3ABN & Danny Shelton
v.
Gailon Joy & Robert Pickle

Plaintiff 3ABN's Requests for Production of Documents
and Things to Defendant Robert Pickle (First Set)

Document Request No. 6

< Prev.

Next >

Request No. 6:     All documents reviewed or copied by you, created by you, or sent or provided to you relating to any efforts made by You to research or otherwise ascertain or verify the truth and/or accuracy of any statement of fact You have made orally or in writing to any person, entity or third party about Plaintiff 3ABN or about Plaintiff Danny Shelton during the period January 1, 2004.

Response by Defendant Pickle:     Certainly you meant "Request No. 7," not "Request No. 6." Plus, if we said anything at all regarding Danny Shelton or 3ABN during "the period January 1, 2004," it certainly wasn't negative. We didn't start wondering what was going on until the fall of 2005, and didn't decide to get actively involved until August 13, 2006.

At any rate, just in case you really meant "the period January 1, 2004 to present," or some such thing, see auto-discovery materials.

The documents we will highlight in this response concern our efforts to verify the existence of phone card phone records documenting that Linda Shelton had spent hundreds of hours on the phone talking to Dr. Arild Abrahamsen in Norway, as John Lomacang alleged. You can find these emails in the email collection as well as after this response in the Save3ABN.com collection in the auto-discovery materials.

September 8, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Pastor Lomacang Subject:  Quick question on phone card records. Date:  Fri, 08 Sep 2006 14:16:05 -0500 Hello Pastor Lomacang. Thanks so much for talking to me last week. I appreciate the courtesy you showed me. Someone has raised a question about the phone records that might be good to clarify. When you spoke of seeing hundreds of hours of phone card phone records that were placed prior to March 9, 2004, was that actual time spent on the phone or the minutes that were billed? Since phone cards being used for making calls to foreign countries are charged multiple minutes for every minute actually spent, this question was raised. For example, one fellow told me that when he made calls to Canada, every minute of time actually cost him three minutes. So on the records that you saw, were the hundreds of hours actual time spent? I am not sure at this point, but I may be passing by 3ABN on October 23, and could take you up on your offer to stop by and see the phone records. There is a good chance I'll be returning from my brother's wedding on that day. Have a good Sabbath, and God bless. Bob

October 2, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Pastor John Lomacang Subject:  Trip to 3ABN to see phone records Date:  Mon, 02 Oct 2006 06:04:28 -0500 Hi Pastor Lomacang. I trust you got the email below that I sent you several weeks ago. At this point it does look like I will be coming right by there sometime on October 23, and so I can take you up on your offer to stop by and see the phone records of calling card calls to Norway you spoke of. It looks like Thompsonville is about 950 miles into our journey home, and so if we leave early Sunday, we should be there sometime on Monday the 23rd. Does that sound good to you? Who will I need to speak with once I arrive? Where will I need to go? Also, has anyone been able to find an answer to the question I asked below? Whether the hundreds of hours were actual time spent on the phone, or were units billed? God bless. Bob [Previous emails attached.]

John Lomacang's Only Reply

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Pastor Lomacang To:  Bob Subject:  Re: Trip to 3ABN to see phone records Date:  Mon, 2 Oct 2006 22:57:19 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Hello Bob, I received your email. You will need to contact the general manager of 3ABN to make an appointment. Her name is Molllie Steenson. If she approves then your trip will occur. She will determine the usefulness and necessity of your meeting. You can call her at 618-627-4651. God Bless, Pastor Lomacang

First Email to John Lomacang, October 3, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Pastor Lomacang Subject:  Re: Trip to 3ABN to see phone records Date:  Tue, 03 Oct 2006 05:18:41 -0500 Hi John. Thanks for your reply. I will contact Mollie. Were you able to confirm that the "hundreds of hours" of phone card calls that you spoke about with me were actual time spent on the phone versus billed units? A quick answer should suffice if you are short on time. When we talked, you spoke of my being able to come and see the phone records as being a dead certainty. Were you mistaken, and is it possible that Mollie will not allow this? Bob [Previous emails attached.]

Second Email to John Lomacang, October 3, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Pastor Lomacang Subject:  Re: Trip to 3ABN to see phone records Date:  Tue, 03 Oct 2006 07:17:04 -0500 Hi Pastor Lomacang. I just thought of something. When we talked a month ago you made it quite clear that you are an employee of the Illinois Conference rather than of 3ABN. As such I would think that even if Mollie does not approve the meeting, you would be able, as pastor of the Thompsonville Church, to show me the phone records yourself as promised. As pastor you do have them or some other concrete evidence on file, don't you? I would think that in such a high profile situation involving matters that are subject to church discipline, the pastor or the church would have some sort of concrete evidence on file. Of course, in matters of church discipline, some things must not be divulged. But since you felt the existence of the phone records did not fall into that category, then they presumably do not fall into that category. And since they are Linda's phone records rather than Danny's, if permission must be obtained, Linda's permission would be all that is required. But since they allegedly reveal Linda's guilt, obtaining her permission may be a bit tricky. Then again, if she refuses to give permission to you for me to see these phone records, then that would suggest that she is trying to hide something. Your thoughts? Bob [Previous emails attached.]

