Well that streak ended quickly. It was a nice 10 day vacation from junk mail.
From the where are they now file is Annette Bosworth. This week her election law violations trial starts. The Argus Leader has a nice wrap up of everything that has happened so far. It all boils down to
Bosworth attested to personally gathering signatures when she was on a publicized medical mission trip in the Philippines. She also attested to gathering signatures on some Hutterite colonies, but residents interviewed said she was not there when they signed.
Good luck Annette, I hope you still have money left over from your senate campaign to pay for your lawyers. Oh wait you don’t. You used Forthright Strategy and they left you $33,000 in debt. Even though they raised over $2 million for you.
Constitution Watchdogs a project of Committee for Justice, Charity Navigator page. Opt-out here info@CommitteeforJustice.com and call (202) 270-7748. Their direct mail fundraiser is Morgan Meredith Contact page (703) 467-9341
Citizen Guardian run by James Carney. Citizen Audit page, Open Secrets page. Opt-out here: (202) 469-3433, and email info@CitizenGuardian.org. Also opt-out through Engage Direct Mail info@uscomplianceservices.com. It takes 12 weeks to be dropped from their mailing list. I contacted them the first time in March. I have to wait until June for them to stop.
MIO Frontiers. Charity Navigator page. Opt-out here: info@frontiersusa.org and call 800-462-8436. Their goal is to convert Muslims into Christians. Yah, good luck with that guys.
Pheasants Forever Wiki page Charity Navigator page. Opt-out here: contact@PheasantsForever.org and call (877) 773-2070.
Sweepstakes & Contests Entry Report by Guardian Entertainment Group PO Box 422 Old Bethpage NY 11804. This address also uses the names “North American Prize Compiling” and “American Reporting Center”. Ug these guys again. This piece of junk mail has been like a nat for the past year. I can’t stop this mailpiece. They aren’t selling anything, asking for money, or having a sweepstakes, so I can’t use a form 1500 to make them stop. If she hadn’t died I would file a complaint with the DMA. If that didn’t work I would file a complaint with my state attorney general.
One pre-paid envelope ready to go.
Drowning in Junk Mail 
Report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Territorial Committee of the
Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands
To: Territorial Committee – Republican Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands
From: Ad Hoc Committee as per TC Resolution of 11/15/2014
Subject: Report and Recommendation re. FEC Account No. C00553560 and Associated
Agreements
Members of the Territorial Committee:
In accordance with the Resolution of the Territorial Committee adopted on
November 15, 2014 (the “Resolution” – copy attached as Exhibit A) the Ad Hoc
Committee (the “Committee”) provides the following report and recommendation to
the Territorial Committee with respect to certain agreements executed by the State
Chairman purporting to be on behalf of the Territorial Committee; and FEC Account
No. C00553560 which purports to be a federal account opened on behalf of the
Territorial Committee of the Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands:
I. Document Production:
1. As authorized by the Resolution, the Committee served a demand for production
of documents on or about December 16, 2014. A copy of the document demand is
attached as Exhibit B.
2. Although some documentation was provided indirectly, no documents were
received responsive to the following demands:
a. Item 3 – all relevant communications between the State Chairman and Mr.
