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Man who recently joined Mason City Chamber of Commerce beats theft charge

MASON CITY – A North Iowa man who in recent months joined the Mason City Chamber of Commerce beat a theft charge earlier this year.

Reece Ronson Ristau, 22, came to the Mason City area in recent months.  He has provided a Lu Verne, Iowa address and is formerly of Algona.

Ristau claims to be the owner of a business called “Optimum Marketing : Profit Before You Pay”. On the Mason City Chamber of Commerce website, the business is described this way: “We’ve invested nearly 6 years and more than $3,000,000 engineering this system to guide you, step by step, through optimizing your business and Maximizing Your Success.™ 100% Results Guaranteed.”

On Friday afternoon, June 21st, NIT contacted the chamber of commerce in a nearby North Iowa community where Reece Ristau was said to be a member. When asked if Ristau was still a member at that chamber, the woman on the phone said “He was briefly. He is not anymore.” Then NIT was told to wait for a phone call from the chamber director, which came on Monday, June 24th at about 4:15 PM.

“He had paid his dues.  He presents himself very professionally at first,” the chamber director said, on condition of anonymity for this story.  After stating that “red flags” had come up,  the source stated that “we returned his dues check to him.”

“He mis-represented himself to other chamber members,” the chamber director continued, stating that Ristau had presented a Lu Verne, Iowa address to their organization. The source characterized the chamber’s relationship with Ristau as “very negative” and said that his information did “not match”.

“I visited with our county economic development office and our board. We determined that this was not a person that we want representing the chamber,” the source said.

This source, who, again, is the director at a chamber of commerce in a nearby North Iowa community, said that the Mason City Chamber of Commerce was warned months ago about Ristau, who is currently a member there.

North Iowa Commerce Center, home of the Mason City Chamber of Commerce.  The chamber did not return a phone call this week from NIT.
North Iowa Commerce Center, home of the Mason City Chamber of Commerce. The chamber did not return a phone call this week from NIT.

“I was met with indifference,” the source said. “I spoke to (Mason City Chamber Director) Robin Anderson last November.  She said ‘we know what we are doing.'”

The Mason City Chamber of Commerce did not return a phone call this week, seeking information on their criteria for accepting new members.

The Mason City Chamber scheduled Reece Ristau for a guest appearance on its “Be Our Guest” radio program on January 11th, 2013, according to its January newsletter.  On a very large business card (see below) that Ristau handed an NIT associate, Ristau lists the Mason City Chamber of Commerce as one of eight “Key Afiliations” (sic).

Ristua was arrested after an incident on February 13th, 2013 at Hy-Vee West in Mason City for shoplifting $80 worth of merchandise, police confirmed last week. “Other than that, he’s had a couple minor involvements with the MCPD on traffic stops, etc.,” officer Mike McKelvey stated. “The 5th Degree Theft charge was dismissed because the employee store witness (complainant) did not show up for the court date.”

One of the reported incidents with Ristau involving police took place at the Mason City Library. A source close to the Mason City library told NIT that “A lot of the staff was leery of him as he was always hanging out with teen girls.  Some thought he was homeless.” The source said that Ristau has not been back to the library since.  “He is never in the library anymore,”  the source said.  Library Director Mary Markwalter could not confirm the incident. “I am not aware of the situation you describe,” she said.  In a text message to an NIT associate, Ristau confirmed in general that there was an incident involving him at the Mason City Library.  In the text message, from the phone number on his business card, Ristau said “I was helping a 16 year old with some art and business stuff in one of the study rooms.  Staff have been very sheepish ever since.”

Ristau’s most serious charge occurred in Algona.  Algona Police Chief Curtis Schipper was tight-lipped about the incident, which occurred in 2009 when Ristau was 18. “The original Call For Service came on April 2, 2009. Charges filed on June 10th, 2009. He was charged with 2nd degree theft” a class D felony.   Schipper said that Ristau received a deferred judgement.  The item has been removed from Ristau’s online record.

Jail photo of Reece Ronson Ristau after alleged incident at Hy-Vee West.  The charges were dropped.
Jail photo of Reece Ronson Ristau after alleged theft incident at Hy-Vee West. The charges were dropped when a Hy-Vee employee failed to show up for court.
reece-ristau-card-2
Reece Ristau’s business card, he handed to an NIT associate
reece-ristau-card-1
Reece Ristau’s business card, he handed to an NIT associate

 

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