DEBKAfile Exclusive: Al Qaeda declares Cyber Jihad on the West
October 30, 2007, 9:31 PM (GMT+02:00)
Symbol of al Qaeda's Cyber Warriors
In a special Internet announcement in Arabic, picked up by DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources, Osama bin Laden’s followers announced Monday, Oct. 29, the launching of Electronic Jihad. On Sunday, Nov. 11, al Qaeda’s electronic experts will start attacking Western, Jewish, Israeli, Muslim apostate and Shiite Web sites. On Day One, they will test their skills against 15 targeted sites expand the operation from day to day thereafter until hundreds of thousands of Islamist hackers are in action against untold numbers of anti-Muslim sites.
DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that, shortly after the first announcement, some of al Qaeda’s own Web sites went blank, apparently crashed by the American intelligence computer experts tracking them.
The next day, Oct. 30, they were up again, claiming their Islamic fire walls were proof against infidel assault.
They also boasted an impenetrable e-mail network for volunteers wishing to join up with the cyber jihad to contact and receive instructions undetected by the security agencies in their respective countries.
Our sources say the instructions come in simple language and are organized in sections according to target. They offer would-be martyrs, who for one reason or another are unable to fight in the field, to fulfill their jihad obligations on the Net. These virtual martyrs are assured of the same thrill and sense of elation as a jihadi on the “battlefield.”
In effect, say DEBKAfile’s counter-terror experts, al Qaeda is retaliating against Western intelligence agencies’ tactics, which detect new terrorist sites and zap them as soon as they appear. Until now, the jihadists kept dodging the assault by throwing up dozens of new sites simultaneously. This kept the trackers busy and ensured that some of the sites survived, while empty pages were promptly replaced. But as al Qaeda’s cyber wizards got better at keeping its presence on the Net for longer periods, so too did Western counter-attackers at knocking them down. Now Bin Laden’s cyber legions are fighting back. The electronic war they have declared could cause considerable trouble on the world’s Internet.
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
A JOURNALIST'S DILEMMA
Shocking Inside DC Scandal Rumor: A Media Ethics DilemmaRon Rosenbaum.com ^ 10/29/07 Ron Rosenbaum
Posted on 10/30/2007 6:09:13 PM PDT by jimboster
So I was down in DC this past weekend and happened to run into a well-connected media person, who told me flatly, unequivocally that “everyone knows” The LA Times was sitting on a story, all wrapped up and ready to go about what is a potentially devastating sexual scandal involving a leading Presidential candidate. “Everyone knows” meaning everyone in the DC mainstream media political reporting world. “Sitting on it” because the paper couldn’t decide the complex ethics of whether and when to run it. The way I heard it they’d had it for a while but don’t know what to do. The person who told me )not an LAT person) knows I write and didn’t say “don’t write about this”.
If it’s true, I don’t envy the LAT. I respect their hesitation, their dilemma, deciding to run or not to run it raises a lot of difficult journalism ethics questions and they’re likely to be attacked, when it comes out—the story or their suppression of the story—whatever they do.
I’ve been sensing hints that something’s going on, something’s going unspoken in certain insider coverage of the campaign (and by the way this rumor the LA Times is supposedly sitting on is one I never heard in this specific form before. By the way, t’s not the Edwards rumor, it’s something else.
And when my source said “everyone in Washington”, knows about it he means everyone in the elite Mainstream media, not just the LA Times, but everyone regularly writing about the Presdidential campaign knows about it and doesn’t know what to do with it. And I must admit it really is was juicy if true. But I don’t know if it’s true and I can’t decide if I think it’s relevant. But the fact that “everyone” in the elite media knew about it and was keeping silent about it, is, itself, news. But you can’t report the “news” without reporting the thing itself. Troubling!
It raises all sorts of ethical questions. What about private sexual behavior is relevant? What about a marriage belongs in the coverage of a presidential campaign? Does it go to the judgment of the candidate in question? Didn’t we all have a national nervous breakdown over these questions nearly a decade ago?
Now, as I say it’s a rumor; I haven’t seen the supporting evidence. But the person who told me said it offhandedly as if everyone in his world knew about it. And if you look close enough you can find hints of something impending, something potentially derailing to this candidate in the reporting of the campaign. Which could mean that something unspoken, unwritten about is influencing what is written, what we read.
Why are well wired media elite keeping silent about it? Because they think we can’t handle the truth? Because they think it’s substantively irrelevant? What standards of judgment are they using? Are they afraid that to print it will bring on opprobrium. Are they afraid not printing it will bring on opprobrium? Or both?
But alas if it leaks out from less “responsible” sources. then all their contextual protectiveness of us will have been wasted.
And what about timing? They, meaning the DC elite media, must know if it comes out before the parties select their primary winners and eventual nominees, voters would have the ability to decide how important they felt it to the narrative of the candidate in question. Aren’t they, in delaying and not letting the pieces fall where they potentially may, not refusing to act but acting in a different way—taking it upon themselves to decide the Presidential election by their silence?
