by Neil Richard
Politicians CAN lie. How is that important to you as a citizen? Let's find out.
I know many of our readers are wondering why I even bother writing an article about Ruby Brabo now that the elections are over. I know a lot of people, including myself, feel that an article would be like the proverbial beating of a dead horse. But I have three major reasons to write this article. First, I need closure. This has been a tough journey for me personally and I need to put it behind me. Second, I feel it would be fiscally irresponsible of me to not write an article. I paid a lot of money to get this information and I don't want to waste it. And speaking of value, my third and final reason for writing this is to provide value to our readers. Part of our guiding principles are to provide information and to educate our readers, especially the residents of King George County. These three big reasons are what drove me to write an article that takes me down the dark road of politics, lies, and the law. Despite some claims, this is not a political witch hunt.
For those that aren’t aware of what happened, and for those that wondered why I spoke up when I did, here’s a brief timeline of sorts to put things into perspective. As a member of the press, I’ve received various tidbits of information via phone calls, emails, texts, and in-person conversations. I learned very quickly that in this role, I was at the bottom of the rumor mill cesspool. I’ve heard so many stories, large and small, true and false, that I’m surprised every day by what I hear. I’ve been approached by many people who try to exert some sort of pressure on me to cover their story, or some ribald tale, in an effort to reap some sort of personal gain. This is part of why we strive to check our facts before publishing articles. Even our opinions are rooted in facts as much as possible. For me personally, it’s my reputation that’s being published when I write. So even though the truth may hurt, it needs to be the only thing that matters.
My effort to double check facts and corroborate evidence is the reason for my poor timing in October 2019. When I first saw evidence of Brabo’s efforts to have donations to her campaign be under $100, it was in early 2019. At the time, I received a single piece of information. I trusted my source but had no way to really pursue any sort of story because it was a single piece of information and there was no way to corroborate it. In and of itself, it didn’t seem too damning. With some polite persistence and patience, I received a second piece of information from a source. That, when combined with the first piece, was enough for me to clearly see what I felt was a crime.
In an epic display of bad timing, I received that second piece of information the week of October 7th. On October 11th, as I was driving out of town for the weekend, more and more information began rolling in. I was fielding so many phone calls and emails from multiple sources that I finally told everyone I couldn’t talk about it until the following Monday, October 14th. The flood of information continued over the weekend and I finally had some time to sit down and digest not only the original two cornerstone pieces of evidence but also the further evidence I had collected over years and was given more recently.
I spent nearly all day Tuesday the 15th working on my own public statement as well as how to proceed. I knew many would see my timing as some political stunt that was an effort to sway voters. I knew people would think I was on somebody’s payroll or that I was someone’s mouthpiece to help them get elected. Let me assure you there is no documented financial connection between myself, Project94, and any candidate. No current, former, or future elected official has given me money nor have I donated to any of their campaigns. Same goes for developers and business owners. In fact, our donations are so paltry, we’re still operating at a loss of about $700 this year. I'm not in this for the money, I'm in it because I enjoy writing. But if you'd like to make a charitable donation here, we certainly won't turn you down.
As I finalized my public comment, and got approval from my wife and daughter to read it at the meeting, I was still getting evidence of potential wrong-doing by Brabo hours before the Supervisor’s meeting that night. I was so overwhelmed by the information, I knew I couldn’t process it all before the meeting and decided to instead focus on what I felt the worst offense was; the attempt to hide donations by having them made by different people in amounts less than $100. On the advice of my wife, I didn’t make my public comment at the Service Authority meeting but instead waited until the Board of Supervisors meeting. With minutes to go before they opened the meeting, I sent my email asking for five minutes to speak instead of three, included some of the evidence I had, and waited. I also sent emails to the appropriate law enforcement authorities about the potential of a crime being committed.
