address is ryan.mulvey-10@sandiego.edu. I am 21 years old and
attend the University of San Diego. I am employed as a parish
organist by the Diocese of San Diego. I am also the former
Operations Manager for the Republican Party of San Diego County. I
was employed in this position from around August of 2006 until my
resignation, effective the beginning of January 2009. Prior to
this, I was a paid intern for the Party from June 2006 to my hiring
as Operations Manager.

I am filing this affidavit with your office as further testimony to
the existing complaint filed by Drs. MaryRose Consiglio and Tom
Sherman. I hope that my account of what I witnessed might aid in
your office’s investigation. I am willing to discuss any of the
material within this letter, even in a court of law, if so called
upon. I am also willing to answer questions.

As Operations Manager, I was in a unique position of observing
intimate details of the machinations of the Party. I was in charge
of maintaining our database and website, of serving as liaison with
elected officials, of directing our candidate endorsement process,
and of accounting finances. I tracked all income which was received
through our office and was responsible for the final disbursements
of payments for debts. I worked closely with April Boling, our
assistant treasurer and accountant. I was also employed by Boling
during the past general election; I was responsible for the initial
preparation of government disclosure reports and the general ledger
tracking for the local Party and other PACs. Because of this unique
perspective, and the close relationships I was able to develop, I
saw a side to Tony Krvaric, current county chairman, and Ron
Nehring, former county chairman currently serving as chairman of
the California Republican Party (CRP), that others rarely witness.
There have been numerous occasions, some over extended periods of
time, during which both Krvaric and Nehring exhibited behavior that
I found both inappropriate and questionable. It is my intent to
share these observations with you.

Ron Nehring, while chairman of the local Party, insisted on
receiving Hyatt Rewards Points for the monthly public committee
meetings held, according to the Election Code, at the Manchester
Grand Hyatt. Monthly costs for these meetings often equaled or
exceeded $1,500.00-$1,900.00. On one occasion, Nehring, realizing
the hotel had suspended this accumulation of award points (since
the Party was paying), had staff continuous call hotel catering
services to have the points reinstated. Nehring continued this
behavior while at the CRP, and used the awards accumulated to take
personal vacations around the world. While chairman of San Diego he
even took an excursion to London for the weekend on these points,
or so he boasted to staff. He was very liberal in his expensing of
hotels, car rentals, etc. even in the San Diego region, little more
than an hour or two drive from his home in Crest, CA. After he left
San Diego for the CRP, Nehring retained Party property, including a
laptop, which he has yet to return as of January 2009. Recent media
reports have exposed this same sort of behavior at the CRP to this
day; disclosures show Nehring even expensing gym memberships as
part of the Party’s “victory strategy.”

Nehring also utilized county Party employees in his CRP election
campaigns “without reimbursement,” or rather on the local Party’s
dime. Staff was asked to attend convention and “required” to assist
in his campaigning, which included, but was not limited to,
whipping voters and distributing fliers, buttons, signs, etc.
Nehring (and Krvaric) also required staff to assist in the
campaigns of CRP Vice-Chair Tom Del Becaro and CRP Vice-Chair-South
Warene Wall. At these same conventions, Nehring and Krvaric
masterminded a proxy scheme by which they obtained blank signed
proxy appointments from CRP members across the state. These were
assigned to “trustworthy” alternates who were pressured to vote for
particular candidates. This happened to me at the 2008 Spring
Convention. I was given two proxies and threatened into voting for
particular candidates, though I did not ultimately do so. I was
accused of not “being on the team.”

I was told of a special arrangement prior to my employment between
the county Party and our preferred publisher, Bieber
Communications. While Nehring was chairman he incurred campaign
finance violation fines. However, rather than have the Party pay
for it, and consequently have a blot on his “record,” he arranged
for Bieber Communications to admit culpability and pay the fined in
their entirety. In return, the Party was to use Bieber for all our
design and publication needs. Nehring encouraged Bieber to “pad”
invoices, essentially charging extra, so they would eventually be
repaid. When Krvaric was first chairman, he was unaware of this
arrangement and was rather angry that we were continuing to use
Bieber at an elevated price compared to competitors. Eventually,
though, he acquiesced and continued Nehring’s practice.