Saul Anuzis;
b. Item 4(d) – agreements for the services of Mr. Scott B. MacKenzie;
c. Item 4(e) – all agreements with third party vendors providing goods or
service for the operations of FEC Account No. C00553560;
d. Item 4(f) – all agreements with persons listed as recipients of funds from FEC
Account No. C00553560;
e. Item 5 – agreements with third party vendors arranged by Base Connect as
per Sec. 2(c) of the purported agreement with Base Connect;
f. Item 6 – authorizations for payments to third party vendors from FEC
Account No. C00553560;
g. Item 7 – documents showing payments from FEC Account No. C00553560 to
Scott B. MacKenzie or companies controlled by Mr. MacKenzie;
h. Item 8 – documents showing payments from FEC Account No. C00553560 to
Saul Anuzis or companies controlled by Mr. Anuzis;
Report to the Territorial Committee
Ad Hoc Committee – VIGOP
Page 2 of 10
i. Item 9 – agreements purporting to be between the Territorial Committee or
the Republican Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Mr. Scott B. MacKenzie;
j. Item 10 – documents authorizing the formation of a federal election account
on behalf of the Republican Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands;
k. Item 11 – documents appointing Mr. Scott B. MacKenzie as an agent of the
Republican Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands;
l. Item 12 – documents naming Mr. Scott B. MacKenzie as Treasurer for the
Republican Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands;
m. Item 15 – documents or correspondence of any kind between the State
Chairman and Mr. MacKenzie and/or Mr. Anuzis relating to campaign
donations to either the State Chairman or to the Diase-Coffelt/Canegata
campaign;
n. Item 16 – documents relating to any payments, in cash or in kind, made to or
for the benefit of the State Chairman from FEC Account No. C00553560, from
Mr. MacKenzie, from Mr. Anuzis, or from any companies, committees, or
organizations associated with Mr. MacKenzie or Mr. Anuzis;
o. Item 17 – all documents and communications by and between the State
Chairman, and/or Mr. MacKenzie, and/or Mr. Anuzis in the subject of the
Resolution, the implementation of the Resolution, or resistance to the
Resolution.
3. The following documents have been produced that are of relevance to the matter
at hand:
a. A “Direct Mail Fundraising Counsel Agreement” dated September 1, 2013
purporting to be between “Base Connect, Inc.” and the “official Territorial
Party Committee for the Republican Party of the Virgin Islands” (the
“Fundraising Agreement” – attached as Exhibit C);
b. A “Letter of Agreement” dated to be effective March 1, 2014 between “Coast
to Coast Strategies, LLC” and “the U.S. Virgin Islands Republican Party” (the
“Anuzis Agreement” – attached as Exhibit D);
c. A series of “Stop Hillary Now” solicitations used by Base Connect for direct
mail solicitations for FEC Account No. C00553560 purporting to be a project
of the “VIGOP” ( the “Stop Hillary Solicitations” – attached as Exhibit E);
d. A series of “Black Republican Fund” solicitations used by Base Connect for
direct mail solicitations for FEC Account No. C00553560 purporting to be a
project of the “VIGOP” ( the “Black Republican Solicitations” – attached as
Exhibit F);
e. A series of “Hispanic Republican Fund” solicitations used by Base Connect
for direct mail solicitations for FEC Account No. C00553560 purporting to be
Report to the Territorial Committee
Ad Hoc Committee – VIGOP
Page 3 of 10
a project of the “VIGOP” ( the “Hispanic Republican Solicitations)” – attached
as Exhibit G);
f. A series of “National Conservative Political Action Coalition” solicitations
used by Base Connect for direct mail solicitations for FEC Account No.
C00553560 purporting to be a project of the “VIGOP” ( the “NCPAC
Solicitations)” – attached as Exhibit H)
g. A series of contribution authorizations whereby the State Chairman approved
contributions from FEC Account No. C00553560 to candidates selected by Mr.
Saul Anuzis (the “Contribution Authorizations” – attached as Exhibit I).
II. Findings and Conclusions: The Committee, after review of documents and
information made available to it, makes the following findings and conclusions
relating to the status of the Territorial Committee, the Fundraising Agreement,
the Anuzis Agreement, and matters relating to FEC Account No. C00553560:
A. Status of the Territorial Committee During Relevant Time Period:
1. The governing body of the Republican Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands is the
Territorial Committee as provided in 18 V.I.C. § 303.
2. The composition and formation of the Territorial Committee is governed by §
303. Members serve for terms of two years. The Committee is not a continuing
body, and ceases to exist following each Primary and must be reconstituted
following each primary at an organizational meeting called by the State
Chairman for that purpose in accordance with 18 V.I.C. § 304. Thus, the
Territorial Committee elected in the 2010 Primary Election ceased to exist as of
the 2012 Primary Election held on September 11, 2012.
3. In the primary of 2012, contemporaneous with Mr. Canegata’s election as State
Chairman, there was also elected a Territorial Committee. As is customary, Mr.
