Neighbor wants to extort money from us, please advise

El Diego

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Apr 24, 2006
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This is in Pto Plata (bay of Luperon)

i live in ny, have wife in dr.

in DR, we have a female dog who just gave birth to 4 puppies.
A neighbor ~3 houses aways claims our dog went to his house and
killed 4 fighting roosters/cock. He originally had said it was only 1, then
he said it was 4 roosters killed.

He went to judge/fiscal to sue us for damages of the roosters, claiming
each rooster is worth $70k pesos.

At the fiscalia, this guy first said he was present while the dog was killing the
roosters, then when asked how could he let dog killed 4 he then change his
story and said that he was told and that someone went to get him to tell him
what had happened. When judge asked him where were the dead roosters as
evidence, the guy said he had thrown them away (as advised by police).
Keep in mind that police has nothing to do when you want to sue someone in DR. They always tell you to go to judge so that the judge decides the outcome.

The judge stated there was no evidence, mixed stories, lies and told the guy he had no business in suing for damages. But this guy is stubborn and
ignorant; he does not understands that he's lying, that he's wrong. He just
wants money from us. After verdict, this guy said he would go to Pto Plata and sue again. This guy uses these roosters for fights and he's a drug addict.
I'm in NY now so the wife is the one being put in middle of this bad situation.
The guy has threatened the wife, threatened to kill dog, and says we need to pay him for his dead roosters. People just wants money and lies and they
are after us b/c they think that only b/c i travel, that i live in ny, they think that i'm rich, that i have money, etc etc. This mentality is in most dominicans that think that people that travel, that live abroad have money.

So since this guy lost his case yesterday, this morning he send 2 policemen to family house. These cops told family for us to resolve this and to give some $$ money to the guy so that all can go away, that this guy is having hard time, that he's not feeling well,, and that we're the ones that can have greater losses. These cops are friends of the guy and i know they just are desperate to get money so they're now threaten us.

wife's family wants us to pay the guy some money so the guy stops
threatening and leaves us alone. But how can we pay extortion money
if we did not do anything? What if this guy later comes and asks for more money? And if we pay him $$ that means we accept that our dog killed his
roosters. And if we pay him $$ that means he can later sue again and say
that since we paid him something that means we knew we were guilty.
And if we pay him now he can later do bad things to dog, to family and we would not have anything to point fingers at him b/c he can say he did not do anything since we paid him. But right now w/o paying him, the judge is aware that if anything happens to dog, to family the judge knows that the prime
suspect is this guy. But if we pay then there would be no reason for him to
be suspect.

what do you guys advise? pay him and hope he does not bother family again?
or don't pay him since we're not at fault?

this guy is drug addict, low class individual, hangs out with cops and thiefs.

thnx
 

HOWMAR

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Jan 28, 2004
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In your post, nowhere do you deny the possibility that your dog did kill his rooster. Are you absolutely sure your dog is innocent?
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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well....

in europe i'd say: "don't pay".
here: "pay".
alternatively, and taht works for both europe and DR find some "friends" that are bigger, stronger and scarier that your neighbour's "friends" and threten him. don't you have some big powerful thug as your mate?
i ma serious here!

your situations is difficult and i do understand that you feel hopeless, very sorrry for you.

keep in mind that the guy is drug addict and he can be unpredictable. most likely you have to either scare shyt out of him or pay and pray it will shut him down....
 

Conchman

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Jul 3, 2002
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Thats a tough one if your wife does not have any local connections with some colonel or general. Or someone you can pay to give this guy a little 'message.'

If those are not options, I would suggest to pay the guy like 5,000 pesos to make the problem go away, because there is a good chance he is going to poison your dog. Sounds like your dog killed one prize fighting rooster (sure it wasn't a regular one?)

Dominicans always ask for like 10 times the amount they would settle for in order to negotiate.
 

Beads

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May 21, 2006
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Drug addicts are easy to deal with. If hes a coke addict maybe a "special blend" can "appear as a gift left someplace only he will find".
 