To Mollie Steenson, October 3, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Mollie Steenson Subject:  Appointment to see phone records Date:  Tue, 03 Oct 2006 09:57:15 -0500 Greetings, Mollie. Back in August Pastor Lomacang responded to a fellow named Jonathan about his concerns, and Pastor Lomacang invited him and anyone else who had questions to call him. Jonathan shared that reply with me and I therefore decided to call Pastor Lomacang in early September. In our conversation Pastor Lomacang mentioned two pieces of concrete evidence which he felt definitively proves Linda to be an adulteress, one being phone card phone records consisting of hundreds of hours of phone calls made to Norway prior to March 9, records which he had personally examined, and a recording of a presentation by Linda on the air in which she refers to a special friend. One thing I have specialized in is apologetics, and I really enjoy defending the Adventist church and its various entities and doctrines against criticism and slander, but doing that requires presenting concrete, indisputable evidence. Obviously, what Pastor Lomacang told me was quite helpful, but it wouldn't be indisputable in the minds of critics out there. Especially is this so since I can't tell anyone that I've seen the evidence for myself, and that I have personally verified that hundreds of hours were spent on the phone talking to the doctor in Norway when Linda's son was not there. I therefore told Pastor Lomacang in that phone conversation that I would like to see those phone records and that recording, and he replied that I would definitely be able to see them if I came down to 3ABN. I told him I thought that it was unrealistic to require people to drive hundreds of miles on their own nickel just to see phone records, and he indicated that that wasn't his decision. So I assume that it was 3ABN's board or management that determined that those interested in seeing this evidence can indeed see it if they come to 3ABN. At any rate, I emailed him the following week and again yesterday telling him that I would be able to take him up on his offer after all, since I will be going right by Thompsonville on my way back from my brother's wedding around October 23. My email yesterday asked him where I should go and who I need to contact when I arrive, and he just replied that I need to contact you to arrange everything. So how do we proceed in order for me to take Pastor Lomacang up on his offer of seeing these phone records and the recording? God bless. Bob Pickle

"Linda, Can I Have Permission?"

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Linda Shelton CC:  Johann Thorvaldsson Subject:  Permission to see ... at 3ABN Date:  Tue, 03 Oct 2006 10:28:08 -0500 Hello Linda. John Lomacang in early September told me by phone that there were phone card phone records of hundreds of hours of phone calls to Norway, records that can be obtained by dialing a certain number, records that he had personally seen, records of calls made prior to March 9, 2004. He stated definitively that I could see these records if I came down to 3ABN, an offer I told him was unrealistic. But he told me that that wasn't his decision. His claim of such records raised several questions in my mind, which you have probably heard of since I posted them online. On September 8 I emailed John and told him that I could take him up on his offer since I would probably be going right by 3ABN on my way back from my brother's wedding around October 23. I emailed him again yesterday asking him where I should go to and who I should contact once I arrive. In both emails I asked him whether the hundreds of hours were actual time spent on the phone or billed units. Today I got a short reply that did not answer the last question, which I find very disturbing. His reply said that I should call Mollie to make an appointment, and that she would decide whether my trip would even occur. This was quite different than his emphatic offer on the phone in early September, and raises the question of whether they will let me see them at all, or whether they even exist. I followed this reply up with two of my own to John, the second of which suggested that since he had told me that he was an employee of the Illinois Conference and not 3ABN, that he could show me the phone records himself, since as pastor of the local church he certainly must have either that or some other sort of concrete evidence on file in such a high profile, church-discipline-type case. And since these phone records are yours and not Danny's, he wouldn't need to get Danny's permission to show them to me. However, I told him, if Linda refused to grant such permission, you would then demonstrate that you are trying to hide something. I am therefore asking your permission to see these phone records. More than that, I am wondering how they even got such phone records. Can someone other than yourself legally get such records without a court order? If not, should not a complaint be filed since John's claim of 3ABN's possession of such records might constitute evidence of criminal activity? Or did Danny have total and free access to your phone card phone records, including calls that you made from Wal-Mart on such cards, or did you give them to him, and thus there is nothing amiss to 3ABN possessing these records? God bless. Bob Pickle

To John Lomacang, October 10, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Pastor Lomacang Subject:  Re: Trip to 3ABN to see phone records Date:  Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:38:44 -0500 Hi Pastor Lomacang. I tried contacting Mollie Steenson, but haven't heard anything back from her yet. Do you know if she got my message? Did you have any thoughts on my suggestion below? Have you been able to verify yet that the hundreds of hours of phone calls were indeed actual time spent on the phone rather than billed phone card units? Bob [Previous emails attached.]

To Mollie Steenson, October 10, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Mollie Steenson Subject:  Re: Appointment to see phone records Date:  Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:41:20 -0500 Hello Mollie. Did you get my email below? How do we go about taking Pastor Lomacang up on his promise that I could see these phone records? God bless. Bob [Previous emails attached.]