Krvaric has also abused his financial privileges. Throughout my
employment he submitted numerous incomplete or suspicious
reimbursement requests. Many of these were eventually approved by
April Boling. In one instance, invoices were unavailable, but it is
my understanding Krvaric was still reimbursed. Mileage
reimbursements hardly ever included the specifics required of
employees; often, they consisted of merely “2,000 miles” for “Party
business,” etc. Employees were required by Krvaric to provide
detailed descriptions of travel, including odometer readings.
Krvaric spent thousands of dollars on items unapproved by the
Executive Committee, including laptops. When Krvaric was elected
chairman, he proceeded to submit reimbursement requests to the sum
of $6,000.00+ for a trip to Washington, DC, which had taken place
over a year previously. Boling initially hesitated to approve this
because of the length of time that had elapsed and the
inconvenience of amending over a year of reports. Krvaric was
ultimately reimbursed, to the best of my knowledge, in full.

Additionally, during the last election cycle, Krvaric approved
payment of over $4,000 to Jerry VanDeWeghe, campaign manager for
Robert Ilko, a candidate in San Diego City Council District 5.
VanDeWeghe was thereafter given monthly “contract” payments, though
he provided no tangible service to the Party. In fact, Krvaric
often complained of VanDeWeghe’s “uselessness.” It was understood
within the office that this arrangement was approved in order to
eliminate any competition for Carl DeMaio, who was a favorite of
Krvaric, Nehring, and the “inner-circle” leadership of the Party,
which included Coronado Communications, a favored vendor.

Krvaric organized a similar scheme for Michael McSweeney, Vice-
Chairman of the local Party, who was fired from the re-election
campaign of Mayor Jerry Sanders after it was publically revealed he
had attempted to bribe one of the mayor’s opponents. Krvaric also
withheld payment from other candidate to whom he had a verbal
contract to pay filing fees, etc. These candidates included Jeff
Perwin and Dan Felser. Krvaric’s refusal to reimburse Felser lead
to two private suits against the Party and Jonathan Buettner,
former COO, which were eventually settled out of court. Perwin, who
was also contracted for database management and GOTV precinct
operations, was repeatedly harassed by Krvaric, who would withhold
or delay payment of services provided. Krvaric accused Perwin of
not fulfilling his obligations to the Party (as a candidate and as
a vendor) and threatened to end his involvement in local politics
if he did not cooperate with his demands. In fact, Krvaric ordered
me on numerous occasions to ignore Perwin’s calls and e-mails for
these stated reasons. Eventually, payment was disbursed after
Krvaric obtained an ex-officio alternate appointment for one of his
favorites.

Krvaric’s relationship with Coronado Communications is rather
suspicious. During the election cycle, there were numerous e-mails
and joke graphics that were passed among committee members and
donors lambasting Krvaric as a “part-time partner” of Coronado.
Allegedly, he was getting a “cut” of the profits from business he
himself was providing as chairman of the Party. I meet Krvaric
numerous times at Coronado Communications’ headquarters (then
located in downtown San Diego) to have check requests signed. Tony
seemed to have his own desk at which he was always working. Often
he would spend long periods of time at this desk. He had a close
relationship with both Duane Dichara and Jennifer Jacobs; the
former being considered a “puppet master” of local politics both in
San Diego and Sacramento.

Krvaric withheld payment for almost a year on legal services
provided by McAteer & McAteer of San Diego. He was apparently
unsatisfied with their services and had expected them to provide
them pro bono. He expressed these very sentiments to me in person,
exclaiming they ought to be grateful they were even asked by him to
provide this legal advice. He told me he would “destroy” them and
their reputation in the city, telling donors to take their legal
needs elsewhere. He hinted at doing this for other vendors as well,
including the Party’s preferred office supply printer, Minuteman
Press.

Krvaric and Nehring also manipulated the committee and executive
board on other elections issues. Krvaric rejected the standard
endorsement questionnaire submitted to all GOP candidates. He
specifically added questions regarding criminal record, to target
conservative Christian activist James Hartline, as well as whether
candidates had declared bankruptcy. The latter was specifically
included to harass and intimidate long-time GOP activists Larry and
Rose Urdahl. James Kelly, a member of the committee and a colleague
of Larry Urdahl on the Grossmont Union High School Board of
Trustees, was instrumental in this harassment. Numerous committee
members protested this singling out; Krvaric refused to publically
acknowledge their complaints. Krvaric and Nehring also pushed
through numerous endorsements of local officials and candidates for
CRP office without prior notification to the membership or debate
within the meeting. Dissenting committee members were frequently
accused of “not being on the team,” especially if they raised
concern over early appointments, or those appointments made by
“acclamation.”

