This document is part of a series about Randall "Duke" Cunningham's attempted murder / suicide on November 25th, 2005
Home page for "Cunningham's Last Battle" web site / Contact the author / victim / witness Russell 'Ace' Hoffman
Follow-up on incident in San Marcos, November 25th, 2005
December 13th, 2005
Dear Mr. Soto,
I've taken the liberty of assuming that you have basically completely lost interest in verifying my assertion that it was Randy "Duke" Cunningham who hit my wife and I on November 25th, 2005 in San Marcos, CA.
I haven't lost interest at all, especially when I read (in your paper) that he is now required to take polygraphs whenever asked, and to confess to all crimes large and small. This was no small crime, unless an attempt on the lives of three people is irrelevant, and only money counts. Yes, I'm still very confident it was him.
In any event, I want to thank you for your time on this, and I hope the SD U-T will not publish anything about this until I have had a chance to get an investigation started and it has had a chance to run its course. Dealing with a suicidal maniac is delicate business, especially when it's your star witness in a huge bribery scandal, and making a confessed repeated liar tell the truth isn't easy, either. And that's as if there weren't just a couple of other complications in this case.
I have written to the California AG, from/with whom I have had significant prior correspondence earlier this year on another topic, and the governor, and I am also contacting other media, but this time only those with whom I have had prior contact (including, for example, one who actually rode in our Honda Passport earlier this year). I'm hoping that one of those reporters who already knows me, and in some cases has known me for a decade or more, will take a more active interest in this event.
By the way, another reporter from the SD U-T has been a subscriber to my newsletter for a couple of years now already, so you can be sure the SD U-T will not be left behind and will get any "breaking" news I might some day be able to release to the general public on this issue.
Best wishes and thank you again.
Sincerely yours,
Russell Hoffman
Concerned Citizen
Carlsbad, CA
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December 13th, 2005
Dear Mr. Soto,
Thanks for getting back to me. Technically, you wouldn't say WE live "near" San Marcos, either, would you? But there we were, and we don't even have an office in Escondido!
Anyway, if you decide to continue researching the matter, please recall that it could ONLY have been the Chevy Tracker, not the prior versions of that car, and I knew this by midnight Friday night after a little Internet car viewing to find a match. And it had to be dark blue, possibly two-tone, or some other dark color(s). And please don't forget, regarding the existence of corroborative evidence, that the part (whose sticker I faxed you) was not from a new car and could only come from one specific repair job of one specific car. The police could have the answer in half a day if they tried, and I'm pressing them in every way I know to try. I would think the Union-Tribune could have the answer pretty quickly, too, if they put the right experts on it.
It does occur to me that the Union-Tribune's legal experts may oppose doing my legal investigative work for me. Just in case that's the problem, I assure you the SD U-T should feel no obligation whatsoever to tell me who they find out owns the car, whether or not it's Cunningham. If it's Cunningham I just figure you'll probably do a report on it, that's all. I'm not asking you to do the investigation for me for any other reason, although I have not the means or knowledge to carry it out myself except slowly and methodically through friends and contacts, and with a lot of hope and luck.
Whoever hit us is a serious hazard on the road, but I'll be very surprised to ever learn it WASN'T Cunningham.
My reputation matters to me in all things, including this, and I have not made this accusation lightly.
Sincerely,
Russell Hoffman
Carlsbad, CA
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At 02:56 PM 12/13/2005 -0800, you wrote:
Dear Mr. Hoffman,
Sorry about that blank e-mail. I hit send by mistake before writing you
back.
I haven't lost interest, but I haven't gotten any information to corroborate
that was Mr. Cunningham who hit you. As far as I've been able to check, he
doesn't have a Chevy or Geo Tracker or a Suzuki Samurai. He wasn't living
near San Marcos at the time. That, of course, doesn't eliminate him, but it
doesn't corroborate that it was him.
I'll be interested if your invetigation turns up anything different.
Once again, thanks for your time. I know this is frustrating to you. But
before I can do a story, I need to have more corroboration than we have
right now.
Thanks again.
Cordially yours,
Onell Soto
Staff Writer
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-----Original Message-----
From: Russell D. Hoffman [mailto:rhoffman@animatedsoftware.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 10:28 AM
To: onell.soto@uniontrib.com
Subject: Follow-up on incident in San Marcos, November 25th, 2005
December 13th, 2005
Dear Mr. Soto,
I've taken the liberty of assuming that you have basically completely lost
interest in verifying my assertion that it was Randy "Duke" Cunningham who
hit my wife and I on November 25th, 2005 in San Marcos, CA.
I haven't lost interest at all, especially when I read (in your paper) that
he is now required to take polygraphs whenever asked, and to confess to all
crimes large and small. This was no small crime, unless an attempt on the
lives of three people is irrelevant, and only money counts. Yes, I'm still
very confident it was him.
In any event, I want to thank you for your time on this, and I hope the SD
U-T will not publish anything about this until I have had a chance to get
an investigation started and it has had a chance to run its
course. Dealing with a suicidal maniac is delicate business, especially
when it's your star witness in a huge bribery scandal, and making a
confessed repeated liar tell the truth isn't easy, either. And that's as
if there weren't just a couple of other complications in this case.
I have written to the California AG, from/with whom I have had significant
prior correspondence earlier this year on another topic, and the governor,
and I am also contacting other media, but this time only those with whom I
have had prior contact (including, for example, one who actually rode in
our Honda Passport earlier this year). I'm hoping that one of those
reporters who already knows me, and in some cases has known me for a decade
or more, will take a more active interest in this event.
By the way, another reporter from the SD U-T has been a subscriber to my
newsletter for a couple of years now already, so you can be sure the SD U-T
will not be left behind and will get any "breaking" news I might some day
be able to release to the general public on this issue.
Best wishes and thank you again.
Sincerely yours,
Russell Hoffman
Concerned Citizen
Carlsbad, CA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cunningham Affair (this should be a "happy" ending to it)
December 15th, 2005
Dear Mr. Soto,
I've decided to close "the Cunningham Affair" by sending a letter to his lawyer offering to give him the car part back, and thanking Mr. Cunningham for his service to our country which he performed the following Monday, November 28th, 2005.
I will also be informing the California AG of my decision on how to handle this matter, and I am confident it will meet with his approval (if only by his silence).
I will also ask Mr. Cunningham's attorney (Mark C. Holscher) to let me know if I should continue the search for whoever it was that hit me. While I have no doubt in my own mind that it was him, I likewise have no need to find out for sure, unless, of course, it wasn't.
This way, this matter will never be definitively resolved if, indeed, it was him, but I can still try to resolve it if it wasn't. I think his cooperating with prosecutors should be encouraged in every way and that's what I'm trying to do.
Warmest regards,
Russell Hoffman
Carlsbad, CA
[Note: But I was NOT able to "close" the Cunningham Affair, for numerous reasons, including that he did not admit to anything, he did not cooperate fully with Federal investigators, and lastly, it became blatantly clear that the police were covering up the incident FROM THE START.. -- ACE]