For those that don’t know me, I hate public speaking. It’s terrifying. Although I feel comfortable talking to the Supervisors and various officials in the County now, I still get nervous speaking in public. Despite this fear, I felt I had a duty to speak when I saw what I felt was a crime that had been committed. My reason for speaking in public was just as I said in my public comment, I feared that some of those sitting on the Board knew about the things that took place in the past but did nothing about it. So to some degree my comments were calling out the whole Board for their inaction, not just calling out Ruby's actions.
By the next day, I sat in a meeting with the appropriate authorities. I gave them all of the evidence I had, including additional information I received after the meeting. I knew going into that meeting that there was a high chance of nothing coming of the investigation. I had just enough time to do research on the statute of limitations and sure enough, campaign finance fraud is limited to three years. Seeing as the actions in question took place in 2013 and 2014, it couldn’t be prosecuted. And I was okay with that. Every second after my public comment was outside of my control. It would be up to the authorities to file charges or not. It would be up to the voters to vote or not. The only thing I could control was how much I said during the investigation. So I stuck to my scripted response of not commenting and tried to stay out of the public eye.
In the ensuing weeks between my public comment and the election, I was thankful that I was able to keep my job. Even though Ruby was a founding member of the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation, I still have a job there. I never suspected my employers would bow to any pressure from her but I didn't know for sure until I spoke to my employers. I was thankful that no harm came to myself or my family. It was a tense few weeks but I was prepared for anything and I did my best to prepare my family. I would later hear through multiple, reliable sources that I was followed these past few months. Thankfully every family member near and far was supportive. In an effort to be proactive and to shield the group from any potential conflicts, I stepped down from my position as Treasurer of the Friends of Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail (DRHT). I love the trail so much I didn’t want to be the source of any issues that may arise because of Ruby’s friendships with those involved with the trail and her past support of the trail. This resulted in awkward moments but I did my best to handle them with as much tact and professionalism as possible.
While many in the County breathed a sigh of relief after the election, I was still worried. I was worried about Ruby. I still am worried. Even though many may see this as a "Ruby thing" or a “Neil versus Ruby” thing, it’s not. I see it as strictly a “right versus wrong” thing. I’ve messed up in the past and I’ve dealt with the consequences. Captain Giles may not remember writing me a speeding ticket years ago but I sure do. I faced those consequences head-on because I knew I was wrong.
When I say I’m worried about Ruby, I’m actually worried about her well-being and safety. I know she’s been attached to her position as Supervisor for years and built strong relationships because of it. And, without sharing details of her private life, I know she’s had some rough patches in the past and that’s what worries me. I want her to be happy just as much as I want everyone to be happy. I can only hope she handles this break-up with more decorum and professionalism. Even though we’re not friends anymore, even though you may find it hard to believe, I still wish her the best.
All of the content in this article came from either Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests or from external sources that gave their permission to use the information they have shared. Additionally, some of the content in this article is protected under Virginia Code Section § 19.2-62.
Not everything Ruby has done is negative. There are plenty of positives. Preventing fracking in the County. Engaging voters through various outlets. Encouraging her peers to interact and connect with other local, regional, and national groups that build relationships. Being a voice for those in need. Courting industrial and commercial businesses to come to the County. There is quite a list but my focus is showing readers that it's legal to lie. So the sad part is that all of the good she has brought is now tainted by her actions, both now and in the past. The history she has shown to bully voters, employees, and peers now brings into question every deed, good and bad. Just like when a corrupt law enforcement officer or attorney is discovered, all of their previous court cases and arrests are now subject to more inspection.
In doing my research about Ms. Brabo’s campaign finance irregularities, I discovered that, with one exception, elected officials are allowed to lie to the public. According to Virginia Code Section § 24.2-607, voters can't be intimidated at the polls. Other activities are prohibited but nothing clearly states that a politician cannot lie outside of the election process. In other words, because I could find no evidence to prove otherwise, lies seem to be allowed. Short of other crimes like fraud or forgery, if anyone has further information on scenarios where an elected official is not legally allowed to lie, I would like to hear about it.