I know for a fact that Krvaric and other Executive Board members
were responsible for the publication of slates for the Central
Committee elections. Jonathan Buettner, former COO of the Party,
told me how he was in attendance at these meetings during which
names were compiled; he was upset in the end, since he was not been
chosen for inclusion. I also learned of the existence of these
secret meetings from Gary Felien, the Party’s treasurer, in casual
conversation. I was also aware that April Boling, the Party’s
accountant, was aware of what was going on, as she was the
treasurer for the slate’s front organization. I do not know the
extent to which she was knowledgeable of Krvaric, Nehring, and
other committee members’ involvement.

As for other committee matters, Krvaric has violated numerous
sections of the State Election Code and the bylaws of the
Republican Party of San Diego County. Due to basic ignorance of the
rules of parliamentary procedure outlined in our bylaws, Krvaric
has repeatedly refused to allow debate or to entertain valid
motions, despite my objections (as an experienced parliamentarian)
and those of William Baber, lawyer and committee parliamentarian,
with whom I often collaborated. This was especially highlighted in
the controversy over the filling of vacancies to the committee. Not
only did Krvaric refuse to dismiss members who had violated the
bylaws by a universal standard, picking and choosing who to remove
instead, he also deliberately misled committee members and legal
counsel. Both Nehring and Krvaric lied to Charles Bell of
Sacramento, CA, who is often employed by the Party for legal
advice. Jonathan Buettner and I, took it upon us to contact Bell on
numerous occasions to clarify his memoranda and express our
hesitancy to accept what Nehring and Krvaric were telling him
privately. Ultimately, we retrieved documentary evidence of
Krvaric’s wrongfulness, based on a footnote in one of Bell’s memos.
These were provided to legal counsel and a final letter was
released to the Committee, paid out of its funds. Krvaric refused
to make this final memo available as he had with all the others
supporting his position. Bell refused to take calls or to respond
to e-mails from members or staff. Krvaric confronted both Buettner
and me over this matter, accusing us of being “disloyal,”
“backstabbing,” and not part of the “team.” To this day the memo
has not been released.

Before I left the Party last January, and after Jonathan Buettner
had been “dismissed,” Krvaric invited me to a private lunch. He
took the opportunity to confront me over a number of the issues
above, including the Bell memorandum. He asked whether I thought
him to be my “leader” and whether I “stood behind him.” He
continued on about loyalty and “steadfastness” no matter what
actions he might take. He suggested that “staffers” do not
understand the complexity of politics and should merely “follow” no
matter their consciences. Krvaric expressed distress over the
current situation in the office; he forbade former employees,
including Nicole Parsons and Laura Schencker, from even setting
foot in the office again, accusing them of being “sexual harassment
liabilities.” He lamented how he should be the “godfather of
politics in San Diego.” He told me that we (the staff) had
disappointed him because we had not helped him reach this image,
garnering favors and “debts” to his name; he wanted people to “owe
him” and vice versa. Krvaric finally stated that the next year
would involve “cleaning house” and taking care of committee members
who were not cooperating with his regime. I returned to the office,
having expressed hesitancy to continue in my position, but
promising “loyalty” in the mean time. I felt so physically repulsed
that I resigned my position within a week.

I remain an alternate member of the committee. Many members,
donors, and volunteers, not realizing I am no longer on staff,
approach me with countless complaints of harassment and neglect.
Barret Tetlow, the current Executive Director, has verbally abused
more than one committee member and refuses to answer phone calls
and e-mails on many occasions. Committee members are also harassed
continuously by Krvaric and his executive board. Anthony Porrello,
a dedicated Party and committee member has been verbally assaulted
by Tetlow. He is essentially banned from headquarters and has been
surrounded by Krvaric and Tetlow, have threatened calling the
police if Porrello does not stay away. My regular member, Dayna
Hydrick, has been nearly physically accosted by Tetlow. Two months
ago we were both surrounded by “friends of Tony,” who questioned
why were not in the assigned seats now determined by Krvaric.
Despite her handicap, she was told to sit in an uncomfortable
position. Eventually, we moved in protest to the back of the room,
but such harassment is commonplace.

