Subject: Willis matter report: responses from current LNC members
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 00:07:00 -0400
From: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Organization: Dept. of Systems Engineering, University of Virginia
To: Steve Givot <givot@softwarena.com>, Thomas Knapp <tlknapp@free-market.net>,
Michael Gilson De Lemos <mg4u@oasis.net>, Joe Dehn <jwd3@dehnbase.org>,
Steve Dasbach <SteveDasbach@hq.lp.org>, Carl Milsted <cmilsted@earthlink.net>,
Elias Israel <eli@promanage-inc.com>, Jim Turney <JimTurney@lpva.com>,
Scott Lieberman <scott73@best.com>, Jim Dexter <jimdex@inconnect.com>,
Ken Bisson <kbisson@usa.net>, Mark Nelson <lpiachair@home.com>,
Lorenzo Gaztanaga <DiazVivar@aol.com>, Deryl Martin <dnc@multipro.com>,
Jim Lark <jwl3s@virginia.edu>, Daniel Wisnosky <stigmata@skylink.net>,
Lois Kaneshiki <lois@nb.net>, Daniel Karlan <DanKarlan@compuserve.com>,
Mary Ruwart <Mary@ruwart.com>, Mike Dixon <mdixonlp@earthlink.net>,
Richard Schwarz <hogweed@pop.mail.rcn.net>, Ed Hoch <edsway@sprynet.com>,
Greg Holmes <mag97@home.com>, Mark Rutherford <RUTHERFORDLAW@prodigy.net>,
Tim Hagan <t.hagan@usa.net>, Ben Scherrey <Ben.Scherrey@ga.lp.org>,
Mark Cenci <mcenci@mindspring.com>
CC: jwl3s@virginia.edu, "Hall, William" <HALLWW@wnj.com>
Dear colleagues:
I have included the responses received from current LNC members
concerning their knowledge prior to April 21, 2001 of improper actions
by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter. In some cases, the members
are responding to a comment I made in a message sent on May 14; in some
cases, the members are responding to the specific request I made in a
message sent on June 7 (I have enclosed a copy of this message). All
of the responses have been by e-mail.
Note that in order to save space, in most cases I have included only
the material actually written by the respondent; I have not included the
copy of my e-mail message to them unless they have interspersed their
response within the text of my e-mail. If you wish to see the entire
message from a given respondent, please let me know and I shall send it
to you.
-----
Ken Bisson:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] Statement by Perry Willis
Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 20:16:34 -0500
From: "Ken Bisson, MD" <kbisson@locl.net>
Reply-To: kbisson@usa.net
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
References: 1
> "James W. Lark, III" wrote:
>
> > 1) Did any current members of the staff or current members of the
LNC
> > know of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001? If
so,
> > under what circumstances was this knowledge acquired? Note: I have
no
> > reason to believe any member of the staff or the LNC had such
> > knowledge. However, for the record I believe the question should be
> > asked and answered.
I did not know nor suspect of Willis' activity prior to April 21, 2001.
Thanks for asking, though!
Ken
--
--
Mark Cenci:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] LNC member statements concerning the Willis
matter
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 08:47:46 -0400
From: Mark Cenci <mcenci@mindspring.com>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
References: 1
Dear Mr. Lark:
Thank you for your follow-up message asking me for a statement regarding
my prior knowledge of the Willis affair. You are correct, I did not
know I was included in your request for information.
My first knowledge of any and all details concerning payments made to
Perry Willis through the Browne Campaign came a few months ago, several
weeks, in fact, after everyone else. My affiliation with Browne '96 and
Browne '00 was limited to the roles of financial supporter and local
volunteer.
Best Regards,
Mark Cenci
Region 6 Alternate
Maine LP Chairman
----- Original Message -----
From: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
To: "LNC Discuss" <LNC-Discuss@hq.lp.org>
Cc: <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Sent: Sunday, August 12, 2001 6:06 AM
Subject: [LNC-Discuss] LNC member statements concerning the Willis
matter
> Dear colleagues:
>
> I hope all is well with you. I am assembling my report to you
> concerning the Willis matter; it should be ready for you later today.
> As you may recall, in a message of June 7 I wrote the following:
>
--
--
Joe Dehn:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] Statement by Perry Willis
Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 17:10:44 -0700
From: Joe Dehn <jwd3@dehnbase.org>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
CC: LNCDiscuss <lnc-discuss@hq.lp.org>
References: 1
"James W. Lark, III" wrote:
> 1) Did any current members of the staff or current members of the LNC
> know of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001? If so,
> under what circumstances was this knowledge acquired? Note: I have
no
> reason to believe any member of the staff or the LNC had such
> knowledge. However, for the record I believe the question should be
> asked and answered.