Jim Oliver analyzed the raw data from the Board of Elections (primarily
comprised of the write-in votes), determined those persons who were registered
Republicans and who had been elected to the Committee, and advised the State
Chairman of the Committee composition and that as Chairman he was
responsible for calling the organizational meeting of the Committee under § 304.
No organizational meeting of the Territorial Committee was called. No
Territorial Committee existed during the period September 11, 2012, to
November 15, 2014, when the Territorial Committee elected in the 2014 Primary
Election held its organizational meeting.
Report to the Territorial Committee
Ad Hoc Committee – VIGOP
Page 4 of 10
4. Because no Territorial Committee existed during the period September 11, 2012
to November 15, 2014, all Committee Offices as prescribed in the Bylaws of the
Territorial Committee were vacant during that period, including the office of
Treasurer.
5. The Territorial Committee was reconstituted at the organizational meeting of
November 15, 2014. The Committee adopted the Resolution which, inter alia,
declared FEC Account No. C00553560 and all fundraising associated with the
account, to be unauthorized by the Territorial Committee; and ordered that such
fundraising and activity be discontinued pending investigation, report, and
recommendation by the Committee. Thus, at the earliest possible moment, the
Territorial Committee acted to declare that no agreement with Base Connect or
Mr. Anuzis or Mr. MacKenzie entered into during the period of September 11,
2012 to November 15, 2014 was authorized by, or binding upon, the Territorial
Committee.
6. As matters of both fact and law, no binding agreement could have been formed
between the Territorial Committee and any other party during the relevant
period for the simple reason that the Territorial Committee was not then in
existence.
B. The Authority of the State Chairman to Contract on Behalf of the Territorial
Committee:
1. The statutes, rules, and bylaws governing the Republican Party of the U.S. Virgin
Islands and its officers and governing bodies do not empower the State
Chairman to unilaterally contract on behalf of, or commit the funds or credit of,
the Territorial Committee, absent an authorizing resolution of the Territorial
Committee.
2. No agreements bearing the signature of the State Chairman purporting to bind
the Territorial Committee are valid or binding on the Territorial Committee. All
such purported agreements are void ab initio (i.e., from inception).
C. The Agreements Purportedly Executed on Behalf of the Territorial Committee:
1. The Fundraising Agreement is imprudent and deficient in the following
particulars and should not be ratified even if the Territorial Committee wished to
engage in national direct mail fundraising:
Report to the Territorial Committee
Ad Hoc Committee – VIGOP
Page 5 of 10
a. The agreement is incoherent, with numerous undefined terms and
incomprehensible vaguely worded provisions.
b. Base Connect is given free rein to enter into third party vendor agreements on
behalf of the “Client” with no controls respecting conflicts of interest or costs.
c. Control of all funds collected through the direct mail programs are retained
by Base Connect or its third party vendors, even though the solicitations are
nominally made by the “Client” and the funds nominally belong to the
“Client.”
d. The only payment to the “Client” under the agreement is an “allowance of up
to two cents ($0.02)” per letter mailed under the direct mail campaigns using
the Client’s name. The use of the “up to” language can mean “nothing.”
However, even if made, this “allowance” is carried on the books as an
expense of the FEC Account and adds to any accumulated deficit of the
account.
2. The Anuzis Agreement is imprudent and deficient in the following particulars
and should not be accepted even if the Territorial Committee wished to engage
his services:
a. The agreement does not provide with any specificity the services for which
Mr. Anuzis or his company is being retained.
b. The agreement provides for payment of a 25% commission to Mr. Anuzis’
company for all funds raised outside of the Virgin Islands, without regard to
the actual work performed with respect to such fundraising.
c. The commission remains payable for activities “arranged” through Mr.
Anuzis or his company even after the Anuzis Agreement has been
terminated.