Committee members are also denied access to Executive Board
meetings, which was not regular policy previously. Rosters are not
provided to members, despite the fact they are public information
regarding elected officials. Krvaric has suggested that members
collect information on their own to make their own lists.
Attendance reports are no longer provided for members, leaving no
accountability as to whether individuals are in compliance with the
bylaws. Finally, meeting announcements are not provided in
accordance with the bylaws. Minutes are often incomplete; financial
information is never provided. In my own experience, Krvaric and
his staff have refused to include me in committee mailings and
virtually ignore my appointment, which has been in place since
2006.

On May 11, 2009, at the latest regular central committee meeting,
Gary Felien, in his “secret” treasury report to committee members,
discussed certain “accusations” being spread around the committee
by “certain individuals.” He did not elaborate and Tony refused to
allow any discussion of the matter, but Felien seemed to be
concerned over rumors regarding financial mismanagement. He ended
his remarks as follows (this is not a direct quote): “Even if there
was something going on, it’d be like .1% or something, and that’s
nothing in the large scheme of things. We shouldn’t be worried
about that small amount of money…we have so much something’s bound
to get lost.” This is the sort of chicanery committee members are
forced to endure month in and month out.

I recognize the length of this complaint, but I would like to
recall one more incident that is not necessarily in violation of
the law, but still gives an impression of the current leadership’s
attitude. Just weeks ago, at the annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner, I
was an invited guest of Congressman Darrell Issa. Seated at the
table were his staff and other committee members ostracized by
Krvaric as “disloyal.” Originally, the congressman’s table was
placed near the front, as it should have been, given his
sponsorship level and political position; I know this from personal
experience. Immediately before the event, though, Elizabeth Moyer,
another staffer, under direction from Krvaric, moved our table to
the very back of the room, near the service entrance. Naturally,
Issa’s district director took notice of this. Moyer approached
Jonathan Buettner that night and accused him of working to get
Krvaric’s “enemies,” the “bad” committee members, on Issa’s guest
list. Krvaric was certainly within his rights, I suppose, to do
what he did. But the mind-set with which he did it is indicative of
his general attitude towards others, towards the committee, and
towards politics in general. He does not care for democratic
exercise or for dissent. In this way, I would consider him a
dangerous individual; he will continue to harass, intimidate, and
control as long as he possibly can.

I hope that what I have been able to provide is helpful in your
investigation. If I recall any further events, which is likely
given the extensive experience I have with both Krvaric and
Nehring, I will be sure to report them to you as quickly as they
come to mind. And, as I mentioned previously, I am more than
willing to answer any questions, to provide any clarification, and
to give any testimony, as it is deemed necessary.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Ryan P Mulvey

A bunch of San Diego-area tea-(partiers) held an event yesterday that was covered by a local TV news reporter.

But the reporter apparently didn’t realise she was being duped by the Chairman of the San Diego GOP (surely a TV reporter wouldn’t deliberately conceal such a relevant fact and she just happened to randomly interview Krvaric and liked him so much she featured him as both the first and last interviewee).

Notice how the chyron identifies Krvaric as just a “Concerned Citizen” rather than as the Chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County, or as the BFF of Ron Nehring (who’s the Chairman of the Republican Party of California), or as the former warez d00d “Strider of Fairlight”.

http://www.kusi.com/…

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/2/21/10934/3873

Defendant Greg Hurley of Orlando, Florida, isn’t likely to face time when sentenced later this spring. The 18 defendants sentenced so far under “Operation Safehaven” and “Operation Higher Education” — prosecuted in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut — have received probation, attorneys involved said.

The warez scene consists of underground online communities like “Fairlight,” the group in which Hurley, 26, and hundreds of others were members. U.S. law enforcement officials began eying Fairlight more than five years ago. The members were scattered across the nation, but the prosecution was centered in Connecticut.

Fairlight members engaged in the large-scale distribution of copyright works, prosecutors say. “Suppliers,” like Hurley, were able to get their hands on commercial software, video games, DVD movies and MP3 music files, often before those titles were available to the public. The suppliers forwarded titles to so-called “crackers,” who circumvented digital copy protections.

Others, known as “couriers,” distributed the pirated software to a handful of FTP servers with names like “DOH,” “Optical Illusion” and “Firesite” for other group members to access, reproduce and further distribute.

“It became a thing where these guys would sit around and try to crack these games and upload them to FTP servers,” said Joseph Fisher, Hurley’s defense attorney. “It was kind of like a race by each faction of who could put up more titles faster than the others.”

