Another Christmas In Paradise

As another year passes and we celebrate the spirit of Christmas, with Rebecca Roth still in a Mexican prison, let us also pause and celebrate the human spirit. Rebecca serves as a reminder to all of us that, even in the worst of conditions, we can still celebrate life and contribute to the people around us.


Recently, I wrote of Rebecca's acheivement in the literary world. Today, we find her creativity surfacing in a less dramatic and more fanciful way, yet a way that provides a focus and direction for many of the inmates that she lives with day to day. Many of the women that Rebecca resides with in the Puenta Grande Women's Reformitory in Guadalajara are prostitutes, drug addicts or murders... sometimes all three. Most do not have much hope of a very bright future and if not given something to direct their energy towards would
simply cause more problems for themselves and others.


Rebecca has taken steps to occupy the time and efforts of many of these women in a productive manner. She has organized them and has them making dolls. And... at this point, these dolls have gone from merely being a way to focus energy in a positive way to being sold. The profits help to provide for the women's needs that are not taken care of by the prison system, like clothing, toiletries, decent food, books and such. Things that many would go without due to a simple lack of funds.


Some 60+ dolls have been sold so far, with 7-10 leaving the prison each week. Not a big enterprise by some standards, but considering the nature of this venture and the fact that the dolls sell for 2500 pesos ($25US) each, the money goes a long way for those involved.


Because it is not a large operation, they can even make custom dolls. Take a look at the examples here and let me know if you would like to have Rebecca and her "crew" make one for you. Each doll is unique. When I talked to her last, she was making "Woody" from Toy Story.


Send custom order requests to Rebeca's sister Barbara at Custom Dolls


Barbara will contact you by email with payment instructions.


The latest news regarding Rebecca's appeal is that court is out for the holidays and we hope to have an answer when they reconvine. That news, and we hope it is positive, could be as soon as mid January. So, as this Christmas blesses each of us, please take a moment to remember Rebecca Roth... Prisoner in Paradise and send a prayer her way with blessings for the New Year.

















Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all...

"Roses en Destierra"

Rebecca was recently involved in... a book signing of all things!

How can a woman languishing in a Mexican prison be at a book signing, you surely must be asking yourself. The answer to that question begins with the sheer will and power of the personal spirit that lives within Rebecca Roth.

I use the word languishing sometimes in this blog, as it has been used in articles written about her, as a metaphor for what life in a Mexican prison surely must be like for most. In reality, Rebecca has never been one to languish anywhere. Hers is and has always been a life of accomplishment and productivity based on creativity and making the best of any situation.

So, today, although she is physically confined, her spirit is still free and she is actually achieving goals that she might not have had the time to consider in the everyday rush of a busy life.

Let me explain...

Rebecca loves to write, both professionally and for pleasure. She never really made time to write poetry until now, but it has always been a lifelong dream to be published, other than in procedural manuals for the mortgage industry. Turns out that she is quite good and becoming not only accomplished but, recognized, as well.

Additionally, Rebecca has always aspired to paint and with the time she has during this confinement, she has been painting and her paintings have been received very well. We should all be open and willing to tackle our goals with such daring.

So, she began painting and writing poems for her own enjoyment but, now she is published in a new book entitled "Roses en Destierra" and one of her paintings is on the cover of that book. The painting is, appropriately, an abstract woman holding a rose. This is a major accomplishment.

The book title translates to "Roses in Exile" and it is a 347 page compilation of poetry from over ten years of writings submitted by inmates at the women's prison where she is incarcerated. It is completely in Spanish. Rebecca's submissions have been translated from English to Spanish for the book and have received high praise for her.

She assisted book editors Maestra Luisa Burillo and Arturo Ipiens with "Rosas en destierro" Vol. 1.

Now back to the book signing...

On the Terrace, a large gathering area at the Readaptacion Femenil where Rebecca is housed, a book signing was held for Rebecca, along with 4 other current prisoners and one that had been released and returned for the event. Attendees and speakers included 15 dignitaries, including the Secretary of Public Security and the Secretary of Digress, head of the prison system in the State of Jalisco, Mexico.

At the book signing, many of the dignitaries spoke of rehabilitation and re-education and the Prison Director read her forward from the book. Rebecca and her fellow inmates that had work accepted for this publication were honored. The President of the University of Guadalajara was present to pay tribute to the book and its contributors and was done in conjunction with the release of the book. When the University of Guadalajara acknowledges a book and it's contributors and puts their stamp on a book, it is a big deal in Mexico.

This book signing preceded the release of "Roses en Destierra" and the highly anticipated Expo in Guadalajara.

The opening night for the week long Expo in Guadalajara Book Fair was November 30, 2008 and was attended by many major dignitaries.

This book fair runs all this week and features 1600 publishers and 500 authors. It is considered the most important book fair in the Spanish Language. There is only one book fair that is larger and it is held in France.

Letter to US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice

I mentioned in the previous posting on this blog, that Rebecca Roth was writing a letter that she hoped would reach US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. Below is that letter.

October 23, 2008

Condoleezza Rice
US Secretary of State, State Department
United States of America
Washington, D.C.

Secretary Rice,

My name is Rebecca Roth. I grew up in a country where one person can make a difference. But after the ordeal I have lived through for the past two years 8 months, I believe that one person makes no difference in our country. I have been in prison since my arrest on February 13, 2006. I write this from my prison cell near Guadalajara, Mexico.

When I moved to Mexico in 1998, I never knowingly rescinded any of my rights as a U.S. citizen under the Constitution. Dr. Rice, how could they be taken away from me without my knowledge? At no time have I ever been given legal assistance i.e. advice of my legal rights from my own government and more specifically from the Consular Agent in charge of services for American citizens. In fact, I was told they are prohibited from doing so.

For four and a half months after I was arrested, I had no interpreter. It was an inmate who told me that I had a right to an interpreter from day one, when I complained of not knowing what was going on; and she helped me file an inquiry with the Human Rights Administration. Later, an interpreter was provided. I had to find my own way through the labyrinth – known as the Mexican legal system. I was repeatedly told by the various rotating Consular officers that they could go only as far as insuring that “due process” was observed by the Mexicans. However, as the case progressed, I became aware that “due process” had become on of those vague terms whose definition can be altered at the whim of your staff and in the end meant nothing to any of them. Each time my family and I have brought the legal irregularities to the attention of the Consulate (or impediments to due process) we were patently advised that Mexico is a sovereign country and we cannot interfere. Yet we do, as in the Merida Initiative and the reason I feel compelled to contact you.

I was convicted of Organized Crime and Money Laundering. This unbridled injustice was accomplished without the evidence to do so.

I have been advised that may of my legal rights have been violated under US, Mexico and International law, yet there was no one to report this to. The authorities made me sign a paper that said I was fluent in Spanish and for almost a year I didn’t even know about it, until my attorneys, knowing I spoke very little Spanish asked me why I’d signed such a document.

There is a huge chasm between Mexico and the US which is broader than just language. Although they use the same terminology at time it doesn’t mean the same thing. Nor do they act or think in the same manner as I’m sure you are aware.

