From: Kristina Brunner
To: Hal.Morris@oag.state.tx.us;
james.anthony@texasattorneygeneral.gov
Cc: Christopher Krhovjak
Sent: Sat, November 3, 2012 6:33:51 PM
Subject: Addendum to formal complaint against the Animal Sanctuary
of the United States, dba Wild Animal Orphanage - November 3, 2012
To:
Hal Morris
James Anthony
CC:
Christopher Krhovjak
November
3, 2012
Dear
Sirs:
Please
accept this letter as an addendum to the original complaint letter previously
submitted to your Office. The information contained herein pertains to my
original complaint regarding alleged misrepresentation, misappropriation of
funds, and alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act perpetrated by the
non-profit 501 (c) (3) tax exempt organization's owners/operators and Board of
Directors of the Animal Sanctuary of the United States, d/b/a Wild Animal
Orphanage (WAO); f/k/a the Primate Sanctuary of the U.S. (PSUS), f/k/a the
National Sanctuary for Retired Research Primates (NSRRP), f/k/a The San Antonio
Wildlife Emergency Centre, f/k/a Primate Sanctuary of America ( PSA ); f/k/a
Chimp Aid; f/k/a Cat Haven; and f/k/a Feral Cat Rehabilitation Center and
Whisker's and Wag's Humane Society.
After
careful review of the July – September 2012 Wild Animal Orphanage Monthly
Operating Reports (MOR), I have identified numerous discrepancies that require
immediate attention by your Office and the Western
District Bankruptcy Court.
For many
months now I have elevated my concerns regarding the exorbitant amount of money
spent on fuel for the WAO's truck(s) and the unusual expenditures made on
behalf of WAO personnel to your Office and to the Texas Western District
Bankruptcy Court (by way of your Office), in the hopes that this Office would
take action to protect WAO public charitable donations from illegal use by
individuals in charge of the WAO assets.
I am very
concerned at the lack of attention to detail given to this case for the last 10
months. I am concerned because it is obvious your Office is NOT taking
my concerns seriously—just merely filing my emails to some computer generated
file.
Had you
been reading my emails, you would have known that:
There are
feral cats living at Talley Road. I was extremely upset to learn that no
one in your Office bothered to read my email dated March 5, 2012,
In that e-mail, I made it very clear that there were ferals still
living at Talley Road and I questioned what would happen to the cats once all
the exotic animals were re-homed. Had someone from your Office been
tasked to review the WAO’s MORs, then that person would have seen the entries
made each month for cat food. Just exactly what animals did your
Office think the WAO was buying cat food for?
I also
made it very clear in writing at the start of the WAO case (2006) that Carol
Asvestas ran a scam where she took in “ferals”; supposedly rehabilitating the
ferals at the WAO’s “Feral Cat Rehabilitation Center for $200-$300 per cat; and
then adopted them out to good homes, all which of course, never happened.
Taking domestic and feral cats to Talley Road was a death sentence for these
animals. There was no way for the WAO staff could know if the cats, now living
at Talley Road property, were from the areas devastated from the Hurricane
Katrina/Rita storms since, in Carol Asvestas’ own words, took in over 500
cats.
But let’s say, for the sake
of argument that some or many of the cats are from Katrina: You cannot
simply just leave these cats behind to fend for themselves, feral or domestic,
because:
Many of
the cats were illegally stolen from Louisiana and brought to San Antonio
(without Board approval) with the intention of using them as fund raising
props. Had you taken the time to review the documents I submitted
regarding the Hurricane cats scandal, dating back to 2006, you would have
realized that these cats were used as part of (one of many) a money making scam
dreamed up by Carol Asvestas.
To
callously suggest these cats should be left behind, to fend for themselves, is
simply appalling. Under no circumstances should your
Office advocate that these animals be left behind to die, simply as a matter of
convenience for your Office!