What follows is a sampling of the evidence amassed over the years that show what I feel is proof that Ruby Brabo bullies people either directly or indirectly. I also feel that the evidence below is proof that Mrs. Brabo lies or manipulates information in such a way as to result in a lie. I will remind everyone that none of this is proof of any crime being committed. I will also remind everyone that Ruby Brabo appears to be the focus of this article solely because she is the only one that has been caught in a lie.
2013-10-15 - Facebook message from Ruby Brabo asking a potential donor "...is there another name we can use other than yours? Such as your wife??..." The donor responds with the name of an employee and Brabo responds "If you are sure [redacted] is fine, then let's do that. Safer."
2013-10-28 - Another Facebook message from Ruby Brabo where she states that "[redacted current County employee] is the worst!!!" After more insults Brabo says "We definitely have some major house cleaning to do and some of them already know who they are. They are getting very scared because they know if I get my 3 [votes on the Board], then their days are numbered."
2014-10-15 - Email from Ruby to a potential donor on how to submit donations of $99 "...from different accounts."
2015-01-08 - Facebook message from Ruby Brabo stating "Well, if we could ever get 3 votes on the board [of Supervisors], Jack [Green], the county administrator and a couple of others would be gone so fast."
2015-08-05 - Email from Ruby Brabo stating the Landfill Advisory Committee should be disbanded.
2018-03-06 - Voicemail from Ruby Brabo to me claiming Smoot Library has been mismanaged for years and funding has gone up $200,000 over the last two years, 2016 and 2017. Based on County Budget documents, the Smoot budget hasn't seen an increase that large in over ten years.
Politicians CAN lie. How is that important to you as a citizen? Let's find out.
Origin Story
I know many of our readers are wondering why I even bother writing an article about Ruby Brabo now that the elections are over. I know a lot of people, including myself, feel that an article would be like the proverbial beating of a dead horse. But I have three major reasons to write this article. First, I need closure. This has been a tough journey for me personally and I need to put it behind me. Second, I feel it would be fiscally irresponsible of me to not write an article. I paid a lot of money to get this information and I don't want to waste it. And speaking of value, my third and final reason for writing this is to provide value to our readers. Part of our guiding principles are to provide information and to educate our readers, especially the residents of King George County. These three big reasons are what drove me to write an article that takes me down the dark road of politics, lies, and the law. Despite some claims, this is not a political witch hunt.
For those that aren’t aware of what happened, and for those that wondered why I spoke up when I did, here’s a brief timeline of sorts to put things into perspective. As a member of the press, I’ve received various tidbits of information via phone calls, emails, texts, and in-person conversations. I learned very quickly that in this role, I was at the bottom of the rumor mill cesspool. I’ve heard so many stories, large and small, true and false, that I’m surprised every day by what I hear. I’ve been approached by many people who try to exert some sort of pressure on me to cover their story, or some ribald tale, in an effort to reap some sort of personal gain. This is part of why we strive to check our facts before publishing articles. Even our opinions are rooted in facts as much as possible. For me personally, it’s my reputation that’s being published when I write. So even though the truth may hurt, it needs to be the only thing that matters.
My effort to double check facts and corroborate evidence is the reason for my poor timing in October 2019. When I first saw evidence of Brabo’s efforts to have donations to her campaign be under $100, it was in early 2019. At the time, I received a single piece of information. I trusted my source but had no way to really pursue any sort of story because it was a single piece of information and there was no way to corroborate it. In and of itself, it didn’t seem too damning. With some polite persistence and patience, I received a second piece of information from a source. That, when combined with the first piece, was enough for me to clearly see what I felt was a crime.
In an epic display of bad timing, I received that second piece of information the week of October 7th. On October 11th, as I was driving out of town for the weekend, more and more information began rolling in. I was fielding so many phone calls and emails from multiple sources that I finally told everyone I couldn’t talk about it until the following Monday, October 14th. The flood of information continued over the weekend and I finally had some time to sit down and digest not only the original two cornerstone pieces of evidence but also the further evidence I had collected over years and was given more recently.
