Receives no jail time
Todd Bosnich, the ex- policy director for Carl DeMaio’s 52nd Congressional District campaign in 2014, was ordered Monday to perform 240 hours of community service for obstruction of justice when he repeatedly lied by falsely claiming DeMaio had threatened him.
Bosnich, 30, of Del Mar, was fined $2,600 and was placed on five years probation by U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns, who imposed no jail time as Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Halpern did not recommend it.
Burns ordered Bosnich to continue his mental health treatment program. His attorney, Frank Vecchione, said he had been receiving psychological treatment for six months for severe depression and had urged a sentence with community service.
“There is no way of knowing how much (Bosnich’s accusations) affected voters’ minds,” said the judge. “The victim is Mr. DeMaio, DeMaio’s campaign or the democratic process. Once the arrow leaves the bow, there is no retrieving it.”
Bosnich was hired by DeMaio in Oct. 2013 when the gay Republican was challenging Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) for Congress. In May, 2014, Bosnich was fired. Bosnich made a number of accusations against DeMaio that included threats and alleged sexual harassment.
Bosnich set up a dummy Yahoo account with a false name, date of birth and gender, and then sent a threatening email to himself in which the sender told him he would never be employed again in politics. Bosnich lied to FBI agents and the U.S. Attorney’s office when he stated he received this threat that he claimed was from DeMaio or someone close to him.
Afterwards, DeMaio issued this statement: “Todd Bosnich’s lies were incredible, painful, smeared my reputation and ultimately derailed our congressional campaign.
“Although no length of sentence can ever undo the damage he has done, what matters is that Bosnich was unmasked as a liar and is now a convicted felon,” said DeMaio, who thanked the FBI and U.S. Attorney “for exposing Bosnich’s lies and seeking justice in this manner.”
This was Bosnich’s first criminal conviction and he will have to disclose to any employer that he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstruction of justice.
Halpern said he wasn’t asking for jail time because “the humiliation he has received is sufficient deterrence.”
“Whatever his grievance, he didn’t handle it the right way. I think he acted vindictively,” said Burns. “He perpetuated this (lie) by repeating it to the police department, FBI and U.S. Attorney.”
“I don’t see much point in putting him in jail. He’s a convicted felon – that will affect him the rest of his life,” said Burns.
Burns said he did not understand why Bosnich approached Mary Ann Pintar, who is the chief of staff for Peters and told her about the threat. Burns said Pintar is not an attorney and she would not be able to help him.
Pintar sent the judge a letter stating that she called the police after getting several emails from Bosnich May 29, 2014 in which he claimed he had been threatened.
When asked if he had a statement, Bosnich said, “I take full responsibility for my actions. I’m very sorry.”
U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy issued this statement afterwards: “The integrity of the American electoral process is the very bedrock of our democracy. Bosnich’s criminal act had the very real possibility of improperly tipping the scale toward a particular candidate. This was far from a harmless prank.”
Bosnich served as a volunteer intern for former Congressman Brian Bilbray and Sen. John McCain. He also worked in the Meg Whitman campaign for governor from 2009-2010. He also worked as a political analyst for the Jon Huntsman presidential campaign in Washington, D.C., according to defense court documents.