B

batich

Guest
Just a little while back I shared a very similar story when a local guy without any justification accused my friend and tried to exhort money from him and even was able with the help of his lawyers to steal two cars belonging to my friend.
I asked for advice how to procede.
Insted I was accused by one person of making stories to paint good honest dominican lawyers in black and to attract attention and the thread was closed immediatelly without even giving me chance to respond.

I hope it does not happen to this thread too.
I wish you good luck! You have my moral support.

THings like this one happen very often recently. For this reason just two days ago when a woman asked my opinion about relocation to DR, I said - NO!

I answered NO to this question regarding DR for the first time in almost ten years.

All other times I emphatically said YES!

Hopefully the situation changes with time and DR becomes attractive again as it used to be even two years ago.

I love this country! It has everything to be a paradise. But greed destroys everything.
 

Conchman

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Jul 3, 2002
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The legal and police systems are completely perverted and corrupted here, and is one of the main reason holding up progress here. But many people don't want to see progress because they are 'part' of that system.
 

Ricardo900

Silver
Jul 12, 2004
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You should think about moving, right now you are considered a "mark" and if you pay "anything" everybody in the neighborhood is going to know and may try to cash in also. If you don't pay, remember he's a drug addict with local police connections, that could spell trouble for you. You could be subjected to break-ins, vandalism, & robbery. If you can't scare him off, then pay him something. Think about moving, you can't live in a poor area around poor people if you have money, you will be targeted.

I've always wondered why I see beautiful houses with bars on all the windows and tall brick walls, you can't mix with poor uneducated people, unless you're one of them.
 

El Diego

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Apr 24, 2006
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In your post, nowhere do you deny the possibility that your dog did kill his rooster. Are you absolutely sure your dog is innocent?

yes we know. How we know?
wife with her mom were walking towards house, before entering the house
there was a dead small rooster on other side of street. The rooster was dead and hard, meaning it had been killed few hrs ago. The dog was in the marquesina locked up. When the wife opened the door the dog came out and went outside on the street and started smelling the dead rooster and then did nothing. The dog afterwards started to run and mother-in-law had to run and get the dog.... this dog is not a biralata that's on the street. This dog is
a chow chow who has always been inside the house.. only comes out when we take walks. The house has fences all over.

and the guy first said it was 1 dead rooster,, then said it was 4.. and he said he threw away the dead evidence. And how would a small rooster cost $70,000 pesos each?? And how he said he was present then later says he was told about it?

If indeed our dog had killed a rooster/chicken whatever, then we would have negotiated and pay the guy. But he only wants money b/c he thinks we have money (not true) and b/c he knows a biralata owner would never give him 1 peso.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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Drug addicts are easy to deal with. If hes a coke addict maybe a "special blend" can "appear as a gift left someplace only he will find".

do you suggest "special blend" has something more tan coke so the guy joins his rooseters in the paradise?
i have no feelings for drug addicts, they dig thier graves themselves, no sin in pushing them in!

anyways, lawyers here are like anywhere else, good and bad. the difference is that in one's country one knows people who know people so the problem would be solved by the means of broken limbs... when one travels to the foreign country one becomes hopeles...
 

El Diego

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Apr 24, 2006
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I hope it does not happen to this thread too.
I wish you good luck! You have my moral support.

thnx for the support... yes, i remember your post that was closed.
and yes, i understand your feeling towards dr now.
i feel same way. i live in ny but have house in dr and comtemplating
on selling it. Don't want to deal with these kinds of things.


your situations is difficult and i do understand that you feel hopeless, very sorrry for you.

keep in mind that the guy is drug addict and he can be unpredictable. most likely you have to either scare shyt out of him or pay and pray it will shut him down....

thnx DV... the cops and the guy came again today asking for money.. the cops saying they don't want tragedy to happen to the family, that it's best
to resolve this and pay the guy.


Thats a tough one if your wife does not have any local connections with some colonel or general. Or someone you can pay to give this guy a little 'message.'