“I think this is the end of the warez prosecution for this group in Connecticut,” Fisher said.

Law enforcement officials in Connecticut and Washington, D.C., declined to speak on the record.

Three years ago, when a 62-year-old Pennsylvania woman pleaded guilty to similar charges in Connecticut federal court, then-U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O’Connor said, “Stealing the intellectual property of others is no different from any other form of thievery.”

The investigations were conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the ICE Cybercrimes Center, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut and the Justice Department.

Through his attorney, Hurley declined to be interviewed for this story. Under the terms of his plea agreement (.pdf) he faces a maximum 27-month term.

When his client was 19, Fisher said, he severed one of his fingers working in construction. While recovering, he got hooked on the warez movement, Fisher said.

“He was stuck at home for literally 18 months,” Fisher said. “He was spending hours on his computer. My client’s motive: He wanted access to all these games he didn’t want to pay for.”

Hurley now works at his family’s Florida paving business, Fisher said.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/02/connecticut-cou/

By Miriam Raftery

November 1, 2008 (San Diego) – San Diego County Republican Central Committee member Laura Sumrall has sent fellow members an extensively documented complaint asserting “evidence of Chairman Krvaric’s failure to follow due process and violate bylaws and California election codes.”  The complaint accuses the GOP Executive Committee of “culpability” for failing to take corrective actions. In a letter attached to the complaint, Cliff and Laura Sumrall assert an “erosion of fairness” and warn, “If allowed to run unchecked, this erosion will destroy the very essence of our organization.”  The Sumralls urge the Executive Committee to remove Krvaric from power at its next meeting.

Allegations include endorsement rigging by the Chair for central committee member elections and the San Diego mayoral race.   On June 4, the complaint alleges, “Chairman Krvaric violated due process by suggesting that since only one Republican candidate was running for mayor, an early endorsement could take place at the next general meeting.”

When Laura Sumrall asked about Steve Francis, who had previously been endorsed by the party in an earlier race, Krvaric replied, “He is not going to run.  The only candidate running for Mayor of San Diego City is Mayor Jerry Sanders,” the complaint states.

But in an e-mail from Francis to Sumrall confirms that Krvaric knew Francis was considering running.  “He knew I was very very serious and did not discuss with me before the Sanders quickie endorsement,” Francis said in the e-mail, attached to the complaint.

The complaint also accuses Krvaric of unilaterally removing nominations made by 74th District Caucus Chair Dr. Maryrose Consiglio to fill three vacancies on the Central Committee.  Krvaric pushed through hand-picked nominations of his own and ignored advice of legal counsel that the move could violate California Election Code, the complaint alleged.

The Sumralls further assert that Krvaric “authorized slate mailers for Central Committee Candidates hand picked by select Executive Committee Members in an unauthorized secret meeting.”  Consiglio’s name was intentionally left off, the complaint alleges, adding, “When a Chairman handpicks his membership, checks and balances fall by the wayside.”

Chairman Krvaric is also the party’s Finance Chair, with no Finance subcommittee, the complaint observed, calling the arrangement a “clear conflict of interest in that decisions are made unilaterally without oversight, consultation or authorization.”

Krvaric is also accused of unilaterally soliciting an attorney to file legal action against City Attorney Mike Aguirre, exceeding by several thousand dollars the Chair’s $1,000 limit for incurring expenses without authorization by the board and of buying a $4,000 computer without prior authorization. Party bylaws, section 2.1.05(B) state:  “Any member who…commits the Committee to a course of action and/or financial expenditure without authorization to do so, or engages in inappropriate conduct, may be censured or removed.”

According to the complaint, Krvaric changed the party’s candidate questionnaire to add a question about bankruptcies without knowledge or approval of the Executive Committee.  “This question was then used to publicly slander one couple, both candidates,” said the complaint (referring to Larry and Rose Urdahl, two conservative Christian school board candidates not endorsed by the party, yet not questioning other candidates who said yes to this question.”

Larry Urdahl, a member of the Grossmont Union High School Board (GUHSD), declined to comment. But fellow board member Priscilla Schreiber, also denied endorsement for reelection, has called the Party’s abandonment of herself and Urdahl “payback” because the two spoke out against corruption within their party and endorsed Democrat Ken Sobel in the 2006 GUHSD race.