If they waited until the nominees were chosen wouldn’t that be unfair because, arguably, it could sink the candidacy of one of the potential nominees after the nomination was finalized? And doesn’t the fact that they “all” know something’s there but can’t say affect their campaign coverage in a subterranean, subconscious way that their readers are excluded from?
I just don’t know the answer. I’m glad in a situation like this, if there is in fact truth to it, that I wouldn’t have to be the “decider”. I wouldn’t want to be in a position of having to make that choice. But it’s a choice that may well decide a crucial turning point in history. Or maybe not: Maybe voters will decide they don’t think it’s important, however juicy.
But should it be their choice or the choice of the media elites? It illustrates the fact that there are still two cultures at war within our political culture, insiders and outsiders. As a relative outsider I have to admit I was shocked not just by this but by several other things “everyone” down there knows.
There seem to be two conflicting imperatives here. The new media, Web 2.0 anti-elitist preference for transparency and immediacy and the traditional elitist preference for reflection, judgment and standards—their reflection, their small-group judgment and standards. Their civic duty to “protect” us from knowing too much.
I feel a little uneasy reporting this. No matter how well “nailed” they think they have it, it may turn out to be untrue. What I’m really reporting on is the unreported persistence of a schism between the DC media elites and their inside knowlede and the public that is kept in the dark. For their own good? Maybe they’d dismiss it as irrelevant, but shouldn’t they know?
I don’t know.
Posted on 10/30/2007 6:09:13 PM PDT by jimboster
So I was down in DC this past weekend and happened to run into a well-connected media person, who told me flatly, unequivocally that “everyone knows” The LA Times was sitting on a story, all wrapped up and ready to go about what is a potentially devastating sexual scandal involving a leading Presidential candidate. “Everyone knows” meaning everyone in the DC mainstream media political reporting world. “Sitting on it” because the paper couldn’t decide the complex ethics of whether and when to run it. The way I heard it they’d had it for a while but don’t know what to do. The person who told me )not an LAT person) knows I write and didn’t say “don’t write about this”.
If it’s true, I don’t envy the LAT. I respect their hesitation, their dilemma, deciding to run or not to run it raises a lot of difficult journalism ethics questions and they’re likely to be attacked, when it comes out—the story or their suppression of the story—whatever they do.
I’ve been sensing hints that something’s going on, something’s going unspoken in certain insider coverage of the campaign (and by the way this rumor the LA Times is supposedly sitting on is one I never heard in this specific form before. By the way, t’s not the Edwards rumor, it’s something else.
And when my source said “everyone in Washington”, knows about it he means everyone in the elite Mainstream media, not just the LA Times, but everyone regularly writing about the Presdidential campaign knows about it and doesn’t know what to do with it. And I must admit it really is was juicy if true. But I don’t know if it’s true and I can’t decide if I think it’s relevant. But the fact that “everyone” in the elite media knew about it and was keeping silent about it, is, itself, news. But you can’t report the “news” without reporting the thing itself. Troubling!
It raises all sorts of ethical questions. What about private sexual behavior is relevant? What about a marriage belongs in the coverage of a presidential campaign? Does it go to the judgment of the candidate in question? Didn’t we all have a national nervous breakdown over these questions nearly a decade ago?
Now, as I say it’s a rumor; I haven’t seen the supporting evidence. But the person who told me said it offhandedly as if everyone in his world knew about it. And if you look close enough you can find hints of something impending, something potentially derailing to this candidate in the reporting of the campaign. Which could mean that something unspoken, unwritten about is influencing what is written, what we read.
Why are well wired media elite keeping silent about it? Because they think we can’t handle the truth? Because they think it’s substantively irrelevant? What standards of judgment are they using? Are they afraid that to print it will bring on opprobrium. Are they afraid not printing it will bring on opprobrium? Or both?
But alas if it leaks out from less “responsible” sources. then all their contextual protectiveness of us will have been wasted.
And what about timing? They, meaning the DC elite media, must know if it comes out before the parties select their primary winners and eventual nominees, voters would have the ability to decide how important they felt it to the narrative of the candidate in question. Aren’t they, in delaying and not letting the pieces fall where they potentially may, not refusing to act but acting in a different way—taking it upon themselves to decide the Presidential election by their silence?
If they waited until the nominees were chosen wouldn’t that be unfair because, arguably, it could sink the candidacy of one of the potential nominees after the nomination was finalized? And doesn’t the fact that they “all” know something’s there but can’t say affect their campaign coverage in a subterranean, subconscious way that their readers are excluded from?
I just don’t know the answer. I’m glad in a situation like this, if there is in fact truth to it, that I wouldn’t have to be the “decider”. I wouldn’t want to be in a position of having to make that choice. But it’s a choice that may well decide a crucial turning point in history. Or maybe not: Maybe voters will decide they don’t think it’s important, however juicy.
But should it be their choice or the choice of the media elites? It illustrates the fact that there are still two cultures at war within our political culture, insiders and outsiders. As a relative outsider I have to admit I was shocked not just by this but by several other things “everyone” down there knows.
There seem to be two conflicting imperatives here. The new media, Web 2.0 anti-elitist preference for transparency and immediacy and the traditional elitist preference for reflection, judgment and standards—their reflection, their small-group judgment and standards. Their civic duty to “protect” us from knowing too much.