It was my opinion then, and remains my opinion, that all of the work
that Mr. Willis (and Mr. Winter) did for the Browne campaign prior to
the nominating convention was improper. I did not know before
Mr. Famularo provided us with this invoice that Mr. Willis had done work
as a contractor after the date that the LNC and/or the Chair had told
him it was improper.
--
--
Jim Dexter:
Subject: Re: Investigation of Willis matter
Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2001 23:03:52 -0600
From: JimDex <jimdex@inconnect.com>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
CC: LNC-Discuss <lnc-discuss@hq.lp.org>
Prior to April 21, 2001, the only knowledge I had of policy violations
by Perry Willis or any other member of the staff or LNC were rumors,
gossip, accusations and innuendo to which I gave absolutely no credence.
Jim Dexter
LNC Region 1 - West Alternate
--
--
Mike Dixon:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] Investigation of Willis matter
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 15:30:38 -0700
From: mdixonlp <mdixonlp@earthlink.net>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
CC: Dennis Hawver <hawverlaw@umacs.net>, Bob Smith <bob@tipsmith.com>,
Andrew Sullivan-NE Chair <chair@lpne.org>, Bob Sullentrup
<rwsully@aol.com>,
"D. Mark Nelson" <lpiachair@home.com>, Greg Tlapek-MO ED
<gtlapek@aol.com>,
houghfamily4 <houghfamily4@msn.com>, Martin John Riske
<martyriske@hotmail.com>,
"Nathan A. Barton-SD Chair" <SDLiberty@juno.com>,
Robert Collison-WI Chair <lpwichair@aol.com>, Steven Rosile
<sarasile@worldnet.att.net>,
Thomas L Knapp <tknapp01@mail.orion.org>, RIchard
Prawdzienski <prawdz@aol.com>,
"Richard Pearl, Sr. Ed. D." <rpearl1@hotcom.net>, Michael
Perkins <chair@la.lp.org>,
References: 1
Mr. Chairman
Pursuant to your request for disclosure from all current and prior
members of the LNC.
This is my formal notice to you -- and to the entire Libertarian Party
-- that I had absolutely no knowledge of any wrongdoing by Perry Willis,
or by any other party official or member, prior to April 21, 2001.
Should this email not suffice as your preferred method of communication,
please let me know what other form you would accept.
Michael Dixon
LNC Rep., At Large - 1998-2000
LNC Rep., Region 1E - 2000-2002
--
--
Michael Gilson De Lemos:
Subject: CONFIDENTIAL query
Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 16:47:08 -0400
From: MG <mg4u@oasis.net>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Dear Jim,
RE: " Did any current members of the staff or current members of the LNC
> know of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001? "
I had hard evidence of nothing.
Best Regards,
MG
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] Investigation of Willis matter
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 19:35:13 -0400
From: MG <mg4u@oasis.net>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
CC: mfg <mg4u@oasis.net>
References: 1
Dear Jim,
Please note that as a counselor I would normally asked to be excused
from this question, and am protected from such Inquiries by law or
practice, much I think to the benefit of the movement. At this time
where I have additional LNC and EC fiduciary duties I have asked people
to phrase nothing that would put me in a difficult position unless they
are seeking my good offices to resolve any problem .
In this one case I am however able to say that I had no direct knowledge
of anything.
As a consultant who had been asked to do a System Review on general
principles I saw there were problems as I discussed at the December
presentation, and as you and I proceeded and asked people, including Mr.
Willis, to review documentation and make suggestions for improvement I
would not be surprised if some overlooked documents may have come to
light--or people seen that full disclosure was a matter of time.
But again I had focused on nothing specific, and no one came to me with
anything highlighted.
Best Regards,
MG
--
--
Steve Givot:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] Statement by Perry Willis
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 06:21:17 -0600
From: "Steven I. Givot" <givot@softwarena.com>
Organization: Technology Partners
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
CC: LNCDiscuss <lnc-discuss@hq.lp.org>
References: 1
"James W. Lark, III" wrote:
> I believe there are some additional questions about this matter
that
> should be answered. Among these questions are the following:
> 1) Did any current members of the staff or current members of the LNC
> know of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001? If so,
> under what circumstances was this knowledge acquired? Note: I have
no
> reason to believe any member of the staff or the LNC had such
> knowledge. However, for the record I believe the question should be
> asked and answered.
I had no such knowledge until (1) I saw the information provided to LNC
members by John Famularo and (2) it was confirmed that the invoice was
authentic.
