The Difference Between a Prank and a Terrorist Threat Is…

You know, it can be said that inside every man is 14 years old at heart. And at ComicCon this summer, the 14 year old in me saw a T-shirt and it was too irresistable for a prank with former OJ/New Santa Ana Blogger Sean Mill to pass up.  So I took a business card from a vendor and spent $25 bucks to send the shirt above to his home in a size 4X which should have tipped off anyone that a T-shirt that can double as a tent was a joke.  We sent it, never once commented on it, and had several good laughs about it.

This is my confession.  The confession of a T-shirt terrorist.

The New Santa Ana Blog has a post on this — frankly the writing style looks like Sean wrote it himself — since I edited his work during his time on this blog the text has a familiar ring to it.  The post reports I sent a harrassment package to Sean Mill. 

What that post didn’t say is that Sean reported my belated birthday gift to the Santa Ana Police which contacted the Plano, Texas police to say it was being investigated as a “Terrorist Threat.”  Clearly, Al Qaeda is currently ordering these shirts by the hundreds to terrorize everyday Americans.

Even so, the NSA post got a few things wrong (any surprise?).  The note that was included in the package, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” was the T-shirt vendors idea, not mine.  I never asked him to include a note.  And even so, that’s not exactly a threat, it’s more like advice (and a line from “The Godfather”).  The Plano police said the complaint came from an “elected official,” and the T-shirt vendor was scared to death he was going to jail.  Nope, Sean is an appointed official, and one who still comments (and blogs) frequently at New Santa Ana.  I did remind the T-shirt vendor the note was his idea. 

So, when I got the phone call from the Santa Ana PD, I told them the truth.  I was also told I was number four on a list of seven possible suspects who could have sent the package to Mill.  To which I thought, only seven?!”  If Sean had called me and asked me if I sent it, I would have told him the truth too.

So here’s the email from the T-shirt vendor, a nice guy who’s scared to death of the Plano Police.  The note is his idea, email addresses and phone numbers have been redacted:

Hi Dan,

Good to hear from you.  I just got back yesterday evening from San Diego.  Let me get a price quote from them tomorrow and I’ll email it to you.  My number is XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Don’t worry about me telling him.  I’ll put a note in the package that says, “This is a gift from someone close to you.  Remember, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. :-)”

Should drive him crazy.

Hope you had a great convention  We had a great one.

 

Mike.

 

—–Original Message—–
From: Dan Chmielewski <

To: XXXXX
Sent: Wed, Jul 27, 2011 4:12 pm
Subject: ComicCon T-shirts

Mike –

We met at ComicCon; can you give me an estimate on a 2X, 3X 4X shirt that says “I don’t live with my mother; she lives with me” that I saw at your booth? I would want cheap shipping to Southern California (Santa Ana is the city) but do not want my name associated with the order or the shipping in any way shape or form.  If the person who gets the shirt contacts you, all you have to say is it was an order from someone who paid in cash.  The person we’re ordering this for as a class A jerk who spends considerable time trying to get my friends fired from their jobs by making stuff up; and yes, he lives home with his mother…..and it’s a sore subject. 

Please confirm; send me your best phone # for a call.

From the NSA blog:

When confronted by police officials with the evidence Chmielewski admitted to have being behind the harrassing package to Mill. Again citing the report, “Chmielewski initially claimed it was simply a joke, but later admitted to an ongoing feud with Sean Mill stemming from Mill calling Chmielewski’s mother a ‘crack whore’ in a blog.”

“That’s news to me”, said Mill. “I have never said such a thing and you and I both know that if I had Dan would have some sort of documented proof. He saves every email, text and comment ever made by me for some bizarre and disturbing reason.”

Mill went on to say, “Unlike the fellas at the Liberal OC I don’t engage in attacks against their family members. They routinely allow attacks against my mom, your family and even joke about the murder of Sal’s (Tinajero) father. As far as an ongoing feud goes, that is ridiculous. It’s one sided coming from them. As you can attest I was the one who always said Dan was a good guy.”

“It is really too bad that our local blogs have devolved into such bizarre behavior,” Mill concluded. “Dan lying about me saying that about his mother is just strange…Bizarre. But then again he claimed he was invited by Vince (Sarmiento) to Claudia’s (Alvarez) event and Vince told me that was just not true. Maybe Dan has trouble telling the truth.”

I don’t think the police officer heard me correctly, I never said Sean called my mother such a name.  I used that as a example of the measure of vindictiveness on the commentary on local blogs.  I did say I believe Sean leaves lots of nasty comments about me on NSA or OJ due to certain phrases and strings of words that only he seems to use.  He can deny if of course, but there was one comment left under an anonymous name once because my firm was an advertiser for the OC Flyers baseball team (a VP there was a neighbor and I advertised in their game program as a favor); now attendance at these games is small. And I doubt anything in the OC blogsphere knew I advertised.  But I did give free Flyers tickets to Sean Mill once.  Funny how that sort of thing comes around.