The laws on the books (at least in my case) are written in a straight forward and logical manner. When I first read a translation of the charges against me, I was mistakenly relieved to find out what they said. Because they could never prove what was required by the definition of the charges. I was under the naive notion that I would go free. They were able to convict me because the judge can widely interpret the evidence. You may wonder, why would the Judge do that? It’s very simple. The salary of a Judge is one of the highest available in the country. If they acquit people, the prosecutor’s can and do make life very difficult for them because they charge them with corruption and threaten to do so. Because of this, the Judges at least in the State of Jalisco condemn the majority of those arrested regardless of evidence. They simply want to protect their jobs and salaries. Receiving a minimum sentence such as I did can be translated to: NOT GUILTY. This minimum sentence is 9 years of my life! An abomination of justice.

The reason I am writing you is because I tried to get a message to you during your meeting with Patricia Espinosa. The office of Patricia Espinosa, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, your counterpart in Mexico on December 4, 2001, granted permission under #30356 for the real perpetrators of the crime I have been convicted of, to transfer a luxury property in Puerto Vallarta, valued at 2.5 million dollars, from the mother of Alyn Waage to his attorney, Marco Antonio del toro Careza for his attorneys fees. This house was purchased with money from Alyn Waage’s business, which has been considered illegal funds by the Mexican authorities. Therefore, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs is involved in some capacity.

I contacted the US Consulate once again but like always, I was shut down and told by your staff that it wouldn’t be appropriate for them to contact you, that not even they have access to you. The Assistant Director of this prison could not believe that in a democracy such as the US, the public servants are not accessible to the public who pay their salaries. I told her I was denied access in getting you this important message.

For this reason, she encouraged me to write this letter to you to prove to me that you will receive it and respond to me. You see any Mexican can send a message to any politician here and they can even make an appointment to see the President and it is granted.

THIS IS THE MESSAGE

I was convicted of a crime I did not commit, without evidence against me. The US Consulate witnessed my trial and saw the lack of evidence and did nothing to prevent it as they cannot interfere. Yet, we do interfere when we send billions of taxpayer’s dollars to a country to prosecute Organized Crime (ironically the same crime I was convicted of); in a country well known for their corrupt and unjust legal system and we provide funding for them to perpetuate their injustices and system of impunity and privilege without sufficient checks and balances beyond words.

Our country turns a blind eye based upon the erroneous belief that justice will be served. Until we understand the tribal mentality of Narcotics traffickers who as everyone knows control geographical areas, provide work for it’s citizens, aid for the elderly and it is inbred into the fabric of the Mexican Economy, how can anyone expect to resolve this problem by supplying, arming and training the authorities to launch a more and better equipped assault against these groups. Many here have used the word “civil war” to describe the numerous armed conflicts now taking place…and the death toll rises daily.

Dr. Rice. How can you and your staff turn a blind eye while this injustice and corruption runs unchecked? Ask yourself why do the Mexicans risk life and limb to cross the border? For decent work to support their families. Why then do the Mexicans join the drug mafias? The same reason, for work – decent pay and to support their families. How do you end the flow of illegals into the US and deal the death blow to the drug traffickers? Provide the Mexicans with decent good paying jobs in their own country.


Dr. Rice, I am currently fighting this sentence through the Mexican legal system and I ask you to please help me.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Roth
US Citizen in good standing


Your comments would be appreciated, as well as any efforts you might make on behalf of Rebecca Roth. At the end of my previous posting, I provided a link to contact the State Department in hopes of reaching Dr. Rice. Below, find that link again. Please do what you can to bring to light the injustice that has been brought on a US citizen in a foreign land and demand that our government take steps to ensure justice for one of our own.

To send an electronic note to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, click on this Contact the State Department Link asking Secretary Rice to now get involved. In the area called Additional Information... Search by Topic: select Secretary of State.

Maybe with enough people reaching out, we can make a difference.

Response to a concerned citizen from US Senator from Oregon

The following is an email response from the office of Senator Ron Wyden to Marri-Beth Serritella, a citizen concerned about the lack of assistance from the US government for Rebecca Roth. We had received a very similar response from US Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon earlier in this process.

Marri-Beth was made aware of Rebecca's situation through Margie Boule's column in The Oregonian and she forwarded Senator Wyden's response to me.

Following Senator Wyden's response are my comments to Marri-Beth.


Dear Ms. Serritella:

Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns about the case of Rebecca Roth. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

As you may know, Rebecca Roth is a U.S. citizen and former resident of Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Ms. Roth moved to Mexico, and in 2001, went to work as an assistant to Alyn Waage. Later that year, Mr. Waage was arrested and convicted for running a Ponzi scheme; he is currently serving time in a U.S. prison. In 2006, Mexican authorities arrested and charged Ms. Roth with organized crime and money laundering for allegedly participating in Mr. Waage’s scheme. She has been sentenced to nine years in jail and has filed an appeal with the Mexican courts.

I want you to know that I understand your concerns about Ms. Roth’s unfortunate situation. Because of her appeal, Ms. Roth is ineligible for transfer to the United States under America’s prisoner transfer agreements with Mexico. Ultimately, whether to appeal her sentence in Mexico or to seek transfer to the United States is a decision that only Ms. Roth can make. Please rest assured that my staff and I will continue to follow Ms. Roth’s case closely. As we do so, I will keep you views in mind.

Again, thank you for keeping me apprised of your views on this important issue.

Please contact me if I may be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
Ron Wyden, United States Senator

To write to me, go to http://wyden.senate.gov/

Important Note:
Senator Wyden's comments state that Rebecca went to work as an assistant to Alyn Waage. This is NOT correct. She was, as stated in earlier posts on this blog, a part time employeee, hired to stand in line to pay Waage's household bills for his properties and arrange transportation for Waage and his family and business partners.


My comments to Marri-Beth Serritella:

This response from Senator Wyden is a standard piece of verbiage that has been cooked up and is accurate only to the extent that they will do nothing. It is nearly verbatim to the rhetoric from Senator Smith's office, simply taking the stance that there is nothing that can be done about a "Prisoner Transfer" while Rebecca's appeal is ongoing. We know all about the Prisoner Transfer and how that works, as we have had direct contact with the office of the Federal Public Defender that handles prisoner transfers. However, what this response does not address is the lack of assistance that Rebecca Roth was provided by the US Consulate and US State Department from the very beginning.

Had Rebecca been the daughter, mother or sister of any of these elected officials or someone of political or financial importance, you can be assured that the efforts and outcome would have been considerably different. That is the real issue and it has been swept to the back of the room and under a carpet in the corner.

So, it is apparent that we will get no assistance from our elected representatives as their "hands are tied" and as Rebecca was told, this is no longer about her case, but about the sentence. They don't seem to care and the US cannot readjudicate the case. The reality is that they can not do anything at this point other than to send the issue to someone that could, like the Secretary of State. All responses so far have been similar to what you have received from Senator Wyden, with elected officials choosing to throw their hands in the air and not to push the issue to a higher level of awareness.