I will note that for a considerable period of time, John Famularo made
allegations regarding such activities on LPUS. In response, I asked
John to document his allegations on several occasions. He never
responded with any form of documentation.
> 2) Did any former LNC members (in addition to Mr. Famularo) know of
Mr.
> Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001? Did any members of
> the Browne campaigns know of these actions? If so, under what
> circumstances was this knowledge acquired?
> 3) From what some LNC members have mentioned, Mr. Famularo evidently
> knew of Mr. Willis' improper actions as of Election Day 1996. In
> addition, it appears Mr. Famularo did not provide this information to
> the LNC until April 21, 2001. If so, why did he not reveal this
> information prior to this date? Did Mr. Famularo act improperly by
not
> revealing this information at an earlier date? In what manner did Mr.
> Famularo obtain this information?
I am particularly concerned with the answers to these questions. I
believe that they give rise to serious questions about Mr. Famularo's
behavior and the motivations for it. Given that Mr. Famularo was an
officer of the LNC at the time of this violation of LNC Policy, I
believe he had a moral, if not a fiduciary, duty to forward the
documentation as soon as it came into his possession.
How he came to possess the information also gives rise to serious
questions about the security of information at our headquarters office
and, perhaps, on the computers located there. I believe that this
aspect of this matter, which transcends the propriety of Mr. Famularo's
actions, should not be ignored.
> I intend to obtain the answers to these questions, at least to the
> extent I have the power to do so. I shall make the results of my
> inquiries available to you. Please note that I am preparing to leave
> later today on a driving tour to visit various state and local
> Libertarian groups between my home and Denver, Colorado. I hope to
> return to my home by May 23. While I may be able to access my e-mail
> while on the road, it is not certain that I shall be able to do so.
> Thus, it will probably take a while before I can complete my
inquiries.
> Allow me to note for the record in response to question (1) above that
I
> did not know about Mr. Willis' improper actions until I saw the
material
> circulated by Mr. Famularo at the April LNC meeting. I did not form a
> conclusion about the matter until I read Mr. Willis' statement.
I want to go on record as being completely supportive of Jim Lark's
efforts to obtain answers to each of these questions.
I would also like to reiterate my belief that when we have gathered as
much as we can in the way of answers to these questions, it would be
very wise for us to publish the results of our inquiries in LP News.
This matter has the potential to demonstrate that we are open and honest
about problems. Failing to make a special effort to publicize the
results of this inquiry has the potential to give would-be critics a
basis to claim that we are engaging in some sort of coverup. I think
that these two scenarios argue strongly in favor of publicize the
results of the inquiry.
Steve Givot
--
--
Tim Hagan:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] Investigation of Willis matter
Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2001 20:02:52 -0700
From: Tim Hagan <hagan@accessnv.com>
Reply-To: t.hagan@usa.net
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
CC: LNC-Discuss <lnc-discuss@hq.lp.org>
References: 1
"James W. Lark, III" wrote:
>
> Some of you have already contacted me to indicate that you had
> no knowledge of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21,
> 2001. I hereby formally request that each member of the LNC
> (including
> alternates) inform me about your knowledge prior to April 21, 2001
> of improper actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter. I
> also formally request that Steve Dasbach ask each member of the
> staff to provide a written statement concerning their knowledge
> prior to April 21, 2001 of improper actions by Mr. Willis (or
> others) in this matter.
Prior to April 21, 2001, I had no knowledge of policy violations by
Perry Willis or any other member of the staff or LNC.
Tim Hagan
LNC Region 2 Alternate
--
--
Ed Hoch:
Subject: Willis Affair
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 11:58:36 -0800
from: ED HOCH <edsway@sprynet.com>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Greetings - I believe I have addressed this, but to be sure --
I had no knowledge of the events discussed in the correspondence
regarding Willis and improper conduct. I have been a Libertarian for
many years but not involved with the LNC or national office until my
term as Region I Rep. Of course, I am disappointed that these events
took place and want to see them dealt with - as you appear to be doing.
Ed Hoch
Region I Rep
--
--
Eli Israel:
Subject: RE: [LNC-Discuss] Statement by Perry Willis
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 23:58:16 -0400
From: Elias Israel <eisrael@lpma.org>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
CC: LNCDiscuss <lnc-discuss@hq.lp.org>
In response to the Chairman's request for information, I will point out
that the events in question occurred not only before I was a member of
the LNC, but actually before I was a member of the LP at all. (I joined
in September of '96; these events reportedly took place in Q1 of '96).
I believe that the Chairman's approach is sound and I am interested to
learn what else is discovered.
