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| Costa Rica Expertise Ltd http://crexpertise.com E-mail info@crexpertise.com Tel:506-256-8585 Fax:506-256-7575 |
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of country in the U.S. By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
All over the United States local newspapers have written about victims of the Costa Rican advance fee lottery scam. An 84-year-old Clearwater, Florida, man was swindled out of $3,000. In Fargo, North Dakota, a local woman lost $15,000 when she sent cash to Costa Rica via Western Union. A 76-year-old Naples, Florida, man lost $12,000. A Pennsylvania man lost $1,000. A 67-year-old woman near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, lost more than $4,000. These are the public relations fallouts from the lottery scam that was run out of multiple locations in San José for at least four years. Raids Tuesday resulted in the arrest of three U.S. citizens and two Canadians who investigators said ran the operation here using up to 200 bilingual Costa Ricans. A check of news stories posted on the Internet shows that many people now think of Costa Rica as a nest of scammers. The callers claimed to be from American Direct Sweepstakes or similar in Las Vegas. Sometimes the name was USA Direct Sweepstakes. The names of the victims had been gathered by accomplices at supermarkets and other public places on various pretexts. The telephone pitch announced that the victim was a lottery winner. However, to collect several thousand dollars was required in "insurance" or "local taxes." The Pittsburgh area woman was told she won $350,000, according to the Tribune Review newspaper. She sent $1,925 via Western Union to Costa Rica. When no lottery check arrived, the woman, who has a 74-year-old husband, called and was told that she really had won $3.5 million, but she had to send more insurance money, $2,250. The 84-year-old Clearwater, Florida, man sent $1,000 three times for alleged Costa Rican tax, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Then he was contacted and told the original telephone caller had scammed him but that he could share in $780,0000 confiscated from her simply by paying more money, said the newspaper. A lot of the victims claim that their caller had a New York accent. Officials here estimate that the ring took in up to $20 million from mainly U.S. victims. The army of bilingual or English speakers earned high commissions. Officials think that from 200 to 300 Costa Ricans were involved in making the calls or in collecting cash from Western Union or other types of money transfers. Judicial authorities are investigating to see if they should file local fraud charges. Wednesday a judge authorized three months detention for the five persons agents say were the ringleaders. They were identified as Martin Kalchstein, 60, a U.S. citizen and Brian Wall Coyle, 52, another U.S. citizen who also was known as Steven Blain, said officials. The third U.S. citizen is Michael Attilio Mangarella, 51. The two Canadians are Herman Kankrini, 42, and Giuseppe Pileggi, 45, who also was known as Joe Robert Haley, officials said.. The five are being held for extradition to the United States to face charges there. However, if an examination of their immigration status shows that they are not here legally they may be deported immediately. Our readers comment
How about street signs, motorist wants to know Dear A.M. Costa Rica: I'm sure that there are numerous plant lovers here who have wandered through the parks, admiring but unable to identify the various types of plants and flowers contained therein. For only about $16,000 that dilemma has been solved for them. Now, if the powers-to-be could only find another $16,000 maybe we could spend that money on identifying the calles and avenidas in San José for those who may not be life-long residents. I find it deplorable that, in the capital of our country, one has to drive blocks and blocks (or further) to find a street or avenue sign, in order to locate almost anything. Congratulations, plant lovers, you've succeeded in your identification needs, so San José, how about the rest of us? John Rubida
San Ignacio de Acosta Laura Bush was off base, this reader contends Dear A.M. Costa Rica: I was surprised to see Mrs. Bush's remarks on Canal 7 as she was leaving Costa Rica after being the official representative to the Arias inauguration. She said "Twenty years ago President Arias led this country, Costa Rica, to a peace that it still enjoys today. And that it was an unimaginable event at the time. Costa Rica is still a democracy that's an example for the world, and Costa Rica's democracy show every country that if you have strong democratic institutions it leads to the best for the people of that country." Apparently what Mrs. Bush didn't know was that Arias received the Nobel Peace Prize 20 years ago for bring peace to Central America, most notably El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Costa Rica has enjoyed peace for the past 57 years when the Constitution was changed and the army disbanded. This was after the civil war of 1948 and under the leadership of José (Don Pepe) Figueres, who served three terms as president of Costa Rica. I do think it was a slap in the face to Costa Rica to send a civilian instead of a senior government official to honor President Arias and one who knew so little of the history of Costa Rica but who had no fear of displaying her lack of knowledge. May be it's a Bush family trait, history is what we say it is. But you would think that with Papa Bush, Ollie North and Nicaragua there would be some idea of what went on. (Mrs. Bush's remarks are quoted from the White House transcript) Doug Gesler
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on our real estate page HERE! |
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Third news page |
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| San José,
Costa Rica, Thursday, May 18, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 98 |
