Reports: Man accused of extorting women is former Republican presidential campaign staffer
Media reports indicate the man accused of cyberstalking and extorting nude photos of college-age women, including one in Ann Arbor, is a former campaign staffer for Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and Newt Gingrich.
Multiple outlets, including the New York Daily News and Politico, are reporting Adam Savader, 21, of Great Neck, NY, worked for the Republican heavyweights during the 2012 presidential campaign. Savader is charged with two federal crimes for allegedly harassing 15 women from Sept. 30 through February using the Internet.
Many reports cite Facebook and Twitter profiles that reportedly belong to Savader as the sources of photos of him with Romney, Ryan and Gingrich. AnnArbor.com has been unable to independently confirm Savader’s work for the Republican candidates.
A message was left with Michael Soshnick, the attorney representing Savader, seeking comment and confirmation of Savader’s political background Wednesday afternoon.
A federal affidavit released Tuesday revealed a woman reported someone texted her from a Google Voice number on Sept. 30. The person, who said his name was John Smith but is alleged to be Savader, told the woman he had nude photos of her and would send them to her parents if she didn’t send him more.
Savader allegedly repeated the process with 14 other women, eight of whom have not been identified.
The woman reported the incident to the Ann Arbor Police Department, who then turned the case over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI tracked the IP address of the email used to create the Google Voice numbers used in the text messages to homes Savader lived in, in both Great Neck and Quincy, Mass.
A Facebook profile of an Adam Savader shows photos of a college-aged man with Romney, Ryan and Gingrich and lists Great Neck North High School as one of his networks. A Twitter profile for the same Adam Savader includes photos of the man with Ryan.
The Twitter bio identifies the man reported to be Savader as “American Patriot. Reagan Republican. Formerly @PRyan’s sole intern on @MittRomney’s campaign and a @newtgingrich campaign staffer.”
Savader was arrested in New York last week and will stand trial in Michigan. Gina Balaya, public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Michigan, said he has yet to be taken to Michigan to face the charges.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
West sider
Thu, Apr 25, 2013 : 4:10 a.m.
Totally aside from the political affiliation of this young man, this is an interesting story of fighting crime in an age of Facebook and twitter (also of journalism in an age of Facebook and twitter). Is it possible to maintain a right to privacy but to still be a user of Facebook, google, twitter, etc?
Fred Pettit
Thu, Apr 25, 2013 : 4:33 a.m.
West sider - This article is TOTALLY about political affiliation and sensationalism of the same. Thus it is not legitimate journalism. it is a personal vendetta of the author. To rely on Facebook, Twitter and the "lame stream media" for your facts is CRAP! Didn't we just learn from the AP Twitter account being hacked that a bomb exploded in the Whitehouse and Obama was badly hurt? Give me a break this is a lesson in what journalism shouldn't be!
Fred Pettit
Thu, Apr 25, 2013 : 1:44 a.m.
"AnnArbor.com has been unable to independently confirm Savader's work for the Republican candidates." Kyle, Do your job before you use such a headline and attempt to substantiate anything from Facebook or Twitter as factual. There may be a story here but until you are able to substantiate your claims, leave politics out of it. I'm sure you'd be able to find enough similar stories about members of both parties....so why should this be political if you don't have a personal agenda? Shame on you for this politically motivated headline and article.
Usual Suspect
Thu, Apr 25, 2013 : 1:04 a.m.
Extremely foul. No, I'm not talking about what Mr. Savader did, I'm talking about what Mr. Feldscher did.
JimG
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 11:51 p.m.
Obviously written by a Democratic party staffer who worked on the presidential campaign, but it needs to be substantiated by unknown sources..
B2Pilot
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 11:49 p.m.
Kyle how about a nice article about Michigan baseball ??
javajolt1
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 11:28 p.m.
Hack headline. Hack journalism. Democrat, Libertarian or Republican, what does a political party have to do with a 21 year old being a pervert? Oh, and the party part is "unsubstantiated" too? So where is the actual journalism to back up your headline anyway?? Where are the standards on this website? You want to censor comments but how about vetting your own stories?
Fred Pettit
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 11:48 p.m.
EXACTLY! Based on the author's response to comments HE and A2.com seems to have an agenda. In Ann Arbor this is CHERRY PICKING (very easy to slam the minority party). It would be nice to see the same effort to expose the Mayor and Council in their efforts to shape Ann Arbor into a city based on spending everyone's money for some kind of liberal utopia that makes no sense in terms of economics, finance or what is ultimately the best for ANN ARBOR. If you have to hide your agenda from the citizens/voters you need to pay attention to those that you serve.