To John Lomacang, October 16, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Pastor Lomacang Subject:  Re: Trip to 3ABN to see phone records Date:  Mon, 16 Oct 2006 18:14:18 -0500 Hi Pastor Lomacang. I've tried contacting Mollie twice now, and am about to try a third time. Still haven't heard back from her, even though tomorrow makes two weeks. What should I do? Is there someone else I should contact? We're now less than a week from when we'll be passing by, and it's been 5 and a half weeks since I wrote you saying that we might be able to take you up on your offer of coming by to see the phone records. Is more of an advanced notice required? Did you have any thoughts on my suggestion below? Were you able to verify that the hundreds of hours were actual time spent rather than billed phone card units? God bless. Bob [Previous emails attached.]

To Mollie Steenson, October 16, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Mollie Steenson Subject:  Re: Appointment to see phone records Date:  Mon, 16 Oct 2006 18:25:06 -0500 Hi Mollie. It's now less than a week from when we are scheduled to be driving by 3ABN on October 23, returning from my brother's wedding. Back on September 1 Pastor John Lomacang promised that if we came by we would be able to see the hundreds of hours of phone card phone records of calls to Norway that prove that Linda was having an affair. He indicated on October 2 that I ought to contact you. My apologies if three weeks is too short of notice for you. I had originally told Pastor Lomacang on September 8 that we could possibly take him up on his offer next week, but I did not hear back from him until October 2, and so I did not know until then that I was supposed to contact you as well as him. Do we just plan on stopping by next week whenever we get there? What do you suggest? God bless. Bob [Previous emails attached.]

Mollie Steenson's Only Reply

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Mollie Steenson To:  Bob Subject:  RE: Appointment to see phone records Date:  Tue, 17 Oct 2006 09:33:21 -0500 Hi Bob, Rather than making the evidence available to individuals, which 3ABN has that validate the basis for the actions we have had to take in this matter, we have turned this matter over to a group of respected church leaders who will be looking at all the evidence, not just portions of it, and they will publicly give their findings in the near future. You are still very welcome to visit 3ABN and have a tour of the facilities. We are available to give tours from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday - Thursday and from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM on Friday. Have a great day, Mollie Steenson 3ABN GM

To Mollie Steenson, October 17, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Mollie Steenson Subject:  RE: Appointment to see phone records Date:  Tue, 17 Oct 2006 20:22:06 -0500 Hi Mollie. Thanks for your reply. Here are three short, follow-up questions. 1) Has there been a change of policy since September 1, when Pastor Lomacang promised that we could see the phone card phone records if we came by? He indicated that that wasn't his decision. Or was he somehow totally mistaken? 2) Pastor Lomacang indicated that these records showed hundreds of hours of phone calls, but I have thus far been unable to confirm from him that these hundreds of hours are actual time spent on the phone rather than billed phone card units. Can you confirm this? 3) What group of respected church leaders has the matter been turned over to? Who are they? 4) Will they be making public the evidence that supports their findings, or will they only make public their findings? I ask this last question because from a damage control and apologetic perspective, the only real way to put all the rumors to rest once and for all is to come across as if 3ABN has nothing to hide. Take for example these phone records, which Pastor Lomacang stated emphatically that he had personally seen. After he promised that we could see them if we stopped by, it has taken more than five weeks to discover that 3ABN will not allow this, and that gives the impression that they either do not exist or that they do not say what he claimed they say. This is even more so the case since I asked him on September 8 and October 2 and October 3 and October 10 and October 16 whether the hundreds of hours were actual minutes or billed minutes, and though I did get a short reply from him on October 2, he has yet to answer that simple question. The definite impression being given is that there never were hundreds of hours spent on the phone. I think a lot of these rumors could have been easily avoided or dispelled if 3ABN had handled these PR matters differently. Along these lines, I would suggest that great care be taken in the selection of which respected church leaders examine all the evidence. If it is perceived that the panel is stacked in favor of 3ABN from the very beginning, it will not settle the questions in people's minds, especially if none of the evidence is ever made public. Whether the panel is stacked or not is not as important at this point as how it is all perceived if the goal is to dispel all the rumors, in my opinion. God bless. Bob [Previous emails attached.]

To John Lomacang, October 17, 2006

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Bob To:  Pastor Lomacang Subject:  Re: Trip to 3ABN to see phone records Date:  Tue, 17 Oct 2006 21:09:06 -0500 Hi Pastor Lomacang. I got word from Mollie Steenson today that seeing the phone records is not allowed. Was there a change in policy, or were you mistaken back on September 1 when you indicated otherwise? I passed on to her my question about whether the hundreds of hours of phone calls weere actual time spent or billed units. We'll see what reply she sends. I did suggest to her that from a PR, damage control, and apologetic perspective, it seems to me that going about these matters differently would be a great blessing to 3ABN. It seems to me that it is very important that 3ABN comes across as if they aren't trying to hide anything. That's how God has handled the Great Controversy, and in the end everyone's questions about Him will be answered. But long-delayed replies and not answering a simple question about whether the hundreds of hours were actual time spent or billed units doesn't give the right impression, and 3ABN surely doesn't need any more of that. God bless. Bob [Previous emails attached.]

< Prev.

Next >