IN THE ASHTABULA MUNICIPAL
COURT
ASHTABULA, OHIO
RAYE A. SMITH
) CASE No.:
15CVF00096
525 Bunker Hill Road
)
Ashtabula, Ohio 44004
) Judge:
)
Plaintiff, )
)
RESPONSE
TO COMPLAINT
IN
)
FORCIBLE ENTRY AND
-vs-
)
DETAINER AND COUNTERCLAIM
)
MELINDA PILLSBURY-FOSTER
)
525 Bunker Hill Road
)
Upstairs
)
Ashtabula, Ohio 44004
)
)
Defendant. )
____________________________________________)
Now
comes the Defendant, Melinda Pillsbury-Foster, in Pro Se, and states
her Response and Counterclaim as follows:
RESPONSE
TO FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF
1. Plaintiff,
RAYE A. SMITH, hereinafter referred to as Plaintiff, entered into an
agreement to provide corporate housing as part of a package offered
Defendant which included a partnership in the yet to be incorporated
entity, Rubicon Aegis, in October of 2011. Housing included
Defendant's handicapped son. The final agreement took place on
October 25, 2011. Defendant was persuaded by Plaintiff's
representations to relocate to Ohio on these promises. There was at
no time any implied cost for housing, which was a legitimate business
expense deductible by the corporation. Defendant assumes these were
listed on the tax returns submitted by Plaintiff. The purpose for
relocating was a redesign for Rumor Mill News. Rubicon Aegis, LLC
is, according to the belief of Defendant, the owner of Rumor Mill
News, through Plaintiff's Ohio Corporation by that name. Defendant's
residence was to be of short duration because Defendant owns a house
in California which was left unrented at the request of Plaintiff.
The duration of residence changed at the request of Plaintiff due to
Plaintiff's failure to provide the needed resources to carry out the
project, which was to begin immediately upon Defendant's arrival.
Defendant was asked to wait for resources to become available, then
asked to find volunteers to provide resources, then asked to pay the
costs herself. Defendant was also asked to wait for full payment of
the promised salary and benefits, receiving only commissions on
advertising, which she had been receiving while still in California. These
changes took place only after Defendant arrived in Ohio.
2. Defendant was employed as Director for Advertising
for Rumor Mill News early in September, 2011. Defendant was told
Rubicon Aegis had not yet been incorporated and this would be one of
the first matters to handle when Defendant arrived. Defendant was
then providing advertising service for Rumor Mill News and for RMN
Radio. Defendant was also a radio host on RMN Radio and assisting
with management for RMN Radio. All required work was carried out
from California. There was no need of a relocation to facilitate
this work which was readily handled online and by phone. Commissions
were remitted to Defendant by PayPal. Plaintiff said Rumor Mill News
was worth nearly one million dollars at that point. Defendant
checked this online and the figure was closer to a half million, but
still substantial. (See Exhibits 1 & 2 & 23 – September
13, 2011 Email, Employment Letter, Letter from Advertiser)
3. In fact, Rubicon Aegis, LLC, had been incorporated
in Ohio in 2010. Defendant discovered this fact in late 2013.
Partnership in the second company would not have provided to
Defendant equity in the work she had been asked to perform.
Defendant asked on multiple occasions to see corporate records.
Plaintiff claimed she could not locate them each time. This claim
had credibility with Defendant because Plaintiff is a hoarder and
upon Defendant's arrival at the corporate headquarters, then a desk
in the corner of Plaintiff's bedroom, masses of unfiled papers were
everywhere. During the time when Defendant was working on the plans
for the redesign Plaintiff asked Defendant to pay for the second
incorporation and other expenses herself. Defendant refused as this
was not their understanding. Until late in 2013 Defendant believed
Rubicon Aegis, LLC had never been incorporated. (See Exhibit 3 –
Ohio Incorporation)
4. As part of her campaign to persuade Defendant to
relocate Plaintiff offered to pay for the cost of having Defendant
drive to Ohio. Defendant was uncomfortable making the trip because
Defendant is legally handicapped and subject to migraine headaches
and had poor vision. Driving at night is both stressful and likely
to cause migraines. Records of these expenditures could be obtained
by subpoena of Plaintiff's financial records for November, 2011 as
she called and made the reservations, paying for these by credit
card.
5. Plaintiff also expressed a wish to become
Defendant's son's Godmother and ensure he was cared for in the event
Defendant was unable to do so due to the inherited heart condition
which caused the deaths of Defendant's two sisters and one brother.
