GOP fundraiser arrested in Arizona meth lab bust

PHOENIX, April 28 (UPI) -- A fundraiser for Sen. John McCain and former presidential GOP candidate Mitt Romney has been arrested after police found a meth lab in her back yard.

Emily Pitha, 34, and her boyfriend Christopher Hustrulid, 36, face numerous drug charges, plus possible child endangerment. Hustrulid's two young children, ages 5 and 10, live in the home.

Maricopa County sheriff's deputies and federal postal investigators raided the pair's Phoenix home Tuesday, after a package containing the drug ecstasy was intercepted by postal workers. It had been sent from the Netherlands.

Detective Doug Matteson said that Hustrulid signed for the parcel when it arrived at their doorstep Tuesday afternoon.

Investigators found a half-pound of methamphetamine, along with LSD, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, drug-making materials and $7,000 in cash and counterfeit currency, according to court documents.

A separate building on the property was found to have a hidden room that was to be used as a marijuana-grow facility, Matteson said.

Pitha is an independent contractor for the Lovas Co., a fundraiser for several top Republican politicians. The company's client list includes former Massachusetts Gov. Romney, McCain, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Sen. Jeff Flake, and former Sen. Jon Kyl. She has been aiding McCain's current re-election campaign.

McCain's campaign manager, Ryan O'Daniel, said Tuesday night that Pitha had been relieved of her duties following the drug bust.

"The campaign immediately terminated any relationship with Ms. Pitha upon learning of her alleged involvement in the operation," he said in a statement.

Pitha and Hustrulid were being held on $20,000 bail.

Matteson said two children living inside the home -- ages 5 and 10 -- "had easy access to all of (the) drugs and materials, even the bomb-making materials that were located in the back with the meth lab."

Deputies evacuated nearby homes Tuesday evening while the sheriff's bomb squad disposed of the volatile materials used in the meth-making process, Matteson said.

Hustrulid's two children, who live with him and Pitha, were not home at the time of the bust. They were in day care and were then being cared for by a family member.