Elias Israel
eisrael@lpma.org
--
--
Lois Kaneshiki:
Subject: Willis before Apr 21 01
Date: Thu, 07 Jun 2001 21:03:42 -0400
From: lois@nb.net
To: jwl3s@virginia.edu
Jim,
This is to let you know that I have had no knowledge of improper actions
by Willis at anytime. The only knowledge I had of LP business during
the 1996 time period was what I got from LP News, because I was not
following any details or LNC activity at that time.
If my statement is not clear or complete, please let me know.
Thank you,
Lois Kaneshiki
--
--
Dan Karlan:
Subject: [LNC-Discuss] Answering several questions
Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 17:03:46 -0400
From: "Daniel M. Karlan" <DanKarlan@compuserve.com>
To: LNC <lnc-discuss@hq.lp.org>
In his recent posting, LP Chair Jim Lark asked if any former or present
LNC members were aware of Willis' violation of LNC Policy.
As perhaps the only person who is both a current LNC member and a member
of the LNC at the time in question, I can categorically assert that I
was unaware of that violation.
It has independently been posted (by former LPPa Chair Ken Sturzenacker)
that the policy that was violated had been put in place because of an
earlier violation by Willis and Winter. While the earlier violation had
in fact occurred, the policy was in place well before Willis became
National Director. The policy applied only to the ND, not to the
Communications Director, so Winter's transgression was overlooked with
the injunction that it not be repeated. (In November 1996, the policy
was amended to encompass all senior staff members. I was present as
Alternate for Tim Moir at that meeting.)
Ken Sturzenacker has also intimated that Winter must have known about
Willis' 1995-1996 violation of LP Chair Dasbach's instructions that the
transgression not be repeated. I question that. Winter is known to be
a much more structured worker, arriving at work and leaving work on a
more-or-less regular schedule. Willis was known, on the other hand, to
be a workaholic, staying very late and coming in weekends and holidays.
It is hardly a stretch to surmise that Willis' violation occurred during
those
off-peak hours -- and that he intended to spare Winter the complication
arising from Winter's complicity-by-acquiescence in Willis'
transgression. There is no reason to impute blame any further than
necessary.
Dan Karlan
--
--
Tom Knapp:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] LNC member statements concerning the Willis
matter
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 13:33:48 -0500
From: "Thomas L. Knapp" <tlknapp@free-market.net>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>, LNC Discuss
<LNC-Discuss@hq.lp.org>
On 12 Aug 2001, at 6:06, James W. Lark, III wrote:
> I hereby formally request that each member of the LNC (including
> alternates) inform me about your knowledge prior to April 21, 2001 of
> improper actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter.
Prior to April 21, 2001, I had what Mr. Givot refers to as a "reasonable
articulable suspicion" that Mr. Willis had violated LNC/LP policy in
matters relating to the 1996 campaign to secure the LP presidential
nomination for Harry Browne. If, by "knowledge" you mean indisputable
concrete evidence of this particular violation, I had none until Willis
admitted to it in his public statement of early May.
Prior to April 21, 2001, I did have indisputable concrete evidence of
improper actions by Mr. Willis and others pursuant to both the 1996 and
2000 campaigns on behalf of Browne and other LP candidates, but such
evidence was available to all who were interested and did not apply to
the specific violation of policy and related fraud addressed in what,
for lack of a better name, is being referred to as "The Willis Affair."
Regards,
Tom Knapp
--
--
Jim Lark:
Subject: Statement by Perry Willis
Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 15:16:26 -0400
From: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Organization: Department of Systems Engineering, University of Virginia
To: LNCDiscuss <lnc-discuss@hq.lp.org>
CC: "Lark, Jim" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Dear colleagues:
I hope all is well with you. Upon my return last night from Salt
Lake City I read the statement by Perry Willis, which he offered in
response to my inquiry concerning information provided to the LNC by
John Famularo at our April 21 meeting. Allow me to express my great
disappointment at the contents of Mr. Willis' message. I find his
justification for his actions to be unacceptable. In addition, I
believe that Mr. Willis has betrayed my trust.
I believe there are some additional questions about this matter that
should be answered. Among these questions are the following:
1) Did any current members of the staff or current members of the LNC
know of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001? If so,
under what circumstances was this knowledge acquired? Note: I have no
reason to believe any member of the staff or the LNC had such
knowledge. However, for the record I believe the question should be
asked and answered.
2) Did any former LNC members (in addition to Mr. Famularo) know of Mr.
Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001? Did any members of
the Browne campaigns know of these actions? If so, under what
circumstances was this knowledge acquired?
