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Update: Norm Ryan goes to court
Update: Went to court Wednesday for Norm Ryan’s case. Nothing to report since it was moved to yet another date: Dec. 11 and 12. We’ll keep you posted.
Kelly and I sat in the last row, a few feet behind Norm Ryan inside a Shasta County courtroom Tuesday morning. We’ve covered the story this far. We plan to stick with it.
You’ve read here on Food for Thought: A News Cafe about the police investigation that led to Ryan’s hearing. Before that, you read other stories about Ryan’s time at Haven Humane Society where he was its CEO for about one year, and about what many people claim was a deterioration in the shelter’s quality. Finally, a month ago you read about the email in which Ryan and his wife claimed his innocence to me.
Tuesday, Kelly and I were joined by scores of other folks, curious or supportive or ordered there on various charges, the details of which we couldn’t hear since everything happened quickly and quietly.
What we lacked in sound we were rewarded with sight. Courtrooms are great people-watching places, for sure.
A young, pregnant woman wore thick fuzzy pink slippers. A nearby guy with buzzed, dark hair had a scar on his skull that made me wonder how he survived whatever caused it.
If appearing in a courtroom isn’t a reason to dress up, I don’t know what is. We saw lots of jeans, T-shirts, flip flops and tennis shoes. Lots of long faces and serious expressions.
That’s why, generally speaking, it was easy to pick out the attorneys from their clients. Except when it came to Norm Ryan (and a few others), dressed in their Sunday best. Norm, in his suit and tie, could have passed as an attorney, too.
Nothing much to report about Norm Ryan’s preliminary hearing, which literally lasted seconds. It was continued until Oct. 15 because John Kucera, Ryan’s attorney, will be busy with another trial. Plus, he needed time to request additional items from the prosecution.
The most interesting part of the morning happened after the hearing, outside the courtroom. Kelly and I had a chance to meet and talk with Ryan, for the first time in person. (Email was our previous form of communication.)
Ryan said he couldn’t speak about his case, of course. But he did have a few things to get off his chest and clarify regarding statements said and written about him, both here and other places.
1. Ryan said he’s never owned an Armani suit.
2. He was bothered that some people criticized him as ”showy” when he spoke Chinese to a Chinese waitress in a restaurant, yet nobody cared when he spoke Dutch to an animal shelter donor or sign language to a deaf person.
3. Ryan said he never had a picture of Snoop Dog in his wallet. He said the whole reference to Snoop Dog was a joke, based upon an acquaintance many years ago with Snoop Dog. Ryan said his family rented a house that didn’t allow dogs, so when it came time to have his photo with an animal, as is typical of Haven staffers, Ryan referred to Snoop Dog. ”It’s as if everybody’s looking to be offended,” he said.
4. Finally, his biggest complaint was that the information being spread about him is not based upon facts, but character assassinations.
Asked for his take on his current situation, Ryan summed it up in two words and one shrug.
“It stinks.”
Note: We’ll keep you posted as we learn more about Ryan’s case. In the meantime, I have not forgotten the rest of the Haven Humane Society story. Stay tuned.
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Chinese? Dutch? Sign Language? How many languages does he speak? I can certainly see why Haven wanted to force Norm Ryan out. Obviously they needed someone who could interact more with a wider community (sarcasm). I also think men look good in suits. I hope when this is all settled we Reddingites don’t look like a bunch of uneducated rubes who ran the cosmopolitan city-slicker out of town.
P.S. To the current CEO: Learn from Mr. Ryan. When you are out eating Mexican food, don’t say gracias or adios to your server. It is too showy!
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I so hope that Norm Ryan will have the opportunity, and the forum, to explain his comment “the information being spread about (me) is not based upon facts, but character assassinations.” It is hard for me to believe that ALL of the comments, information and facts circulating are untrue. I look forward to his side of the story whenever he tells it. Sniff, sniff, sniff - yup somethin’ stinks. He is so right about that.
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To answer Jaime’s question, Norm Ryan speaks 5 languages.
The one thing I really hope is that people evaluate the situation and the charges against him using sound logic. He is essentially accused of taking $1,500. Now, given that he is a CEO with years of experience under his belt, I’m guessing he was earning a relatively decent salary at the Humane Society. $1,500 is probably only 1-2% of his annual salary. Is that REALLY worth jeopardizing his career? Seriously, the man probably gives 10 times that to charity each year. He just wouldn’t have had a logical incentive to steal it!
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We just want the facts , whatever they may be. Very peculiar case. Thanks for following it, Doni and Kelly.
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To Jamie: Why is it showy to speak a second language? Maybe he was having fun speaking the language of the waiter. He was interacting with the waiter. Is it possible the waiter appreciated it? Slamming the man for speaking multipul languages is petty.
