"Anything is better than lies and deceit" ― Leo Tolstoy

An interesting thread appeared on the Vanguard Bears' forum on Saturday relating to the latest shenanigans unfolding at the Rangers Supporters' Trust (RST) board level.

Our forum users, many of whom are current members or life members of the RST (yes we DO have many VB who remain members of the RST) expressed concern and alarm at the new allegations of criminality that have surfaced.

In June 2008 we were all fixated by the intriguing tale of the sudden resignation of seven RST Board members, including the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer, GerSave Director, IT Director and Marketing Director. At a time when the organisation seemed to have put together a talented crew capable of achieving their primary goal, it was suddenly blown apart in the space of a few days.

Those who departed cited in-fighting, back-stabbing, manipulation, bullying, gerrymandering and a need to control centred around one long-term board member - Mark Dingwall - for their departure. Certainly to those looking in from the outside it seemed that something untoward was happening when half of those running the show saw fit to make a sharp exit.

"Definition: Spiv - a person without employment who makes money by various dubious schemes"

Fast forward to 12th August 2010 and once again the RST Board is in disarray. Secretary Alan Harris resigned in disgust amid claims that £2690 of RST funds had been "misappropriated" for a period of almost two years. Again the allegations centred on Mr. Dingwall.

To quote Mr. Harris:

"At a meeting with the auditors that I attended on 4 August 2010 along with the Treasurer, Christine Somerville and the Treasurer elect, Alison Mueller, Christine stated that sometime between September and November 2008, two cheques were issued to RST by followfollow.com totalling £2,690. These cheques bounced. The monies were not fully repaid (bar £30 still outstanding at the financial year end) until March 2010. This means that followfollow.com had a free loan of Trust monies for the best part of 18 months."

We think it would be fair to say that had any innocent man been subject to such serious allegations he would have instructed his solicitor to demand a retraction and apology from Mr. Harris. To our knowledge, neither was requested nor forthcoming. Again, presuming his innocence, surely Mr. Dingwall would have subsequently decided to lodge a defamation claim in court? Again, that didn't happen.

So to the latest chapter in the defaced book that is the RST. Recently, it was brought to the attention of Vanguard Bears that there were rumours of yet more RST Board resignations centred around allegations of computer hacking, specifically that it had been discovered that Mr. Dingwall had hacked fellow board members' private email accounts. Those of you who have been following the News of the World/Andy Coulson/Rebbecca Wade High Court case will be aware of how serious allegations of this ilk are.

Despite calls for transparency (remember that word?) the remaining board members appeared to take a vow of silence, and the membership were left bewildered and confused. Shortly after, Mr. Dingwall - who had maintained his innocence - resigned from the board of the RST, such a strange thing for an "innocent" man to do some might say. Others may claim Mr. Dingwall's position had become untenable.

On Saturday 1st February a thread on the "Follow Follow" forum unfolded which saw Mr. Dingwall (a.k.a. Grandmaster_Suck) bickering with two former board members. Two posts directed at him by one of them (using the username "FM_Bear") stated, quite clearly and publicly:

• "You're attacking a group of good bears who's (sic) only crime was to catch you hacking emails. That is the only reason I commented on this thread."
• "The chairman and secretary were kept up to date on progress. It's just you that wasn't and that's why you resorted to hacking emails to find out."
• "Perhaps you could tell this board (Follow Follow messageboard) why these guys are ex (RST) board members, Or I could.  They resigned over the RST board's failure to deal with the email hacking complaint made against you."
• "These are good bears trying to do something positive. Your efforts to besmirch them are totally personal. All they did was decide that hacking emails was unnaceptable (sic) conduct for an RST board member."

CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE

Rather predictably the thread was locked within minutes of the allegations being made. It remains so two days later.

Once again, the RST is a shambles, ensconced in allegations of illegal activity. Their membership, which includes many on Vanguardbears, deserve better. A lot better. It would seem that the Chairman, Mr. Gordon Dinnie (he of the multiple usernames on Follow Follow), has been accused of scheming and conniving behind fellow board members' backs, and an attempt to bury allegations of serious crime. His position is now untenable. He should do the decent thing and resign forthwith.

Were the relevant authorities informed? The FCA and regulatory bodies? The question also arises as to whether our Chief Executive Mr. Wallace should be engaging the RST in dialogue whilst they are embroiled in alleged criminal activity.

The remaining RST board members, who preside over hundreds of thousands of pounds of ordinary Rangers' fans hard-earned money, need to issue a full and frank statement. No more hiding or lies. If they cannot do so, then they need to seriously consider their own positions, and the possibility of scrapping the Trust altogether.