Rebecca has written a lengthy letter to Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice. The Superintendant at the prison has assured her that she would get the letter to Sec. Rice. This was almost done as a challenge by that Superintendant to see if she would be proven right. She seems to be confident that she can make something happen for Rebecca after hearing from Rebecca that a Consulate official had no access to and could not communicate with the head of the State Department. She was quite shocked and has taken the stance of "By God, I'll get a letter to her." It will be sent to Ms. Rice with the Superintendant of the Prison's return address on the envelope. Rebecca's counselor in the prison has read the letter and indicated that she thought it was well written and was not negative. If these prison officials are correct, the letter should be received and received well. We will see.

Obviously, this assistance from the prison superintendant indicates that Rebecca is well respected and worthy of that assistance. This is one of the examples of the fact that anyone who has taken the time to look at and understand the circumstances of Rebecca's case can see right through the illusion of guilt that the Mexican judicial system has created.

Your concern and your efforts are very much appreciated, Marri-Beth. Please continue to get the word out. Send anyone that you communicate with to the blog about Rebecca at http://rebeccarothprisonerinparadise.blogspot.com/ because it is awareness that will be our ally at this point.

Letters of encouragement can be sent to Rebecca at vallartagal@hotmail.com which is the email account Rebecca has had for many years. Barbara is monitoring that account and will print letters and get them to Rebecca.

Thanks again for you support.

David Dickinson
Seattle, WA


NOTE:
I have recently sent an electronic note that I hope will reach Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. If you are reading this and would like to make a difference, send your own note through this Contact the State Department Link asking Secretary Rice to now get involved. In the area called Additional Information... Search by Topic: select Secretary of State.

Maybe with enough people reaching out, we can make a difference.

Margie Boule writes of Rebecca Roth's incarceration in Mexico

An ordinary Oregonian in paradise falls into the deep hole they call the Mexican justice system

Sunday, October 12, 2008
As published in The Oregonian LINK

You're an American citizen, one of many Americans living in Mexico. You moved from Lake Oswego to Puerto Vallarta with your teenage sons in 1999 because your bad asthma goes away in Mexico.

Then one day in 2006, Mexican authorities arrive and arrest you. They put you in the back of a pickup and drive you overnight to a maximum-security prison, where you're dumped in a crowded room with murderers and the mentally ill. There's no translator; no one tells you why you've been taken.

You assume the U.S. government, the most powerful government in the world, will come to your aid. Help ensure your rights are protected under international treaties and Mexican law.

You're wrong.

Ask Rebecca Roth. The former Oregonian has been sitting in a Guadalajara prison for 21/2 years for a crime nobody can prove she committed and that the real criminal has sworn she had nothing to do with. Still, she was convicted after a ludicrous hearing and sentenced to nine years; the prosecutor is appealing, asking she be kept in prison for 23 years, the maximum sentence.

Her crime? For three months in 2001, Rebecca worked for a wealthy Canadian in Puerto Vallarta, making his travel arrangements and standing in line to pay utility bills for the properties he owned. (In Mexico you can't pay by check; someone must pay in cash in person.)
It turned out the Canadian man, Alyn Waage, was one of the largest Internet scam artists in history. He, associates and family members stole more than $60 million from investors all over the world. The U.S. convicted him in 2005, and he is in prison in North Carolina.

A year after Waage's U.S. conviction, Rebecca and Alyn Waage's cook, a Canadian woman, were arrested by the Mexican police, charged with organized crime and money laundering.

Each had received money when Alyn was first arrested, in Mexico, to continue their work for him. Rebecca consulted with Alyn's attorney -- who had also been attorney for Mexican president Vicente Fox -- and she remembers being told it was not illegal to work for someone in prison. Funds were transferred to her bank account, and she paid his utility bills. She has receipts and bank records to prove she received no more than utility costs and her salary.

She assumed those receipts, which prove her innocence, would lead to a not-guilty verdict in April, when her case finally came before a judge.

She didn't stand a chance.

Canada had certainly lived up to its national anthem, standing on guard for its own citizen. The Canadian cook was visited in prison by Canada's prime minister; politicians and diplomats appealed to Mexico; the Canadian press splashed her case coast to coast.

Rebecca's sister, Barbara Roth, received no help from the U.S. State Department, the consulate in Guadalajara or elected representatives from Oregon. No one made appeals to Mexico. No politicians visited Rebecca in prison.

There's no question her international rights were being ignored; her case should have been thrown out simply because of the violations. She was placed in prison with convicted criminals. Mexican guarantees of due process were violated. Interpreters were not provided. She was not told she was a suspect when she was interrogated. She was denied legal counsel. She was not given the time or the right to prepare an adequate defense.

In the end, Rebecca had to make her own charts and write her own defense, sitting in prison. Months after she was convicted, she was told the judge had dated his written verdict before the hearing was even held.

Since I last wrote about Rebecca several months ago, the Canadian cook has been returned to Canada and released. She's writing a book about her experience.

Rebecca still sits in the Mexican prison, waiting for her appeal to be heard.

She may not have the power of her government, or the sympathy of her entire country, but she's not alone.

Her ex-husband, David Dickinson, has now joined her fight.

"Quite honestly, when this started, I figured it would end with a false-arrest-type thing," David says from his home in Seattle.

He and the rest of the family were told not to make a fuss because it might anger Mexican authorities.

David is utterly certain Rebecca committed no crime. In the years they were married and in the years of friendship since their divorce, he's admired her strong ethics. "It would be completely out of character for her to go to Mexico and become a criminal," he says.

Rebecca owned a boutique and ceramics business in Puerto Vallarta. She took Alyn Waage's part-time job to tide her over in the tourist off-season, David says.

David was outraged when Rebecca was convicted. "I started making phone calls to senators, sending e-mails," contacting the national press. "It had no effect. I was absolutely amazed."
After I wrote about Rebecca's situation in The Oregonian, I received several e-mails from U.S. citizens who've worked abroad. They are not willing to have their names published but said the U.S. is known not to protect its citizens in situations like this. "If anyone had a problem, we headed straight for the Canadian consulate," one wrote.

Recently, David's hopes were raised when NBC appeared to be interested in doing an hourlong program about Alyn Waage's crimes and the injustice Rebecca has faced. Alyn has made sworn statements to U.S. judges insisting Rebecca knew nothing about his financial business.
But the U.S. Bureau of Prisons refused the network's request to interview Alyn. The network told David there will be no story without the interview.

It seems as if every time Rebecca is given a faint hope of assistance, her hope is broken. David hired a Mexican attorney who met with the Mexican appeals court judge, to explain why her conviction should be overturned. Rebecca's sister, Barbara, also met with the judge, to make a personal appeal.

"We were told it was a good judge, an impartial judge," David says. The Mexican attorney and Barbara told David the meetings had gone well.

Then, just a few days ago, Rebecca's case was transferred to another state, another appeals judge. "This is shocking news and it has us all spinning," David says. "It's like starting all over again."

Still, they won't give up.

Rebecca could accept the guilty verdict, be transferred to the U.S. and finish her sentence in U.S. prisons. But the crimes Mexico convicted her of carry much higher sentences in the U.S. She could be released, or she could be imprisoned far longer than Alyn Waage, the man who stole $60 million.