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| Immigration department gets new leaders Security minister vows zero tolerance for corruption |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The security minister announced the appointment of two new directors of the immigration department Wednesday with a promise of zero tolerance for corruption. Later the vice minister in charge of the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería said the zero tolerance would start internally before the agency worries about foreigners living here for extended periods on tourist visas. Also to be targeted will be those foreigners in irregular immigration status who are involved in suspected criminal activity. Both of the persons announced as appointments Wednesday are lawyers. Mario Zamora Cordero, 36, becomes the new director general of the immigration department. Xinia María Sossa Siles, 32, is the subdirector. Immigration is within the Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública. The minister, Fernando Berrocal, admitted that grave problems exist within immigration. Not the least of these are extensive lines for Costa Ricans who wish to obtain a passport. The line begins forming at the La Uruca facility at midnight in anticipation of service when the agency opens later that morning. Berrocal said that the passport service will be separated from the other agency functions like dealing with foreigners. Immigration is where expats go to obtain one of the various forms of residencies that allow them to live here legally. A new immigration law is going into force in early August, and ministry and immigration officials are drawing up internal regulations to put the law into effect. Berrocal was asked about the arrest of five foreigners Tuesday who were involved in a call center that is accused of taking money from North Americans under false pretenses. He also was asked about the condition of the border crossing with Panamá at Sixaola. The national border along the Río Sixaola was wide open, the minister said. He called it a matter of national security because illegal aliens, drugs and other contraband were entering the country unimpeded. Officials visited there last week. Berrocal said that 30 officers who had been on anti-mine duty in the north of the country were being detailed to the southeastern border to provide control. |
For his part, Zamora, the new director, promised dramatic changes in the department. He has worked with the Defensoría de los Habitantes, the nation's ombudsman, and is a member of the Comisión Costarricense de Derecho Internacional Humanitario. He holds two doctorates and a diploma in international human rights. He has been subdirector of the Escuela Nacional de Policía and adviser to the Comisión de Seguridad de Centroamérica. Ms. Sossa worked in the Department de Pensionados in the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo from 1995 to 1998 when that entity handled such applications. She also was a lawyer in private practice for four years and an adviser to the Asamblea Legislativa. She participated in an analysis of the new immigration law. It was Ana Durán Salvatierra, the vice minister, who said that the priority was to eliminate internal corruption. Among other things the long lines have generated work for those who can cut through the red tape illegally. In addition, an undetermined number of people who are working here illegally somehow manage to obtain renewals of their tourism visas without leaving the country. Speculation is that persons unknown provide the appropriate stamps and make false entries into the department's computer. Two immigration employees ended up in police custody Feb. 23 on the allegation that they did enter computers and falsify entry and exit information for citizens. That case has not been resolved yet. In another case, a man appears to have walked through immigration controls at Juan Santamaría airport without having the legal right and appropriate papers to do so. Immigration employees also were investigated in that case. Officials are expected to announce changes at both the airport in Alajuela and at Daniel Oduber airport near Liberia in the coming weeks. |
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| Baptist church here forming study group to consider 'The Da
Vinci Code' |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The 2003 book, "The Da Vinci Code" may be fiction, but it is generating a lot of discussion among Christians who do not like the idea of a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Locally, the International Baptist Church in Guachipelin, Escazú, is setting up a four-week study course to consider the statements made in the popular novel. The movie based on the book, starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou and directed by Ron Howard, opens Friday in Costa Rica and most of the world. |
The Baptist church
group said a curriculum, "Exploring the Da Vinci Code" will be used in
the course. The study group meets either Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. at the church or Thursdays at 7 p.m. in a Santa Ana home. Further information is available from Pastor Paul Dreessen at 365-1005 or 215-2117, said a church statement. Author Dan Brown appears to have played fast and loose with history in creating the backdrop for this modern day mystery story. But in the United States and elsewhere, pickets are expected at the open night of the movie. |
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Fourth news page |
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| San José,
Costa Rica, Thursday, May 18, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 98 |
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| Venezuelan foreign mininster warns of