Many cats
were brought to the WAO, by Texas residents, believing that their animals,
would receive excellent care under the WAO’s “Pet Retirement Project,”
(yes--another money making scam) The previous owners were told that their
dog(s) and cat(s) would receive a loving retirement home, as long as the owners
made a significant donation for their continued “care.” Many elderly
citizens and people unable to continue caring for their animals, due to medical
or financial situations, left their cats and a donation, with Carol Asvestas.
WAO advertised on its website “Please make provisions in your will today for
the care of your animals after you leave this world. ASUS/WAO will accept your
domestic animals and care for them for the rest of their natural lives.”
Guess where the cats went? You guessed it—Talley Road. Therefore, the
WAO, and now the OAG, has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure all the cats
find a loving new home. No cat should be left behind!
Has
anyone from your Office validated Michelle Cryer’s claim that Ron and Carol
Asvestas stole the AKA semi-automatic rifle and the standard riffle from the
WAO? Michelle Cryer in an email claimed in an email sent to your Office
by the WAO attorney dated October 8, 2012 claimed, “There was only one gun when
we took over. I know the Asvestas took the others. When they broke in 3
years ago.” Question: Was there a weapon’s theft
filed with San Antonio Police Department made three years ago? It there
was, I cannot find it.
During
the WAO transition, I was in constant contact with Nicole Garcia, including the
evening when Ron Asvestas returned to the WAO office to steal computer and
paper files. The San Antonio Police Department was notified of the theft
and an officer responded to the call. Mr. Asvestas claimed he still had
legal rights to access the office’s files. He was not charged for file
theft since the Board of Directors failed to provide Ms. Garcia with an order
precluding the Asvestas from any further access to the WAO
property/office. A police report was generated on September 18, 2009 for
the computer and paper file thefts (90-734463). An off-duty officer stayed on
the WAO property that evening to ensure the Ron Asvestas did not return that
evening. The next day, all the locks were changed, preventing the
Asvestas from entering the property/office. There were also a series of
police reports filed with SAPD following the departure of the Asvestas, in the
attempts to recover office files and property held by Ron and Carol at their
personal homestead. I am not aware of any police reports submitted
by the WAO Board of Directors to the San Antonio Police Department for weapons
theft! I would imagine this would be the sort of theft the WAO Board would
have reported to your Office. Have you received any board meeting minutes
that stated there were stolen WAO weapons? I would have never of returned
to the WAO on December 17, 2009, knowing that WAO weapons had been stolen by
Ron and Carol Asvestas. And needless to say, I would have alerted
your Office immediately of any WAO weapons theft!
On
October 27, 2012, I contacted former office employee, Marsha Adams, and she
confirmed the WAO had more than one firearm in the weapons/controlled substance
locker. She remembered seeing the firearms and expressing concern for
their presence; wanting to know why so many weapons were needed on the
property. She remembered seeing the weapons after October 1, 2009.
Based on
this information, I am extremely concerned that a known felon (illegal
possession of a firearm) was allowed to steal at least one shotgun that we know
for sure, that is still in his possession, as admitted by Michelle Cryer.
On
December 30, 2010, I reported to your Office that witnesses observed the Cryers
removing most if not all of the WAO assets from the Leslie Road office before
it was sold. It would not surprise me in the least to learn that two of
the weapons were removed from the former Leslie Road Office at that
time--leaving just one shotgun behind for protection from escaped animal(s).
Based on
Cryer’s past criminal record and recent violent assaults against Ron Asvestas
and Michelle Cryer, I am concerned that he is escalating and if the weapons are
not found soon, he may use those weapons against those who offend him.
For
approximately one year, I have been reporting my concerns regarding the unusual
operating expenses the WAO incurred from 2010 to present. On July 31,
2012, your Office submitted a letter to William Davis, requesting he check with
the Cryer’s and “confirm that the fuel charges in question were for WAO
business purpose for caring and feeding for its animals.”
a. Has your Office received a response to your query? If not,
when do you plan to follow-up on the request, if ever? I ask because
there was no response filed during the period of my requested Public
Information Act documents (July 31, 2012 - October 11, 2012).
b. Since the Cryers proved to be unreliable and untrustworthy when
pressed for answers, why hasn't your Office asked for receipts of all
questionable purchases? Why haven’t your investigators checked the
mileages on the trucks to see how many miles were placed on the vehicles?
