A reporter in East County has filed a police report accusing El Cajon Councilman Ben Kalasho of attempted assault.
The reporter, Paul Kruze, writes for the East County Magazine website. He has covered allegations of fraud against Kalasho stemming from a lawsuit over Kalasho’s Miss Middle East beauty pageant. He also wrote about a citizen who stood at a council podium calling on Kalasho to resign and about a Kalasho complaint to the state after other council voted to rein in his cellphone use during meetings.
According to Kruze’s written statement to police, Kalasho threatened him with a dog named Zoltan in the Office Depot parking lot on June 23. Kruze was taking photos of Kalasho’s golf cart-like vehicle, which displayed a sign saying, “Hi I’m Zoltan, take my photo and tag me on Instagram @Zoltan_GSD. Oh and vote for Ben!”
According to Kruze’s statement, the dog is identified by Kalasho as an “attack dog” on social media.
“We exchanged words, among them, he demanded that I stop taking pictures of the car. I pointed out to him that I was a professional journalist well within my right to take photographs,” Kruze’s statement said.
“The dog was on a very short leash,” the statement continues. “It was barking, growling and snarling at me. Kalasho kept coming closer and closer to me laughing and smirking obviously seeing the fear on my face as I decided the only safe place was in my car. He advanced from maybe 40 feet away to within 10-12 feet of me during the altercation. As I turned my back to quickly unlocking the door of my car, he continued moving towards my car. I was terrified, particularly since I was bitten by a dog as a child, and feared Kalasho intended to let the dog attack me.”
According to Kruze’s statement, Kalasho called him a fake journalist.
“I was terrified beyond belief,” Kruze’s statement said. “Kalasho further made derogatory taunts and threatened, ‘I’m going to take you down.’”
According to Kruze’s statement, Kalasho has posted defamatory claims against him on Facebook — “posts discussing my home address, listing my license plate, as well as photos of guns and suggestions that I be targeted for harassment and violence.”
Police declined to discuss the investigation. Kruze provided the initial police report and his written statement to officers.
Kalasho did not respond to multiple requests for comment, other than to post on Twitter, “I predict that the fake @sdut will twist the story about the incident I had with that stalker reporter last week. Let’s see if I am right…”
Elsewhere on social media, Kalasho has said that he is applying for a concealed weapons permit. He wrote that Kruze is a “deranged psychopath” who was following him surreptitiously and implied that Kruze was threatening him. He said he could unleash his dog on the “psycho” or have his wife pepper-spray Kruze.
“This infatuation he has with me is creepy to say the least,” Kalasho wrote.
The post generated a spate of replies, including many that appear to condone violence against Kruze. One response included a photograph of a handgun. Another suggested Kalasho secure a permit for a .38 caliber pistol.
“Working on it,” Kalasho replied.
The postings disturbed East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery, who noted that they have since been taken offline.
“Threatening our reporter with a trained attack dog is reprehensible,” she said. “This is recklessly irresponsible and particularly troubling behavior by an elected official. We thank Facebook for removing these vile posts that violated Facebook community standards.
Kalasho, 35, runs a for-profit business association, hosts parties and runs the beauty pageant. He has brought tension to the council since he was elected in November 2016. Mayor Bill Wells now carries a gun for self-protection.
“There’s just been a tension since he’s been involved, not only with us but with the staff and the public,” Wells said.
Asked about the weapon, Wells said, “The whole point of having a concealed weapons permit is to not talk about it.”
Wells grew particularly concerned for his and his family’s safety after someone shot a bullet through his upstairs window during the 2012 campaign.
Neither the police or FBI could determine who was responsible. Wells said it happened a few weeks before the election, the same day his campaign against Kalasho had grown particularly heated.
“I live on the third story, so if you shot from the ground it would have had an upward trajectory and it didn’t,” Wells said. “Somebody had to climb onto the building across the street and shoot from the roof. This was not an accident. It was targeted.”
Resident Bonnie Price said Kalasho is working to change things for the better in El Cajon, but he so far has not been able to build much from fellow elected officials.
“He is unconventional,” Price said. “He is someone who is learning the hard way on how to deal with basically hostile colleagues. On several occasions they have made him look terrible. He’s a young man who is finding it difficult to accomplish what he wants to do because is outnumbered 4 to 1.”
Price said Kalasho is working to implement city policies to help seniors and children and people who may get priced out of their housing, but the council majority is beholden to the status quo.
“I haven’t observed him being a bully,” she said. “You don’t want a shrinking violet for the City Council. You need a public official who will do some fighting for the people who are disadvantaged and he tries to help. They’re used to running the city and they are unwilling to change.”
East County businessman Nathan Cornett is the citizen who has called for Kalasho to resign — the subject of a Paul Kruze story for East County Magazine. He said Kalasho’s behavior makes him unfit for public service.
“This kind of bullying and pushing people around on our City Council is not OK,” Cornett said. “When you disagree or aren’t willing to Ben Kalasho or his position, you’re threatened with lawsuits, defamation and all kinds of things.”
The councilman has been sued in civil court numerous times, including the 2017 beauty pageant case accusing him and his wife of creating fake social-media profiles to harass people with whom they disagreed.
One contestant in the pageant accused Kalasho of denying her the Miss Middle East USA crown after she refused his sexual advances. Another alleged he falsified nude pictures of her then posted them on Instagram.
The owners of a Mexican restaurant and a San Diego lawyer each accused Kalasho of creating fake social-media profiles to criticize their businesses through online surveys.
The polls and beauty pageant were presented by a for-profit chamber of commerce Kalasho operates.
Previously
- Lawsuit against El Cajon councilman alleges beauty pageant fraud
- Kalasho files cross-complaint against beauty pageant contestants
- Middle East beauty pageant ran for three years without nonprofit status
- El Cajon official who ran private chamber voted on issues affecting paying member
- El Cajon council to retake votes on trash liens over Kalasho situation
- Regulators move to revoke tax-exempt status of Miss Middle East pageant
- Do-over on trash votes is costing City of El Cajon thousands of dollars
Tweet[email protected] (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald
