NH Republicans Pay $15,600 to Jam Democrats' and Firefighters' Phone Lines

[Grojlach]

Telemarketer told which numbers to jam

CONCORD — A Republican State Committee employee told a telemarketer what telephone numbers to jam to stop Democratic and firefighters’ “get-out-the-vote” efforts on Election Day 2002, according to a federal prosecutor.

Todd Hinnen of the U.S. Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section did not identify the employee in federal court this week.

Former Republican State Committee Executive Director Chuck McGee and state GOP chairman Jayne Millerick yesterday declined comment on the continuing federal investigation into the phone-jamming incident.

Allen Raymond, former president of GOP Marketplace in Alexandria, Va., on Wednesday pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Concord to jamming the lines of Democratic party offices in Manchester, Rochester, Claremont and Nashua, as well as the headquarters of the non-partisan Manchester Professional Fire Fighters Association.

According to court documents, Raymond’s firm was paid $15,600 by the Republican State Committee “for his services in identifying and engaging” a “vendor co-conspirator repeatedly to call without disclosing its identify with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten and harass persons at the identified telephone numbers.”

Manchester police have said Raymond’s firm hired Idaho-based Milo Enterprises to make the calls, but federal court documents did not identify the caller hired by Raymond.

Court documents say the vendor was paid $2,500 by GOP Marketplace “in exchange for providing the service of repeatedly calling without disclosing its identity . . .”

Federal law says it is unlawful to conspire in “making harassing telephone calls in interstate communications without disclosing the caller’s identity and with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person at the called number or who receives the communications.”

McGee resigned the day after The Union Leader first reported in February 2003 that Manchester police had alerted the U.S. Justice Department to the phone-jamming operation.

Millerick said at the time the party had in fact hired GOP Marketplace. But she said it was hired for telemarketing services to encourage people to vote Republican, not to jam telephone lines.

She also said that despite McGee’s resignation, they maintained that neither he nor the state committee had anything to do with the operation. She said he resigned because the had become a distraction.

Millerick yesterday had no comment when asked about the prosecutor’s charge that a state committee employee was in fact involved.

Hinnen told Judge Joseph A. DiClerico Jr. on Wednesday that Raymond received an e-mail from the Republican State Committee containing six telephone numbers that should be jammed on Election Day.

McGee referred a Union Leader reporter to his attorney, who did not return calls seeking comment. Former GOP state chair John Dowd, who was chairman during the 2002 election cycle, also did not return a reporter’s call.

DiClerico released Raymond on his own recognizance pending sentencing in November. Raymond faces up to a 5-year prison term, a $250,000 fine, or both.

The Justice Department said the investigation is continuing. It said the jamming involved more than 800 computer-generated calls and lasted for about 1½ hours on Nov. 5, 2002, the day New Hampshire voters decided many state and federal races, including the U.S. Senate race between outgoing Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Rep. John E. Sununu, who won.

William Clayton, president of the Manchester firefighters union, said he was pleased that investigators were pursuing the case.

“Sometimes, we get blended in with the Democratic Party,” said Clayton. “We are non-partisan and have endorsed Republicans in the past.”

In 2002, the union endorsed Republican Craig Benson for governor over Democrat Mark Fernald.

Clayton said the union has been providing rides to the polls for 14 years, “and we have repeat customers in the elderly high-rises. We never ask them who they are voting for, and ultimately, it was those people who got hurt.

“When you start taking votes from the elderly, who work hard to get to the polls, it’s unfortunate,” said Clayton. “And it made us look bad. Some got the feeling we let them down. I just hope (investigators) keep pursuing this and bring those responsible to justice.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: The Union Leader

A somewhat more biased source, with more info on the people involved: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/arc..._27.php#003113