Normally, when vehicles are taken in for tire purchases, repairs and oil
changes, the mileages are written on the invoices. Since it appears that
a WAO truck goes in for oil changes, tire replacements, or automotive repairs
at least once a month, it should be easy to see how many miles were placed on
the truck each month.
By the way, I was not
pleased to see my personal email address and official complaint to your Office
given to the WAO attorney, without my personal information redacted. Mr.
Davis no doubt gave the Cryers my email complaint, alerting them that I am
aware of their questionable purchases. I am very concerned for my
personal safety as your Office failed to protect my identity. Why
wasn’t I given the same courtesy as you gave others by NOT redacting
my name and email address from the complaint sent to Mr. Davis? I
never gave your Office permission to reveal, as a minimum, my e-mail address to
a party outside your Office.
At this
point, I have very little confidence that your Office is taking my e-mails
reports seriously. For the record, I am providing this information, not
with the expectation that your Office will actually perform its fiduciary
responsibility to protect the WAO assets from illegal misappropriation by those
in charge of the WAO funds and property, but rather a record of my concerns so
the general public can read for themselves, the allegations that were made, and
the type of actions your Office took to investigate and prosecute those who may
have violated State and Federal laws.
Having
said all this, let’s take a look at the July – September 2012 WAO MORs.
As your
review this material, keep in mind the follow dates and events:
July 4th –
Jamie Cryer assaults Michelle Cryer
Sept 18th –
Temporary Restraining Order granted to Cryer
September
26th – Last of the monkeys left the WAO
July 2012
Monthly Operating Report
First
off, Ms. Cryer did not sign the form.
During
this month the WAO paid $738.55 for the truck’s diesel fuel and $243.54 for
“fuel for Talley” for a grand total of $982.09 just for fuel alone.
There
were numerous Bank of America withdrawals for this month: $2,600
7/3
|
$100
|
Used supposedly for “clean-up Talley
Front”
|
7/9
|
$300
|
No explanation – no receipt
|
7/13
|
$200
|
No explanation – no receipt
|
7/16
|
$600
|
Robert Rodriguez – 1st backhoe
(?)
|
7/19
|
$600
|
Clean up front of Talley – no
explanation how money used
|
7/23
|
$200
|
Labor for clean-up
|
7/25
|
$300
|
Labor for clean-up
|
7/30
|
$300
|
Labor for clean-up
|
Since the
“labor for clean-up” comment was so vague, there is no way to know if the money
was used to pay outside workers to clean-up Talley Road property, or if the
money was simply pocketed. Perhaps Jamie paid himself for grounds
clean-up, but did not want to report earned income from the WAO?
There
were unusual purchases made this month: $2,740.00
7/10
|
$130.00
|
Onion Creek Texas – no explanation – no receipt
|
7/16
|
$81.71
|
On-line order for nuts
(based in Los Angeles)
|
7/24
|
$735.01
|
Discount Tires
|
7/26
|
$128.16
|
Oil change
|
7/30
|
$664.96
|
Supplies needed for “clean-up”
|
7/31
|
$1,000.00
|
“rental
equipment for clean-up” - Ron Hoover - Boerne
|
There is
no known San Antonio-based business in San Antonio called “Onion Creek Texas”
-- I believe this to be a location – 10 miles south of downtown Austin.
Western
Mixers does not have a store in San Antonio. The company is based in Los
Angeles, CA. Why would the WAO order expensive gift nuts from a company
based in California for the monkeys when nuts can be purchased in greater
quantities right here in San Antonio?
Again,
monthly tire replacements and oil change were reported.
Ron
Hoover, RV and Marine Center of Boerne - Ron Hoover RV & Marine is a
family owned and operated company with 25 years of experience and expertise in
assisting customers with the purchase of new and pre-owned travel trailers, 5th
wheels, toy haulers, motor homes, boats and other RV and watercraft boats. At
Ron Hoover RV & Marine you will find one the largest selections of new and
used RVs or new and used marine boats available anywhere in the world.
http://www.ronhoover.com/.