The expression of concern for Defendant's son, who needs care and
oversight 24/7, was a pivotal factor in the decision to accept the
offer made by Plaintiff. Defendant
invested a degree of trust in Plaintiff because of these expressions
which proved to be unwarranted. On the basis of these
representations Defendant agreed to come to Ohio. Defendant was
assured by Plaintiff money would be made available to allow her to
return to California the next summer if more time for the redesign
was needed so she could rent out her home, which remains vacant to
this day. Plaintiff refused to pay for these expenses when the time
arrived.
(See Exhibits 4 & 5, Medical Records Defendant and
son)
6. As one of her first duties upon arriving in
Ashtabula Defendant was asked to design business cards for use by
Plaintiff and Defendant and find a state where incorporation could
take place. Defendant provided three states as possibilities, with a
list of costs, these printed and handed to Plaintiff, as per her
request. (See Exhibit 6 – Business cards)
7. Defendant, while waiting for the redesign to take
place, wrote letters for Plaintiff, chauffeured her, began
arrangements for a conference, at her direction, wrote police
complaints at her direction, cleaned the house, built furniture,
cleaned the basement, still full of unemptied boxes from Plaintiff's
move from California, scanned and inventoried records supplied to her
for this purpose and provided meals for the special diet Plaintiff
claimed she needed medically. Defendant was never paid for this
work, which had nothing to do with advertising, for which she did not
receive the agreed salary. Copies of these, and of the initial plans
for the redesign are available and can be provided.
8.
Defendant has never been fired from the position of Director for
Advertising. Instead, Plaintiff shut off the corporate phone
provided and Defendant's Internet and redirected advertising
communications so Defendant was no longer receiving them, refusing to
discuss why this was happening. Defendant began using her own cell
phone and obtained, at her own expense, a hot spot and continued to
carry out the duties of Director for Advertising though she did not
receive commissions from Plaintiff. Defendant had been given an
email address created for her, themelinda@rubiconaegis.com
and had been using this since January 26, 2012. These actions took
place a few days before Defendant received the first eviction order,
as documented below. No discussion or disagreement ever took place
because Plaintiff refused .
9. At this time Defendant learned Plaintiff had been
slandering Defendant at the church they both attended in attempts to
characterize her as an 'uninvited squatter.' Plaintiff carried out a
campaign of slander and libel against Defendant at church and
elsewhere. Eventually, Plaintiff appeared to realize this was not
working and left the church. Defendant believes, on the evidence,
this was carried out to evade responsibility for the related costs of
employment, salary plus commissions and medical benefits agreed upon.
Defendant believes, among other violations of the original
agreement, Plaintiff failed to pay for unemployment benefits with the State
of Ohio as well. Plaintiff refused to show her the paperwork which
should have been filed. (See Exhibit 16 – Letter from Church
Member)
10.
Defendant discovered as a result of the slanders and from observing
Plaintiff that lies, misrepresentation, and fraud were essential
elements of how her website was run. On the site monthly pleas for
money, usually around $3,000 - $5,000 were made to pay Plaintiff's
personal bills. Defendant saw, after moving to Ohio, these presented
fraudulent circumstances, including health problems and other
non-existent issues. Additionally, further research revealed a
pattern of deceit which was present in Plaintiff's behavior from at
least 1992. In Washoe, Nevada, on Aug 30, 1989 Plaintiff married
Gunther K. Russbacher.
Russbacher was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 21 years in prison
in 1992 according to an article published in the Chicago Tribune
titled, “A Pro Con.” The article follows Russbacher through his
life as a con-artist as he impersonates military officers and
professional airline pilots and bilks unwary clients while acting as
a stock broker. Plaintiff and her husband were reported to have
defrauded readers of Phoenix Journal, a print publication, of
thousands of dollars through fraudulent use of their credit cards to
pay for travel and hotels and expenses related to the supposed
coronation of Gunther K. Russbacher as Arch Duke of Austria.
Russbacher was arrested in Austria while Plaintiff fled to the United
States, continuing to ask unwary supporters for money to pay for her
personal debts. Around 2007 Plaintiff began asking RMN Readers to
contribute to the purchase and construction of a 'Family Campground,'
which would be available to them when economic conditions collapsed.