3) From what some LNC members have mentioned, Mr. Famularo evidently
knew of Mr. Willis' improper actions as of Election Day 1996. In
addition, it appears Mr. Famularo did not provide this information to
the LNC until April 21, 2001. If so, why did he not reveal this
information prior to this date? Did Mr. Famularo act improperly by not
revealing this information at an earlier date? In what manner did Mr.
Famularo obtain this information?
I intend to obtain the answers to these questions, at least to the
extent I have the power to do so. I shall make the results of my
inquiries available to you. Please note that I am preparing to leave
later today on a driving tour to visit various state and local
Libertarian groups between my home and Denver, Colorado. I hope to
return to my home by May 23. While I may be able to access my e-mail
while on the road, it is not certain that I shall be able to do so.
Thus, it will probably take a while before I can complete my inquiries.
Allow me to note for the record in response to question (1) above that I
did not know about Mr. Willis' improper actions until I saw the material
circulated by Mr. Famularo at the April LNC meeting. I did not form a
conclusion about the matter until I read Mr. Willis' statement.
Thanks for your work for liberty.
Take care,
Jim
James W. Lark, III
Advisor, The Liberty Coalition
University of Virginia
Chairman, Libertarian Party
--
--
Scott Lieberman:
Subject: RE: [LNC-Discuss] Investigation of Willis matter
Date: Thu, 07 Jun 2001 18:47:46
From: scott73@best.com
To: jwl3s@virginia.edu
References: 1
> I hereby formally request that each member of the LNC (including
>> alternates) inform me about your knowledge prior to April 21, 2001 of
>> improper actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter.
I never trust ANYONE over 5 foot 7. Perry Willis is much taller than 5
foot 7.
However,
>Prior to April 21, 2001 when John Famularo gave me and other LNC
members
>copies of an invoice from Perry Willis to Dean Spear, I had no
knowledge
>of improper actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter.
>
>Daniel H. Fylstra
>Vice Chair, Libertarian Party
Mr. Fylstra's statement also applies to me.
Scott Lieberman LNC Rep, Region 2
--
--
Deryl Martin:
Subject: RE: [LNC-Discuss] Investigation of Willis matter
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 17:13:10 -0500
From: Deryl & Cameron <dnc@multipro.com>
To: Woody Russell-SecLPTN <ramseyw@multipro.com>,
Wayne Parker-LPLou <jethro@nsgconnect.com>, Will Cole
<cole@chatt.mindspring.com>,
Steve Trinward <steve@trinwords.com>,
"Steve Dasbach - Nat'l LP" <stevedasbach@compuserve.com>,
"Shawn P. O'Neal" <spomax@magibox.net>, "Shane
Prine-ComDir,LPTN" <prinedes@aol.com>,
Scott Benson <scottbenson1776@hotmail.com>, Sara Chambers
<sarachambers@earthlink.net>,
"Ron Crickenberger-Nat'l LP" <74203.2314@compuserve.com>,
Rodney Smith-PressLPTN <rodneysmithh@aol.com>,
Robert Murphy-ExChOkLP <ww@telepath.com>,
RichPrawdzienski-ChOKLP <prawdz@aol.com>,
"Richard Winger-Ballot Acc." <ban@igc.org>, Richard Sharpe UCLP
<omar2@blomand.net>,
CC: "Hall, Bill" <hallww@wnj.com>
Jim Lark said . . .
> Some of you have already contacted me to indicate that you had no
> knowledge of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001. I
> hereby formally request that each member of the LNC (including
> alternates) inform me about your knowledge prior to April 21, 2001 of
> improper actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter. I also
> formally request that Steve Dasbach ask each member of the staff to
> provide a written statement concerning their knowledge prior to April
> 21, 2001 of improper actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter.
Mr. Chairman:
This is my formal notice to you -- and to the entire Libertarian Party
-- that I had absolutely no knowledge of any wrongdoing by Perry Willis,
or by any other party official or member, prior to April 21, 2001.
Should this email not suffice as your preferred method of communication,
please let me know what other form you would accept.
Deryl W. Martin
Treasurer, Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
--
--
Carl Milsted
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] LNC member statements concerning the Willis
matter
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 13:10:54 EDT
From: "Carl S. Milsted Jr." <cmilsted@earthlink.net>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
CC: LNC-Discuss@hq.lp.org
My official statement:
In 1996 I was not an LNC member or staff member. I did donate to the
Browne campaign, but I am pretty sure it was after nomination. I was
merely a passive donor. I was without clue as to LNC policy manuals,
Willis violations thereof, etc.