Rebecca did not participate in or benefit from the scam, say all involved. She has little money. She does not want to live the rest of her life as a convicted felon. Before this, she'd never even been arrested.

So she persists in her appeal in Mexico, hoping others will join her fight. To that end, David Dickinson has started an informative blog (http://rebeccarothprisonerinparadise.blogspot.com/).

Among other fascinating nuggets, he quotes a letter he received from Waage that claimed Rebecca is in prison because she's being held hostage by a Mexican prosecutor who was promised a half-million-dollar bribe by Waage; Waage skipped bail and never paid up.

There's also a quote from a Canadian government official, saying Rebecca may have been arrested so former President Fox could brag he'd imprisoned a "leader" in the Waage scandal.
Rebecca's family believes if she'd had money to pay a bribe early on, she'd never have been imprisoned. But she had no money. She was just an ordinary Oregonian in paradise, until she fell into the deep hole they call the Mexican justice system.

"She is very despondent," David Dickinson says, "feeling very ignored and unrepresented by her country. She was in tears when we last spoke."

But she's not suffering in silence anymore.

In an open letter Rebecca wrote recently, she says she's learned "how dangerous Mexico is for Americans desiring to retire here, how powerless foreigners are here. . . . It is not possible to get a fair trial.

"I don't belong in jail. I never did. My family is suffering, as well. I decided to write this because of a conversation with my youngest son. He told me, 'We have no hope. The system is corrupt and the U.S. doesn't care. There's no one to turn to.'

"I hope he's wrong."


Margie Boule: 503-221-8450; marboule@aol.com

Setback or Opportunity?

Last week, we received some news that left us a little more uncertain as to the fate of Rebecca's case.

That news arrived in the form of a transfer of the case from the appeal court and judge that we had worked so hard in providing a comprehensive understanding of the case to a court in a completely different state. The case has been moved from the State of Jalisco to the State of Guanajuato.

This was done, we have been told, due to a serious backlog in the court in Jalisco. The appeal judge we had worked with is now out of the picture. She had stated to Rebecca's sister that she was working many additional hours and was completely overwhelmed. That gave us some insight as to why she said it would be longer getting a verdict to the appeal than we had initially been told and we were just wrapping our minds around that when this new development was passed on to us.

It has been told to me, by a reputable source in Mexico, that "Any documentation that was entered into the file would be transferred to the new court, and any progress on the case or anything done so far by the Jalisco court would be transferred as well. It will be very important for Rebecca's lawyers to request a meeting with the new Judge and secretaries again like they did in Jalisco."

That source is following up and trying to gain more information and we hope to have some better insight soon.

My personal thoughts are that it appears that it is important that some steps be repeated at this point. Rebecca's PD needs to make contact with the appeal judge and secretary in Guanajuato ASAP. It would probably be a good idea for Barbara and Lucy, the personal family friend acting as interpreter, to to an encore performance, as well. Just when we thought there was some daylight...

On a positive note and as a good reason to proceed with retracing efforts, let's assume for the moment that:

1. The court in Guanajuato is open enough that that they will get started reviewing these newly assigned cases right away

2. Rebecca's case, somehow, is on the top of the stack

3. The reviewing appeal judge and secretary of the court, have no awareness or knowledge of Rebecca or Tri West and will view this case with open minds and see it for all of its deficiencies and lack of proof of Rebecca Roth's guilt.

This may be an opportunity for the case to be reviewed and a positive outcome arrived at for Rebecca in a shorter time than was anticipated in Jalisco. It is important that the PD "strikes while the iron is hot" and that Barbara follow up with the personal side of the story to the new judge as soon as possible. That is to take the proactive and positive stance on behalf of Rebecca as opposed to bemoaning another set back and waiting to see what happens.

This was shocking news and it has us all spinning due to the uncertainty that lies ahead, but I tend to want to look at the positive side and I know that retracing positive actions of the past will only be positive going forward. There is no negative to being positive and proactive.

Let's face it, however this turns out, this is the home stretch and the finish line maybe closer than we could imagine. Another rally to the cause may make all the difference. If there is not a positive outcome, we do have the prisoner transfer to fall back on and according to Maureen Franco, that avenue will not be as devastating as was once believed.

On Sunday, Margie Bouhle of The Oregonian in Portland, OR is going to do another installment in her ongoing coverage of this story of a former Portland resident that has been treated unjustly in a country that has diplomatic ties with the US and that the US has left unaided and ignored, despite efforts to call them to action.

When I began my involvement, one of the first things I did was to send this story to ALL of the top 50 circulation newspapers in the US that I found in a Google search for highest circulation. I received exactly ZERO replies or requests for more info. Absolutely NO interest from anyone.

Margie Bouhle at The Oregonian is the only news outlet that has had continuing coverage and we thank her for her interest and tenacity in following this story. Keep an eye on the Internet at Margie Bouhle's Column for that updated article after Sunday.

Our many thanks go out to Margie and The Oregonian.

Please take a moment to contact your own Senators and Representatives in Congress and make them aware of this woman's plight. Find your rep and contact them through THIS LINK.

Mixed Feelings

The meeting went well in many respects, according to Rebecca's sister Barbara and family friend and interpreter, Lucie.

Rebecca's Public Defender did not attend as was previously discussed. He indicated that the meeting with the judge should have a non legal emphasis; more of an emotional appeal from Rebecca and family. That seemed to be good advice in the end and both Barbara and Lucie report that the judge was very open and receptive to them and to what they had to say.

Barbara talked from her prepared notes and Lucie interpreted. Additionally, Barbara had the opportunity to present Rebecca's Lloyd's Bank statements. Those should have been made available to her in the case file, but it was uncertain if that had been done. So, now we know that the judge has accurate and complete information regarding the flow of money through Rebecca's accounts. Remember, the prosecutor has stated that numerous transactions had been made through Rebecca's accounts and that just was not the case.

Barbara says that the Judge seemed genuinely involved and it looked like she got "it". She was very receptive and gracious to them. She asked questions and they answered them.

Barbara also left a letter from Rebecca for the Judge to consider. In the end, she said that she will study the case and probably in 6-8 months will have her decision. Apparently, the judge is overwhelmed with her workload and will not have an answer back by November, as she had promised before. I was very disappointed to hear that.

With the possibility that an innocent woman is sitting in such an environment, for no reason, I was hoping the judge would place a higher priority on reviewing her case. I was hoping that this meeting would prompt the judge to be motivated in resolving the situation immediately. That is apparently not the case. So, although Barbara and Lucie had a good meeting, the additional time frame leaves me with mixed feelings.

A meeting with the Appeal Judge

On Wednesday, Sept 10th, Rebecca's sister, Barbara, along with Rebecca's Public Defender and a family friend serving as an interpreter, will meet with Ms. Maria del Pilar Parra, the judge for the appeal, to present the emotional and personal side of Rebecca Roth's case.

