LOS ANGELES _ The Republicans of Broward County, Fla., knew little about Rupert Tarsey when he ran for an open slot on the local party's executive committee. But the young man had some decent political cred.
Before the 2016 presidential election, he told them, he knocked on thousands of doors and got 50 Republicans in the liberal enclave to register to vote to support Donald Trump's presidential campaign. He worshipped at the same church as the committee's vice chair and headed a local chapter of the Catholic fraternal group Knights of Columbus. He came from a wealthy California family and followed four generations into a real estate career.
Within months of joining the local party, the 28-year-old was elected secretary in May, defeating two challengers who'd been around longer.
But something felt off about Tarsey for Bob Sutton, chairman of the committee. After a few months, Tarsey went after Sutton's position, members said, by working to persuade the committee to unseat him. That's when Sutton started getting phone calls warning him that Tarsey was not quite who he seemed.
"Houston, we've got a problem," he said one caller told him.
It wasn't long before the story of Tarsey's past unraveled.