My serious activism (vs. passive donating) began after that time (save
for a very short burst in the very early 1980s).
--Carl Milsted
>Dear colleagues:
>
> I hope all is well with you. I am assembling my report to you
>concerning the Willis matter; it should be ready for you later today.
>As you may recall, in a message of June 7 I wrote the following:
>
--
--
Mark Nelson:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] Investigation of Willis matter
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 16:36:48 -0500
From: "D. Mark Nelson" <lpiachair@home.com>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
References: 1
Jim,
I had no knowledge of any of this prior to the April, 2001 meeting.
Mark Nelson
"James W. Lark, III" wrote:
> Dear colleagues:
>
> I hope all is well with you. I am writing to provide some
> information for you concerning the investigation of the Willis matter
> and to request your help.
--
--
Mark Rutherford:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] LNC member statements concerning the Willis
matter
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 20:46:54 -0500
From: MARK W RUTHERFORD <rutherfordlaw@prodigy.net>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
References: 1
Dear Jim:
Pursuant to your request, I have no knowledge prior to April 21,
2001 of improper actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in the matter.
Very truly yours,
Mark W. Rutherford
Region Three Representative
Libertarian National Committee
--
--
Mary Ruwart:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] Investigation of Willis matter
Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2001 20:17:31 -0700
From: "Mary J. Ruwart" <mary@ruwart.com>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
I had no knowledge of improprieties in the "Willis" matter until the
recent disclosures.
At 04:58 PM 6/7/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Dear colleagues:
>
> I hope all is well with you. I am writing to provide some
>information for you concerning the investigation of the Willis matter
>and to request your help.
--
--
Ben Scherrey
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] LNC member statements concerning the Willis
matter
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 12:15:03 -0400
From: Benjamin Scherrey <scherrey@innoverse.com>
Organization: Innoverse, Inc.
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>, LNC Discuss
<LNC-Discuss@hq.lp.org>
CC: jwl3s@virginia.edu
References: 1
On Sunday 12 August 2001 06:06 am, James W. Lark, III wrote:
<snip>
> As of this moment, for some reason I do not have statements in
> response to my request from the following members:
>
> Lorenzo Gaztanaga
> Carl Milsted
> Ben Scherrey
> Jim Turney
> Dan Wisnosky
<snip>
It didn't quite dawn on me that I was convered under this
request! :-) For the record, I have no information and have never
witnessed anything that would cause me to believe that LNC policy
violations or other improper actions were made by Mr. Willis, anyone
involved in the Browne campaign, or
anyone involved in the LP until the evidence by Mr. Famularo was
received at the last LNC meeting.
best regards,
Ben Scherrey
--
--
Richard Schwarz:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] Statement by Perry Willis
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 23:56:55 -0400
From: Richard Schwarz <hogweed@erols.com>
Organization: erols
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>, LNCDiscuss
<lnc-discuss@hq.lp.org>
References: 1
From: James W. Lark, III <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
> 1) Did any current members of the staff or current members of the LNC
> know of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001? If so,
> under what circumstances was this knowledge acquired?
Yes. I was aware of Mr. Willis' "improper" actions. Unfortunately I had
no "smoking gun evidence," so despite my many claims to this knowledge,
many chose to not listen, or not believe. However it was painfully
obvious to me and anyone who was paying attention to all of the clues.
"Under what circumstances was this knowledge acquired?"
Call it common sense, insight, and intuition.
> Did any members of the Browne campaigns know of these
> actions? If so, under what circumstances was this knowledge
> acquired?
Obviously Jack Dean must have known. Also Michael Cloud and Harry
Browne.
> 3) From what some LNC members have mentioned, Mr. Famularo evidently
> knew of Mr. Willis' improper actions as of Election Day 1996. In
> addition, it appears Mr. Famularo did not provide this information to
> the LNC until April 21, 2001. If so, why did he not reveal this
> information prior to this date? Did Mr. Famularo act improperly by
not
> revealing this information at an earlier date?
I do not see where Mr. Famularo had any obligation to reveal this
information at any time. Lets not "shoot the meesenger."
> In what manner did Mr. Famularo obtain this information?
Has anyone formally asked him? I believe the question ought to at least
be directed to him.
Richard Schwarz
Region 5 Representative
--
--
Jim Turney:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] LNC member statements concerning the Willis
matter
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 12:59:50 -0400
From: Jim Turney <JimTurney@lpva.com>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
References: 1
>Some of you have already contacted me to indicate that you had no
>knowledge of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001. I
>hereby formally request that each member of the LNC (including
>alternates) inform me about your knowledge prior to April 21, 2001 of
>improper actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter.