D. The Formation of FEC Account No. C00553560:
1. FEC Account No. C00553560 is identified in all FEC filings as a “state committee”
of the Republican Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The term “state committee” is
defined at 52 U.S.C. § 30101(15) as the organization which, by virtue of the
bylaws of a political party, is responsible for the day to day operation of the
party. In the present context, as it relates to this account and to the Republican
Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands, this could only be Territorial Committee. As
previously noted, this account and all operations connected to this account have
never been authorized by the Territorial Committee.
2. FEC Account No. C00553560 was formed by the filing of original and amended
Statements of Organization (FEC Form 1) dated December 18, 2013, February 21,
Report to the Territorial Committee
Ad Hoc Committee – VIGOP
Page 6 of 10
2014, February 1, 2015, and February 17, 2015. Such filings are collectively
attached as Exhibit J. Each filing bears the signature of Mr. Scott B. MacKenzie,
who represents himself to be the Treasurer of the Territorial Committee. Insofar
as Mr. MacKenzie has never been, nor could have been, the Treasurer of the
Territorial Committee, such filings constitute false statements.
E. The Status of Mr. Scott MacKenzie as Purported “Treasurer” of the Territorial
Committee:
1. The bylaws of the Territorial Committee govern the election of the Treasurer. The
State Chairman has no authority to name, hire, or appoint any person to act as
Treasurer.
2. Mr. Scott B. MacKenzie is not now, and has never been, the Treasurer of the
Territorial Committee.
F. The Direct Mail Solicitations Made Allegedly on Behalf of the Territorial
Committee:
1. The Stop Hillary Now solicitations, at best, solicit donations under false
pretenses. They purport to ask for donations to a project run by the “VIGOP” for
the express purpose of stopping Hillary Clinton from becoming President (an
office for which she has yet to declare). From the Committee’s review of
documents publicly available and produced by the State Chairman, not a single
penny of the funds received through these solicitations have been used for any
purpose identifiable to any effort to oppose the election of Hillary Clinton as
President.
2. The Black Republican Fund solicitations are less egregious than the Stop Hillary
Now solicitations, insofar as some money (the amounts cannot be determined
from available information) appears to have been expended in support of
African American Republican candidates for office in the 2014 election cycle.
However, the total of such expenditures are a small fraction of the total amounts
collected by the FEC Account.
3. The Hispanic Republican Fund solicitations are less egregious than the Stop
Hillary Now solicitations, insofar as some money (the amounts cannot be
determined from available information) appears to have been expended in
support of Hispanic Republican candidates for office in the 2014 election cycle.
However, the total of such expenditures are a small fraction of the total amounts
collected by the FEC Account.
Report to the Territorial Committee
Ad Hoc Committee – VIGOP
Page 7 of 10
4. The NCPAC Solicitations are misleading insofar as there is no identifiable
political organization operating under the name of the “National Conservative
Political Action Coalition.” However, the name is similar to the “National
Conservative Political Action Committee” which is a legitimate PAC supporting
conservative candidates and causes and conducting legitimate political
conferences. The NCPAC solicitations could easily mislead donors into thinking
that they were donating to the known legitimate organization.
G. The Financial Dealings and Status of the FEC Account:
1. As of December 31, 2014 (i.e., the close of the 2014 election cycle) the activities of
FEC Account No. C00553560 are summarized as follows (see attached Exhibit K):
a. Total Funds Collected: $1,191,685
b. Total Expenditures: $1,146,203
i. To federal candidates: $39,500
ii. Independent expenditures: $32,000
iii. Operating costs paid (calculated): $1,029,220
c. End cash on hand: $45,483
d. Accumulated debt: $197,358
e. Amounts paid to, plus accumulated
debt to, Base Connect and vendors
(calculated): $1,226,578
2. Notwithstanding the unambiguous order of the Resolution to discontinue all
activities relating to or in connection with FEC Account No. C00553560,
operations have continued unabated. Attached as Exhibit L is a summary of
account activity for January, 2015. If one adds the January numbers to the
reports of the 2014 cycle, total activity to date is:
a. Total Funds Collected: $1,247,709
b. Total Expenditures: $1,230,825
i. To federal candidates: $39,500
ii. Independent expenditures: $32,000
iii. Operating costs paid (calculated): $1,142,440
c. End cash on hand: $16,885
d. Accumulated debt: $236,745
e. Amounts paid to, plus accumulated
debt to, Base Connect and vendors
(calculated): $1,379,185
Report to the Territorial Committee
Ad Hoc Committee – VIGOP
Page 8 of 10
3. If the Territorial Committee were to adopt or ratify the agreements with Base
Connect, Mr. Anuzis, and Mr. MacKenzie, as of January 31, 2015, it would find
itself in immediate net debt to Base Connect and/or its vendors in the amount of
$214,132 (accumulated debt of the FEC account minus the total of the stale-dated
drafts being held by the State Chairman).
