This the true story of Rebecca Roth, the mother of my children and my ex-wife (and still close friend) that followed her dream, acted in good faith and wound up in a Mexican prison. Sentenced to 9 years for something she should not have been charged with, let alone convicted of, she was charged and convicted of Use of Illicit Funds and Organized Crime because of her employment with Alyn Richard Waage, mastermind of the Tri-West Investment Club scam. The story begins many years ago and is not concluded yet.
National exposure for this story is way overdue and I hope that you will take an interest and then take some action on behalf of an honest woman and mother of two boys that fell into a dark hole in a place many consider Paradise. Rebecca Roth considered it Paradise until February 13, 2006, the day she was arrested.
You can catch up quickly with this story by “googling” Tri-West Investment Club or following this link to that search… Tri-West Investment Club
There have been a handful of articles, but here is a good sampling and will give you some great background:
The Willamette Week March 14, 2007
The Oregonian April 27, 2008
The Oregonian May 1, 2008
The Star May 5, 2008
San Antonio News May 1, 2008
The Oregonian June 1, 2008
There is much behind the story of Rebecca Roth and her quest for a life in paradise in Mexico. The few articles that have been written tell some of her story. However, the reality is that very few know all of the facts and the mystery behind this travesty of justice. There are many things that are simple facts and can be laid out in a way that need not be challenged and do not need any interpretation. Some of the issues go beyond simple facts and into the realm of politics and corruption, as well as a blind eye by her own government representatives.
Rebecca Roth was employed in the mortgage business for many years. In one mortgage company, she managed a branch office where she was trusted to oversee the process of application, processing and underwriting of home mortgages. As time went on, she was part of an executive team writing procedure manuals in the home office of a large national mortgage company. Later, she was an underwriter for a large mortgage guarantee insurer. Certainly, her career was one of competence and trust in an environment where the outcome of her decisions affected many in both a personal and financial way, not only from a consumer point of view, but from that of her corporate employers.
Rebecca suffers from asthma, a serious and chronic condition whose symptoms disappeared after a week on vacation in Puerto Vallarta. It was this and her introduction to other Americans that were living a simple and happy life in Puerto Vallarta that initiated the idea “if they can do this, why can’t I?”
Like many individuals, Rebecca Roth tired of the corporate world and its demands. Unlike many individuals, Rebecca chose to go follow a dream. She longed to live in paradise and was willing to do so in a way that did not dictate waiting until she was financially able to lay by a pool or play golf as the days wiled away, her responsibilities behind her. Instead, she took her children and a few possessions with a limited amount of money to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This was not an easy decision and life would not be easy, but Rebecca is a resourceful individual. Because of her strong work ethic, she was confident that she had the ability to adapt to a new environment and meet the demands of finding a way, personally and financially, in a completely different culture and economic forum. She did just that.
Driven by her desire to be creative and self sufficient, Rebecca found a downtown space to set up a clothing and jewelry boutique where she could take items in on a consignment basis or take her limited funds and buy clothing at wholesale. Over time, tourists would discover the wonderful little shop of great values in an out of the way corner of Puerto Vallarta and many of these people would return year after year as they vacationed, always earning “bragging rights” for the special finds they brought back from Rebecca’s little boutique. She finally had the opportunity to show her creative side by having locals make the jewelry she would design. These were always some of the favorite pieces that would fly out of the shop and show up back in the US with their proud and adventurous new owners. Rebecca had found her dream and was living it.
As with many people in the retail world of a tourist driven market, Rebecca had her share of financial difficulty during the “off” seasons. So, when an acquaintance introduced her to the Canadian gentleman that seemed to gather a crowd everywhere he went, throwing money around and treating his friends like kings and queens, it was difficult for her to refuse his offer of a part time job to pay his bills for the many properties he had in the area, a job that had been held by a less trust worthy Mexican individual up until that time. An additional income would go a long way to fill the gaps in retail traffic for her small boutique. It is not uncommon for the wealthy to employee individuals to do this in Mexico, especially in Puerto Vallarta, where you don’t send a check to pay for your water and other household expenses, but go stand in a line to pay bills in cash and get a receipt on the spot. It is a different culture in many ways than we relate to in the US.
So, Rebecca took the job, glad to have the additional income and proceeded with her life in paradise, acting in good faith and feeling trusted by the rich Canadian. Little did she know that her trust was misplaced and would be the source of many days, months and years of grief and separation from her family and the life she had planned.
It should be understood that as an American in Mexico, Rebecca Roth is subject to their laws and judicial system. I personally do not expect any one representative of the US Congress to be able to wave a magic wand and solve her personal dilemma. I am, however, surprised at the complete apathy on the part of US representatives in terms of trying to find a way to assist her in some manner. The only response from her representatives in the US Congress from her home state of Oregon has to do with a prisoner transfer not being possible until she drops the appeal of her case in Mexico. A kind of "our hands are tied" type of rhetoric. There does not seem to be any focus on whether Rebecca Roth has been treated fairly and humanely, but simply what to do with her now that she has been convicted in a foreign land.
