Ramius LLC, the hedge fund that’s trying to unseat two CPI Corp. directors, has not hidden its dislike for the way Knightspoint Partners, another investment group, dominates CPI’s six-member board. In a letter sent to shareholders today, it makes the criticisms personal.

Of Michael Koeneke, one of two Knightspoint representatives on the board, the letter says:

Mr. Koeneke’s primary reason for being on the CPI Board, we believe, is to earn a living off of your company. To our knowledge, Mr. Koeneke has no other material source of income other than his board fees at CPI and his potential participation in Mr. Meyer’s CPI compensation through the Knightspoint partnership. In the Compensation Committee discussions concerning Mr. Meyer’s compensation, Mr. Koeneke has been the most vocal on Mr. Meyer’s behalf.

Mr. Meyer is David Meyer, who is chairman of CPI and a managing member of Knightspoint. Ramius actually supports his re-election, but it opposes Turner White, a Kansas City consultant who chairs CPI’s compensation committee. Of White, the letter says:

Mr. White also adds no incremental value to CPI except to facilitate the stream of compensation that flows from your company to Mr. Meyer and Mr. Koeneke. Mr. White possesses no relevant retail experience and has only limited financial experience. However, as head of the compensation committee, Mr. White has proposed and supported Mr. Meyer’s generous compensation packages for part time work.

And, in case you’ve read that far without getting Ramius’ drift, it adds in boldface capital letters:

STOCKHOLDERS CANNOT STAND IDLY BY AND ALLOW THEIR COMPANY TO BE CONTROLLED BY THOSE ONLY LOOKING OUT FOR THEIR OWN SELF INTERESTS.

DO NOT BE DISTRACTED BY THE COMPANY’S SELF-SERVING AND MISLEADING STATEMENTS.

As I said in today’s column, CPI shareholders can expect a series of poison-pen letters from both sides. The voting takes place at CPI headquarters on July 8.