We have heard that this woman is above reproach. We hope this is true and that she vindicates Rebecca's claims of innocence and acquits. She could do this in spite of possible repercussions from her own system and colleagues. It will take great courage and resolve for her to acquit in the face of the prosecutor who is asking for an even higher number of years in Rebecca's sentencing in his prosecution appeal. He is asking, in his appeal for a total of 23 years!

The prosecutor feels that the original judge went lightly, only sentencing Rebecca to 9 years. Keep in mind that Alyn Waage, the mastermind behind this whole fraud case was sentenced to 10 years by the US Federal Court in their prosecution of him in what was considered an international case.

We also understand that this appeal judge does not fear the Mexican AFI, which is the equivalent of the US FBI. In many cases, when a judge in an appeal case rules against a previous judge and prosecutor, the Mexican AFI will haunt that judge and make life very difficult. This is done through intimidation, the creation of false claims of wrongdoing, and even threats to family. It's kind of a no holds barred free for all system that feeds on it's own when deemed necessary.

In June, we hired an attorney that is very familiar with the Tri West case and the Mexican judicial system to visit the Secretary of the Court and the Appeal Judge in hopes of having him highlight the evidence of Rebecca's innocence in the final conclusions of the prosecution's case against her.

Much of that 325 page document contains many pages of interviews, descriptions of properties, financial documents and such that have nothing to do with the case against Rebecca Roth. They were presented to make the case convoluted and difficult to sort through, concealing the lack of involvement or participation of any wrongdoing on her part. Many references were made to facts that had nothing to do with her. In other words, the case file was over documented and meant to obscure the truth.

In the meeting on Wednesday, Rebecca's Public Defender will have an opportunity to briefly point out some of the important items that do document Rebecca's innocence and her sister Barbara will have an opportunity to tell the part of the story that has never been really heard. The emotional side. The part of the story that tells of Rebecca's decision to move to a country she saw as Paradise and how she struggled to succeed in her own business and by taking a part time job with a wealthy Canadian, she became a victim and was deceived, just like the hundreds of investors in over 60 countries, by the organizer of one of the largest Internet fraud schemes in history.

I will have news of how this meeting went soon and hope to write of a positive reception by the judge. With that positive reception could come the acquittal that Rebecca Roth deserves and the end of her being a Prisoner in Paradise.

Canada knows

A quick question and answer email in March 2008 between Rebecca's sister, Barbara Moodhe and Glen Bradbury, assistant to the Honorable Dan McTeague, Official Opposition Critic for Consular Affairs, in Canada provided some very insightful answers. We have failed to receive any of this information from our own Consulate Officials or US Representatives.

The following is a transcript of that email:

Q.) Have you heard of Rebecca Roth, I am her sister. I am impressed with your efforts to help your Canadian citizen. My family and I have tried everything we know of to get the US Government involved and we have not succeeded. Feb. 13th was the 2nd year anniversary of Rebecca’s imprisonment.

A.) Yes, we are aware of Rebecca Roth.

Q.) Who is your counterpart in the U.S.? Could you help us get in touch with that person?

A.) Mr. McTeague is the Official Opposition Critic for Consular Affairs. There is no equivalent to this position in the US presidential/congressional government system. We have the British parliamentary system in Canada. In the U.S. the lead authority for the government on foreign affairs is the US Secretary of State (Ms. Rice). However, congressionally speaking, you also have some very influential representatives on the Congress and Senate Foreign Affairs Committees. Then, you have the regular congress and senate representatives.

Q.) Could you help form a coalition between the Canadian and U.S. governments to demand some sort of resolution?

A.) It would be virtually impossible to form a political coalition with U.S. and Canada governments. For one thing, Mr. McTeague is not in the governing party. He is in opposition.

Q.) There are 2 employees involved in this. Not just the Canadian. Mexico had 5 years to build a case against these two women and they didn’t do it. They started only after they arrested them.

A.) Yes, the case is a travesty in so many ways. One could argue that the authorities just filled in the blanks with Rebecca’s and Brenda's names on the charge sheet and eventually got around to taking them in - once there was no one else left to give them bribes.

Q.) They had both of these women listed as Pres. Fox’s achievements while in Office. They waited to arrest them until 2006, shortly before he went out of office. Why did they wait until then? Was it just to make it look like he had done something about the Alyn Waage scandal? An attorney uncovered something on the internet that showed this list of achievements. Until that was discovered, we were totally in the dark for why these two women were arrested. We have not been able to get answers to questions from our own government.

A.) Again, it appears that the arrests were motivated either by a quest for money or to advance the career of the prosecutor. It may also be politically motivated to uphold the former president's boast about the Waage fraud scheme being a tremendous victory in the fight against crime in Mexico.

Q.) In the realm of International Law what should the US Consulate and the Mexican Government have done that they didn’t do? Or what shouldn’t they have done that they did do?

A.) Under International law this case would have been thrown out long ago. To begin with, neither Rebecca nor Brenda should be in a general prison population while their trial is progressing. Fundamentally, their rights of due process and under the universally accepted principle of "national treatment" throughout the Mexican judicial process to date were fundamentally ignored. They were not provided with interpretation; they were not informed they were suspects prior to being interrogated by police; they were denied appropriate legal counsel; they were not given ample time or resources to receive and respond to the charges; the right to supply witnesses or cross-examination were limited or denied outright. In short, this case has been a travesty from the outset. The judge had already written the verdict without any consideration of the defense and, finally, it is clear that if money were offered in bribes, there would not even be a case.
(end of email transcript)


This dialogue is interesting in many ways.

It shows how politics can muddy the waters for the citizens it is intended to serve, how the Mexican legal system is run amok and needs a complete overhaul, how Consulate and Embassy officials neither serve nor communicate with others that can serve. You have to ask yourself why wouldn't the US Consulate take a more active role from the outset and then why, considering the magnitude that Mr Bradbury states how Rebecca's rights were abused, wouldn't the Consulate get the State Department involved?

This whole mess and the response of the US Consulate and State Department and the continuing lack of interest on the part of the US Reps in Congress to help a US citizen should serve as a loud and clear message. Anyone thinking of travelling abroad better realize that they will be on their own and that the belief that most people hold that our government is always there to protect us in times of need is indeed a trust misplaced.

Interview Denied, Affects American Held In Mexico

Interview Would Have Provided Needed Exposure for Rebecca Roth

We just received word from Shane Bishop of Dateline NBC that he would not be allowed to do an on camera interview with Alyn Waage at the Federal Corrections Institution in Butner, NC where Waage has been held since his conviction. The granting of this interview was, I have been told, at the sole discretion of the warden of that facility.

This is sad news, not only for Rebecca Roth, who might have benefitted from the exposure, but to the American people, as well. Waage, a former Edmonton, Canada resident, masterminded what's believed to be the largest Internet-based fraud scheme in history, bilking 15,000 investors in 59 countries out of about $60 million. Many of those investors are Americans; Americans who have not seen their money returned.

Many of those assets are in Real Estate in Mexico. What we do know is that the Mexican government has refused to release any of those properties to be sold and money returned to the investors who were scammed. It is a shame that the American public has been denied this knowledge until now.