This is not the first time that Krvaric has been implicated in illicit activities.  RawStory.com, an internet news publication, revealed in April that “Krvaric is the co-founder of Fairlight, a band of software crackers which later evolved into an international video and software piracy group that law enforcement authorities say is among the world’s largest such crime rings. After co-founding Fairlight in Sweden, Krvaric established U.S. operations for the organization, including an arm headquartered in Southern California—a major center for the computer and video game industry. www.rawstory.com/news/2008/San_Diego_GOP_chairman_cofounded_international_0425.html.

The RawStory article, authored by East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery, received an investigative reporting award in the 2008 San Diego Press Club’s “Excellence in Journalism” competition in October.

Krvaric was appointed to his post by former local party chair Ron Nehring, who now chairs the California Republican Party and has appointed Kravric Finance Chair of the state party as well.

Reactions by local Republicans to news of Krvaric’s piracy past were published in a subsequent RawStory article.  “I’m not surprised,” Schreiber told RawStory upon learning that Nehring appointed the alleged founder of a piracy ring to handle the California GOP’s finances. Schreiber, who served with Nehring on the GUHSD board, complained that she “saw no real concern with what was happening with dollars and cents” by him back then.  She added, “It’s sad for all of us strong Republican candidates who hold to the party platform and care about integrity and honesty.” www.rawstory.com/news/2008/San_Diego_GOP_chairman_Part_2_0430.html

The Sumralls’ complaint also complains of inadequate notice of agendas, minutes, and names of candidates seeking endorsement prior to meetings, as well as failing to remove members with unexcused absences.

Laura Sumrall did not respond to an e-mail requesting comments for this story.

Kravric did not respond to e-mailed messages from East County Magazine requesting comment for this article.  He declined comment to The San Diego Reader for a recent story it ran on the slate mailer controversy titled “Troublemakers Unlisted.”  www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/jul/09/city-light-2 Kravric has also consistently failed to respond to interview requests regarding past allegations of piracy, including requests from the San Diego Union-Tribune and other local newspapers.

But other Republicans are willing to speak out.

George Barnett, a life-long Republican and elected member of the Alpine Planning Group, says he has seen abuses of power committed by chairs of multiple boards “by self-professed conservative Republicans espousing a fundamentalist religious persuasion.”

He condemned party members for using smear tactics behind the scenes and urging “good religious folks so as to influence their vote.” He finds the party’s attacks on Schreiber and Urdahl “outrageous” and added, “It’s another example of whispering untruths in people’s ears to gain a political objective by stirring up fear.”

“What’s really wrong here,” Barnett said in a post at an online land-use forum, “is that the Republican movement, and its direction under the recent County party chairs, has become a `corruption’ with repugnant activity (that I personally view as immoral) as the norm.”

He faults party elders for failing to fix the problem and predicts voters will turn away from the GOP in record numbers in the November 4 election.  “Unless Republican `top dogs’ get into this, it isn’t going to be fixed, he said.  “There’s been not one `peep’ from any so-called Republican `leader’ on the demise of the Party in this county—and its incessant infighting—since Nehring came and went, and Krvaric (with his strange past associations) showed up.  It’s no doggoned surprise that the Republican Party in San Diego County is becoming a spent laughing stock. It’s antics and tactics are breaking the back of belief in conservative principle across San Diego County.”

Doug Deane, education chair of the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce, normally refrains from speaking out on politics.  Now a registered independent, he describes himself as a “reformed Republican.”

At a GUHSD governing board meeting, Krvaric took the mike to chastise Schreiber for supporting Proposition U, a school bond measure.  “His comments were rude and inappropriate, and he sounded much like a parent scolding their naughty child.”

Barnett shared his concern.  “How is repairing, modernizing our high schools, and expanding and improving educational programs not a conservative goal?” he asked.

Deane has tired of national and local politics dominated by people who “demonize each other when they disagree. If you’re skeptical about the war in Iraq, you’re “unpatriotic” or you “don’t support the troops,” he noted.  “If you balk at additional spending for inner city programs because you’re concerned about the budget, you’re branded as a “racist.”  It appears to me that Tony Krvaric popped directly out of that mold, and in my opinion, our nation would be much better served by people who can work collaboratively together to solve our important problems, not by people who are divisive and dedicated only to protecting their own power base.”

http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/mutiny_at_the_gop

In the latest election cycle, five incumbent Republican Central Committee members were defeated after not being listed on the slate mailers sent out in their state assembly districts. “The people who got thrown off were not the deadwood,” says Laura Sumrall, who was reelected to the committee from the 66th District. “They were the activists who were doing things, the people with clout, and I’m guessing that the committee chairman was threatened by that.” Sumrall says her name appeared on some of the slate mailers in her district, but not all.