Although Plaintiff claimed to have purchased land in the Rock Creek,
Ohio area no land is in either her name, the name of the corporation
or the names of those cooperating with the scheme in Ohio in the
records available from the Office of the Assessor. Plaintiff
extracted from RMN Readers between $20,000 - $30,000 from last May
until today supposedly to pay for a move, which may have begun but
has not yet been completed. (See Exhibits 13, 14- E, K & L,
Libelous Post, E - RMN Front Page, K - Phoenix Journal Pages 63 &
64, L - ARTICLE – Chicago Tribune - A Pro Con.doc)
11. Defendant was handed a first eviction notice by
her son, who found it taped to the door of
her bedroom on August 12, 2013. He then walked to
church, where Defendant was attending a Vestry meeting. Upon
arriving home, Defendant immediately called her attorney in
California, Dara Leigh Bloom, Esq. who wrote a response and demand
for settlement. This was served by certified mail but Plaintiff
refused to open it. A copy had been emailed to her. This was
followed by another eviction notice and response from Defendant's
attorney. Plaintiff again refused to accept delivery. NOTICE TO
LEAVE PREMISES was received by Defendant on or near the date of
October 29, 2014 and again Defendant offered mediation, this time
online at the website where she began documenting these events publicly, RumorMillNewsInsights.blogspot.com. (See
Exhibits 7, 8, & 9 – Responses to Notices & Photos of final
notice)
12. The website provided Defendant with more
information through communications from former RMN Readers and
present RMN Readers who were curious and persuaded by the evidence
provided that Plaintiff is actually a con-artist. These individuals
began sending Defendant more specifics on Plaintiff from online
sources she had not yet found herself.
13. During the period between September 2013 and
present Defendant has been harassed, threatened, and subjected to
multiple abuses by Plaintiff and her paid employees which caused
emotional trauma, potential injury and threatened her life and the
life of her son. These actions included vandalizing her car, taking
out lighting on the stairs which could have resulted in Defendant's
son falling and injuring himself, disabling the drain in the bathtub
and more. Defendant's son must use a cane to walk and has only
limited mobility. He is entirely blind in one eye and 70% blind in
the other. In January 2014, immediately after a home invasion and
murder took place in Ashtabula, Defendant and her son, Arthur, began
finding the front door unlocked, especially late at night. Because
Plaintiff had placed bookcases blocking access to the hallway only
Defendant and her son were thus put at risk. Arthur had always been,
according to Defendant, careful about locking doors even when he was
next to the door on the front porch. Defendant would get up several
times during the night, knowing she had locked the door, to find it
again unlocked. This stopped abruptly when the perpetrators of the
home invasion were found and prosecuted. At the same period
Plaintiff had been heard urging new paid employees to 'solve her
problem for her.' These urgings to violence were easily heard even
with doors closed. Plaintiff also indirectly received a death threat
against herself and her son made by Plaintiff and conveyed by a man
she characterized as one of her best friends, Alexander, Duke of
Manchester. This took place on August 22, 2014 and was received by
Defendant from Wendy Buford Montagu, the former wife of Manchester.
The message had been left on Wendy's answering machine at her work
and stated a contract, initiated by Plaintiff, was out on Defendant
and her son. Manchester has a criminal record which includes 22
felonies. In the audio tape Defendant is described as a “dead
person walking.” Defendant reported this, with a copy of the audio,
to the Ashtabula Police and to the FBI. (See Exhibits 20 & 21 –
Death Threat Audio, Police Report August 2014)
14. On December 30, 2014, the water was turned off at
525 Bunker Hill Road. Defendant called to ascertain the reason and
learned this had happened because Plaintiff had not paid Aqua and
was moving. Believing the utility company had been truthfully
informed by Plaintiff Defendant paid the outstanding charges and had
the water put in her name. Water service was restored within two hours. Defendant, worried the electricity would also be
turned off, called Illumination and discovered Plaintiff had ended
her service at the close of business that day. Defendant arranged to
take over the payment for Illumination, putting the service in her
own name. Defendant also provided a letter of credit from Southern
California Edison on her present service in California so she would
not have to pay a deposit. Defendant then called Dominion and again
found the service was being turned off and moved it to her own name.
(See Exhibits 10, 11 & 12 – Aqua Payment Dec. 30, 2014, Account
numbers for Illumination and Dominion, SCE Letter of Credit)
15. On
the basis of these facts Defendant was assured Plaintiff was finally
moving, as she had been saying online for months. Defendant called
the property owner, Robert Brobst on December 30, 2014 and left a
message, asking him to call her about renting the house herself.
