A race for the Missouri House of Representatives is now splattered in controversy as one candidate in St. Charles County is accusing the other of having operated a “paintball gun trading scam” — one that he claims resulted in seven felonies against him.
Missouri law prohibits people running for office if they have “been found guilty of or pled guilty to a felony.”
The lawsuit filed Monday by Max Calfo asks a judge to find Michael Costlow ineligible both to run for statewide office and to hold his current position in local government because of the past felony charges against him.
Costlow is currently an alderman in Dardenne Prairie. Calfo is a former substitute teacher for the Wentzville and Fort Zumwalt districts and also used to work for Trump-loving Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Both men hope to win the August Republican primary and be elected to represent District 108 in the Missouri statehouse come this November.
Calfo argues in his lawsuit that Costlow is ineligible for office under state law due to what happened a decade ago in Georgia. Costlow disagrees with the assertion, though he won’t get into specifics.
“I am confident that I am eligible to hold my current position and a state position,” he says.
He says the suit is a distraction and, “knowing what Max’s reputation is, this isn’t surprising.” He adds that he can’t comment on the allegations in the suit more specifically than that, given that the matter is currently under litigation.
Calfo writes that a clerk at the Superior Court of Lowndes County confirmed “the existence of” a criminal case record against Costlow from 2007. However, when the RFT called that same county office, we were told they have no record of any conviction. It’s unclear if any felony Costlow may have received 15 years ago could have been suspended upon him serving his sentence, or, if there was a conviction, if it has since been expunged — much less how either scenario could play out under Missouri law.
The specifics of Costlow’s alleged misdeeds is unclear, though Calfo refers to them as “a crime spree” in his legal filings and says his opponent “stole thousands of dollars worth of property from children and adults.”
According to the lawsuit, Costlow previously operated under the online pseudonyms Spydrplus, I Pwn Joo 382 and Mike Lane. It appears from posts made to a paintball enthusiast message board that people shipped their paintball guns to addresses associated with those user names under false pretenses. Multiple people posted to the message board around 2006 claiming to have been ripped off.
“I and another guy got ripped off by I Pwn Joo. the guy said his name was MIKE LANE,” wrote lilbill303 in October 2016. “if you know this guy tell him he can either send our guns back or get the sheriff dept. after him.”
A person using the name 2Pac replied three minutes later: “F the sheriffs i will go down from Chicago and pay him a visit and then take my gun back. this guy got me too. I will stop at nothing until I get my stuff back. Mike lane just messed with the wrong Mexican! If you know tell this person 2pac wants his stuff back.”
Calfo’s lawsuit references a post made to that message board by a person claiming to have fallen victim to Costlow’s scheme who says that they got a letter from the Lowndes County district attorney informing them that Costlow had been indicted with seven felonies of theft by deception.
However, Calfo’s lawsuit doesn’t explicitly say that Costlow pled or was found guilty of the crimes. The outcome of the case will likely be a matter of contention as the suit, which Calfo has asked to be expedited, makes its way through the courts.
Calfo does reference a message board post which he claims was made by Costlow in which Costlow offers his apologies to the paintball community and says he “will plead guilty.” However, it is unclear from the material in Calfo’s lawsuit if that actually occurred.
“There is a FOIA request pending with Lowndes County state court in Georgia that should be providing further documentation before the end of this week,” Calfo tells the RFT via text.
If Costlow was convicted, and failed to disclose it, he could be in trouble. Former Maplewood Councilwoman Shana Jones was recently charged with a felony for failing to disclose her past felony convictions when she filed to run for office, as the Post-Dispatch reported.
For Costello’s part, he says his campaign is all about “returning civility to politics,” adding that this effort to remove him from the ballot “does nothing to help the state. It just makes headlines… People in St. Charles County really want to see their politicians work for them. Not just screaming at one another.”
On his campaign website, Calfo also previously attacked the incumbent state representative for the district, Justin Hicks. He claimed that Hicks exaggerated his military record and as a teenager had an order of protection taken out against him, allegations picked up by the Post-Dispatch. Last month, Hicks announced his bid to be the U.S. representative for Missouri’s Third Congressional District, replacing the retiring Blaine Luetkemeyer.
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