H. The Reputations of the Entities and Persons Conducting the Direct Mail
Solicitations and Managing the FEC Account:
1. If one conducts even a rudimentary Google search for Scott MacKenzie and Base
Connect (under that name and various other names that have been used by the
company and its principals over the years) one finds a plethora of reported
alleged abuse and dishonorable conduct stretching back for years. A collection
of various the URLs of representative online reports is attached as Exhibit M. In
essence, Mr. MacKenzie and Base Connect and its principals are notorious for
collecting large sums of money through direct mail and internet solicitations for
both nominally charitable and political purposes while paying the lion’s share of
the money collected to themselves or their own related third party vendors and
passing on little or no money to the persons or causes for which the funds are
ostensibly solicited.
2. In 2009 Base Connect was ordered by the State of Pennsylvania to cease and
desist fundraising in that state due to an egregious abuse of fundraising
ostensibly on behalf of “Disabled Police Officers of America, Inc.” In that case,
the state appears to have determined that Base Connect raised $470,522, paid
itself or its related vendors $497,800, leaving the charity with a deficit of $27,278
(See Exhibit N).
3. The Wikipedia entry for Base Connect is uniformly scathing and condemnatory
(See Exhibit O).
4. Base Connect has recently “dissolved” and renamed itself as “Forthright
Strategy” due to the fact that one of its principals, Mr. Michael Centanni, pleaded
guilty to child pornography charges on January 5, 2015 (See Exhibit P). The new
“Forthright Strategies” maintains the same offices and telephone numbers as the
former “Base Connect.”
Report to the Territorial Committee
Ad Hoc Committee – VIGOP
Page 9 of 10
III. Recommendations: The Committee recommends that the Territorial Committee
adopt a resolution as follows:
1. That the Territorial Committee unequivocally repudiates all alleged agreements
with Coast to Coast Strategies, Mr. Anuzis, Base Connect, Mr. MacKenzie, and
any and all third party vendors, affiliates, or related persons or companies
arising from such alleged agreements (the “Repudiated Agreements”).
2. That The Territorial Committee declares that all the Repudiated Agreements are
void from their inception.
3. That all Officers of the Republican Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the
Territorial Committee are ordered forthwith to cease all activities relating to or
arising from the Repudiated Agreements and to cease all cooperation with Mr.
Anuzis, Mr. MacKenzie, and Base Connect and its principals.
4. That the State Chairman be ordered to deliver all original checks and drafts
received resulting from or relating to the Repudiated Agreements to the
Secretary of the Territorial Committee for appropriate disposition.
5. That the State Chairman be ordered to respond in full to the document demand
served on or about December 16, 2014.
6. That the Officers elected at the Organizational Meeting held November 15, 2014
are designated as an ad hoc committee and authorized and directed to notify all
responsible local, federal, and RNC officers that FEC Account No. C00553560 and
its associated fundraising and spending activities are not and have never been
authorized by the Territorial Committee.
7. That the Officers elected at the Organizational Meeting held November 15, 2014
are designated as an ad hoc committee and authorized and directed to take all
necessary actions to disassociate the Republican Party of the U. S. Virgin Islands
and the Territorial Committee from FEC Account No. C00553560 and its
associated fundraising and spending activities, including, if necessary, the filing
of appropriate complaints with appropriate agencies or adjudicative bodies.
8. A proposed Resolution to accomplish these recommendations is attached as
Exhibit Q.
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