Sometime later Defendant learned Brobst, had called at the request of
Plaintiff and asked the utilities be put back in Plaintiff's name
until January 30. At nearly the same time Brobst visited the house
and handed the Defendant a copy of a NOTICE TO LEAVE PREMISES made
out to Plaintiff, with a note including 'other occupants.' In the
interim Brobst had contacted the utility companies and arranged,
without the permission of Defendant, to have these returned to
Plaintiff but then returned to Defendant on February 2. Defendant
was not consulted and did not consent to this and again attempted to
contact Brobst by phone. Her call was not returned. (See Exhibit 17
– Brobst Notice)
16.
On January 16 Defendant learned Plaintiff had posted a libelous
letter on Rumor Mill News. To quote the relevant part of the Posting,
“
I do not know how long it will take my lawyer, my landlord and his
lawyer to get her out of the house. I have been told by someone who
knows her that she has been evicted 13 times before. This means she
knows every trick in the book and probably knows more than all of the
lawyers involved in this eviction. In today’s society most
criminals know their legal rights better than their lawyers.” This
was the first indication Defendant had that Plaintiff, Brobst, and
two attorneys were cooperating in what has the appearance of an abuse
of process and conspiracy.
The
charges in the post are libelous, and easily so proved.
Defendant sent a faxed letter
and attachments to Brobst on January 22 informing him she no longer
wished to rent the house and was looking for alternatives.
Believing she had found a place to live and struggling with the
constant harassment and threats made by Plaintiff and Plaintiff's
paid help, she wrote another letter on February 2, 2015, further
outlining the reasons she would not rent from him. Plaintiff posted
another comment on RMN stating Brobst would not let Plaintiff move
until Defendant had moved. (See Exhibits 13, 14 &15 –
Libelous Post, January 2015, Brobst Letter & Attachments, Jan.
22, Brobst Letter, Feb. 2nd)
17. Defendant is a person of good character and has
been the sole caretaker of her disabled son since September, 1997
when he suffered the first of two massive brain injuries. Contrary
to slanders told by Plaintiff she is honest, hardworking, and
reliable and has worked in multiple capacities in her community in
not for profit organizations for such issues as Right to Life, ending
domestic violence, feeding the needy, animal rescue and more. She
has been honored for her work on numerous occasions, most of which
was unpaid because she believes in giving back to the community.
{See Exhibits 16, 18, 19 & 22, Letter from Church
Member, Letter from W. Leon Smith, Letter from Gail Lightfoot,
Declaration from Ayn Pillsbury)
18. Defendant offered through email, certified letter,
and by word to enter into negotiations for a settlement multiple
times with Plaintiff with a reputable third party agreeable to both
Plaintiff and Defendant but received no response to this offer from
the time it was first made, September 2013, until today. She
believes the actions of Plaintiff were taken, involving others as
well, to evade being sued. Defendant has been attempting to find
representation for months. Defendant remains willing to accept
mediation if such mediation takes into account the events herein
documented, resolving all potential issues between parties and
mediated by a mutually agreed individual.
COUNTERCLAIM
FOR RELIEF ON FIRST CLAIM
19. Defendant asks the motion for eviction be dropped
because the conditions pertaining to an eviction are not present.
Housing was corporate. Plaintiff has engaged in egregious fraud,
misrepresentation, and other unlawful actions. Plaintiff is
attempting to use the form of eviction to evade the real issue, this
being the violation of contract and an attempt to ignore her
obligation as an employer to fire Defendant and then come to an
equitable settlement which Defendant could accept.
RESPONSE
TO SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF
20. Defendant hereby realleges and reavers and hereby
adopts by reference reach and every statement and allegation made in
the First Response and Claim for Relief above, paragraphs one (1)
through nineteen (19), as if fully rewritten.
Defendant owes Plaintiff the sum of zero dollars for
the use of the corporate housing assigned to her and occupied by her
and her son from November 30, 2011 until today. Due to Plaintiff's
failure to carry out her promises Defendant lacked funds to escape a
continuing barrage of abuse by moving and from necessity was forced
to remain in circumstances which were traumatic, uncomfortable, and
potentially dangerous.
WHEREFORE, Defendant demands judgment against Plaintiff
for Damages, Violation of contract, and financial losses sustained by
Defendant caused by the actions cited above. These include damages
to Defendant, her son, benefits never provided for health care, the
promised salary, and other losses directly resulting from the actions
of Plaintiff. The cost of health care, the unpaid salary, and money
paid by Defendant for carrying out the work assigned is One Hundred
and Sixty-One Thousand Dollars. The cost to Defendant of being
unable to care for her home in California and provide dental care and
other necessities for herself and her son come to approximately
Nineteen Thousand Dollars.
[[Electronic
Signature]]__
Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
Signed February 25, 2015
