Richard Vincent Bertollini, also known as Vince Bert, (born 1939) is an American former business executive,

anti-semite Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

who gained notoriety for providing financial support to Richard Butler, the founder of the Aryan Nations. Bertollini, along with a close friend and former business partner, Carl Story (b. 1936), was notorious for running the

Sandpoint, Idaho Sandpoint (Kutenai language: kamanqukuⱡ) is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Bonner County, Idaho. Its population was 8,639 at the 2020 census. Sandpoint's major economic contributors include forest products, light manufacturing, ...

-based 11th Hour Remnant Messenger, a

Christian Identity Christian Identity (also known as Identity Christianity) is an interpretation of Christianity which advocates the belief that only Celtic and Germanic peoples, such as the Anglo-Saxon, Nordic nations, or Aryan people and people of kindred blood, ...

ministry which worked closely with Butler's group and often mailed its racist pamphlets to area neighborhoods. Bertollini was arrested on April 12, 2006 by the FBI in Santa Fe, New Mexico after fleeing a drunk driving charge in

Bonner County, Idaho Bonner County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,110. The county seat and largest city is Sandpoint. Partitioned from Kootenai County and established in 1907, it was named ...

, in July 2001. On August 25, 2006 he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two concurrent prison sentences of one to four years, both of which were suspended, and concurrent 6-month sentences in the Bonner County Jail. The agreement also called for $10,000 in fines with $2,000 suspended, leaving a balance of $8,000. In June 2007 he was sentenced to 41 months in prison in New Mexico after being found guilty of federal charges for being a fugitive in possession of firearms. At the time of his arrest, agents discovered a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun with a shell racked into firing position and a loaded .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol. After his release from the federal prison in Florence, Colorado in 2010, Bertollini moved to

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, started calling himself "Vince Bert," and obtained part-time employment in order to supplement his monthly Social Security payments. The

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...

reported that Bertollini restarted his ministry and book publishing operations "days after being released from prison."

References

1939 births American business executives American white supremacists Christian Identity Living people People from Sandpoint, Idaho {{US-activist-stub