CANADIAN IN JAIL IS PROBABLY A HOAX

[Larry]

Melissa, sister of Matt, can you add anything?

Melissa, can you shed any light on what I have raised? Doug has apparently gotten snippy and can't provide anything useful. He used my name 5 times in one paragraph. I give you the opportunity to provide a logical response.

 

[Doug]

Re: You didn't address any of the issues I pointed

Larry, I'm sorry you think I've gotten "snippy" the reason I used your name is because I was addressing you and you only, This is not meant to be a fight or an aurgument,ok. Like I said I will put some concrete proof on the board when I can(probably Monday)If I could speak spanish, I would go to a Santo Domingo newspaper site and look in the archives of June last year and see if there is anything in there, but I don't speak or read spanish.

 

[Grahame Bush]

Re: no it is not

Doug, I realised as soon as I had sent the message that you probably were from London, Ontario not London England. Sorry, I am getting very American in not realising there are other places in the world other than my home country (THAT should stir up a hornets nest by those who don't know me well enough!!!).

You misinterpreted my comments in my reply however. I did NOT imply trust NOR belief in the truthfulness or otherwise of this subject. I was -like Larry & Tom - just trying to get the facts illicited from you or Melissa. Your e-mail direct to me was NOT forthcoming in these facts either, just a request for ME to do the checking. Please, before I go off on what could be a long wild goose chase, tell me Matt's surname. Who is the consul visiting him (I have my conection with the Canadian Consul up here on the north coast & he will probably do some checking for me)? JUNE of 2000??? Wow, how come we had to wait this long to hear? When Stuart Ratner was in Jail, we were working on his behalf on this board within 4 weeks!!! NINE months in any prison is a long time but in a DOMINICAN prison it is an eternity.

I can go along with the plea for visits to Matt, I can go along with a few bucks being paid over to him during these visits, I can even go along with a few bucks to the guards/influencial other prisoners when ESSENTIAL, but a general call for support on this board will always smack of a scam. You will find Larry, Tom, Hillbilly, Charles & others VERY supportive of anything genuine that needs a helping hand (hey fellars, send me a buck or two for the mention!!), but extremely critical of anything that doesn't get coroborated (whatever that might mean) by actual facts. Get the facts for these guys & me & THEN see how supportive they will be.

Good luck & get Melissa or her parents to come back with factual information for others to hang their hats on.
Cheers - Grahame ^_^

 

[Jim Hinsch]

Re: Canadian in Jail

According to information I recieved by E-mail:

-He is staying at Najayo Prison.
-Visitation days are, I belive, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
-If you like you can email Hector, a missionary who visits him at hector.rosello@codetel.net.do.

 

[Doug]

Re: Canadian in Jail

Thanks Jim: This info I have but have not yet talked to the Family to find out what info would be alright to put on the board, which I'm sure they don't mind putting this out,but I just wanted to ask out of respect. His Name is Matthew Gomes, and he is 19 yrs of age. He was first put at La Victoria, then transferred to Najayo. He is also with another Canadien, who I honestly don't know the name of other than his first name is Matt as well.

 

[Doug]

Grahame

As for why this was not put on the board sooner, I did not get back from vacation, as well as visiting him until the middle of March, and I was the one who decided to put this on the board. So the Family or should we now say the Gomes' did not even know,(I don't think) about this board. So this is why this was not put on this board sooner. I trust this answer,..answers your question Grahame.Oh yes and the first post was put on in april on the 26th to be exact, and I waited that long because it was that long until I found out more about Matt after conversations with the Gomes' Thank You Doug

 

[Sue]

Re: Presume innocent

The main reason most people import drugs is GREED, pure and simple. The DURESS comes in after they get caught.

 

[William Leslie]

Re: Presume innocent

Very good Sue.
Also in reply to Rob on this subject I beleive the law in the DR is based on Napolean law which is quite opposite of American law and its Presumed Innocent idea as under Napolean law you are basically presumed GUILTY until you PROVE you are innocent.
Sometimes a very difficult or impossible thing to do.

 

[Melissa]

Re: Melissa, sister of Matt, can you add anything?