While I did not possess hard evidence or make a direct observation of
improper actions, I believe that charges of these improper actions have
been wide spread for years. I have certainly believed them to be
likely accurate charges and have felt that the LNC and LP conventions
have neglected to pursue the facts.
While I have always believed Mr. Willis and others have acted in the
best interest of the Party, as they perceived it, I have also been aware
that they believe it is OK to violate policy to pursue their view of the
Party's interests.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim Turney
--
--
Dan Wisnosky:
Subject: Re: [LNC-Discuss] LNC member statements concerning the Willis
matter
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 11:25:20 -0700
From: Daniel Wisnosky <stigmata@skylink.net>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
references: 1
I had no knowledge of improper actions of Perry Willis or others before
April 21, 2001
--
--
Subject: Investigation of Willis matter
Date: Thu, 07 Jun 2001 16:58:23 -0400
From: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Organization: Dept. of Systems Engineering, University of Virginia
To: LNC-Discuss <lnc-discuss@hq.lp.org>
CC: jwl3s@virginia.edu, "Hall, Bill" <hallww@wnj.com>
Dear colleagues:
I hope all is well with you. I am writing to provide some
information for you concerning the investigation of the Willis matter
and to request your help.
In my message to the LNC on May 14, I wrote the following:
>
Dear colleagues:
I hope all is well with you. Upon my return last night from Salt
Lake City I read the statement by Perry Willis, which he offered in
response to my inquiry concerning information provided to the LNC by
John Famularo at our April 21 meeting. Allow me to express my great
disappointment at the contents of Mr. Willis' message. I find his
justification for his actions to be unacceptable. In addition, I
believe that Mr. Willis has betrayed my trust.
I believe there are some additional questions about this matter that
should be answered. Among these questions are the following:
1) Did any current members of the staff or current members of the LNC
know of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001? If so,
under what circumstances was this knowledge acquired? Note: I have no
reason to believe any member of the staff or the LNC had such
knowledge. However, for the record I believe the question should be
asked and answered.
>
Some of you have already contacted me to indicate that you had no
knowledge of Mr. Willis' improper actions prior to April 21, 2001. I
hereby formally request that each member of the LNC (including
alternates) inform me about your knowledge prior to April 21, 2001 of
improper actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter. I also
formally request that Steve Dasbach ask each member of the staff to
provide a written statement concerning their knowledge prior to April
21, 2001 of improper actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter.
As I noted in my May 14 message, I believe it is appropriate to ask
former LNC members who served from 1993 until 2000, former L.P. staff
members who served at some time between 1993 and now, and members of the
Browne for President campaigns (1996 and 2000) to provide such
information. I shall contact these people as soon as I am able. Please
let me know if you have suggestions concerning whom I should contact.
During the May 23 EC meeting, Joe Dehn noted that the L.P. currently
has financial records from the 1996 Browne campaign. He said that those
records already in the L.P.'s possession should be examined to determine
what can be learned from them about this matter. The EC directed me in
my capacity as chair to seek a suitable person to review the Browne 1996
campaign records already in the Party's possession. I am currently in
the process of contacting people about this task.
During the May 23 meeting, Mr. Givot asked that answers be sought to
the following questions:
1. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any
firm in which he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the
dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
2. What payments were made by Jack Dean or any firm in
which he was involved to Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? What
were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
3. What payments were made by Jack Dean or any firm in
which he was involved to any LP employee other than Willis during 1995,
1996, and 1997? What were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of
each such payment?
Mr. Givot noted that some of these questions could probably be answered
by reviewing material currently in the possession of the L.P., whereas
other questions would probably require the assistance of Mr. Dean.
I request that LNC members formulate a list of questions that you
believe should be asked about the Willis matter, and that you send these
lists to me as soon as possible.
Allow me to offer the following comments about the investigation
that we are conducting concerning the Willis matter. Some of you have
indicated your concerns about the investigation. In particular, some
members have expressed the sentiment that this investigation may take an
enormous amount of time on the part of LNC members and staff. Also,
given that the LNC has no power to compel people to provide information,
it is unclear to what extent we shall receive useful information over
and above what we have already received.
In my opinion, these and several other expressed concerns are
valid. For example, I have already invested a great deal of time and
effort in the preliminary phase of the investigation. This means that I
have had to reduce the amount of time I can invest in petitioning to
place Bill Redpath and Gary Reams (L.P.Va. candidates for Governor and
Lt. Governor, respectively) on the ballot this fall. However, I believe
it is necessary that we pursue this investigation as best as we can. I
believe that the violation of LNC policy by Mr. Willis and subsequent
concealment of that violation is a very serious matter. Moreover, it
is clear to me that a nontrivial number of good people in and out of the
L.P. now question the integrity of many of those entrusted with the
responsibility of directing the Party's affairs.