Lets wait for the facts.
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I was going over an on-line news archive and saw where Mr. Ryan was on the Police Facilities Commission. He was not in favor of recommending a sales tax increase. This put him on the other side of the city establishment. He resigned a couple of weeks before his arrest. Was he pushed out there, too?
I agree with HB, this is too small an amount ($1380) to make any sense. Given our over burdened court system, it is almost like the DA is willing to make room to help the city squash an enemy.
To Chere - if Mr. Ryan is referring to the “expert” bloggers on this site, then he is right - it is character assassination trying to pass as fact. Let me give you an example. I don’t know you, but let me tell you what I could deduce from the web about you (if I were a jerk). Before Mr. Ryan resigned, you were either fired or resigned. Why? Maybe you were involved in something that snowballed into this mess. After all, all these resignations and firings happened right after you left. Sounds like you were neck high in the shenanigans and yet you have been strangely silent about your departure. Sure, you’ll say you wanted to spend more time with the kids or that you wanted to pursue other opportunities - but the fact remains that the timing of your departure can lead people to suspect that you are more involved in this mess than you are willing to let on. Once that is put out there, people who don’t like you can post anonymous, eye-witness accounts about your rough treatment of small dogs in your training classes.
How does that feel? -Matt
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Matt - Anyone who is important or matters knows why I left Haven. As far as my abilities and methods as a dog trainer, if you had a problem with anything I did, you should have brought it to my attention at the time. Or taken your concerns to the Director.
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Chere - Are you purposely missing my point about baseless charges? Let me repeat: I have never met you. I wouldn’t know the first thing about your training methods. But I was able to demonstrate how someone could slime you if that was their intention. By the way, you have just made it worse for yourself, among the conspiracy minded, by being evasive about your departure from Haven. By not giving a reason, you have given anyone, who is so inclined, license to imagine the worst. Worse still, you have told everyone who reads your message that they are not important enough to know the truth! Do you still not see how this toxic standard can be unfairly applied to Mr. Ryan? -Matt
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Chere is a huge loss to Haven. Anyone who knows her knows this to be true. But let me remind you, Matt, that she is not the one on trial here so lighten up. Chere has every right to speak what she knows and to question the business practices that Norm held. She is looking for answers just like the rest of us.
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Don’t know Ryan. Haven’t liked the way I was treated by the Haven people who didn’t like that we already had a dog when we wanted another. Didn’t know any of the details except what has been reported here and in the paper.
Why am I wasting yout time if you are reading this? I live here in Redding and have seen these little vendettas against people who haven’t been here for a million years so they deserve to be treated by dirt just because great great grand-dad wasn’t here to steal land from the Indians. I like it here and my family is here and my in-laws have been here for 30 years. But they have never sought local power. They ran businesses, taught and worked in local schools and Shasta College, and worked for now closed lumber companies. They are still treated like they got off the bus.
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PMarshall,
I was being sarcastic about Mr. Ryan’s language ability. I think it is great that he knows several languages (HB, where did you get 5 languages?). I read that speaking chinese to a waitress was a slam against him, and I was responding to that. Criticizing him for that says a lot more about the mentality of his critics than about how “showy” he is. As far as lightening up, CS, what are you arguing about. You defend Chere’s “right to speak what she knows and to question the business practices that Norm held”. But she hasn’t spoken what she knows and I have never seen her question Norm Ryan’s business practices. What she has done is make snide and mysterious comments. Then when someone like Matt nails her she squeals nonsense like a pig. Then you defend rights she hasn’t even exercised and wasn’t even being criticized for. Maybe you think the rest of us don’t see it but there is a lot of hate for this man. My theory is that if you actually had to write down why you all really hate Norm Ryan, it would appear silly or childish. I would like to think better of my neighbors, so please prove me wrong.
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Trying to present facts to the public is a lot different than “snide and mysterious comments.” I do not elaborate on my comments out of respect for the working staff (past and present) of Haven Humane. If you want to know why I left go back to the original article in the Record Searchlight and read my comment. The public wants to know where their donations went among many other questions = “business practices.” I don’t ask you to air your dirty laundry in public, please don’t ask me to.
No knowledgable people commenting on the Haven situation have put the blame solely on Norm. No one “hates Norm.” They are very upset about what has happened to a very important, necessary and much loved facility in our community. Norm was the director when all of this started. I hope that when, and if, Norm goes to trial the whole story will be presented. He is not the only one responsible for the state of affairs at Haven Humane. As several other people asked, where was the Board of Directors during all this? Other employees.?