If those are not options, I would suggest to pay the guy like 5,000 pesos to make the problem go away, because there is a good chance he is going to poison your dog. Sounds like your dog killed one prize fighting rooster (sure it wasn't a regular one?)

Dominicans always ask for like 10 times the amount they would settle for in order to negotiate.

brother-in-law knows a colonel i believe but sometimes people don't want to bother others for help and sometimes help comes too late. This guy is a prick that wants money "now" and even if we pay him something, he might come back later to ask for more money.

5,000 pesos for something we did not do is too much. In terms of dollars might not be too much but for them it might be.. and if they got 5k from us the first time they are going to want more and more.

According to him those roosters cost that much money.. but they're not full grown roosters.

You should think about moving, right now you are considered a "mark" and if you pay "anything" everybody in the neighborhood is going to know and may try to cash in also. If you don't pay, remember he's a drug addict with local police connections, that could spell trouble for you. You could be subjected to break-ins, vandalism, & robbery. If you can't scare him off, then pay him something. Think about moving, you can't live in a poor area around poor people if you have money, you will be targeted.

I've always wondered why I see beautiful houses with bars on all the windows and tall brick walls, you can't mix with poor uneducated people, unless you're one of them.

i agree w/you. I fear for wife and her family... i live in ny now but they're the ones going through this and i worry about them.

i had plans to go next wk to dr (prior to this happening) but i'm thinking if i go
would it make things even worse since the guy would definitely want to get money from me.
 

Berzin

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Nov 17, 2004
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A drug addict HAS no friends amongst police officers. You have the money, pay THEM off. And get a couple of tigeres that don't live around there to pay your boy a visit "pa' que le metan una salsa".

You live in the DR, do as they would do. Problema solved.
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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Yes, this is kinda an 'old' trick that someone tried on us in the Campo. At the time we told him to go away as he had no fighting rooster and our dog was scared of chickens - (which was true and the whole neighborhood knew that we had a scaredy cat for a dog). So, we were not victims of exhortion as the whole thing was funny enough for everyone to laugh at.

In your position, I would be very careful and very scared. If this fellow has friends in high places that are going to 'share' the money, and they think they can get it, you and your family would be in danger.

In your position, I would probably pay 5000 pesos or so, but in front of the fiscal, so that the transaction can be publically recorded. I would probably say that this is not a payoff and I do not acknowledge any wrongdoing, it is simply some 'assistance' as I know that he recently lost a good fighting rooster. I would also plead poverty and tell how hard it is for me to 'assist' a neighbor, in this instance. I would also take a few neighbors with, so that the thing can be done fairly publically. If I was in your position, I would ask my attorney to make the speech for me.

Many people will not pay and sure, that is understandable. But if you're a gringo in a strange land, sometimes a little money goes a long way. It is up to you to decide whether a little money will smooth 'ruffled feathers', or if it won't.
 

BushBaby

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Jan 1, 2002
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Consider the possibilities of getting these 'Police Friends' onto YOUR side! ~ RD $1,000 for each of them, explain that as a result of this you will be moving your family OUT of the area & offer them (the police) more money when your family is moved ........ IF the the family have no more problems with the guy demanding money from you!

Due to legislation presently going through Senate about bribery & corruption, whether you pay another RD $1,000 each in the future is Up to YOU!! ~ Grahame.
 
B

batich

Guest
A drug addict HAS no friends amongst police officers. You have the money, pay THEM off. And get a couple of tigeres that don't live around there to pay your boy a visit "pa' que le metan una salsa".

You live in the DR, do as they would do. Problema solved.

Can you imagine what sooner or later happens to OP`s wife and kids because of such a "visit"?!

They have no protection there at all.
 

Ricardo900

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Jul 12, 2004
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i had plans to go next wk to dr (prior to this happening) but i'm thinking if i go
would it make things even worse since the guy would definitely want to get money from me.

Don't change your plans, go down to the DR and support your wife, hopefully you will figure out a solution to this problem. Also, the police stating that something might happen to your family is either a threat or a stern warning. Don't take this guy lightly, start thinking proactive with this situation, to protect your family.