I spent nearly all day Tuesday the 15th working on my own public statement as well as how to proceed. I knew many would see my timing as some political stunt that was an effort to sway voters. I knew people would think I was on somebody’s payroll or that I was someone’s mouthpiece to help them get elected. Let me assure you there is no documented financial connection between myself, Project94, and any candidate. No current, former, or future elected official has given me money nor have I donated to any of their campaigns. Same goes for developers and business owners. In fact, our donations are so paltry, we’re still operating at a loss of about $700 this year. I'm not in this for the money, I'm in it because I enjoy writing. But if you'd like to make a charitable donation here, we certainly won't turn you down.
As I finalized my public comment, and got approval from my wife and daughter to read it at the meeting, I was still getting evidence of potential wrong-doing by Brabo hours before the Supervisor’s meeting that night. I was so overwhelmed by the information, I knew I couldn’t process it all before the meeting and decided to instead focus on what I felt the worst offense was; the attempt to hide donations by having them made by different people in amounts less than $100. On the advice of my wife, I didn’t make my public comment at the Service Authority meeting but instead waited until the Board of Supervisors meeting. With minutes to go before they opened the meeting, I sent my email asking for five minutes to speak instead of three, included some of the evidence I had, and waited. I also sent emails to the appropriate law enforcement authorities about the potential of a crime being committed.
For those that don’t know me, I hate public speaking. It’s terrifying. Although I feel comfortable talking to the Supervisors and various officials in the County now, I still get nervous speaking in public. Despite this fear, I felt I had a duty to speak when I saw what I felt was a crime that had been committed. My reason for speaking in public was just as I said in my public comment, I feared that some of those sitting on the Board knew about the things that took place in the past but did nothing about it. So to some degree my comments were calling out the whole Board for their inaction, not just calling out Ruby's actions.
By the next day, I sat in a meeting with the appropriate authorities. I gave them all of the evidence I had, including additional information I received after the meeting. I knew going into that meeting that there was a high chance of nothing coming of the investigation. I had just enough time to do research on the statute of limitations and sure enough, campaign finance fraud is limited to three years. Seeing as the actions in question took place in 2013 and 2014, it couldn’t be prosecuted. And I was okay with that. Every second after my public comment was outside of my control. It would be up to the authorities to file charges or not. It would be up to the voters to vote or not. The only thing I could control was how much I said during the investigation. So I stuck to my scripted response of not commenting and tried to stay out of the public eye.
In the ensuing weeks between my public comment and the election, I was thankful that I was able to keep my job. Even though Ruby was a founding member of the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation, I still have a job there. I never suspected my employers would bow to any pressure from her but I didn't know for sure until I spoke to my employers. I was thankful that no harm came to myself or my family. It was a tense few weeks but I was prepared for anything and I did my best to prepare my family. I would later hear through multiple, reliable sources that I was followed these past few months. Thankfully every family member near and far was supportive. In an effort to be proactive and to shield the group from any potential conflicts, I stepped down from my position as Treasurer of the Friends of Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail (DRHT). I love the trail so much I didn’t want to be the source of any issues that may arise because of Ruby’s friendships with those involved with the trail and her past support of the trail. This resulted in awkward moments but I did my best to handle them with as much tact and professionalism as possible.
While many in the County breathed a sigh of relief after the election, I was still worried. I was worried about Ruby. I still am worried. Even though many may see this as a "Ruby thing" or a “Neil versus Ruby” thing, it’s not. I see it as strictly a “right versus wrong” thing. I’ve messed up in the past and I’ve dealt with the consequences. Captain Giles may not remember writing me a speeding ticket years ago but I sure do. I faced those consequences head-on because I knew I was wrong.
