A man arrested in a savage claw-hammer beating of a then-classmate at a Los Angeles prep school for children of multi-millionaires was elected secretary of the Republican Party of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Florida earlier this year.
Four months later, party officials have discovered the young philanthropist who supports President Donald Trump and is known there as Rupert Tarsey is really Rupert Ditsworth.
And a decade ago, the then-Beverly Hills teenager was arrested and charged with attempted murder after hitting Los Angeles’s Harvard-Westlake School classmate Elizabeth Barcay over the head at least 40 times, splitting her skull open.
Rupert Tarsey (left) – whose real name is Rupert Ditsworth – 28, was elected secretary of the Republican Party of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale in May after winning a three-candidate run with 75 votes
Four months later, party officials have discovered the young philanthropist who supports Trump, has been living under a different last name two years after he was charged with attempted murder (Tarsey pictured left with his wife)
Now, Florida Republicans are desperate for Tarsey to resign and worried about the image of the party in the overwhelmingly Democratic area of former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.
But according to Tarsey, he was elected as a party executive fair and square and won’t tender his resignation no matter what his background is.
‘Why should I resign?’ he said in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com from his $2 million beachfront condo. ‘I did nothing wrong and I was elected. This is just party politics.’
According to records, Tarsey started using his mother’s maiden name when he moved to Florida two years after the assault.
‘I’m estranged from my dad,’ he said, adding he didn’t change his name in order to hide his real identity.
After earning an MBA from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Tarsey got married and had two children, with another one on the way.
For years, Tarsey volunteered for charities, including the Catholic faith-based Knights of Columbus, and worked on Republican campaigns, including Trump’s.
Then in May, Tarsey presented himself at the election for the party’s executive board. He won a three-candidate run for secretary with 75 votes.
In 2007 Tarsey was charged with beating his then-classmate Elizabeth Barcay at least 40 times with a hammer, splitting her skull open. She also suffered a broken leg and broken nose
The incident took place while the two were students at a posh Los Angeles prep school, Harvard-Westlake. Tarsey reportedly drove Barcay to Jamba Juice after a big exam – he then allegedly pulled a hammer from a backpack and hit her repeatedly
Tarsey’s real identity was discovered by a member who alerted local GOP Chairman Bob Sutton over the Labor Day weekend.
‘We were blindsided,’ Sutton, a school teacher, told DailyMail.com. ‘He’s a member of the Knights of Columbus for Christ’s sake. And he came highly recommended by the former chair.
‘We had no idea what his background is. We want him out but he is refusing to resign. He deceived us. It looks like he even used a reputation management firm to make sure we wouldn’t find out who he is.’
Following the path of grandfather Jason Tarsey, owner of the historic Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, Rupert Tarsey has become himself a successful real estate investor.
Tarsey was rushed into psychiatric treatment and pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor. He later earned an MBA from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, got married and had two children, with another one on the way (pictured with his wife Beata)
In 2007 in L.A., however, his extended future appeared to be behind bars.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Tarsey was charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon after a strange incident in a car near the school.
Tarsey, according to published reports, invited Barcay, the daughter of Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Barbara Hayden, to drive to Jamba Juice after a big exam.
According to Barcay’s statement to police, Tarsey eventually parked the car. He then allegedly pulled a hammer from a backpack and started hitting her over the head with the tool multiple times. He then left the car, opened the passenger’s door and pulled her out while choking her before driving away.
Tarsey allegedly hit her more than 40 times, splitting her skull open. The girl also suffered a broken leg and broken nose.
According to the Times, Tarsey’s parents rushed him into psychiatric treatment as Barcay recovered painfully and eventually attended the school prom in a wheelchair.
At first, prosecutors filed the case in juvenile court but it was dismissed. Later, they tried it again in adult court.
‘In the end, I pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor,’ said Tarsey. ‘It’s not the charges that matter, it’s what happens in court.’
At 6-foot 2-inches, Tarsey claims he was just defending himself from Barcay’s attack.
‘Regrettably, while being pinned against the side of the car and having difficulty breathing, I used this tool in self-defense to try to stop the other person from hitting me,’ he wrote in a statement sent to 500 Republican Party members over the weekend.
The fact Tarsey pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor explains why his voting rights were not taken away. In Florida and most states, those convicted of a felony lose their right to vote.
Tarsey registered to vote as a Republican last year in Broward County, records show.
‘This whole thing is in retaliation for my speaking out against Bob (Sutton),’ Tarsey said. ‘It’s politics.’