I get the feeling that instead of reading, digesting, looking at the big picture and researching the comments posted some people just want to hear the dirt, details, scoop, inside skinny, etc. The “poop” so to speak.
May I quote Doni: “We’ll keep you posted as we learn more about Ryan’s case. In the meantime, I have not forgotten the rest of the Haven Humane Society story. Stay tuned.” Doni & Kelly have done an absolutely amazing job of getting to, and sharing, the truth. They are true professionals. I commend them.
I know that Dr. Ray John will continue on his mission to get Haven back up on its paws and running like the first class facility that it was. I hear that he is doing a great job! So far, I am impressed. He has accomplished quite a lot in a short time.
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Chere - you used a lot of space to pretty much say nothing. You are one confused individual. You talk about presenting facts, but you don’t. You criticize the rest of us for wanting to hear “the dirt, details, scoop, inside skinny, etc. The “poop” so to speak.”. What do you think the ‘facts’ would look like? To some people it will be the the “dirt”, “details”, “scoop” “inside skinny” and poop. To the rest of us it will just be the “facts”. For some reason you think your unsubstantiated opinions should be treated like facts and you seem offended when they don’t.
To respond to CB (I’m assuming this is Carley Silber who you vouched for in a previous blog and who is probably just returning the favor): I know Chere is not on trial, but her “facts” are. It always seems on these blogs when someone starts to critically analyze someone’s hyperbole, the subject and their ‘friends’ start to object that they shouldn’t be put on “trial”. Come on people show some character! Stand behind what you say or don’t say it! -Matt
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Haven Humane Website? By the way - I’m sure Ray John is doing a great job, but how long does it take to get the Haven Humane website up and running? A website is one of your best marketing tools; so what a wasted opportunity not to advertise their October fundraiser on it. I hear the ad on the radio, but I usually don’t write stuff down when I’m driving. I can easily remember a web address and look for follow up information and details when I get home. This is a minimum prerequisite for a well run organization. -Matt
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Matt,
I felt like I was the only one that noticed that the website was down. It has been down for months. I knew people at Haven and this was the only way I knew whether they had been fired or not. What do you bet it doesn’t come back up until after Norm Ryan’s trial?
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The Haven Website hasn’t worked well since July. You can still look for pets which is good.
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I agree that placing animals is important, but Matt is right that in this day and age you really need a fully functioning website. What is the hold up?
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Jamie - This one is good for a chuckle when you go to Havenhumane.org: “Website Development by Daydream Services”. Hey, its time to stop daydreaming! Wake up and finish the website already!
By the way, why do you think the website is tied to Mr. Ryan’s hearing? -Matt
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The Haven people just seem like they have something to hide. Dr. John is the CEO and Yvonne Preston is in charge of the Board. That is all anybody knows unless you go down there in person. Even then you can’t be sure. Who is in charge of the Shelter? Is the Vet still there? Who is on the Board? Does this help Mr. Ryan’s case or maybe the cases of any of the long time employees who were unfairly fired? Something tells me it might.
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Jamie - It wouldn’t matter if you went to Haven, you still wouldn’t know who is on the Board. After failing to find this information on-line, I actually called down there. First, they needed to know who I was and why I wanted to know. After that, the person I talked to actually said they didn’t know who was on the Board other than Yvonne Preston (so why did they cross-examine me?). I don’t see how who is on the Board matters to Mr. Ryan’s case, but I agree that it is odd that this information is not out there. -Matt
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From Norm Ryan: “I would like to address one part of this article that, I think makes an unfair accusation. In the second paragraph the author writes, “what many people claim was a deterioration in the shelter’s quality.” Like Dr. Ray John is now, I was the CEO for the entire organization, not the ‘Shelter Manager’. Captain Lee Anne Smith, followed by Rich Steele were directly responsible for shelter operations during my entire tenure. They did an outstanding job given the limited resources available at the Haven Humane Society. By any measure, you choose to use, shelter operations did not deteriorate during this time, in fact a sober review of the facts, would demonstrate the opposite. I understand that there are people who have issues with me, but it should in no way reflect on the hard work and dedication of the management team that worked for me at the Haven Humane Society. It is not fair to pretend that the shelter was worse after I got there in order to denigrate me. The truth is that it operated more efficiently and was more customer service (people) oriented. I know the critics don’t want to give me credit for this - but don’t take this away from my staff.”
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Nice try in passing the buck, Norm. The person at the top is ultimately responsible - that is why you got paid the big money!
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Mr. Wanderer - (if that really is your name) - passing the buck is what you do when you want to blame others for something that goes wrong. Mr. Ryan was pointing out what was going well and who should get the credit. Did you even get past the fourth line of his message?