When I say I’m worried about Ruby, I’m actually worried about her well-being and safety. I know she’s been attached to her position as Supervisor for years and built strong relationships because of it. And, without sharing details of her private life, I know she’s had some rough patches in the past and that’s what worries me. I want her to be happy just as much as I want everyone to be happy. I can only hope she handles this break-up with more decorum and professionalism. Even though we’re not friends anymore, even though you may find it hard to believe, I still wish her the best.
Disclaimer
All of the content in this article came from either Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests or from external sources that gave their permission to use the information they have shared. Additionally, some of the content in this article is protected under Virginia Code Section § 19.2-62.
Positives
Not everything Ruby has done is negative. There are plenty of positives. Preventing fracking in the County. Engaging voters through various outlets. Encouraging her peers to interact and connect with other local, regional, and national groups that build relationships. Being a voice for those in need. Courting industrial and commercial businesses to come to the County. There is quite a list but my focus is showing readers that it's legal to lie. So the sad part is that all of the good she has brought is now tainted by her actions, both now and in the past. The history she has shown to bully voters, employees, and peers now brings into question every deed, good and bad. Just like when a corrupt law enforcement officer or attorney is discovered, all of their previous court cases and arrests are now subject to more inspection.
Lies Are Legal
In doing my research about Ms. Brabo’s campaign finance irregularities, I discovered that, with one exception, elected officials are allowed to lie to the public. According to Virginia Code Section § 24.2-607, voters can't be intimidated at the polls. Other activities are prohibited but nothing clearly states that a politician cannot lie outside of the election process. In other words, because I could find no evidence to prove otherwise, lies seem to be allowed. Short of other crimes like fraud or forgery, if anyone has further information on scenarios where an elected official is not legally allowed to lie, I would like to hear about it.
per quod
What follows is a sampling of the evidence amassed over the years that show what I feel is proof that Ruby Brabo bullies people either directly or indirectly. I also feel that the evidence below is proof that Mrs. Brabo lies or manipulates information in such a way as to result in a lie. I will remind everyone that none of this is proof of any crime being committed. I will also remind everyone that Ruby Brabo appears to be the focus of this article solely because she is the only one that has been caught in a lie.
2013-10-15 - Facebook message from Ruby Brabo asking a potential donor "...is there another name we can use other than yours? Such as your wife??..." The donor responds with the name of an employee and Brabo responds "If you are sure [redacted] is fine, then let's do that. Safer."
2013-10-28 - Another Facebook message from Ruby Brabo where she states that "[redacted current County employee] is the worst!!!" After more insults Brabo says "We definitely have some major house cleaning to do and some of them already know who they are. They are getting very scared because they know if I get my 3 [votes on the Board], then their days are numbered."
2014-10-15 - Email from Ruby to a potential donor on how to submit donations of $99 "...from different accounts."
2015-01-08 - Facebook message from Ruby Brabo stating "Well, if we could ever get 3 votes on the board [of Supervisors], Jack [Green], the county administrator and a couple of others would be gone so fast."
2015-08-05 - Email from Ruby Brabo stating the Landfill Advisory Committee should be disbanded.
2018-03-06 - Voicemail from Ruby Brabo to me claiming Smoot Library has been mismanaged for years and funding has gone up $200,000 over the last two years, 2016 and 2017. Based on County Budget documents, the Smoot budget hasn't seen an increase that large in over ten years.
2019-03-12 to 2019-03-14 - Email from Ruby Brabo to a resident stating that "Spotsylvania [Regional Medical Center] visited the facility [the medical building on Journal Parkway] twice and is considering leasing it." When the resident challenged this and didn't get a response, they asked the other Supervisors to clarify. Jeff Bueche did so, stating "In fact I was advised that Spotsylvania expressed that they had no interest in King George."
2019-10-03 - String of Facebook messages from a resident to myself claiming a current County employee was caught "...forging documents and letters..." This stems from the email Ruby Brabo sent to a resident, and others, in an attempt to stop or delay the Hertenstein rezoning request.
2019-10-06 - I base my theory that there was malicious intent by Brabo towards the Hertenstein rezoning hearing based on the fact that she
received an email from someone directly involved with her campaign asking if the
hearing had been stopped yet.
