Dear Mr. Murphy,
I am forwarding the attached email thread with former Mayor Drew Combs
because it raises an additional issue that seems particularly relevant in
light of your statement that you blind copied the City Council “to avoid
any Brown Act issues.”
As the thread reflects, I initially met with Mr. Combs in October 2023 to
discuss my concerns regarding the Citys handling of these matters. I
subsequently provided him with supporting materials.
After a lengthy period without a response, Mr. Combs wrote to me on June
16, 2025:
“I very much tried to see if there was some help I could provide.”
More importantly, he stated:
“I connected with city staff and police on this matter, and given that this
is something for which I have no expertise I have to defer to their
judgement.”
That representation now raises two related questions.
First, what communications was Mr. Combs referring to when he stated that
he had “connected with city staff and police” regarding my concerns? I
previously sought City communications concerning these matters through the
Public Records Act, yet I have not seen records documenting the
communications Mr. Combs represented had occurred.
If responsive communications exist, I would appreciate an explanation as to
why they were not produced. If no such communications exist, I would
appreciate clarification as to how that can be reconciled with Mr. Combss
express representation that he connected with City staff and the Police
Department and ultimately deferred to their judgment.
Second, your recent reference to avoiding “Brown Act issues” raises a
question I had not previously considered. If communications involving
members of the City Council concerning this matter have to be structured to
avoid Brown Act concerns, I would like to understand how Mr. Combss review
was conducted and whether the same precautions were observed.
I am not asserting that a Brown Act violation occurred. I am asking a more
basic factual question: who did Mr. Combs communicate with, what was
communicated, and were any of his concerns, views, inquiries, or the
responses he received communicated directly or indirectly to other members
of the Council?
This seems particularly important because there is an apparent discrepancy
in the existing record. Mr. Combs represented in writing that he contacted
City staff and police and relied upon their judgment. Yet the records
produced in response to my Public Records Act requests do not appear to
document those communications.
That leaves several possibilities: the communications occurred but were not
captured by the Citys search or production; they occurred through channels
for which records were not retained; they were entirely oral; or Mr.
Combss description of what occurred was inaccurate. I would appreciate the
Citys clarification rather than attempting to draw a conclusion from the
absence of records.
Accordingly, please advise:
1. Whether the City has records of communications between Mr. Combs and
City staff, the Police Department, the City Attorneys Office, or other
Councilmembers concerning the matters reflected in the forwarded thread;
2. Whether Mr. Combss communications were included within the Citys
searches in response to my prior Public Records Act requests;
3. If responsive records exist, why they were not produced;
4. If no responsive records exist, whether the City has determined how
Mr. Combs communicated with the staff and police personnel he said he
contacted;
5. Whether Mr. Combs discussed this matter, directly or indirectly, with
any other member of the City Council; and
6. Whether the City has evaluated those communications for compliance
with the Brown Act.
I am forwarding the complete thread so that there is no ambiguity about
what Mr. Combs actually represented to me.
This is another example of why I have been asking for the underlying facts
rather than simply accepting assurances that these matters have already
been reviewed. There should be an objective record from which it can be
determined what occurred.
I would appreciate your clarification.
Respectfully,
Nikolai Gallo
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Combs, Drew
Date: Tue, Jun 17, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Subject: Re: Office hours?
To: Nikolai Gallo
Cc: Doherty, Nira F
Nikolai,
So theres not a misunderstanding between you and me, Im not going to
engage in this matter further. It is not the most productive use of my time
and Im not going to subject myself to answering a never ending stream of
questions from you. Our engagement thus far has clearly not been productive
given that we are misaligned on what I communicated about the probability
of me being helpful in this situation.
Additionally, you referred to yourself in an earlier email as a
constituent. Are you a resident of Menlo Park? I remember you saying that
you owned property in Menlo Park but lived in Atherton. That would make you
a constituent of the Atherton City Council. I would encourage you to reach
out to them. But maybe were also misaligned on where you actually live.
Wherever you live, theres nothing stopping you from availing yourself of
the civil courts to seek redress.
Drew . Combs
Mayor
City Hall - 2nd Floor
701 Laurel St.
tel 650-924-1890
menlopark.gov
*Note our emails have changed to @menlopark.gov
________________________________________
From: Nikolai Gallo
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2025 8:15 AM
To: Combs, Drew
Cc: Doherty, Nira F; Senator Alex Padilla(imailagent);
senator.becker@senate.ca.gov
Subject: Re: Office hours?