Jack Gladney
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 11:27 p.m.
BTW if you see the pics of the alleged perp "staffer" it looks as though he may have been Second in Command of the Romney-Ryan Office of Clearing Empty Donut Boxes and Changing Coffee Filters, Derpshire County Division
Arborcomment
Thu, Apr 25, 2013 : 1:02 a.m.
Huffpost reports that when he worked on Newt's staff, he was the dude in the "Ellis the Elephant" costume at political events. "Ellis" is a character in a children's book written by Newt's wife.
Carole
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 10:35 p.m.
Ann Arbor.Com has not been able to definitely confirm that he worked for any of the individuals, but then go on making it look like he did. He does not matter who he might have worked for, what he did was wrong. I surely wish all news media would start confirming data before publishing. Added to that, I guess I am tired of information being reported coming from a source that can not be identified or who has given the info without permission to do so. Please start verifying info before publishing.
Arborcomment
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 10:10 p.m.
Seems to be a political thing. Ask John Edwards?
dogpaddle
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 10:01 p.m.
@technojunkie: it might seem more "shocking" when Republicans, that alleged party of less government intrusion, do it because they're the ones trying to make laws that ban, prohibit or discriminate against any form of adult consensual sexual behavior other than male-dominated opposite-gendered only in the name of procreation while claiming "family values" whatever those are (which family or wife should Newt claim, his first, second or third, for example). Yes, Democrats have certainly had their fare share of sexual scandals or illegal activities. But you hardly see Democrats like Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards or Anthony Wiener trying to push through hypocritical agendas.
B2Pilot
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 11:25 p.m.
But you hardly see Democrats like Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards or Anthony Wiener trying to push through hypocritical agendas.-- isn't that sentnce pushing a hypocritical agenda?
Great Lakes Lady
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 9:17 p.m.
I agree with one of the comments.....it's a big news story because this sick person by chance campaigned for Republicans. But it's excused behavior from Democrat elected officials: Andrew Weiner: http://theweek.com/article/index/215786/weinergate-the-strange-scandal-of-a-congressman-and-a-lewd-twitter-photo Monica Lewinsky: http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Monicagate
Karen
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 8:34 p.m.
I do not condone this type of behavior in the least! Even as a Republican, I am repulsed by his behavior. Having said this, I will opine about the obvious political slant in this article. The heavy emphasis on the offender being associated with the Republican party purposely gives the impression that Republicans willingly associate and even employ sex offenders. oy, this is not fair journalism. But it is salacious, isn't it.
Robert E.
Thu, Apr 25, 2013 : 4:23 a.m.
He worked for the republican presidential and vice-presidential candidate! And Newt! What do you expect the article to say? "...purposely gives the impression that Republicans willingly associate and even employ sex offenders." That's stretching it a bit, dontchya think? I mean I would never vote for any republican and I love a chance to skewer prominent republicans anytime I can but even I don't think Mitt, Pauly, or Newt would knowingly employ a sex offender...
Jack Gladney
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 8:22 p.m.
Let's see if the Irrelevant Occupational Headline Method holds up as a approach to "journalism." You can play along at home. Feel free to add yours and let's see if it works. Here's mine: Report: Man accused of assaulting Ypsilanti woman is former night stock clerk at Jackson area Wal-Mart
GeeWhiz
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 8:11 p.m.
The headline should be modified to state that he was an intern not a staffer/
Superior Twp voter
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 8:04 p.m.
Where is your much-heralded tolerance, Democrats (pertaining to Romney)? Perhaps you commenters making disparaging remarks about Romney are simply religious bigots. Key words concerning this low-blow article are: - "Media reports" - "Multiple outlets, including the New York Daily News and Politico" And I'll take all of your thumbs-down, stating further that if allegations against this subject are indeed true, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
G-Man
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 7:49 p.m.
What's the purpose of this type of headline? Is it to titillate the reader? Is it to suggest that these Republicans had some knowledge or would even remotely participate in this man's sick actions? Was he actively employed at the time he performed his sexual deeds? Or was it done some time after leaving the politician's campaigns? In the interest of fair reporting, let's see if we can find some other sick staffers that worked for Democrat politicians, and try and make a big headline to try to disparage them.
B2Pilot
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 11:35 p.m.
I thought news reporting was supposed to be free from influence, hence freedom of the press. I'm guessing the slant was to appeal to democratc readers? - not credible sources (suspects facebook page) to base an article on -just saying
Carole
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 10:37 p.m.
