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