Legal Advice

Imagine $60,000,000! That’s an awful lot of money, isn’t it? Now imagine $50,000. That’s paltry by comparison, right? Especially considering that the $50,000 was not obtained for personal gain or personal use. That is the amount that Rebecca Roth was brought up on money laundering charges for and convicted of.

Keep in mind that the dollars that went through her accounts were given to her as personal compensation and funds to pay expenses on the properties controlled by Alyn Waage for an extended time while he was going through his own legal process. Bills are paid in cash in Mexico and Rebecca did not have signing authority to any of Waage's business accounts because she was not in a position to have such authority. She was only an employee, hired to pay bills and arrange travel. This was all done prior to any proof that Alyn Waage was the nefarious individual that he turned out to be. Rebecca sought counsel before continuing her employment and accepting any funds to continue the job she had been employed to do.

Rebecca sought legal advice from Alyn Waage’s own attorney. She spoke to him once and on that occasion only. He advised her that to continue doing what she was employed to do was of no issue and not breaking any laws. That attorney was prominent Guadalajara lawyer Marco Antonio del Toro, previously the attorney for President Vincente Fox. Talk about reliable legal advice… who are you going to trust if you can’t trust the advice of this guy? Still, she was rounded up and made an example of years later. An example of how effective President Fox was during his administration. You see, each time a Mexican president leaves office there is a big push to get all of the potential criminals worthy(?) of prosecution off of the streets and into the already overcrowded prison system. “See how many we caught?” is the message sent.

A Presidential Pardon Might Be In Order

I heard today that our own outgoing President George Bush, like his predecessors, will be pardoning a large group of people, some in his own administration. We won’t go into those pardons in this forum. In any event, there are many requests for pardons coming into his office, one of which is for athlete who has confessed to using illegal substances.

Without my own personal judgment of any other individuals that may or may not be granted a pardon, don’t you think that someone who has been convicted unjustly in a foreign land and returns to America under a Prisoner Transfer might be worthy of such consideration? I do. This may be a viable course for Rebecca should she not be acquitted in her appeal.

Such consideration can happen for Rebecca Roth only if there are exposure to the issue, awareness of the travesty of the injustice and some lobbying on the part of Congressional representatives to the administration. Here is a chance for George Bush to make a positive difference in someone’s life; a chance to show how an American president leaves office. So, again, whether this can happen depends on the pressure exerted on the people that can make a difference; your Congressional representatives.

Remember Brenda Martin? The Canadian government stepped up for her. What will our government do for Rebecca Roth? We won’t know unless we ask.

Involvement

What can you do to help? Get involved. Have some empathy as opposed to apathy we Americans typically enjoy and speak out to your own representatives in Congress. Contact your own state and federal representatives and demand that they look into the case and into their hearts and ask them to take action for an American. You can contact your members of Congress through THIS LINK

An Open Letter from Rebecca Roth

After speaking with my youngest son, I decided to write this open letter as an appeal for help.

In late 1998, I moved from my sheltered and successful life in Lake Oswego, Oregon to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I did this for several reasons. I had always dreamed of living in a more tropical climate and after noticing that my asthma symptoms declined while vacationing in Mexico, I felt it was a great reason to realize that life long dream. Additionally, I had for many years wanted to have an opportunity to be more creative and run my own business. I was able to do that by opening a small boutique in Puerto Vallarta, where I designed and sold my own jewelry and sold pottery and clothing, as well. It wasn’t always easy, but it was personally fulfilling and I had a little money as a cushion while getting established.

In January of 2001, I went to work for a wealthy Canadian businessman, Alyn Waage, who ran an international investment business. I felt fortunate to have this extra income while I was also working at establishing my own fledgling business.

In April of 2001, the businessman was arrested at the Puerto Vallarta airport and charged with smuggling and money laundering. Ten days later, although he was carrying 1073 cashier’s checks valued at $4.5 million, the money laundering charges were dropped. From prison, still facing a smuggling charge, Alyn Waage asked me to continue paying his household expenses. I consulted an attorney about this and was told clearly that it was not against Mexican law to help someone while they are in prison. Also, I had read in the newspaper that he was being held for smuggling drugs. I believed that the charges were erroneous, because his business was off-shore investments and everyone knows drug dealers don’t deal with bank cashier’s checks. So, I agreed as his employee, to make the household payments on Waage’s 9 luxury condos and homes in Puerto Vallarta. On August 10, 2001, Alyn Wage was released from prison, the smuggling charges dropped, or so I was told. Later, he was rearrested.

It should be noted that in Mexico, the postal service is all but non-existent; non-functional. For example, in Puerto Vallarta, an area of approximately 250,000 people, there are eight postal carriers and they ride bicycles. At least it was like this during the time that I paid those household bills. Also, one never uses checks in Mexico. All telephone, utilities, household staff and condo association dues are paid in cash and in person, sometimes requiring a wait in line for hours to make one payment. In July 2001, two large deposits were made into my bank for the purpose of maintaining these properties indefinitely.

In February 2006, long after all the smoke had cleared and Alyn Waage had been in prison in the US for a number of years already, the Mexican AFI, the equivalent of the US FBI, came into my store and took me away, putting me in a truck and driving me through the night (a horror I will never forget) to the Reclusorio Feminal (Women’s Prison) at Puente Grande where I have been ever since.

The authorities shamelessly stole all of the money I had in my purse. I didn’t understand what they were saying for the most part due to the language barrier and there was no interpreter to assist me, as well as no legal representation or offer of a public defender. They were ale to convey to me that they wanted me to give a deposition, just as I had done back in 2002. They told me that I would be returned to Puerto Vallarta the next day after I made the declaration. I slept on a concrete floor with 16 other women, none of who spoke English. I was not, in fact, returned to Puerto Vallarta the next day. I was being held and had no idea for what or for how long. Soon, to my complete shock, I found I was being charged with money laudering and Organized Crime.

Later, when they visited, the US Consulate promised that Mexico would have to follow due process, yet they stood by as the “process” lumbered along until April 2008 when I finally had a chance to vindicate myself. I feel that I proved my innocence in front of at least five Canadian TV cameras (there were none from the US), several from the Mexican media, my Consulate and my family. The judge, Luis Nunez Sandoval, was entirely uninterested in the comprehensive material I presented, including five charts fully explaining my non participation in the charges against me. Little did I know that he had already written up his sentence BEFORE the Audience of Vista, which is the closest thing to a trial that exists in Mexico.

While my saga has moved on, my sister, who thankfully lives within driving distance of the Puente Grande prison, has faithfully brought me food, clothing and phone cards every week. Although she speaks no Spanish and fears driving in Guadalajara, she has been my rock and my connection to the outside world that I was taken from. She has tried to get the word out to the people in the US and its representatives in Congress and the media. There has been no response, save a few articles by a small handful of local newspapers in my home state of Oregon. She has drawers of correspondence to my Consulate, my US Senator from Oregon, the US Embassy here in Mexico and the media. No one even responded or visited when news of the sentence came. It confirmed my worst fears from the day I arrived here. I was doomed and no one seemed to care. This was due process.