2019-10-02 to 2019-10-07 - There are multiple emails from Ruby Brabo to various residents regarding the Hertenstein rezoning. In the aforementioned messages I received via Facebook on October 3rd, one resident claims that they "Submitted a foia [sic] request this afternoon..." Brabo meanwhile had already sent them the email in question the day before. Even worse, when an official FOIA request was filed asking for these specific emails as well as Facebook and text messages, she returned nothing related to this particular individual and has yet to provide readable text and Facebook messages. In addition to violating the County's own Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, again, I feel Ruby Brabo has intentionally defied Federal and state law by not including this information. With a full 14 business days since the request was filed on October 15th, Brabo appears to have become emboldened to do what she wants regardless of the consequences.
2019-10-10 - Shortly after the Facebook message below, it was discovered that Ruby Brabo is the administrator for Jeff Bueche's Official Supervisor Page on Facebook. On the surface, this exchange shows as Bueche responding to the question below from a resident. When asked about this exchange, Bueche answered, on the record, "that was not me who responded. I was not aware of the message till I saw a response from [redacted - County resident] which was a [thumbs up emoji]."
2019-10-15 - When confronted with leaking the email to a particular resident, Ruby Brabo feigns ignorance. Then blames her fellow Supervisor Jeff Bueche. According to my evidence, Bueche, nor any other Supervisor, sent the email in question to anyone. She would later go on to claim that Jack Green, Joe Griezka, Dale Sisson, Jim Howard, Cedell Brooks, and a current County employee are all gone because of her "...in an effort to get rid of the crookedness." And then brags about being the Administrator of Jeff Bueche's Official Facebook Page.
Closure
I know a lot of people are going to wonder why on Earth did you write this article? Why on Earth are you still beating this dead horse? Well, because in the end, I have empathy for Ruby. I don't think we are friends anymore but we were friends once. She's still human. I'm still human. My only hope is that out of all this drama, she can reinvent her life, reinvent herself. She needs to take ownership of what she's done wrong. She needs to acknowledge that she's done wrong. Accountability is attractive and she has yet to show any accountability for her actions. There has been a constant trend to always blame somebody else when something goes wrong. Once she can take ownership and realize what she's done maybe, just maybe, she can move forward and be a better person. My honest hope, my bottom line wish for this whole article is that, in the end, Ruby will be a better person because of it. In the end, 20 years down the road, I sincerely hope she will look back and say “I was wrong then but I'm a better person now.”
Financial Responsibility
I spent $324.02 on this last FOIA request and I still haven't received all of the information I've asked for. Not because of County staff being at fault but rather because Ruby Brabo refuses to acknowledge that she is legally required to provide said information. While she suggests using FOIA to threaten people, I use it to learn and to educate my readers. So if that means spending a few hundred dollars to get the truth, then that's what I need to spend. If you would like to help ease my financial burden, if you have found this article or anything else we have written helpful, please consider donating to Project94. We are a Federally recognized non-profit organization that has registered with the State as required. You can find a link at the end of this article to donate via PayPal or you can always donate in person via cash or check.
Informational Value
On a more macro scale, I hope our readers have learned that, even though it seems elected officials can legally lie, it's still okay to trust people. You can still trust people but you still need to verify the information they give you. Don't be afraid to question your duly elected public servants. Don't be afraid to challenge the information they give you when you have proof to the contrary. I've said it before and I'll say it again that I hope our readers verify my own work here. I welcome any evidence you have that proves I'm wrong because that makes me more educated. I've been called a liar by many people yet I still stand behind veracity of my work. So if there's something I got wrong, I'll happily go back and amend my article. And finally, I hope you review the evidence I've presented and make your own decision.
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Thank you for the information. I appreciate transparency on elected officials.
ReplyDeleteAnd we appreciate you reading our work. Thanks!
DeleteActually anyone can lie.
ReplyDelete