GREY2K PEDDLES FALSE PROPAGANDA, AGC TELLS DUBUQUE NEWSPAPER

In a letter submitted today to the editor of the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, AGC Communications Coordinator Gary Guccione accused Grey2K USA of “peddling false propaganda” and basing its campaign against greyhound racing on “myth and misrepresentation.”

The letter was a response to a February 18 article about the new “report” on greyhound racing published last week by Grey2K and ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), one of Grey2K’s wealthiest funding partners. Grey2K founder Christine Dorchak held a press event in Dubuque to tout the expensive hit piece.

“This phony report is classic Grey2K, riddled with distortions and falsehoods,” wrote Guccione. He noted that this is nothing new to Grey2K, citing a November 6, 2000 editorial in the Boston Herald that described Grey2K’s push to ban greyhound racing in Massachusetts “a ruthless campaign of deceit, distortion and defamation of character.”

The letter also highlighted ASPCA’s “serious credibility problem.”

“In 2013, ASPCA was one of several animal rights groups that paid a total of nearly $16 million to settle a lawsuit stemming from their false allegations of elephant abuse against Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. When the lawsuit against Ringling was thrown out because the animal rights accusers had paid the key witness to lie under oath, the circus counter-sued under federal racketeering statutes. The animal rights groups agreed to pay the multi-million dollar settlement to avoid allowing the case against them to proceed to trial in open court. All this is well documented in court records and media reports,” Guccione continued.

The letter concluded, “Unfortunately, the truth doesn’t help groups like Grey2K and ASPCA raise money. We can only hope that policy makers and the public look beyond the hysterical hype and make their decisions based on the true facts.”