G-man - read the article, AnnARbor.Com could not and did not verify that he actually worked for the individuals as listed.
Kyle Feldscher
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 8:03 p.m.
G-Man: The alleged actions began while he was actively employed by the campaigns.
Ponycar
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 7:37 p.m.
Is the fact that he worked for a couple political campaigns relevant to anything at all? If so, the article doesn't explain WHY it's relevant.
average joe
Thu, Apr 25, 2013 : 1:42 a.m.
Thats- "....how irrelevant it is....
average joe
Thu, Apr 25, 2013 : 1:35 a.m.
Kyle- "The reason this information is relevant is because it shows more about the suspect and his personal life" So is it AA.com's policy now that every accused person's professional background be included in the story, no matter how irrevelant it is to the crime? The saga's of Dr. Weinblatt or Dr. Jensen are of course exceptions, but no matter how hard you try to spin it, this was a mistake on your part to include the information that means absolutely nothing to the alledged crime.
jcj
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 10:44 p.m.
Kyle easy enough to delete a question rather than answer it. Why is the political affiliation not stated for all the suspects you do stories about?
Stupid Hick
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 9:57 p.m.
You don't think it's relevant that the crimes occurred during the time he was employed by the Republican campaigns? Or are you just embarrassed that he's a Republican and don't like seeing it in the news?
Macabre Sunset
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 8:49 p.m.
If all the other news outlets collectively jumped off the internet, would you jump, too? Pointless argument.
Kyle Feldscher
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 7:46 p.m.
The reason this information is relevant is because it shows more about the suspect and his personal life. Through the normal course of our reporting, we try to find out as much about the people involved in incidents as we can, be they suspects or victims. This information gives a more complete view of who this person was. At this point, we have not had this independently confirmed, but many, many outlets are reporting this information and printing information about Mr. Savader.
ChelseaBob
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 7:36 p.m.
I've come to expect substandard journalism from this site, but this is a new low. "AnnArbor.com has been unable to independently confirm Savader's work for the Republican candidates" But the headline announces he was a republican presidential campaign staffer. He's 21 now, so that means he was probably 19 then? Obviously not a high level guy. And how did he manage to work for three opposing campaigns? This is a really low attempt to connect the word Republican with a pervert. Republicans are fair game for factual attacks, but this is very low & sleazy.
a2citizen
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 9:50 p.m.
Chelsea, Even I read it on the internet. So it must be true.
ac10award
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 7:51 p.m.
That first sentence says it all. Surprised they even bothered to admit it was all unconfirmed. Thought that when I read it too. What a violation. Thanks for your comment.
Kyle Feldscher
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 7:41 p.m.
ChelseaBob- If he's 21 now and the campaign was in the fall, he likely wasn't 19 during the time of the offenses. According to these social media profiles, he worked for the Gingrich campaign originally and then, after that fizzled out, joined Romney's campaign as a representative of Paul Ryan's vice presidential campaign. At least, that's what I"m gathering.
John
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 7:41 p.m.
It is a factual attack. He was a Romney staffer http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/ 23/adam-savader-mitt- romney_n_3143488. html?utm_hp_ref=detroit&ir=Detroit
jcj
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 7:25 p.m.
I do hope he is prosecuted to the fullest. My position is only that this kind of thing has no political boundaries.
Major
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 7:24 p.m.
Oh so shocking, wonder what school he went to, car he drives, what football team, or sport does he like...no matter how irrelevant to the situation...right? Biased media garbage!
OLDTIMER3
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 8:48 p.m.
Sounds more like a Clinton to me.
bobslowson
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 7:54 p.m.
Oh yes...the old lamestream, everyone is liberal blah blah blah. Alex Jones is so smart!!
jcj
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 6:36 p.m.
Wow now this is news! The fact that anyone on either side of the isle breaks the law is astounding. You never know where you will find a criminal! Ryan O'Connor, a 23-year-old reporter for WHSV in Winchester, Virginia has been arrested on child pornography charges. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/reporter-arrested-on-charges-of-child-pornography_b2377
Kyle Feldscher
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 6:42 p.m.
Yeah, that's never good.
antikvetch
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 5:58 p.m.
Is there any way to squeeze "Breaking News" into the headline, too? Maybe at least an "Urgent"...
Faygo
Wed, Apr 24, 2013 : 5:32 p.m.
And when will you be writing what Andrew Shirvell has to say about it?