Tag Archives: Rupert Ditsworth

Strike Three For Rupert Tarsey As RPOF Cancels Next Broward Republican Meeting

Rupert Tarsey and his allies will not get their third shot at removing Broward Republican Executive Committee (BREC) Chairman Robert Sutton. On Tuesday, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) sent word that no meeting should be held until the Party hears grievances filed against Tarsey and Sutton on October 27th in Tallahassee. The next regularly scheduled BREC meeting was scheduled for October 23rd at Deicke Auditorium.

On Wednesday, Chairman Sutton and Vice Chair Celeste Ellich sent the following email to members:

This is to inform you that the BREC meeting scheduled for 10/23 is cancelled. Many of you are unaware that grievances have been filed against BREC Chairman Bob Sutton and BREC Secretary Rupert Tarsey with the Republican Party of Florida. Both grievances seek the removal of the respective Respondents. The RPOF which has ultimate jurisdiction over matters of Party discipline has set a hearing on all matters relating to the BREC grievances for October 27th. After conferring with the RPOF it was determined that the Republican Party would be better served without the possibility of inconsistent outcomes involving the respective individuals being resolved on the 27th. Subsequent to that process being concluded the meeting will be re-scheduled.

Last week, the RPOF stopped a “blatant case of a illegal meeting” called by Tarsey. This was his second attempt to remove Sutton. RPOF Parliamentarian J.C. Martin told the members that Tarsey failed to give them ten days notice of the meeting, which is a requirement of any special meeting. Martin said Tarsey could not even provide proof that email were sent to members. REDBROWARD reported that written notices were sent eight days before the meeting and received just 6 days before the meeting. Martin told Sutton to “close this down.”

One day after this embarrassing failure, an email, sent by an account used by Tarsey, stated the motion to remove Sutton had been refiled by Michael J. Kane and would be heard at the October regular meeting. The new motion changed the title of Kane’s association with the RPOF. In the previous motion, Kane was referred to as a former RPOF “staffer.”

In an interview with REDBROWARD, Kane, a BREC member since August, admitted he was not a staffer. The new motion lists the twenty year old Boca High School grad as a “former RPOF employee.” Kane admitted his motion is filled with information gleaned from conversations with Dolly Rump, Rupert Tarsey and BREC treasurer Kevin Moot. In fact, Kane admitted he never visited any polling locations in Broward County.

At the October 11th meeting, Kane admitted to REDBROWARD he has yet to cast a single vote in Broward County. In November 2016, Kane voted in Palm Beach County.

Once again, these young Broward newcomers with delusions of grandeur have wasted the time of Broward Republicans. Many members, even Sutton opponents, are tired of the games played by Tarsey and his allies on the BREC board.

One member said he was glad the RPOF “dropped the hammer” on Tarsey. (No pun intended).

But the October 11th meeting was not an entire waste. Rupert Tarsey seemed to enjoy the free Cuban food available after the abrupt end to the meeting.

I Stand With Lizzie Barcay

To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.”– Abraham Lincoln

Tonight I will stand with Elizabeth Barcay.

Ten years ago, Lizzie Barcay was a 17 year old senior awaiting graduation from the exclusive Harvard Westlake School in California. The daughter of two accomplished physicians, Lizzie Barcay was no spolied rich kid. Reports from her school newspaper say Lizzie was active in school projects meant to help troubled students.

Ten years ago, she encountered her classmate, Rupert Ditsworth. Sensing he needed to talk, Lizzie Barcay approached Ditsworth. She accepted his invitation to the local Jamba Juice. On the way back to school, Ditsworth attacked Lizzie Barcay. Published reports say Ditsworth hit Lizzie Barcay over forty times with a claw hammer. When the hammer broke, Ditsworth tried to strangle Lizzie Barcay. She survived the brutal attack. Ditsworth was charged with first degree attempted murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Three years later, Ditsworth would plead no contest to a felony assault charge. He served six years of felony probation.

Shortly after his arrest, Ditsworth relocated to Broward County. He changed his name. You may know him as Rupert Tarsey, secretary of the Broward Republican Executive Committee (BREC).

Last month, Tarsey and fellow board members Richard DeNapoli and Kevin Moot voted to hold a special meeting to remove current Chairman Robert Sutton.

Eventually, less than seventy people signed a petition supporting Tarsey’s ploy to become the next BREC Chairman.

I attended that unauthorized meeting. Dissenting opinions were not welcomed. Tarsey said I was not allowed to be there. Eventually, Rico Petrocelli called to the Plantation Police. The always professional Plantation Police asked me to leave. I complied. It’s not the first, or last time, some politician calls the cops on me.

Tarsey will try to remove Sutton again tonight at another meeting in Plantation.

I will be at Deicke Auditorium at 7pm.

I will stand with all the BREC members who have been threatened or pressured to play along in this childish game.

I will stand with BREC members who were victimized by cowardly anonymous emails.

I will stand with those subjected to homophobic slurs.

I will stand with those who suffered from bigoted religious attacks.

I will stand with those who were confronted, in person, by hired investigators.

Make no mistake, this was never about Chairman Sutton or fundraising or voter registration.

This has always been a raw power grab. An attempted coup intended to catapult newcomers into positions of power.

These delusions of grandeur were fueled by cynical operatives eager to settle old scores.

When Tarsey’s past made international headlines, his seasoned supporters should have stood down. Instead, these experienced professional men and women with families doubled down in their support of a young man who spent considerable time getting court-ordered medical help.

Tarsey showed no remorse. He blamed this reporter for making his past up. He blamed the victim. He said she was bigger than him. He said he acted in self-defense.

So, tonight I will stand with Lizzie Barcay.

The current scandal involving Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has exposed how his money and power kept people silent in the face of his horrible treatment of women.

His disgusting attacks on women were out there when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton took Weinstein’s money.

Now, celebrities “speak out” after they’ve been shamed by their silence.

Republicans never get that kind of a pass from the mainstream media.

Chairman Rupert Tarsey would be an albatross around the neck of every Republican. The media would demand every Republican denounce Tarsey.

The phony outrage machine would hold President Trump and every Republican responsible for Rupert Tarsey.

The media would continue to push the false narrative that Republicans do not care about women.

Tonight, you can say “enough.”

This isn’t about Bob Sutton. It’s our chance to stand up and say “enough.”

No matter the outcome, nobody can ever say you stood by in silence.

Tonight, stand with Lizzie Barcay.