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Unless you
recognize the senders email address and know the content is safe, DO NOT
click links, open attachments or reply.
Dear Mayor Combs,
Thank you for your response—though I believe we can both agree that
receiving it approximately a year and a half after the initial outreach is
unusual. While disappointing, it is, unfortunately, not entirely unexpected.
You make several assertions in your reply that require clarification. I do
not recall you indicating that your ability to assist would be a longshot.
On the contrary, you expressed familiarity with the internal dynamics of
the police department, including its tendency to deflect accountability,
and you stated you would raise the issue directly with the Chief of Police,
to whom you indicated you had access.
You now mention that you raised this matter with city staff and the police
department and must defer to their guidance. May I ask: what guidance,
specifically, are you referring to? The only direct response I received was
a spoken response from a senior police official who resorted to the usual
tactics used to avoid involvement—claiming lack of jurisdiction, that it
wasn’t a criminal matter, and similar false and misleading pretexts. If
your statement is to carry weight, I would ask that you please share the
actual guidance provided, especially in light of the clear, documented
evidence of ongoing fraud. As you are aware, the fraud you were exposed to
has caused over $200 million in damages to both government agencies and
unsuspecting investors.
If you had/have a genuine interest to protect the public and better
understand the continuing harm, you could review the case Sylabs Inc. v.
Rose, which is an example of the ongoing cost to society of remaining
willfully blind to this matter. It highlights how the court system is
currently being used and manipulated in an effort to enforce and collect on
one of several fraudulent transfers (see:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66863695/sylabs-inc-v-rose<
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.courtlistener.com%2fdocket%2f66863695%2fsylabs-inc-v-rose%2f&c=E,1,FXfBOQlXHn2X4PJgC6hNZlHsZ62N3ZPCKHzCiVsVXEz_EgzqZ9ahR3lhiqNxZSFsLf4F83leOfKljyYW9bpSrNpUGyxpIBLSmbuzme2Mlw,,&typo=1>)
that occurred at RStor Inc.
More recently, you received additional documentation along with a request
that you fulfill your obligations as a licensed attorney. I presume this
may be the actual reason for your belated reply. As you are aware, the
documents presented involved crimes that are relatively
straightforward—wire fraud, forgery, theft—crimes that any informed
citizen, and certainly the Mayor of a city, should be able to understand.
Given this context, I suspect you may be attempting to preemptively
establish a defense for not fulfilling your obligations under Rule 8.3 of
the California Rules of Professional Conduct. Could you please confirm
whether, apart from your responsibilities as Mayor, you have complied with
your independent duties as a licensed attorney?
"As of August 1, 2023, California has adopted a mandatory attorney
reporting rule under Rule 8.3 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. This
rule applies to all California-licensed attorneys, including those on
inactive status. If a lawyer becomes aware of credible evidence that
another attorney has engaged in serious misconduct—such as fraud,
misappropriation of funds, perjury, or a criminal act—they are obligated to
report it without undue delay to either the State Bar of California or a
tribunal with jurisdiction. The duty to report is subject to limited
exceptions (such as attorney-client privilege), but otherwise is mandatory
regardless of active or inactive license status."
Thank you, and I look forward to your clarification.
Sincerely,
Nikolai Gallo
On Mon, Jun 16, 2025 at 10:03 PM Combs, Drew DCombs@menlopark.gov>> wrote:
Hi Nikolai,
My apologies for the delayed response. I very much tried to see if there
was some help I could provide. As I mentioned when we last spoke, my
ability to help is the situation was going to be a long shot.
I connected with city staff and police on this matter, and given that this
is something for which I have no expertise I have to defer to their
judgement.