Larry and others,

First of all I would like to apologize for my foolish efforts in trying to get some input on my brothers situation. I honestly feel helpless in trying to help my little brother out, as does the rest of my family. What my brother did was totally wrong and yes, he should pay for what he did. I am not looking for a hand out or pitty, what I would like is some input, idea's on what to do next. . . . Yes, I am reaching out.
MATT GOMES AND MATT GRZESH WERE ARRESTED JULY 25, 2000
OFFENCE:NATIONAL AND INTERNAIONAL TRAFFICING IN UNLAWFUL DRUGS.
HAVING HAD THE QUANTITY OF TWELVE PACKAGES OF COCAINE SEIZED FROM THEM WITH AN AGGREGATE WEIGHT OF THREE KILO GRAMS AND NINETY-FIVE GRAMS, VALUED AT ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS AND TWO THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY BOLIVARES, IN THE COURSE OF AN OPERATION MOUNTED BY THE NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL DIRECTORATE AT LAS AMERICAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON JULY 25, 2001.

This was from Dominican Republic Judicial Branch.
Need any more info?
You know where to get me.
Thanks
Melissa

 

[Grahame Bush]

Re: Melissa, sister of Matt, can you add anything?

Now we're cookin Melissa - some honest facts for people to work with & advise you best on. I hope that Larry, hillbilly & others will not have been too frustrated with lack of openess earlier to refrain from giving their not unconsiderable advice/help at this late stage.

Actually there is not much (if anything) we can do on the legal standpoint. Matt (both of them) have acknowledged guilt & therefore the Law of the Dominican Republic must (& will) take it's course. I fear Matt may be in for some considerable time as drugs are frowned upon heavily here - quite rightly too. Matt is in jail down south I gather, so it will be impossible for me to visit as I am on the North Coast. Further, I fear that as drug dases are so sensitive, most people will stear well clear of being associated with people who are accused (lett alone admit to or are convicted of) of havind dealings with drugs & drug users.

You will need to keep on top of the Canadian Embassy & ensure they are doing all possible to keep the case in front of the local fiscal, trying to get the case heard as soon as possible. Make sure ALL extenuating circumstances are put in front of the judges by Matt's lawyer & make sure Matt SHOWS he knows he did wrong.

Due to previous corespondece being as it was, you will find it difficult to get financial support from users of this board, therefore, if financial support for Matt's Lawyer is required, you would be best advised to get this underway from your locality (friends of Matt in your local town etc. Be honest with them, be bold in your ideas & I am sure you will get their support. Try to get your local politicians caught up in the fight to get Matt out & don't be afraid to get the press involved. Why not suggest to the local & National television that they should do a story on Canadians being kept in Dominican Prisons? Have a word with amnesty International to get their view on how you should proceed - maybe they could help a bit too.

Please get back to the board in due course & advise us as to your successes & frustrations at lack of success/support, so that those who are interested can give their support/advice.

Good luck but please be prepared for a long battle .....

Best regards - Grahame Bush.

 

[Larry]

8 and a half pounds of cocaine!!!

I appreciate your finally being forthcoming, albeit very late, with the members of this board. I have found that this is a much varied group of people and they can quickly sniff out when the real truth isn't there. Perhaps a few of them will still offer to help you, but much damage has been done on your part. This wasn't a small mistake on your brother's part, this was a MAJOR F*CK UP. That kind of weight in cocaine tags him as a major player. Not to be cruel or harsh, but your brother is going to be there for a very long time. Even in the US he would be facing more than 15 years in a federal pen.

 

[ECH, M.D.]

Re: JUST BE GLAD HE WAS NOT IN CHINA

BE THANKFUL.Your brother was not arrested in CHINA.
This was in Monday morning NY Times.
Many countries EXECUTE drug smugglers; especially in the Middle East.

Fear your bother is in for a long haul unfortunately. He is a big time player and going to do some big time.

May 7, 2001
China Executes Five Drug Smugglers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 2:18 a.m. ET

BEIJING (AP) -- China has executed five suspected members of a gang that used fishing boats to smuggle millions of dollars worth of the illegal drug ``ice'' to the Philippines, state media said.

The five, including alleged gang leader Tan Weisheng, were executed April 25 in Taishan, a city in the southern province of Guangdong, the official Xinhua News Agency said Sunday. Seven other purported members of the gang were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 15 years to life.

Seven other people are being prosecuted separately, Xinhua said.

The Guangdong-based gang smuggled 5,082 pounds of methamphetamine, a powerful and addictive stimulant -- popularly known as ice or ``meth'' -- to the Philippines in several batches between 1998 and 2000, Xinhua said.

It was China's biggest methamphetamine smuggling case, Xinhua said. In the United States, the drugs would have been worth about $120 million.

Xinhua did not say how the executions were carried out. China's preferred method is a single shot to the back of the head or chest.

A police officer in Taishan confirmed the report but refused to disclose further details or give his name.

Meanwhile, Xinhua said Chinese paramilitary police have joined a nationwide police crackdown on criminal gangs, breaking up more than 100 in the last month.