Many Republicans and Democrats don’t know that they can vote for some of their party’s Central Committee members, or even that Central Committees run the Republican and Democratic parties locally. The committees perform a variety of functions, which include recruiting candidates, raising money, helping shape the party platform, registering voters, and supporting rallies for the party’s candidates.

Membership on the San Diego County Republican Central Committee is divided into two groups. Ex officio members are appointed by Republican congressional, state assembly, and state senate officeholders or past candidates for the offices. The committee has 17 ex officio members. A second group of members is elected in the general election by registered party members. There are six of them from each of San Diego County’s eight state assembly districts. At the start of every two-year term, the committee reconsiders its bylaws and selects an executive board, including the party chairman.

Tony Krvaric is the current chairman of the San Diego County Republican Party. In spring 2007, he succeeded Ron Nehring, who became the California Republican Party chairman. The party’s San Diego website says the following: “Born and raised in Sweden, Tony Krvaric was inspired by President Ronald Reagan to come to America.…

“After becoming a naturalized citizen in June of 2003, he decided to become politically involved. Having seen, first hand, the devastating effects of socialism in Sweden and the rest of Europe, he was determined to stand up for the traditional, conservative values that helped make America great.”

In April, however, the online newspaper Raw Story claimed that Krvaric cofounded Fairlight, “a band of software crackers which later evolved into an international video and software piracy group.” After that story appeared, Krvaric circulated an email explanation among Republican leaders. According to Raw Story, the explanation stated, “Apparently there is a hit piece floating around on me, ‘exposing’ my wild high school teenage years.”

Sources I spoke with on the San Diego County Republican Party’s Central Committee said they like Krvaric but that he has difficulty tolerating dissent. They suspect the chairman is responsible for placing the lists of Central Committee candidates onto the slate mailers that went out before last month’s election. For each of the eight state assembly districts, there were nine or more candidates. But the mailers printed six names, or complete district slates. It’s easy to see how the three or more left off the list in each case feel targeted.

Krvaric did not reply to my phone message asking if he were behind the Central Committee lists on the slate mailers. Members of the committee’s executive board haven’t confessed to anything either, according to Laura Sumrall, who thinks her close association with Steve Francis made them “a little cautious” of targeting her completely. (She opposed the committee on its endorsement of Jerry Sanders over Francis for mayor of San Diego.) “But the discussion of the Central Committee lists happened in a silent meeting the executive board members will all deny,” Sumrall tells me. “We have a mole who was sitting in the meeting outraged but kept his mouth shut and told us about it later. And a couple of them have slipped and said, ‘But, you know, you can’t have people on the committee who cause trouble and aren’t willing to work together.’ ”

Sumrall does not blame the targeting on ideological factions. “But I believe in free dialogue,” she says. “And Central Committee members should not be selecting each other.”

Camille Cowlishaw agrees, saying the targeting has resulted from a pure power play rather than factional purging. Cowlishaw is another incumbent Central Committee member who was not on the slate in her district. The slate prevailed on June 3.

“There are a few people,” according to Cowlishaw, “who would like to control everything, including Tony Krvaric. They want to have no dissent, no confusion about what they want done. They want everybody to get along and have the same idea and be on the same page. I can understand that to a certain degree, but there has to be some discussion. I am vocal in my opinions, though mostly outside of meetings. But I don’t think my views were anti anything.”

When I asked Cowlishaw how long she’s been a committee member, she was unsure. She volunteered at Republican headquarters before being elected for the first time. “I went there for many years without belonging to the committee,” she says. “I guess I’ve been on it now at least six years.

“I was terribly disappointed when my name was not on the list this time, because I felt I have worked really hard for the party,” says Cowlishaw. “I’ve been involved in politics long enough to know that this kind of thing happens, but my biggest disappointment was when I kept getting different mailers [she received six] and they were all the same. And I thought the senders must have talked to somebody in the office who planted those names. It’s not good if committee members are not elected by the people but are selected by their representatives instead. Since many people don’t know what the Central Committee is but know they have to vote, they use the slates. They’re not going to look everybody up; they’re just going to take the easy road.”

