In Windows 7, I dragged an RTF file from Explorer into the corkboard view of the Research folder. The program crash, shutting down completely.
I restarted the program and clicked on the research folder, then tried to import from the File menu and had the same crash. (Both time, before the crash, I was given a warning that the file would be converted to RTF, which is odd since it already is an RTF).
I then restarted the program and clicked on the research folder. I right clicked it and chose Add->New Text. The program crashed.
For what it’s worth, I’m using the NaNoWriMo template.
Restarted. Clicked on manuscript folder, hit Ctrl-N, program crashed.
Additional info that might be relevant. I have the folder for this project in my DropBox folder so it syncs with my other computers.
[NOTE: ignore this post and read update below]
On further reflection, I suspect it’s the DropBox syncing that is messing things up. I opened a fresh local copy of the nanowrimo template and hit Ctrl-N and added a new text page with no crash. The Drop Box sync must corrupt the files somehow. Any fix for this?
Don’t use it in the Dropbox folder?
There isn’t much more you can do than that, unfortunately. You may get it to work without Dropbox running, but the way Scrivener handles files means that it would be relatively unwise for you to have the Dropbox application running when you are editing a Scrivener project within the Dropbox folder.
UPDATE! 
Well, here’s more.
I created a fresh new local version of the project using the nanowrimo template. No DropBox this time.
Created new “page” or whatever they are called. No problem.
Then tried to drag and drop the RTF into the research folder cork board (which is where all this started) and the program crashed. When I re-opened the fresh new local version of the project, and hit Ctrl-N, it crashed.
So this is something that’s being triggered by the drag and drop from Explorer to Scrivener, it’s not a DropBox issue.
ADDITIONAL INFO
I started a new project without the nanowrimo template just to remove that variable. Opened a new fiction manuscript. Hit Ctrl-N and created new page, no problem. Used File->Import to import the RTF file, and the program crashed. So this is an import bug.
You might want to send the .rtf file to Lee, as well as telling him which program you created the .rtf file in.
Seems you aren’t the one facing problems with the import.
You might want to consider copying the work in your .rtf file from your Word Processing program and pasting it into Notepad, then copying what is in Notepad into Scrivener. Doing this strips out all the meta data and anything else, turning your .rtf into plain text. Just, perhaps, a viable work-around.