Human rights groups complain that courts have rushed to judgments and passed too many death sentences in the crackdown, launched April 11 because of government concerns that rampant gangsterism and local corruption are undermining popular support for communist rule.

 

[John]

Re: no it is not

"...We Don't Want to be another Puerto Rico..." Excuse Me ????
Please if you are in the dominican Republic look around you : crime, preganant teens, trash and dirt everywhere..Give Me a Break ! Thank God we are not like the Dominican Republic...

 

[A.J.]

I see that almost all of the regulars have contributed their 2 cents on this topic and I really tried not to thrown my thoughts into the ring but after all of this back and forth. I have one thought that is on my mind, with all of the support that is being given towards this boy and his family where is it when a dominican gets caught for the same offense in Toronto and New York. I have yet to see any one fighting for their rights in the states.

The crime is the same, but the tables turn and the feelings are not. Drugs are drugs laws are laws - I have been in the jails in the DR (not on my offense - but visiting other) I have been in the jails in the US (visiting) I would never wish it upon anyone. Sing Sing - Attica - San Quentin - La Victoria - Puerto Plata Jail nope not me, smells the same looks the same - some you get meals some you don't. Some you die in, some you fight to stay alive.

I feel for this boy and his families, I just wish there was this type of support for everyone who committed this crime, or that peoples view and values did not change just because of the location, race ethnic group or sex of the person was different. If you feel that if a crime is committed in your own country for this offense then you should not change your views because he is in jail in the DR, would you feel the same for this boy if he was in Toronto, Kingston, London, NYC, LA, Dusseldorf. I hope so, I hope you give your time and effort to every person at the jails in your area for the same crime.

 

[Sarah]

Re: Melissa, sister of Matt, can you add anything?

 

[Melissa]

Re: 8 and a half pounds of cocaine!!!

Yes, he will be in prison for a looooong time. This amount was added up between the two of the Matt's.
I didn't want to tell too much before because my parents wished I did not.

Someone erased a message I posted.?????????
melissa

 

[ECH, M.D.]

Re: 8 and a half pounds of cocaine!!!

The only person that can erase YOUR messages are YOU and the WEBMASTER......No one else has that ability.

 

[Larry]

Correct me if I'm wrong

But isn't Amnesty International for prisoners of conscience or politics? Narcotics trafficing wouldn't fall into these categories.

 

[Sarah]

Re: Correct me if I'm wrong

Larry, you're right. I was simply providing a link for the organization that Grahame mentioned. Unless the Matts are being abused, they will likely not be interested in this case.

"Amnesty International is a worldwide campaigning movement that works to promote all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. In particular, Amnesty International campaigns to free all prisoners of conscience; ensure fair and prompt trials for political prisoners; abolish the death penalty, torture and other cruel treatment of prisoners; end political killings and "disappearances"; and oppose human rights abuses by opposition groups.

Amnesty International has around a million members and supporters in 162 countries and territories. Activities range from public demonstrations to letter-writing, from human rights education to fundraising concerts, from individual appeals on a particular case to global campaigns on a particular issue."

 

[Grahame Bush]

A.J. - I don't see too much support for these two Canadians from any of the contributors, especially the regulars. Some of us LIVE in the DR so are a) unaware of Dominicans suffering in jails outside the country & b) unable to do anything to assist like visiting them even if we did hear of it. I am surw most 'Regulars' would help a Dominican as much - if not more - because of the love we have for the people here AND for the hospitality/friendship they have shown us.

I think you will see that all we have been trying to do is find the facts of the case because we did not want any DR1 contributor to be scammed into paying money into a non starter!! Now that we have some facts & it does seem to be a genuine case, we are suggesting (well, I am suggesting) that the only help people living in the DR can give would be by visiting. I further advise that that is going to be unlikely because of the stigma attached to Drugs precluding us from doing so lest we get tarnished by that brush. My suggestions for fund raising indicated that this should be carried out at the home town of the perpetrators of the crime!

Larry - sorry, I did not want to indicate that Amnesty International would take up the cudgels of this case. You are right, I am sure it would not interest them. My suggestion to contact them was more for Melissa to get ADVICE from them as to who best to contact to folloe the case up for the family.

Questions: 8 1/2 pounds of cochaine = US $195????? I would have thought the street value was MUCH higher than that!!!! Was it the quantity that was misquoted or the street value? Who made the mistake? The police? The Judicio report? The newspapers or was it Melissa & family? I would have thought the correct value was nearer the US $million!! Nobody would buy Matt a plane ticket to Spain (US $500 at least, possibly double) for an income of US $195.

Look forward to the reply Doug &/or Melissa!!