May this be the first — and last time — I ever have to address this.
Arturo ‘Art’ Pedroza makes many claims about many people. More often than not, his claims are false with the intent of being malicious. Art Pedroza has written about me, and people I know and associate with — on more than one occasion over the years – and I made the personal decision to stay quiet about my thoughts. Until now.
Lately, I have been asked by a couple folks, “Who is this Art Pedroza guy, and why is he writing about you?” Simple.
I, and others, sued Mr. Pedroza in a landmark federal case against cybersquatting and copyright infringement, and we won — twice. You may read the ruling from Judge David Carter here. We won a default judgement of $17,000 in 2010, and in 2011 won another $30,000 in damages — of which Mr. Pedroza has yet to pay into collections.
What stemmed the lawsuit, you ask? Extortion.
Art Pedroza purchased web domains related to our names and businesses out of pettiness, and redirected those domains to gay porn sites and NAMBLA (the North American Man Boy Love Association) — an organization I refuse to link my site to. You may do your own research. Needless to say, it’s an organization that Jerry Sandusky would be proud of. Upon purchasing these sites, Mr. Pedroza then attempted to extort thousands of dollars from myself and others in order to return the sites.
Despite our victory in court, Art Pedroza continued to berate and harass various different politicos — regardless of affiliations. Here’s a story of Mr. Pedroza exploiting the death of a Democratic Congressional candidate’s son, and a recent story where he continues to castigate my former boss and friend, Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen — despite her overwhelming victory as a Republican to a second term in a Democratic-leaning district.
So, what is Art Pedroza’s motivation for continuing to harass and character assassinate me? Is it jealousy? Pettiness? I’m certainly not convinced that it’s based on a strong conviction of character. When I served as a City Commissioner in the City of Santa Ana, Mr. Pedroza was often severely critical of Mayor Miguel Pulido. However, after receiving a $5,150 paycheck, he sure changed his tune and became the Mayor’s biggest cheerleader.
Clearly, Art Pedroza’s opinions can be had for a price — a trait not viewed well among voters when running for office, among other personal faults. In fact, voters in Orange County have soundly rejected Art Pedroza in three four (1998, 2008, 2010, 2012) separate attempts by him to run for public office.
Art Pedroza’s blogs, comments, and opinions are based on money and ambition, rather than credible fact and heart-felt conviction. He attacks, bullies, and harasses elected officials, community activists, and staffers — throughout the state — for no other reason than to attempt to incite harm on those he doesn’t like. Although it’s not fair, it’s the malicious intent of a man hell-bent on chaos and destruction rather than clear-cut public policy solutions.
If you have any questions about the lawsuit, contact Dan Chmielewski at 714.832.8716, or 949.231.2965
– Ryan Trabuco
Nicely written Ryan. I’ll point out to readers that Mr. Pedroza was ordered to turn over his hard drive as a condition of discovery and he refused. The federal judge sanctioned him for failure to follow a couple of federal court orders. I will also point out Pedroza filed bankruptcy — his second since the late 1990s — to attempt to evade judgment. Additionally, Mr,. Pedroza threatened to kill himself, then found Jesus and apologized to many people for the hurtful posts he wrote. When we were not swayed, he went back to being mean spirited and nasty. Your readers in San Diego would be well advised not to believe a word that an writes. To this day, Mr. Pedroza allows nasty comments on his blog about me, my wife and my kids as well as my business.