I am under no illusion that our investigation will address all of
the concerns held by those who have doubts. However, we must proceed as
best we can to learn what happened in this situation and take
appropriate action, and to report our findings to our fellow
Libertarians.
Thanks for your work for liberty.
Take care,
Jim
-----
>From the draft minutes of the May 23 EC meeting:
Dehn said that the LP currently has financial records from the 1996
Browne campaign. He said that those records already in the LP's
possession should be examined to determine what can be learned from them
about this matter. He suggested that the LP's internal auditor Bill
Redpath review those records to (1) clarify the nature of any payments
by the campaign to past or current LNC members or staff, and (2)
identify payments which are not specifically well defined which might
conceal other problems.
Dasbach said that Redpath was extremely busy with his campaign currently
underway and would almost certainly not be available.
Fylstra asked what records from the 1996 Browne campaign are in the LP's
possession. He asked whether the LP has a right to examine such records
in its possession.
Hall asked who the Treasurer of the 1996 Browne campaign was. He said
that the Treasurer has the obligation to maintain records for a certain
period of time after the campaign, and that if it was unclear whether
free access to the records had been turned over to the LNC, the
permission of the Treasurer would normally be sought to make him
comfortable in examining these items.
Dasbach said that Sharon Ayres was the Treasurer of the 1996 Browne
campaign and that following the campaign the records were turned over to
the LNC.
Crickenberger said that these records have been open to use by the LP
for years and have been used by him for several years.
Dasbach said, if necessary, he can seek clarification as to any
limitation on access to the records in the LP's possession. He said
that these records were given to the Party to benefit future campaigns.
Hall said that these circumstances, obtaining the Treasurer's permission
may not be necessary.
Givot asked that answers be sought to the following questions:
1. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any
firm in which he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? He asked for the
dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment.
2. What payments were made by Jack Dean or any firm in
which he was involved to Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? He asked
for the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment.
3. What payments were made by Jack Dean or any firm in
which he was involved to any LP employee other than Willis during 1995,
1996, and 1997? He asked for the dates, amounts, and stated purpose
of each such payment.
Givot said that he understands that the Party's own records could
provide answers to the first question, and that the cooperation of Jack
Dean would be required to answer the second and third questions.
Fylstra said that he was new to the LNC in 1998. He said that much of
this is news to him. He said that he is concerned that it is our job to
move the Party forward to make progress. He said the he is concerned
that the Party is spending energy and time spinning its wheels
investigating allegations about what has taken place in the past. He
said that not much will get done if the Party does not focus more on
moving forward.
Lark said that he appreciates Fylstra's concern. He said that the
effort that goes into something like this seems as though it is not
moving the party forward. He said that the loss of confidence on the
part of some members because of suspicion on their part makes it
incumbent upon the LNC to look into these matters and address them. He
said that he believes that this needs to be done and that we need to
proceed to do so.
Dasbach said that some of these questions can be answered with minimal
expenditure of resources, such as a listing of payments by the Party to
Jack Dean or his company during a certain time frame. He said that
other questions require more effort and greater skills to properly
investigate.
Givot suggested that someone who has not been on the LNC or LP staff
during this time frame be asked to review all of these records and
report findings to the LNC.
Dasbach recommended former LNC Chair David Walter, former LNC Chair Mary
Gingell, and former LNC Secretary Dean Ahmad as appropriate persons to
approach about doing this work. Givot suggested that Gingell's
relationship with Dehn might raise concerns among some about her
independence in doing this work.
Kaneshiki suggested that John Famularo be asked whether he has
additional information relating to this matter.
Givot said that the resolution just passed does so implicitly.
Lark said that he plans to contact Famularo and seek such information.
Dehn said that all of the questions that will arise cannot be listed
now, but it is important to get the process started.
Bisson moved that the Executive Committee direct the Chair to seek a
suitable person to review the Browne 1996 campaign records already in
the Party's possession.
Martin seconded.
Fylstra said that he objects to the motion because it consumes time and
resources on a matter which will not move the Party forward.
The motion passed by a vote of 4 to 0. Fylstra and Lark abstained.
Givot suggested that the Chair contact all LNC members asking them what
questions they would like answered regarding this matter so that there
would be the greatest possible opportunity to seek answers prior to the
August 2001 LNC meeting.