I clicked on the “deterioration” link and all I saw were vague charges made in the “Hell in a Handbasket” article. So is this deterioration related to “shelter operations” which Mr. Ryan was not directly involved in or something else? I agree that the buck should stop with him, but who passed it up to him, what was it and why were they still employed at Haven, afterwards? Its on this criteria alone that I think Mr. Ryan should be criticized. -Matt
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Let’s get something straight. Norm did get great pay and did not “steal money” from Haven. He lied to the board about where he was going and misused authorized funds funds to go somewhere else. As Norm has stated it is true Norm was not the shelter manager which he should have been because he never tried, or stayed in the office to learn the job. So Capt. Smith was collared by the board to manage the shelter until Norm could, in addition to her job of being in charge of animal regulation. After doing a outstanding job as Norm stated in the Fall 2007 Shelter newsletter, with no notice, she was abruptly replaced by Rich Steele. So, why didn’t Rich or Capt. Smith replace Norm? Why did Yvonne Preston step down as board president to take over a job she was not qualified for. With access to Norm’s files, could this have been a way to cover up other things Norm did? It is well known that Yvonne recommended Norm as CEO over a more qualified applicant with shelter experience.
Why did Rich quit his job with only a day’s notice? Last month, it was reported he was still living in Redding. If he was more qualified than Capt Smith, why wasn’t he hired as the CEO? If, as Norm states, things were running so efficiently and customer service was so good, why were long term employees being fired “for no reason” when they tried to inform the administration that established policies were not being followed. Rich became the new hatchet man. There were monthly group firings with many jobs listed on Craigs list, which continued with Preston.
Shortly after Norm “resigned” Haven was advertised as a no kill shelter only weeks after a $100,000 crematorium Norm convinced the board to buy was delivered. As to date, it still hasn’t been hooked up, or used. Is Haven still a “No Kill” shelter? If so, how?
A lot of questions and still no answers. There is a gag rule for everyone connected with Haven. Let’s hope the board will leave Ray John alone and let him straighten out the messes they ignored, or were duped by some of Norms false info that even convinced them to buy the crematorium? How many other ways did Norm “steal” or misuse Havens funds?
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I dont know about a picture of Norm Ryan with Snopp Dogg in his wallet but there was a picture of them in the meeting room at Haven Humane.
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Here is something to think about. Anyone ever consider Federal Pre-emption? The Feds obviously know about this case. Under 28 USC 501 and more, the penalty for any private inurement is return of the amount, perhaps up to double the imposition of a tax on the individual and the organization. Yet we have not heard of any rumblings from the Fed, nor any request for return of monies, nor request for remittance of 200% of monies, etc. It would seem to me that the lack of a Federal Tax non-profit “offense” is highly indicative of no-error.
Further, if there were such an error and if Haven FAILED to ask for return of the funds, it (HAVEN) would be subject to a punitive tax, falling on the current management as well. The fact that (as far as I can see) none of this is known to have occurred, is good support for the proposition that there has been no harm, no foul.
99% of the time, California “rubber stamps” its 501’s based upon what the feds say. This criminal charge is B.S. Congress recognizes that “private inurement” is the standard. If this B.S. criminal mentality were to take over non-profits, you may as well shut them all down as no one, repeat,,,,NO ONE would have anything to do with the non profit sector…..
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Long Beach - That is really interesting information. Not sure I understand all of it. Never heard the term Private inurement before. I looked for a explanation and found this Private inurement is prohibited in all nonprofits. It happens when an insider — an individual who has significant influence over the organization — enters into an arrangement with the nonprofit and receives benefits greater than she or he provides in return. The most common example is excessive compensation, which the IRS condemns through intermediate sanctions (significant excise taxes). Insiders — referred to in IRS parlance as “disqualified persons” — can be high-level managers, board members, founders, major donors, highest paid employees, family members of any of the above, and a business where the listed persons own more than 35 percent of an interest. It sounds like some people have been hired starting with the assistant Rich Steel who probably got paid a lot of money would be included. Does this apply to alll employees? What if some employees received big raises after Norm left.? Since a lot of people have said that Norm was not there most of the time and did not know anything about running a shelter could this apply to him.Too bad that all of this is taking aways from the all the good things that Haven Humane does.
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My family here in Long Beach has know Norm Ryan and his family for a few years. He is a devoted family man who spends some of his free time providing entertainment at no cost to Senior Centers and nursing homes. His sons and he play in a family band. He is a giving person and not one to take/steal. So, I find the charges impossible to believe. What is the motivation for his arrest in such a manner? Was he ever asked for his side of the story prior to the police arresting him? No.
I am glad you are following the court events and please keep it up. I think your city will soon find out Mr. Ryan did no criminal act at all. Thanks
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