I was sentenced as a money launderer and a member of Organized Crime to a total of nine years. Alyn Waage, the actual money launderer and organizer of this large internet fraud was sentenced to 10 years in a low security prison in North Carolina by the US Justice System.

By virtue of the fact that I still resided in Puerto Vallarta, along with the cook and bodyguard, it should be obvious that I was just an employee like them, and I was not a knowing recipient of illegal money, nor a part of any crime family. The people who received huge amounts of money, property and other valuables were family members and Canadians. I AM AN AMERICAN. In addition, they left Puerto Vallarta in 2001 and never came back. If I were guilty of this crime, I would not have stayed in Puerto Vallarta, trying to make a living with my ceramic business, then my boutique. When I bought the boutique for $10,000 US there were two locations. In less than one year, I had to close one of the locations because I didn’t make money. I went to work in Real Estate to try to make some money.

If I were a part of this “gang” I would have had access to money and would not have needed to work. As I have stated since the beginning, I did not know these people until Michelle Higgins was a customer in my ceramic shop. Why would they confide in me or any other employee that they were committing a crime? That would not have been logical or smart for criminals to do that. I knew her as a customer for almost a year before I went to work for Alyn Waage. It has been 5 years since I worked for him. He was arrested a few months after employing me to pay some bills. I still have proof of that, but no one in this country is interested in seeing the proof.

I had never been arrested in my life. After Alyn Waage was arrested, I continued to live honestly, running my business, employing Mexicans, paying IMSS, paying taxes Infonavit and volunteering to help the community by being the only American woman in the Rotary Club International, responsible for over 200 Becas per year. I don’t have a drinking, drug or other personal problems. I was conned by the people I worked for accepting them as they represented themselves; as rich Canadians with an Investment Club. I paid the bills and made travel arrangements. That is the extent of my involvement.

The Canadian cook for Alyn Waage, Brenda Martin, was convicted and sentenced for money laundering on the same day as I was. Within 10 days, the Canadian government had her on Canadian soil. She is now free and at home. Her nightmare is over. I can only dream of the day that my nightmare is over and wish that my country would come to my rescue, as well.

It is a shame, but my basic rights and those of the Canadian, Brenda Martin, were violated under the watchful eye of the US Consulate. From the very beginning, there have been violations of my rights under International Treaties, such as housing me with convicted criminals. The US Consulate was aware of this and did nothing. The Canadians insisted something be done, so they convicted us. Now, they are no longer in violation of the treaty. Of the International Treaties, I am told there were 17 violations of my rights. The Director of this prison has even expressed misgivings of the US Consulate's ability to help one of its citizens.

This ordeal has underscored a number of things for me.

*How insignificant we are as US citizens. We seem to mean nothing to our representatives and elected politicians.
*How the agreements and treaties between countries are flagrantly disregarded.
*How dangerous Mexico is for the thousands of Americans desiring to retire here because of affordability, lifestyle and climate.
*How powerless, as a group, foreigners are here. For example, we can be expelled if we protest or speak against the corrupt government here.
*How in legal issues here, it is not possible to get a fair trial. It does not exist. Either you pay large bribes or you are condemned… no matter how much evidence there is in proof of your innocence and despite the manner in which the law is written. Corrupt officials interpret those laws to condemn. Why? Because they can’t lose their jobs if they condemn you but, they can if they don’t!

I need your help. Please write your congressman, the news media and to anyone that could help me. Please spread my story. This could happen to anyone from the US that is living in or traveling in Mexico.

I don’t belong in jail. I never did, but I have been rotting here for more than two and a half years. My family is suffering, as well. I decided to write this because of a conversation with my youngest son. He told me that “We have no hope. The system is corrupt and the US doesn’t care. You were used as a scapegoat. There’s no one to turn to and we had better face facts.”

I hope he’s wrong.

Rebecca Roth
From my cell at Puente Grande Reclusorio Feminino

The low profile didn't work... Time for Attention

The article below was published in the Guadalajara Reporter on April 26, 2008, right after Rebecca's conviction.

There have been numerous articles written in Canada about Brenda Martin and this article in Mexico about Rebecca Roth, but only a small handful written about Rebecca in the US press, mostly done by Margie Bouhle at The Oregonian.

Why has there been so little press in the US? Is the US media as blind in drawing attention to one of its own in trouble as the US government is in protecting the rights of one of their own?

You'll have to draw your own conclusions on that one, but if you find this story as appalling as I do, please contact not only your local and state representatives through THIS LINK , but contact any media individuals you know as well and challenge them to take up this story and bring attention to this woman's plight. If you ever travel, wouldn't you want someone to do the same for you should you wind up in this predicament?

As you read through this article, you'll see that one of the things that the prosecution claims is that Rebecca was laundering money. She was concerned after Alyn Waage's arrested and sought legal counsel about continuing to pay his bills. She was told that it was OK, because "It isn't against the law for you to help someone that is in jail." That advice and quote are from Alyn Waage's own attorney during the only conversation Rebecca ever had with him. That same attorney was previously the attorney for Vincente Fox, former President of Mexico. Considering the source of that advice, she felt she that she was breaking no laws and continued to do her job.

**********************************************************

'Other woman' caught in Tri-West snare ready to file appeal'

Written by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
Saturday, 26 April 2008
www.guadalajarareporter.com
Printed with permission

While her case was relegated to secondary status in the media feeding frenzy that has played out at the Puente Grande prison complex, Rebecca Roth ended up with the short end of the stick in the verdicts handed down April 22 by Judge Luis Nuñez Sanchez.

The 49-year-old U.S. citizen was found guilty on two separate criminal counts related to the Tri-West international investment scam, carrying a nine-year sentence and a fine of 44,812 pesos.

Rebecca Roth has deliberately maintained a low profile through-out her two-year legal ordeal.

Frustrated and angry over what she sees as a gross miscarriage of justice, Roth says she will continue her fight for freedom and appeal the court decision early next week.

Roth recognizes that the appeal process will take at least six months, but she is determined to take that avenue before considering a cross-border judicial arrangement for transfer to a U.S. prison.

“I have to appeal,” she told the Guadalajara Reporter in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “Otherwise I’ll never get a chance to prove my innocence.”

Unlike her Canadian co-defendant Brenda Martin, Roth has deliberately maintained a low profile throughout the two-year legal ordeal she has endured due to her employment ties with Alyn Richard Waage, mastermind of a notorious multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme that bilked thousands of unwary investors.

Roth is now convinced that the intense pressure from Canadian government officials, politicians and the nation’s press calling for Martin’s acquittal and release backfired and worked against both women.

“The judge had 30 days to weigh final arguments. With the foreign press camped out on his doorstep he sped up his decision without taking the time to carefully review the case,” Roth lamented.

At a final hearing, held April 14, Roth eschewed histrionics, opting instead for a low-key, methodical presentation of her defense arguments. She had spent two weeks preparing for her statement by wading through the 325-page English translation of the prosecution summary to construct a visual aid she labeled the “Prosecution’s Wall of Evidence.” She hoped to tear down that wall brick by brick by pointing the judge to contradictions, non-sequiturs and other details that seemed to speak in her favor. The chart shows rectangles representing 98 documents that were used to prove her guilt. Yet 88 of those documents do not even mention her name. Roth demonstrated other fine points with more illustrations, including a depiction of green “money bags” that underscore the huge discrepancy between the millions that changed hands between Tri-West and investors and the paltry amounts that went through her own accounts.