On the last sentence regarding Councilman Sarmiento’s comment, I told Sarmiento I was planning on coming to the event and he said to me, “I think you should,” followed by a lengthy discussion about how the Alvarez hearing was not as he had envisioned it. I certainly viewed this as an invitaton to attend.  Perhaps the councilman is telling us both what we want to hear?

But Sean is wrong about this being a one sided affair.  Twice, he’s persueded county officials to have Chris Prevatt’s computer seized and scanned for evidence Chris blogs during the day.  Chris doesn’t and his PC has come back clean twice at a cost to county taxpayers of $1,000 a shot.  He’s made physical threats to former blogger Claudio Gallegos.  And I’ve seen and heard him growl threats to former Red County blogger Matt Cunningham and go after Red County blogger Thomas Gordon.  Sean isn’t innocent here.  But he does still live with his mom who I’m told is still recovering from a stroke she had years ago; I’ve been told she has the stroke years ago and is phyiscally fine. 

And I’ve been told being reminded of living with his mom gets under Sean’s skin, so when I saw the shirt, I laughed.  I snapped the photo above and texted it to my friends assciated with the blog.  I grabbed a business card from the vendor.  I asked what was the largest size the shirt was sold in and was told a 4X (other shirts are in a size 8X and if that was available, I would have bought that).

Frankly, I’m a little surprised this was called in to the cops at all. A Terrorist threat?  It was a size 4X!  And frankly, it was never my intention to make this shirt gag a public matter, but since Sean’s going down this road, let’s drive on it together. 

While Sean may accuse me of not being able to tell the truth (kind of funny when I did tell the police I sent the shirt), let me accuse him of never telling the full story.  Now, let’s go back to 2009 with this fun email exchange between several of us from the blog, Art Pedroza and Matt Cunningham.  Sean Mill threatens to drive to Matt Cunningham’s home, from what I surmise is to do physical harm, and when Matt suggests he’ll call the police, Sean calls Matt his favorite word:

From: Matthew Cunningham <
To:
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 3:47 PM
Subject: [Fwd: Re: Not true]

No “threats” here Matt.  You should just stick to fucking with the payaso’s you’re used to fucking with.

One day your mouth is gonna write a check your ass can’t cash.  Play the kiddie games with Art and the rest of them.  I don’t have time for the shenanigans.

You sure are quick to call the police.  I guess that’s because you are a “pussy”.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

—–Original Message—–
From: Matthew Cunningham <>

Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:07:36
To: <seanhmill>; Art Pedroza<>; Dan Chmielewski<>; Chris Prevatt<>
Subject: Re: Not true

Fine, Sean. No more e-mails. No need for you to trespass on my property,
or for me to call the police when you do.

But you sure are quick to threaten people. Must be because you’re not a
“pussy.”

seanhmill wrote:
> Enough with the email.  I am not going to tell you again.
>
> I can drive and I’d have no problem finding you to discuss this.
>
> Move on now.
> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
>
> —–Original Message—–
> From: Matthew Cunningham <

> Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:40:42
> To: <seanhmill>
> Subject: Re: Not true
>
>
> You can drive?
>
> You don’t seem to mind Art e-mailing you.
>
> seanhmill@ wrote:

>> I thought I told you enough with the emails.  Do I need to get in my car and drive to Orange to explain myself?
>> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
>>
>> —–Original Message—–
>> From: Matthew Cunningham <>
>>
>> Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:38:06
>> To: <seanhmill>
>> Cc: <apedroza>; Dan Chmielewski<; ‘Prevatt, Christopher’>
>> Subject: Re: Not true
>>
>>
>> Are you and Art both stuck in arrested adolescence? Might I suggest
>> charm school? Or perhaps anger management?
>>
>> seanhmill wrote:
>> 
>>   
>>> Hey Matt go fuck yourself.  You haven’t seen my temper and I doubt you want to.
>>>
>>> I am not a pussy like your friends Bacerra and Gordon, so move on.
>>>
>>> You’re a slimy little fuck and your pals are a bunch of cowards. 
>>>
>>> Now want don’t you run along and get Mr. Lewis his hot cocoa before he goes to bed.
>>> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
>>>
>>> —–Original Message—–
>>> From: Matthew Cunningham <>
>>>
>>> Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:27:40
>>> To: <seanhmill>
>>> Cc:  Art Pedroza, Dan Chmielewski, Prevatt, Christopher’>>>

Subject: Re: Not true
>>>
>>>
>>> The feeling is mutual, Sean.
>>>
>>> Now dial down that infamous temper. I just hit “reply all.” you can
>>> direct your anger where it belongs – at your good buddy Pedroza for
>>> adding you to the distribution.
>>>
>>> Matt

Now was sending the shirt a childish, immature and foolish thing to do.  Yes it was.  And I’m still laughing that Sean considered it an act of terrorism.  As you can see from the photo above, it certainly is menancing.  The one thing I did learn was that Mill received two other packages to his home.  Really?  I’d love to know what he got because it has to be more threatening that a T-shirt – size 4X.