One of the candidates who was on the slate and beat Cowlishaw was a local congressman’s 21-year-old daughter. “I’m not as well known as Briana Bilbray,” Cowlishaw says with a laugh.

I ask Laura Sumrall how the slate mailers originate. Industrious individuals get together and make big money from them, she tells me. “They will make up a name, file with the state, and get a code so they can do a mailer according to the rules. It’s kind of like having a time-share. People can buy in. You get a bunch of people to pay; then you do the mailer and make all the money. When a slate mailer goes out, the candidates and proposition proponents usually have all paid to be on it. Nobody is really endorsed by the party. That’s really the scam of it all. It’s all legal, but voters will get these slate mailers with the elephant on it and think, ‘Oh, this is the Republican Party endorsing these people.’ No, it’s somebody who put it together and charged people money and mailed it out. Suppose you’re a congressional candidate. They might charge you $1000 to be on the mailer; if you want to be an assemblyman, maybe $400 or $500, and, say, $100 for the lowly people.”

But things happened a bit differently with the recent mailers. Printed at their bottom, a note stated that an asterisk next to the names of the candidates meant the candidate had paid to be on the slate. All the candidates for the Republican Central Committee had the asterisks. But Sumrall says she didn’t pay a dime to appear on any slate. “So I called the number on the mailer that had my name, and I got a recording,” she says. “It did not identify a business. It just said to leave my name and number, which I did. I also asked why I was on the slate and who paid for it. Nobody ever returned my call, though I called twice.”

Records at the office of the San Diego County Registrar of Voters suggest what happened. Between January 1 and May 17, an organization called Citizens for a Better San Diego County took $18,300 in contributions, including $8300 from Atlas Hotels and $5000 from Thomas Sudberry. (Sudberry is currently petitioning the City of San Diego to build Quarry Falls, a massive condominium development in Mission Valley.) Citizens for a Better San Diego County, whose treasurer is Seventh District candidate for San Diego City Council April Boling, then made payments to five groups for “slate mailers to support SD Co Republican Central Committee candidates.” Family, Faith and Freedom Association and California Taxpayer Protection Voter Guide each received $2500. Citizens for Good Government received $2100, California Voter Guide, $2875, and Official Non-Partisan Voter Guide, $3000.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/jul/09/city-light-2/

Spotted this on Slashdot. Apparently the GOP Chairman in San Diego is allegedly a Fairlight co-founder. Who is Fairlight? To put it simply they cracked copy protection and distributed Commodore 64 games back in the 80′s and early 90′s. Their logo and theme song would pop up when you loaded the game itself – Here’s an example on YouTube. That tune is basically the theme music from a pretty old game called Druid.

Now keep in mind I don’t mind that he did this – actually its quite cool. Its just funny to think how people turn up sometimes.

I’m working on a blog post – Aden vs. Azeroth (or Lineage vs. World of Warcraft) to kind of compare why one game is falling off the MMO radar and the other is seemingly getting larger and larger.

http://nekomimimode.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/tony-krvaric-fairlight-co-founder/

Last Thursday the leftist, sensationalist, US political blog The Raw Story had outed conservative San Diego Republican Chairman Tony Krvaric as one time scene member Strider. Strider is probably best known as one of two guys who co-founded Fairlight back in 1987 on the Commodore 64. Later in 1992, after being inspired by Ronald Reagan he migrated to the USA and for a short time continued the group’s activities on the PC.

Mr Krvaric has never shied away from his scene past. In 1993 he incorporated Fairlight Trading in California. He has used the strider alias with e-mail addresses and the Fairlight web domain for politicial campaigns. What did Mr Krvaric have to say about his recent expose?

Apparently there’s a hit piece floating around on me, ‘exposing’ my wild high school, teenage years where I was in a computer club where we swapped Commodore 64 games (similar to how kids swap mp3 music files these days). This was in the 80′s, on a computer that’s long since defunct!

This is not the first time the Internet has been used to attack Mr Krvaric. It was only 13 months ago when an online publication known as the Californian Christian News wrote an article accusing Mr Krvaric of being pro-American flag burning. They cited a 1995 public forum message board, quoting a reply apparently written by the Republican Chairman on the hot topic.

Now that everyone knows Strider’s current political stance and position with the Republican Party. The old Commodore 64 Fairlight tag, ‘kill a commie for mummy’ certainly takes on another meaning for many old schoolers.

http://www.defacto2.net/news.cfm?mode=comments&id=192