The effort to prove her innocence seems to have been in vain. She says the judge was clearly distracted by the gaggle of reporters hovering around his desk.

Roth has always acknowledged working for Waage as a personal assistant in the early months of 2001, a job she says entailed handling minor administrative duties for her well-heeled employer. These included making travel arrangements for his family and “business” entourage, paying utilities and miscellaneous household bills for his various Puerto Vallarta properties and other tedious day-to-day tasks.

Tri-West began unraveling in April 2001, when Waage was busted at the Puerto Vallarta airport with more than 1,000 undeclared cashier checks stashed in a brief case, worth a total of around 4.5 million dollars. He was in jail for four months, but when released after posting bail, promptly fled to Costa Rica. He was arrested there in September 2001 and extradited to the United States to face trial.

Roth’s activities in the four-month lapse while Waage was in Mexican custody are what got her into trouble. She agreed to continue helping her boss while he was behind bars, drawing from deposits made to her personal investment account to cover his expenses. She says there are receipts that account for every peso, but Mexican authorities look at the transfer of funds as proof that she was involved in laundering Waage’s ill-gotten gains. She denies any knowledge of Waage’s nefarious business dealings, or any suspicion that he was involved in criminal activity until he went on the lam.

A full year passed before Mexican authorities questioned her in regard to Tri-West. Little did she know that she was part of an investigation that would lead to an arrest warrant being issued against her only a few weeks later.

With a clear conscience, Roth had remained in Puerto Vallarta long after other members of the fraud gang had either been detained to face justice in the United States or fled the country. She stayed on with proper immigration status to run a small ceramics business. Then, on February 13, 2006, police picked her up. After several hours at the Puerto Vallarta police station she was hauled off to Puente Grande outside Guadalajara in a pick-up truck under cover of night. Officers told her she was only being taken in to give a statement and could expect to return home the next day. She has been trapped in an increasingly tortuous legal nightmare ever since.

So far, Roth’s case has not captured much interest from the press in her home state of Oregon. Her written pleas for support from Senator Gordon Smith and U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza have gone unanswered. Her principal rock has been a sister, Barbara Moodhe, who makes weekly treks from her lakeside home in San Juan Cosala for family visits at the prison. Otherwise she relies on cordial relations with many of her fellow inmates.
“The women here have been very supportive and tried to comfort me, but right now there is no comfort.”

As she heads into the next legal round, Roth is simply clinging to the hope that she will draw a neutral judge to hear her appeal, someone who will weigh the evidence fairly and listen to what she deems to be the obvious logic behind her defense case.

(End of Guadalajara Reporter story)

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If you have finished reading this post and have read the previous posts in this blog, you are getting a pretty good idea of what has happened here. If you have feelings of injustice stirring in you, please take action and contact your members of Congress through THIS LINK because it is now time for Rebecca to get attention and justice.

Please pass this blog to everyone you know and ask them to read it and take action. It was the people in Canada that demanded that the press and government do something to help Brenda Martin and it will take the same involvement in the US.

I will be posting more articles with even more riveting details soon so, please come back and find out more.

If you have any questions or something to add, please contact me through my profile information.

Send this blog to others NOW...

Where’s the money? Where are the rights?

Where's the money?

I find it quite interesting that the US government continues to send money to Mexico, yet most of the victims in the TriWest scheme were US citizens. Their money has never been returned and much of it is in the hands of the Mexicans. Part of the agreement Alyn Waage made with US prosecutors was to give them the money trail – which he apparently did. Where is the money? Rebecca Roth certainly doesn’t have it.

If Rebecca is charged and convicted of Use of Illicit Funds, having paid Alyn Waage's personal bills for him, how is it that an attorney can accept a fee for defending Alyn Waage and not face the same charges? Would that attorney not have been paid from the same source of Illicit Funds? If Rebecca is guilty, then why were the charges against Alyn Waage in Mexico reduced to “being in receipt of contraband documents?” Waage was busted at the Puerto Vallarta airport with more than 1,000 undeclared cashier checks stashed in a brief case, worth a total of around 4.5 million dollars. He was in jail for four months, but when released after posting bail, promptly fled to Costa Rica. He was arrested there in September 2001 and extradited to the United States to face trial.

Where are the rights?

Rebecca Roth's conviction in Mexico is the end result of poor representation from the very beginning, it seems. From the original attorney assigned by the court, who was ineffective, had no plan and made no visits or follow through in documentation, to the lack of any interest or action by the US Consulate. More than likely, had the Consulate acted in a timely manner, Rebecca would have been released within 72 hours. However, after pursuing the case for over two years, before taking Rebecca to trial and convicting her on baseless information, the Mexican jusdicial system needed to save face.

Now, with that conviction, Ravi Candidai at the US Consulate in Guadalajara has apparently stated to Rebecca that he cannot do anything and that the US Consulate’s role is no longer about the case, but about the sentence and that the International Treaty obligation supersedes the rights of the individual. Did he do anything from the beginning? It certainly doesn't seem so and Rebecca was frustrated with their lack of involvement from the beginning.

I have been told that our own FBI, in their investigation of Alyn Waage and others, had no interest in Rebecca Roth. I also understand that Alyn Waage signed a statement that Rebecca Roth had no involvement or knowledge of the illegal activities. The Mexican court apparently threw that out, as Mr. Waage was not considered a credible witness.

Why is it that the US State Department does not have the ability to protect the rights of a US citizen and states that the treaty between the two countries supersedes the rights of the individual? Are those treaties not designed to protect the rights of citizens of those countries?

I believe that Rebecca was railroaded and that the US government and its agencies have done nothing to help a citizen of the United States. At every turn, those that are in a position to help a US citizen seem to either turn a blind eye or state that there is nothing that they can do, when it is their job to protect the rights of that US citizen.

I am neither an attorney nor a human rights activist. However, I have been told by individuals that followed this case very closely from the very beginning that the rights of the Canadian Brenda Martin (also simply an employee), arrested at the same time as Rebecca Roth, had her rights violated in many instances. I have been told that those rights were violated under not only the “International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights” and the Vienna Convention, but under the Mexican Constitution and Mexican law, as well. One does not have to reach very far to deduct that those same violations occurred to Rebecca Roth at the same time, in the same place and by the same individuals in authority. It is our Consulate’s duty to ensure her rights are respected under the laws of the country she is being held in. What happened?

This could happen to any of us, literally at any time, any place in the world. We are, when traveling or living in a foreign land, subject to the laws of that country but, shouldn't our country rise to the occasion when our rights are violated? Isn't that what we have all been raised to believe? Isn't that why we have always traveled so freely?

Please take a moment and tell others of the plight of this woman who believed in following her dream, only to wake up on the downside of paradise. Please contact your State Representatives and Senators and ask that they do someting for one of our own.

Find and Contact your representative HERE