To use a little literary license, I interpret their actions and statements as saying that Rebecca must drop her appeal in the Mexican judicial system and sign a legal statement that says, “OK, I’m guilty. Please bring me home where I can serve time in a US Federal Corrections Institution and lose all of my rights as an American citizen, because I am now a convicted felon.”
Here's where the waters get murky...
A simple element that seems to be repeatedly overlooked or considered by these "representatives" is this... this crime was international and was fully and vigorously prosecuted in the US. In their investigation of Alyn Waage, our own FBI did not find sufficient cause to even question Rebecca Roth, although they were fully aware of her. Additionally, in the federal prosecution in Sacramento, which landed the Canadian, Alyn Waage, in prison, the prosecution did not find sufficient reason to have Rebecca Roth testify. If the legal system that put the real crook away finds no value in this woman, then why is the Mexican legal system holding this American citizen hostage? Some possibilities are:
Extortion... Before he was apprehended by US law enforcement agencies, Waage and others were held briefly by Mexican authorities. He claims half-a-million dollars was demanded of him by the prosecutor in order to wind up the Mexican system’s case against him. He agreed to pay. However, he did not honor the agreement as he was able to receive a favorable judgment by fighting the case with a new lawyer. In the end, he skipped bail in Mexico and was apprehended in Costa Rica and extradited to the US. He has personally written to me and claims that Rebecca Roth and Brenda Martin (a Canadian citizen arrested at the same time as Rebecca, who has subsequently been returned to Canada and released within nine days upon arrival in Canada) were being held as hostage to pursue the half-a-million dollar deal.
Saving Face… The Mexicans need to “Save Face,” a very important aspect of their culture. Five years after Waage’s arrest, the Mexican’s swooped down on Rebecca Roth and arrested her. After more than two years in prison, they finally convicted her of Organized Crime and Use of Illicit Funds. In the thousands of pages of documents presented in her case, she is mentioned only a handful of times and those references only substantiate that she was an “Employee” and not that she was involved in any nefarious activities. It seems important that after all of this that, they could not simply find her innocent. Rebecca believes that she was literally “already sentenced” the day they arrested her.
*It should be noted that Rebecca received the minimum sentence for the charges, but those sentences add up to 9 years; 4 years for Organized Crime and 5 years for Illicit Use of Funds. Rebecca believes that the sentencing was a concession on the part of the judge and that he may have felt he was “going easy” on her. It was the minimum sentence allowed. A person convicted of possession of 1 Gram of Marijuana is usually sentenced to 10 years in Mexico. The interpretation of evidence and laws and the subsequent sentencing guidelines are vastly different than they are in the US. As can be sen in one of the articles above, The Oregonian reports that the Mexican prosecutor appealed for Rebecca Roth's sentence to be increased to 23 years. Alyn Waage, the mastermind of this scam, the true criminal, only received 10 years in the US and his son, another individual truly involved, is out of prison in the US.
Even though there have been a handful of newspaper articles and the website on her behalf, these have not been able to achieve any level of awareness that would cause much of a public outcry. The Canadian media did a great deal to bring pressure to bear on the Canadian government on behalf of the other employee of Alyn Waage, arrested and tried along with Rebecca Roth, and she has been returned to Canada and is free. The Canadians certainly did more for one of their own than has the US media and government.
In speaking with Rebecca recently, she is very despondent and feeling very much ignored and unrepresented by her country. When she reflects on Brenda Martin and the press and media exposure that she received from the Canadians and the assistance that she received from her government, her plight, based on what she sees for herself, sends her to a very dark corner of her mind. She was in tears when we last spoke.Rebecca has been very strong for the last 2 1/2 years, believing that her innocence was proven. Unlike the US, in Mexico you are guilty until you prove yourself innocent. That is tough to do from a prison cell. The Mexican justice system widely and creatively interprets their laws and what is considered evidence.
Today, Rebecca Roth is not feeling strong or hopeful. She is living with 14 true criminals in a cell designed for 6... all because she took a job. Can you imagine yourself in that situation? All because you took employment in good faith?
If you are at all moved by this issue and would hope that someone, anyone would do all that they could to help you if you did find yourself in this type of dilemma, please take this newly found information and contact your elected officials in the House of Representatives and The US Senate and ask that they do whatever they can. Call your local press and media professionals and ask that they begin a campaign to bring this story to the front and make America aware of the plight of one of its own. This is certainly more important than what Paris Hilton is wearing or how protracted and messy a Hollywood divorce can be.
No one person can make this right for Rebecca Roth. Not one newspaper reporter, not one talking head, not one Congressional Representative or US Senator and certainly not just one individual reading this can make a difference by themselves, but together with awareness and a little empathy instead of apathy, just maybe something can happen for Rebecca Roth.
Please do what you can to bring that level of awareness to others and make a call to action to your elected officials and any media contacts you have locally or nationally. Hopefully, someone will make the right contact that can make this story no longer ignorable. Act as if it was you or a loved one in that cramped jail cell in Mexico and do what you would ask others to do… and please do it now.
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