Trinidad police investigate Salzman
by HANK SIMS AND HELEN SANDERSON
Following the Journal's exposure of his pseudonymous letter-to-the-editor campaign, the Trinidad Police Department began actively conducting a criminal investigation of local political consultant Richard Salzman last week.
Trinidad Police Chief Ken Thrailkill said that he could not comment on the investigation while it was still in progress, but he did confirm that he was looking into the case.
The Eureka Reporter, a newspaper owned by area businessman Rob Arkley, reported on Sunday that the police action was sparked after the paper's editor, Glenn Franco Simmons, asked Thrailkill to investigate. As the Reporter has noted, submitting a letter to a newspaper under another person's name is a punishable crime in California.
Salzman, who lives in Trinidad, submitted at least two letters using the name of a supporter, Fortuna resident Dick Wyatt, and numerous others under a pseudonym, "R. Trent Williams." The letters were printed in a number of local papers, including the Journal.
The Journal has now uncovered convincing evidence that seems to indicate that Salzman has more recently used a third pseudonym, "R. Johnson," to correspond with local newspapers and at least one private party.
Looking over suspicious e-mails again last week, the Journal noted that at least one "R. Johnson" letter was signed with the same Eureka phone number that the "R. Trent Williams" letters provided. That number, which had been registered to a now-deceased woman named Patrice Sanderson, is no longer in service.
The address given in the "R. Johnson" letters is the home of 93-year-old Eureka resident Ruth Johnson.
Likewise, the Journal spoke last Wednesday with the owner of the residence provided to this newspaper in the "R. Trent Williams" letters. The home, which is located in the greater Eureka area, belongs to Robert Williams, a retired Humboldt County Sheriff's Office captain.
"I did not authorize him to use my address in a newspaper or magazine in writing letters to anyone," Williams said.
Also last Wednesday, Wyatt related how it came to be that Salzman came to use his name in at least two letters to the editor. He said that Salzman called him at home shortly after the two ran into each other at a Mike Thompson fundraiser this summer. According to Wyatt, Salzman asked if he could submit a letter using his name. Wyatt reportedly assented, after which Salzman called back and read the letter in question to Wyatt over the phone before sending it in.
But Wyatt said that he had not authorized a second letter that appeared under his name, one that was sharply critical of Fortuna City Councilmember Debi August. Wyatt said that after seeing the letter for the first time in a local newspaper, he personally apologized to August and sought an explanation from Salzman.
"I said, `Richard, I wish you'd read me the letter,'" Wyatt recalled. "Don't send any more letters to anyone under my name. He said OK. He said, `Don't worry about it, it will all blow over.' Well, it hasn't."
The Reporter's complaint to the Trinidad Police Department has occasioned some suspicion that the newspaper's owner, Rob Arkley, is making good on a promise delivered last year. In a widely circulated e-mail that was eventually printed in the Times-Standard, Arkley a Republican who sided with Salzman during the election of and recall attempt against District Attorney Paul Gallegos renounced his affiliation with the left-wing Salzman and vowed to "take it to" him.
"Richard, I see the devious way that you fight and I will take it to you in the future," read the e-mail, in part. "You, not I, are going to be the topic in the future. On Talk Shop, you will be famous. On Channel 3, the same. Poor rich radical from the city who wants to tell us all what to do. ... This will be fun. Get ready. You have had your run. Now, it is my turn."
Simmons said Tuesday that he had not consulted with Arkley before contacting the police, though he had spoken with Reporter Publisher Judi Pollace. He said that his concern was not to perpetuate a political vendetta, but to protect the integrity of his newspaper.
"We've been fooled quite a few times," Simmons said. "I'm still trying to find out how many letters were sent in by R. Trent Williams, but it's quite a few."
Salzman has been a prominent figure in a number of recent political causes, from acting as Gallegos' campaign manager during the turbulent recall campaign to supporting the efforts of environmental groups during the ongoing update of the county's general plan. He is the founder of the Alliance for Ethical Business.
***
From the same issue
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Opinions Wanted
by JUDY HODGSON
After writing my column ("An apology") two weeks ago, I left town. I wasn't running away from the fallout of our Sept. 1 cover story on Richard Salzman ("Web of lies"), also the subject of my column. It was a long-planned family leave.
When I returned Sunday after 10 days, I had a lot of catching up to do, reading other area newspapers as well as our own edition last week, especially the letters from Journal readers.
" I'm sure he is not alone," said one reader about Salzman writing letters to area newspapers under phony names.
Probably not, but in recent years, it is pretty rare simply because reputable newspapers in this area do check.
" It would have taken but five minutes out of your week to verify the authenticity ..."
Well, we did check. As you will learn in this week's follow-up report, Salzman went to great lengths to cover his tracks. Not only did he use the names of real people with their Eureka addresses, but he paired those with a Eureka phone number. When newspapers called that phone number prior to publication, a man answered to confirm that he was the letter writer. (The number has since been disconnected.)
Pretty clever. In hindsight, we certainly could have/should have used a reverse telephone directory and we would have discovered that the phone number didn't match the street addresses given. Which brings up the issues, what are we supposed to do in this age of cell phones?
" [It was] a matter that should have been settled through your back office "
Really? A public figure, who was front and center in every major political battle we've seen in the last two years? Because he's a liberal? Wouldn't that be, ah a cover-up?
I was particularly saddened that several writers felt that they have very limited access to these pages. Yes, we shorten letters that run on too long. (We recommend a word limit of 250 words to insure that we do not remove information you feel is crucial.) During heated elections when the volume of letters is high, we choose some letters that represent different viewpoints in proportion to those received.
But what about those writers who need more room to express themselves?
We would like to resurrect the guest opinion column (650-700 words). Instead of an occasional feature, we would like to make it weekly. If you are interested, please contact Editor Hank Sims at hanksims@northcoastjournal.com.
The letters continue this week, and Sims and Staff Writer Helen Sanderson report on further developments in the story.
Related:
the North Coast Journal - Web of Lies - Richard Salzman and other email phonies
From the Publisher: An apology
Rhonda Meehan's letter
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/090105/cover0901.html#Rhonda
Letters from "R. Trent Williams" printed by the Journal
Glossary of terms
Another Salzman alias?
Salzman exposed: Local newspapers reveal real names of letter writers
Supervisor Geist wants apology from Salzman
Police begin investigation into fake letters allegedly sent by Salzman
Editor files criminal complaint
Search warrant served in Salzman case
Salzman investigation forwarded on to state Office of the Attorney General
Trinidad police investigate Salzman
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