Three found dead in home of GOP consultant

Darwin's Radio · 14th September 2007 08:47 AM

(NOTE, 8/24/07: While I am pleased that this entry has been posted on Digg, TotalFark, and Reddit to name a few, I should warn readers that if you come back and the blog is down, the onslaught of traffic from these sites is the reason you may find a CPU overload page here on occasion. A decent hosting plan should be able to handle Diggs or Fark hits, and I thought I had a decent hosting plan. But that’s a bitch for another day… should another CPU-slamming traffic influx be in the offing, I may temporarily re-direct readers to The True Crime Blog, which I had put on hiatus.)
Three men in their 30s have been found dead in a residence owned by the former Executive Director of the Georgia Republican Party in Orlando, Florida.
On Thursday morning a concerned friend of one of the men called the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities went to 2420 Hickory Oak Blvd. in Orlando where they found the bodies, as well as a pair of dogs. The dogs were still alive but had been alone for at least a few days. The men may have been dead since Tuesday…

Investigators have yet to release much information. No names have been released, but the men were all said to be in their 30s and white. Detectives haven’t revealed how the three were killed, save that it was through foul play.
At least two of the men lived at the residence. Investigators told local media that they found both firearms and signs of a struggle inside the home. Detectives also indicated that they felt they might be looking at a murder-suicide.
The address where this crime took place was also the Florida address for The Strategum Group, a political consulting outfit run by a man named Ralph Gonzalez. A portion of Gonzalez’s bio from The Strategum Group’s website:

Prior to founding the Strategum Group, Ralph served at the Republican Party of Florida’s House Campaign Division, as Executive Director of the Georgia Republican Party, and is a veteran of dozens of campaigns across Florida, from Mayoral Races to Congressional. He also has international political experience, helping to manage a campaign on the Island of St. Maarten.
Ralph Gonzalez’s national and international political experience, his experience and understanding of the political and legislative process, in conjunction with his unique political instincts, has made him a first class asset to political candidates and organizations.
Ralph was born in Miami, speaks fluent Spanish, and currently resides in Orlando.

Records filed with the Florida Division of Corporations indicated that Gonzalez founded Strategum in 2003 as a domestic profit corporation.
In early 2007 another report filed by Strategum with the state indicated that he had a partner based in Marietta, GA, Todd Schnick. Gonzalez apparently maintained strong Georgia ties, as Republican Congressman Tom Price (disclosure: Rep. Price and I attend the same church in Roswell, GA. - S.H.) could be seen as one of several politicos giving testimonials for Strategum on the Group’s website.
Another testimonial for Strategum was given by controversial Florida Republican Tom Feeney, who represents Florida House District 24. Feeney’s quote on the Group’s site read:

Ralph Gonzalez was a key part of my team at House Campaigns when I was Florida Speaker of the House as well as my congressional race. The team at Strategum Group have been valued advisors on key issues in my district. They are a huge asset to any candidate or organization. There simply is no one better at strategy and analysis. I am proud to work with Ralph and the Strategum Group!

Feeney’s bio on Wikipedia points out that he was once called one of the “20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress” by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Blogger Brad Friedman has also doggedly tracked other possible instances of corruption connected with Feeney.
The Orlando Sentinel indicated that Feeney was not Strategum’s only controversial client:

Last year, Gonzales worked on the campaign of then-state representative Sheri McInvale, who was indicted last week after prosecutors say she fraudulently sought taxpayer reimbursement for a newsletter.

Whatever they did for their clients, Strategum was expensive. The Sentinel reported in July of 2005 that one failed candidate for Orlando mayor had paid the consultants $115,000 for “three weeks of work.”
This story is still developing, since the actual identities of the victims are not yet known, and authorities are only considering murder-suicide as one scenario.
Updates will be posted below.
UPDATE 1, 7:15 p.m. ET
Ralph Gonzalez’s career seems to have always put him one degree of separation away from infamous former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
When Ralph Reed was elected chairman of the Georgia Republican Party in 2001 [link], two of the party’s executive directors were Todd Schnick and Ralph Gonzalez. When Gonzalez filed an annual report for Strategum with the State of Florida Division of Corporations in January, 2007, Schnick was listed as one of his business partners. (Note: Todd Schnick is a name that you might remember if you believe the 2000 presidential election was stolen, and that said theft occurred in Florida.)
Ralph Reed has been associated with Abramoff since at least 1981.
Tom Feeney’s connections with Abramoff have been well-documented by Brad Friedman. This link goes to just one example.
Updates will continue as needed.
UPDATE 2, 7:44 p.m. ET
The Orlando Sentinel has confirmed that one of the men found dead in the home in Orlando was indeed former Executive Director of the Georgia Republican Party, Ralph Gonzalez.
UPDATE 3, 11:36 p.m. ET
The Orlando Sentinel has reported the names of the other two men found dead in the home at 2420 Hickory Oak Blvd.: Gonzalez’s roommate David Abrami and a friend named Robert Drake.
Central Florida News 13 suggested in this article that Drake may have murdered Abrami and Gonzalez before committing suicide.
Abrami, in 1992, was vice president of the Central Florida Young Republican Club. That group made the news in November that year because they’d planned a weekend turkey shoot [link — you’ll need to scroll down to the middle of the page].
In and of itself this wasn’t news. The fact that they wanted to use enlarged photos of then incoming president Bill Clinton as targets was news. The Secret Service, naturally, vetoed the idea.
Abrami also had a MySpace page he’d been maintaining since 2006. His last login was two weeks ago. There wasn’t much there, and only one friend. Had he taken the page down? Does it matter? For all we know, it might.
Another interesting note about David Abrami: according to this article published 10 years ago in the Orlando Business Journal, Abrami at one time was an employee of another Orlando-area politcal consultant/publicist, Doug Guetzloe.
Things must have changed quite a bit in the decade since. Guetzloe made comments here about Strategum and Gonzalez (if they were indeed made by him) in 2006. His attitude seemed to indicate he was no fan of Ralph Gonzalez or The Strategum Group.

Three found dead in home of GOP consultant