Cyber Stalking DropBomb

[TonyW]

Last month I was asked to assist Shane Reed in moderating this forum to prevent it from being shut down.
The word comes from "moderate."
One TradGang member, Rich Lopez, departed this site to tend to his own business. His threats against Terry Green were read and recorded, but since Terry lives in Georgia and Lopez lives in Maryland, his internet threats of violence have yet to be carried out.
Then I was asked to moderate. Not ban, not threaten, not harass. Moderate. When obviously fake members, all with the same IP address, began to post, they were reported. One fake called himself "greasyshaft" or "Richard Manuel." (Guess who that was.)See the little whistle at the bottom – any TradGang member can report. Only admins can review and ban.
 Unfortunately, I live in the same small town as Rich Lopez and his website admin, Jim Raine. I now represent all of TradGang to Jim.  
This afternoon Jim Raine began to vent about me on Rich Lopez’s  website, and then decided to stalk my wife and child at our home. He threatened to continue "dropping" in on our cul-de-sac, and so far has begun his harassment by posting pictures of our cars, license tags, and home.
I would not like to see this DropBombing result in harm to this forum - the Classified forum is already being affected by this.
As members on this forum already know, I do not profit from this site. I realize now that brokering and hyping up bows to sell may have been Jim Raine's major source of income, but I did not ban him.
My wife and son are easy targets. I cannot protect them  or my cars , pets, or home 24/7, although my neighbors with small children have been alerted.  I  now have to worry about getting my tires slashed or my dog poisoned on one of Raine’s future late night visits.
I contacted Jim Raine on the Rich Lopez website to give him a chance to sober up before I take his posts to a States Attorney. This was a heads up to do what Rich Lopez did about his publicly posted threats against Terry Green – delete them.
Raine's response - "bring it on."
I talked to Terry and then forwarded Jim Raine's surveillance pictures and posts threatening more surveillance of my home and family.
Thanks to all TradGangers in advance for any help or support in dealing with this insanity. Expect the guys drinking with Rich Lopez and Jim Raine at Denton Hill to chime in soon. These are the guys Terry warned about in his post in the Classified Forum "Beware of Fakes."
As Terry Green posted on July 29
Thanks again....heard there was chatter of revenge on me at Denton.

[petalumapete]

Dam, this is a bunch of crap. It's one thing to have a excuse the expression "pissing Match" on the internet. Quite another to actually come into some ones neighbor hood and threaten thier family. That is way over the line.
If it was my family I would make my first call to the police and look at a restraining order.

Geese im sorry any one has to go through what you are.
This is a sport for Gods sake! It sure isn't worth jeperdising life and limb

[Shane Reed]

That was the most disturbing phone conversation I can remember having Tony. I made my contact to try and alleviate this situation. I honestly hope that this insanity stops. Not sure what sparked Jim to ask me why you and I banned him from this site? He should know that moderators can't ban.
  I tried to make that point loud and clear unknowing that you would become "his" target. I told him that there are other moderators, and they can't do more than eliminate postings, and forward information as any member can. He did make a public apology to me, but made it obvious that no matter what, he wouldn't apologize to you weather right or wrong on his part.
  I really think that he just snapped given that he knows you, and made it clear that he doesn't like you. I don't believe that this isn't the acts of a group, but rather one person acting alone.
  The fact that your home is being obviously the target of stalking is really disturbing me. I am very very sorry that this is happening. I feel responsible for trying to make the guy understand when he sought me out.
  I would have to hope that Rich would remove any and all pictures from his site. It would be crazy to leave them up. I also hope that he gets his friend under control.
  This stalking is an offense punishable by law. The most important thing is that you and your family be safe. Measures definitely need be taken to insure that.
Once again I am very very sorry for this trouble Tony.

[TonyW]

I never met Jim Raine in my life.
I never met Rich Lopez in my life.
I never talked to either on the phone.
Check my posts - I never had any dealings with either of them. They wouldn't know me if I walked right past them!
I thought both were a little odd, but didn't realize they were this unhinged until today.
I really think that words are the father of deeds. So what if Richard Manuel Lopez gets nervous and deletes the threats his website has been broadcasting all day. Deleting or editing this evidence is not very surprising, but stalking my family really opened my eyes.
Raineman is after pictures of me, my wife, and my son. Why he wants to identify us and what he plans to do after his surveillance is completed is cause for alarm. His obsession with me and his reckless behavior publicizing this does not indicate rational thought. I don't believe Raine has much self control, and I will warn my neighbors today. I would not like any of their family members to deal with him in case he goes off on a dog walker in my driveway.
Be very grateful that you live several hundred miles away, Shane.
Thanks Denis!

[Skates]

No wonder Terry is trying to do something with the classifieds. I guess this might shed some light on the nay-sayers of change.  This is absolutely insane that men would do things like this.  They are not trad hunters, or even worthy to be among the trad ranks. They are a disgrace to not only our sport but humanity as well. Keep us posted.

[LittleBen]

Tony,

I think it's fair to say we're all with you and Terry on this one. I don't need to hear any of the facts other than that a grown man is making violent and suspicious threats and surveilling women and children. That's simply not acceptable behavior for an adult in the United States.

With that said, and with all due respect, I think you might want to consider keeping such matters private, at least as far as they relate to legal recourse against an offense you believe to be criminal. You don't want to be in a situation where they can say you slandered or anything like that (not that I think you are, but better to walk on the side of caution).

Lastly, I would recommend you do not hesitate to pursue the most aggressive course of action available (legal course of actions that is). I would present everything you have to the DA's office, the sheriff's Dept, and or the police department depending on the particularls of your locality and your connections. They may not be able to prosecute him, but you may have sufficient grounds for a restraining order. That could stop things quickly.

[halfseminole]

I've encountered this before (I ran a few sites myself) and by posting it here, he's made sure that if something happens we know to look for him.  I'd keep details to myself (to protect your wife and children) but at least we know the caliber of the person and know not to deal with any of this person's associates either-someone who hangs around someone like this wouldn't be kosher in my book.

If he digs something up to throw at you-remember that many things SOUND bad, but context renders them understandable.  A lot of us can tell stories of something that sounds really really bad-but when you tell the whole story it is something that got blown out of proportion.  This isn't as much for Tony as much as anyone that reads about Tony.  People like this will pull any little thread to try and cast a bad light on people just to make themselves look better.  I'm sure Tony is on guard for such, but after experiencing something similar, I'm just tossing out there that they chose to attack me that way.

I've had experience with this before, and if you want me to tell you how we handled it I'll be glad to do so.  You've got my full support-this place runs too well to be coincidence, and I feel that Terry wouldn't have asked you if he didn't think you were the right man for the job.  Anything I can be of use for, let me know.