Drew
Drew . Combs
Mayor
City Hall - 2nd Floor
701 Laurel St.
tel 650-924-1890
menlopark.gov<
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fmenlopark.gov&c=E,1,mN4g0uC6X4z8Z5geyNOE3s1DHcTWyFziW4RQah27NcwK_QB244NqrYp0UZQUK510Qy7WkRCFIE-TLElI7MvgIDmOypGw9jsJ0OEXkQUvjaGlYKIwvuKFm9lJXac,&typo=1
>
*Note our emails have changed to @menlopark.gov<
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fmenlopark.gov&c=E,1,334apbplDcywqPvZs5GvnmShqqb9bFuZxsfQYm1ofGpv3iAEx-Pm326BmMj8iPmfpYcQeMcntFWizliAhNfis-DTgAfrxjoRWgWxA2fG2TXWonUtKrcK&typo=1
>
________________________________________
From: Nikolai Gallo >
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2025 3:25 PM
To: Combs, Drew
Subject: Re: Office hours?
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Unless you
recognize the senders email address and know the content is safe, DO NOT
click links, open attachments or reply.
Drew,
I never heard back from you on this matter. While when we met in person
you seemed sympathetic to my struggle to get the RStor Inc related fraud
exposed I never received the courtesy of a response to my emails from you.
Is ghosting constituents consistent with what we as residents are to expect
of individuals who hold the office of Mayor?
Nikolai
On Dec 13, 2023, at 9:00 AM, Nikolai Gallo nikolai@gmail.com>> wrote:
Drew,
I never heard back from you and was wondering if you received the sample of
information I forwarded.
If you did get the information, I would appreciate it if you would confirm
you got it but either do not see an issue with what transpired or do not
see a way that local government can assist. As we discussed, the message
at the federal law enforcement level is to start locally and at the local
level it seems there either is no interest or ability to address this type
of crime. The net takeaway seems to be that white collar crime does pay
(well) and that it is rampant.
It is a sad state of affairs that at the local level an exchange student
seeking an autograph from a sports star gets massive police and press
attention and a group of executives and lawyers who have stolen and
continue to steal millions from investors and the US Government gets zero
consideration and/or investigation.
https://abc7news.com/stephen-curry-atherton-home-trespassing-sheng-gao/14173742/
<
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fabc7news.com%2fstephen-curry-atherton-home-trespassing-sheng-gao%2f14173742%2f&c=E,1,59ioywJX4GPr2mvykiQ7N0RXGBnO2AabHBDTHDcR73nCO1lsKsflBpmAVgXAxGDQiDxhKUEjjeqNY0cQyOld88y_po1a7WDRDJbEDnCCdZrbRaw,&typo=1
><
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fabc7news.com%2fstephen-curry-atherton-home-trespassing-sheng-gao%2f14173742%2f&c=E,1,ZWWzqY-D1Vk3qO1FgmYie9kk9QS94s1PvNG_6Duq3y5tmbGUnQuvQq8pwkSJq7tDycMZ_wprz8gYmayvvZyCVN5lPa3wVa4alb2HRcnh2qcbsYRe0w9VXra8z3s,&typo=1
>
Thanks in advance for any consideration or advice you might be able to
offer to have this matter get the attention it deserves.
Best regards,
Nikolai
On Fri, Nov 3, 2023 at 9:18 AM Nikolai Gallo nikolai@gmail.com>>>
wrote:
Drew,
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me a couple weeks ago. I was
delighted to speak with someone in government who seems to understand and
appreciates the struggles the average citizen has getting the government to
move on issues that seem to destroy our society from within. Since our
meeting I have been dealing with some saber rattling regarding
confidentiality obligations that I believe do not exist. The attorneys
involved seem committed to covering up the fraud that went on and is
ongoing.
The recent outcome of the SBF/FTX trial is particularly relevant. While
the fraud I was exposed to only cost invests between $100M to $200M thus
far it is in many ways worse. As best I can tell, SBK and Alameda at least
were legitimate at the outset but lost their bearings over time. RStor
INc./RStor LLC was a fraud from the beginning. In the case of RStor Inc. a
group of crooked GPs, corporate officers of a public company and a
"entrepreneur" (serial grifter) conspired to scam investors for their
personal benefit. While in absolute dollars they will never achieve the
same absolute dollars of the SBF/FTX fraud they may over the years come
close in aggregate as they continue to apply their fraudulent business
practices ( See Document #22 and #23).
I am attaching some of the documents so you can assess for yourself the
fraud that I described to you. As I mentioned I have been trying to get
this fraud addressed for almost three years but have not been able to get
any government agency to act in a coordinated and reasonable way.
I appreciate your time and consideration. Please let me know if you have
any questions and or suggestions on how I might proceed to get this
situation addressed.