Now a number of people know about the prank.  Some have even offered money to chip in.   Now, Sean and Art Pedroza will say we have some sort of obsession about them.  I don’t agree.  It’s actually been awhile since I’ve written a post about anything Pedroza. 

But this was/is a silly joke.  A prank.  Pretty tame actually.  And it demonstrated how little humor a certain planning commissioner has.  I apologize if your feelings were hurt Sean; but then again, when I think of threats you’ve made to my friends over the years…a part of me isn’t.

34 Comments

  1. Sean is simultaneously the biggest pu**sy AND the biggest prick in Orange County – that is quite an accomplishment.

  2. Wow! The City of Santa Ana is nearly bankrupt, partly due to the cost of police services. Sean Mill, in his capacity as an appointed official, cried like a kitty cat (pussy) and caused a significant amount of police officer time to be spent investigating such an obvious prank. I can only imagine the better uses of police time.

    But what is more troubling is the fact that actual threats of violence made by Mr. Mill failed to garner the same level of attention from the Santa Ana Police Department.

    I guess Sean is a bigger pussy thus requiring more attention. It’s nice to know that Chief Walters know how to pet his kitty.

  3. Junior — the way I see it, it gives the 10 people who hate me on NSA another reason to. And what good does an apology do Sean anyway? He keeps throwing it in your face time and again. Bugt you wouldn’t know anything about that.

  4. wow, I thought I blocked Art Pedroza from my Facebook page; he just lifted a pic of me with Tippi Hedren from the Hitchcock movies less than 30 minutes after I posted it on Facebook. Stalkers. 😉

  5. “Any person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily injury to another person, with the specific intent that the statement, made verbally, in writing, or
    by means of an electronic communication device, is to be taken as a threat,…”-Cal. Pen. Sec422

    So, where in any of this did Dan make anything that sounded like the above? The cops wasted their time and taxpayer money if any of this generated more than a 10 minute phone call that ended in, “Sorry to have bothered you, Mr. Chmielewski.”

    Maybe he convinced the cops that Dan was intending to come over and waterboard him using the very shirt Mill was humiliated with.

    I thought it was a great joke. I bet the cops at the station are still laughing.

    • destructive how Henry? The cops have paid me a visit for blog comments I didn’t make on another blog threatening violence against a city council member in Anaheim. I get tons of hang up calls on a regular basis. It’s an annoyance.

  6. Wow.

    Just when I thought I was out. You pull this move Dan.

    I don’t know what to say other than you sure have stuped to a new low.

    I suggest all of you grow up.

    Nice dragging Cunningham back into the game too!

    We missed his wit!

  7. This was meant as a joke. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m just amazed at all the time, effort and money wasted on this “terrorist threat”. Which brings me to a question, does Mr. Mill thinks that I am so stupid to threaten him and put my RETURN ADDRESS on the package he got t-shirt from?

    Anyway, I’d like to thank Mr. Mill’s for giving me this free press about my t-shirt. The only thing he left out was there you could get one. Of course I’d never say that you could order one by contacting me at Dweebduds@aol.com or at WonderCon March 16-18, 2012 at the Anaheim Convention Center and that you’d get a discount if you mentioned that you heard about my shirts on The Liberal OC (shameless plug I know).

  8. well, they only made those shirts in a size 4X. I spoke with the officer in the case and he tells me the case is closed. What Sean and Art also left out of their post was the entire August 2009 email string is now part of the official public record. The more interesting question is, who were the other six people Sean suspected of sending the shirt? Guesses? And if he got two other packages, when did he get them? And what did he get?

  9. August 2009. Wasn’t Mill a planning commissioner than? Isn’t that a violation of the city’s code of ethics?

    The best part of the gag is that you guys kept it a secret for so long.

  10. Mr.Chmielewski,

    Allow me to thank you again for allowing us to assist you during your recent purchase Santa Ana real estate.

    On your recommendation we stopped by your website and find it amusing.

    If we may be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

  11. Dan better not have bought any property near my soon to be foreclosed upon property in Santa Ana. Because of my second bankruptcy and nearly $400,000 total indebtedness, I need all the success fee money Miguel will send my way. Insure hope Disney doesn’t check to blog to see how often I take breaks from my work as a safety manager at the Disneyland resort.

  12. Funny Henry Gattis seems to forget or forgive all Sean Mill’s exploits while bitching about you guys. You have to admire Mill’s efforts to get anyone he hates fired from their jobs. Prevatt, Tim Rush, Claudio Gallegos, Tom Gordon. He gets a t-shirt in the mail and it becomes a terrorist threat. When Pedroza put Sherry Kerr’s address online and called her a Mexican hater, Walters ignored it as harmless. Where is your outrage there Henry?

Comments are closed.