Exactly what type of “equipment” did Cryer “rent” from this RV and Marine
Company?
Question: Where
did Jamie Cryer temporarily live in July/August since he has a TRO barring him
from moving back into the Cryer homestead?
August
Monthly Operating Report
The WAO
purchased $495 of diesel fuel for the truck and spent $16.79 to
fuel the gator. This is a significant drop over the last six months.
There
were numerous unexplained ATM withdrawals made this month: $1,126.00
8/1
|
$100
|
No explanation – no receipt – B of A
|
8/2
|
$280
|
No explanation – no receipt – B of A
|
8/3
|
$400
|
No explanation – no receipt – B of A
|
8/6
|
$100
|
No explanation – no receipt – B of A
|
8/27
|
$140
|
No explanation – no receipt – B of A
|
8/29
|
$104.00
|
No explanation – no receipt – Compass
Bank
|
8/29
|
$2.00
|
No explanation – no receipt – Compass
Bank
|
There
were unusual purchases made this month:
8/1
|
$138.78
|
Ron Hoover RV &
Marine–Boerne –no receipt/no explanation
|
8/2
|
$35
|
Renewal of Post Office Box
|
8/3
|
$220
|
Moncada Tire Store - 2 tires
purchased for truck
|
8/9
|
$1,500
|
South TX Insulation –
insulation for the WAO animal transporter
|
8/13
|
$220
|
Moncada Tire Store - No receipt – no
explanation
|
8/13
|
$20
|
Spot Free Wash – no receipt
|
8/13
|
$14.05
|
O’Reilly Auto Parts – no receipt
|
8/14
|
$700
|
Petty Cash - Supposedly for
monkey chow and produce
|
8/24
|
$75.02
|
HEB Grocery Store – no receipt – no
explanation
|
8/27
|
$29.39
|
Walgreens – no explanation – no
receipt
|
8/28
|
$38.34
|
Walgreens – no explanation – no
receipt
|
8/28
|
$9.00
|
US Post Office - Box
Rental (for who?)
|
It
appears the charge from Ron Hoover RV & Marine-Boerne may be a “monthly
payment” for a purchase made?
The usual
monthly tire purchases and auto parts for the truck was reported.
Why did
the WAO spend $1,500
to insulate the WAO animal transporter? Is Jamie planning to
transport animals during the cold winter months, once again, using WAO
vehicles, equipment, and donations?
Petty
cash for monkey chow and produce: Normally the WAO pays less than $300 per
month for monkey chow. On 8.8.12, the WAO purchased $1,102 for
produce. Mary Reininger also made a reimbursement claim for the purchase
of produce in the amount of $248.50 – paid on 8.24.12. The total amount
allegedly spent on monkey chow and produce for this month was $2,050.50. Are there receipts on
file for this exorbitant amount of produce?
Why did
the WAO rent a new post office box? Could this be a post office box for
Jamie Cryer since he no longer lives with his wife?
September
Monthly Operating Report
Well, now
isn’t this interesting. It appears the monthly cost for fuel dramatically
went down this month. Total amount of diesel gas purchased for the truck
was $288.27 and fuel for Talley Road was $124.86.
This brings this month’s gas purchase to $413.13.
This is still high, since the WAO staff made about 12 trips to various stores
(not including gas stations since there are several located on the return trip
back to Talley Road).
Again,
interesting to report, there were no ATM withdrawals made this month.
There
were unusual purchases made this month, some which I believe are related to the
Cryer’s marital issues and should NOT have been charged to the WAO, but instead
charged to Michelle Cryer for
NOT protecting WAO
assets:
9/4
|
$43.19
|
Home Depot – New Deadbolt
|
9/7
|
$371.88
|
Mary Reininger – Office supplies
& monkey items?? Receipt?
|
9/10
|
$118.92
|
Jamie Cryer – brake caliper, brake
rotor
|
9/17
|
$145
|
Banis Towing
|
9/18
|
$470
|
Pros on Call – locksmith – change
truck locks
|
9/18
|
$239
|
Pros on Call – locksmith –
no receipt (what locks were changed and where?
|
9/19
|
$112.
|
Mission Wrecker
|
Missing
checks with numbers: 1352,1353,1354,1364,1372,1373,1376,1378, 1379,1380,
and1381.