attack Intelligence ties to Cuba and Iran cited for arms ban |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The Bush administration is citing alleged Venezuelan intelligence links to Iran and Cuba as a reason behind its decision this week to ban arms sales to the Caracas government. The State Department said a claim from Caracas that the move is a prelude to a U.S. attack on Venezuela is just overheated rhetoric. The State Department says the decision to halt weapons sales to Venezuela stems from a formal determination by the administration that the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is not cooperating with the United States in the fight against terrorism. The action, first disclosed by the State Department on Monday, will have little practical effect since Venezuela does little military business with the United States and has shifted in recent years to other suppliers. But it underlines the increasingly frosty U.S. relationship with Chávez, who has been accused by administration officials of undermining democracy at home and trying to export his brand of left-wing populism to other countries in the region. At a news briefing, Sean McCormack, State Department spokesman, declined details but said the arms sales ban stemmed from, among other things, Venezuelan intelligence cooperation with Iran and Cuba and ties with Colombian insurgent groups. "In our judgment, they over the course of the year developed a much closer and stronger intelligence-sharing relationship with the intelligence |
agencies of Iran and
Cuba," he said. "We also have
concerns about their failure to stop transit of certain individuals
through Venezuela. We also have concerns about Venezuela serving as a
transit point for types of arms. We have concerns about their links to
the FARC and ELN. So there's a broad menu here of concerns that we
have. Like I said, I can't get into all the details of it. But these
are not decisions that we take lightly." Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez Araque has charged that the U.S. decision to halt arms sales is intended to prepare the political conditions for a U.S. attack on the South American country. Spokesman McCormack dismissed that remark — reminiscent of similar comments by President Chávez — as overheated rhetoric, and an effort to divert the discussion from Venezuela's lack of cooperation in the war against terrorism. He said Venezuela has repeatedly used charges of alleged hostile intent by the United States as a foil, and that the Bush administration has no problem dealing with leftist governments in the region that govern democratically. McCormack also brushed aside a reported suggestion by a senior military adviser of Chávez, Gen. Alberto Muller, that Venezuela was considering the possibility of selling its fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter aircraft to another country, perhaps Iran. He noted that Venezuela is bound by the 1982 contact under which it acquired the planes to seek U.S. approval for any third-party transfer, and he made clear that permission for a sale to Iran would not be forthcoming. |
| U.S. agency puts up $120 million for three countries in free
trade pact |
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Special to A.M. Costa Rica
The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. is providing at least $120 million to spur investment in three Central American nations that are signatories to a free-trade agreement with the United States: El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In a statement Tuesday, the agency said the money will provide finance and political risk insurance in those three countries where the U.S. free-trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic has entered into force. Robert Mosbacher Jr., the agency president, will discuss the new investment package during his trip this week to the three Central American nations. The Overseas Private Investment Corp. said the financing comprises its support for a new private equity investment fund for Central America, Mexico and Colombia; a loan to fund microfinance institutions in the region; loans for a series of housing construction and mortgage financing projects that will |
help relieve the
region's substantial housing need; and an agricultural
project in Nicaragua that features both financing and political
risk
insurance. The Overseas Private Investment Corp. insurance projects being announced during Mosbacher's trip include an offshore oil and gas exploration project in Nicaragua, and U.S. small business projects in Honduras and Nicaragua. Joining Mosbacher on the trip are representatives from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corp. Mosbacher said that increasing investment in Central America is a central goal of the trade treaty, which is the first trade agreement to establish a committee on trade capacity building. In the eight months since the pact was enacted the Overseas Private Investment Corp. has marshaled $120 million to support investment in the region, he said. Costa Rica has signed but not yet ratified the trade agreement. |
| Trade talks with Ecuador halted after country takes oil
company assets |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The Bush administration says it has halted negotiations on a free trade deal with Ecuador following that country's decision to cancel an operating contract with Occidental Petroleum Corp. The U.S. Trade Representative's Office in Washington said in a statement that the U.S. is disappointed at Ecuador's decision, which it said appears to constitute a seizure of the assets of a U.S. company. Ecuador announced its decision Monday following a dispute with Occidental over a stock sale. Ecuadorean |
officials also say they
are starting a gradual takeover of oil fields operated by the company. Authorities in Quito say Occidental transferred oil stocks to a Canadian oil company without notifying the Ecuadorean government. Occidental says it has complied fully with all its obligations under its contract with Ecuador's government. Earlier this year, Ecuadorean Indians staged demonstrations to protest the free trade talks with the U.S., saying an agreement would damage their livelihoods and way of life. Colombia and Peru have already signed trade deals with the United States. |
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