Best Regards,
Nikolai
On Fri, Oct 20, 2023 at 5:59 PM Nikolai Gallo nikolai@gmail.com>>>
wrote:
Great. I will see you there.
On Fri, Oct 20, 2023 at 5:44 PM Combs, Drew DCombs@menlopark.gov>DCombs@menlopark.gov>>> wrote:
Hi Nikolai, Ill be at Cafe Zoe tomorrow (Saturday - 10/21) from 9am to
10am.
Drew Combs
City Councilmember
City Hall - 2nd Floor
701 Laurel St.
tel 650-924-1890
menlopark.gov<
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fmenlopark.gov&c=E,1,calb73cwkrMMATGNzKOK-Z7_zEn39xFESXBv_vRj4ce9CAGw7OjD6X4hLN6bKY34xYnukWoqZURZZPEuRxlV1vbATAWs6Di4Nb5rrP8YNw,,&typo=1
><
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fmenlopark.gov&c=E,1,gYGCRWP_8lK8vlM8XyaYaLYpisOcQHabN4ggkjjU3N7AfqYsRUDl9EDpONmHigTe9YnvuIGSQuBF30Pej_FQuVt84LqrdBbiP7HnrEEwhWJnvRIG&typo=1
>
*Note our emails have changed to @menlopark.gov<
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fmenlopark.gov&c=E,1,OrYmirdsDgp6iQYhmkjksucvetHBz1vjC7L7Ex_SjA6ZBVwb3ntn_1dXIPOER3FnbBy3Qu7Md7mbgHrrxvuVK2ip6zC01zlDHBI3hhqltSHsf43QDCoE&typo=1
><
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fmenlopark.gov&c=E,1,pjo3lCNOuhiwlfgVoTSUKzAChhKyOQTIerpCc3IFLoAvS3Y4mieZXHbdtSj8aj8TozzsVOtl76699YYOnkglsaiel6rVL7huzzJKVB7kdw,,&typo=1
>
________________________________________
From: Nikolai Gallo nikolai@gmail.com>>
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2023 2:34:29 PM
To: Combs, Drew
Subject: Re: Office hours?
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Unless you
recognize the senders email address and know the content is safe, DO NOT
click links, open attachments or reply.
Drew,
Thank you for getting back to me.
I am generally available and can be reached at 650-814-2962 or if it works
for you can meet in person.
Best,
Nikolai
> On Oct 14, 2023, at 12:39 PM, Combs, Drew DCombs@menlopark.gov>DCombs@menlopark.gov>>> wrote:
>
> Hi Nikolai,
>
> Sorry I missed you. No one has shown up at my office hours the past few
weeks so I switched to just the first Saturday of every month. Id be happy
to discuss your recent interactions with the city. Is there a number I can
call you. Would you be available for a call today?
>
> - Drew
>
>
>
>
>
> Drew Combs
> City Councilmember
> City Hall - 2nd Floor
> 701 Laurel St.
> tel 650-924-1890
>
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fmenlopark.gov&c=E,1,tknD49pNg_SKwOJpXuAkRYPH41yP2UkvWPmP6FYijHP8lTekJ43zFxPGVtT3QkXzbEdpHtS-cE47R2khA4va_phx3y0WQDq-WufC7AVMQLIlOAJwihuTaHUF&typo=1
> *Note our emails have changed to @
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fmenlopark.gov&c=E,1,Mbbybja3MfLmBjgXrDM8e5TDg2VDPxIF7dpdU48bQrvbynpK8NTp_puxYwJu306kCDHCDek-Mx5yrgMYP61pIrz6k8FvSMfhM38Vy2jrwA,,&typo=1
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Nikolai Gallo nikolai@gmail.com>>
> Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2023 9:34:50 AM
> To: Combs, Drew
> Subject: Office hours?
>
> CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Unless
you recognize the senders email address and know the content is safe, DO
NOT click links, open attachments or reply.
>
> Mr. Combs,
>
> Good day.
>
> I am a resident of Menlo Park (-40 years) and wanted to hopefully get
some advice and/or share an experience interfacing with MP city government
that I recently had. I stopped by Zoe’s thinking office hours might be
drop in and didn’t see you. If possible and it works for your schedule, I
would appreciate the opportunity to meet at some point.
>
> Thank you in advance for your consideration.
>
> Nikolai Gallo