Michelle
Cryer indicated in an email to Mr. Davis, dated October 8, 2012, that a police
report was filed against Jamie Cryer for the stolen shotgun. At this
time, I have not been able to confirm Michelle Cryer’s claim that she filed a
police report for a stolen “shotgun.” I was able to find a San Antonio
Police Department (SAPD) “disturbance family” police report made on September
16, 2012 at 9:17pm at the Marquis at Deerfield Apartments (attached).
Ref: (CFS Number: SAPD-2012-0939205).
Based on
this report, it appears Michelle Cryer did not have the keys to the WAO
truck. Either that evening or the following day, the vehicle was
towed from the apartment complex to another location. It would not
surprise me in the least to learn that Jamie Cryer took the truck again, since
Michelle Cryer had to have the truck towed once more, this time changing the
truck’s locks so as to avoid future unauthorized use by Jamie Cryer.
Since
Michelle Cryer told the officer that Jamie Cryer used the truck numerous times,
undoubtedly for personal use, it would explain why the WAO paid an exorbitant
amount of money for gas each month, and why the SAPD police report claim was
filed as a civil and not a criminal matter. It appears Michelle never
filed a theft report with SAPD – instead she filed a “theft recovery”
report. What else did Jamie Cryer steal from the WAO? Why is
Michelle Cryer covering for him?
At this
time, there are no computer records from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
pertaining to any WAO theft claims made in July – September 2012 on file.
I believe it prudent that your Office investigate this situation to determine
whether or not a so-called theft report was even made to the Sheriff's Office
or any other law enforcement agency. Michelle Cryer should have a law
enforcement report number so your Office can confirm her version of the theft
story. Something is terribly wrong and I cannot urge your Office strongly
enough to follow up on this serious situation.
I was
told the WAO had two shot guns—one was located at Leslie Road and the other at
Talley Road in case of animal escape(s). At no time would a worker remove
a shotgun from either property, thereby leaving the workers exposed to possible
danger. In 2010, there were still tigers living at Leslie and Talley Road
facilities. I’ve included a picture of Henry Newman posing with one of
the WAO weapons at Talley Road. The accompanying photo caption
reads: “Henry Newman stands ready with a shotgun (just in case) Thursday
at the Wild Animal Orphanage as three tigers are prepared for transport to a
sanctuary in North Carolina. / jdavenport@express-news.net
The
Leslie Road facility also had an AKA semi-automatic rifle and a standard rifle.
Had either been stolen by the Asvestas, Nicole Garcia, fearing for her safety
at the time of the take-over, would have aggressively pursued the weapons
theft. I do remember in late 2009, speaking with Nicole about having the
weapons’ serial numbers checked out in case they were stolen and to check with
the DEA regarding missing Ketamine. Unfortunately, this action was not
completed because of all the problems caused by Asvestas and Cryers right
before Nicole Garcia was ousted by Michelle Cryer from the WAO Board of
Directors.
So the
million dollar questions are—where are the four weapons? Clearly,
Michelle Cryer knows where Jamie Cryer lives, so why hasn’t the police been
called to recover the stolen weapons—especially since he should not be anywhere
near a shotgun with his felony weapons conviction. What other WAO
property has been stolen from Leslie and Talley Road? The dart
guns? Controlled substances, like Ketamine? Is anyone from your
Office going to do something about this most serious situation or will your
Office continue to take a “wait and see” stance?
Regards,
Kristina
Brunner
 |
| Henry Newman stands ready with a shotgun (just in case) Thursday at the Wild Animal Orphanage as three tigers are prepared for transport to a sanctuary in North Carolina |