I feel a little uneasy reporting this. No matter how well “nailed” they think they have it, it may turn out to be untrue. What I’m really reporting on is the unreported persistence of a schism between the DC media elites and their inside knowlede and the public that is kept in the dark. For their own good? Maybe they’d dismiss it as irrelevant, but shouldn’t they know?
I don’t know.
DANA RISHPY SERIES:PART 6
Postscript
Part Six (Last segment)
Silvia Cherem
Bello Melchor: The Case is Closed
CANCUN, MX - The prosecutor of Quintana Roo, Bello Melchor Rodriguez denied the possibility that Dana Rishpy, the young Israeli tourist who disappeared in Tulum on the night of March 30, 2007, had been killed in the state and he repeated his version of the story. He said that this girl, without a passport and without money, traveled to Belize, where she was allegedly seen by several people.
In what were his first statements on the case after the leading newspaper in Mexico City, La Reforma began with the publication of a story in several segments, the prosecutor said that if Dana had been killed, her body would have already been found, and stated assuredly that "we have the evidence, that she was seen in Central America. "
He said that the director of Police , Diddier Vazquez, had traveled to Belize and met with people who saw and recognized the photographs that the agents brought.
Among the alleged proof, he mentioned that they had statements from the owner of the place where she stayed and her daughter "and three or four more."
He even pledged that "an officer of immigration saw her in Belize."
(Noticaribe) Bello Melchor said that, with regard to the Attorney-General's Office in Quintana Roo, and the disappearance of Dana, "of course the is case closed." (Noticaribe)
The publication, La Reforma, in the past five days postulated at least two new clues regarding what might have happened to this Israeli girl aged 25, who disappeared six months ago in the Riviera Maya.
First, a reader found that the police in El Cerrito, California, posted on the Internet. It was posted that on September 18th, they had arrested Matthew Ryan Walshin, a 38 year old resident of Henderson, Nevada. He had caused a minor at riot number 11100 on San Pablo Avenue, and was released hours later, pending the proceeds of an assault charge in Contra Costa County (report number 07-17543, in the page http://www.el/ cerrito.org/police/pr_0709.html? tpl = prn).
This permitted us to contact the investigator, Lozada (who prefers to skip his full name), a former San Francisco policeman who has investigated the case, and has monitored Matthew during the past four months, and recounted what happened that day.
The other contribution came from a reader who lives in the North of the Country and travels constantly to Playa del Carmen. When she saw the photo of Dana in La REFORMA she realized that, without knowing it then, she spent time with the young girl in what might have been the last hours of her life.
'Mati resists'
Recruited by the family Rishpy, Lozada, had for over 20 years worked undercover to catch murderers. He followed Matthew at a distance from May 7th . His mission was to seek a rapprochement, just a friendly interview to inquire about the case of Dana.
On September 18th he decided it was time to make his move. For weeks he had been sharpening his claws. But unlike other hippies who stay up to one month in the same site, Matthew was a nomad reluctant to make contact with strangers.
"He was partying with music and drugs. There was no way to follow his passage, or deal with it. He stayed only one or two nights and left. So, this went on for months, mostly in Northern California. Sometimes he would drive for six to eight hours from one state to another. There are those who would say that such behavior is the characteristically erratic and vagabond style of hippies, but I know that in my experience he acted because he was fleeing justice, "says Lozada.
Lozada affirmed that he appeared paranoid and vigilant, watching in the rear view mirror continuously to ensure that he was not followed. Moreover, despite having three cars , he only drove rentals ,changing continuously.
That Tuesday in mid-September, Lozada, who told REFORMA, after he testified regarding incident # 07-17543's Police Contra Costa County, thought that it was time to act.At 10 pm, the car that Matthew drove to Marin County , El Cerrito, licensed 5YKH064, was parked next to the fast food restaurant Weinerschnitzel, on Madison, west of San Pablo Avenue.
Matthew would soon reappear. .The investigator waited. He was accompanied by detectives Robert Tower, Leonard Morrow, Steve del Fierro and Rich Cairns, who were traveling in another car. At 10:45 PM, Matthew arrived. The street was lit and Lozada could fully recognize his face. He walked toward him. . The driver's door was already open. . Lozado identified himself as private investigator. Matthew responded: "I know what you want, so you came about the girl in Mexico." "Yes, I was hired by her parents," replied Lozada.
With nervousness, Matthew moved his left hand toward his waist. Lozada feared that he was armed and asked if he had a gun. Matthew began shouting angrily: "Dammit! I will kill you! ". He tried to use his car keys to stab Lozado in the eye a couple of times, but the investigator was able dodge him. . He tried to reassure him "I just want to speak with you."
Matthew managed to finally contain the keys in his hand. " He repeated with anger, "I kill you!" . To subdue him, Lozada wrestled him to the ground with the help of Del Torre, who came to lend support. Matthew defended himself shouting loudly, "Help, help! ... Michael,we are private investigators, drop the gun! ". Lozada and his team heard a gunshot from the apartment that Matthew left. His friend Michael lived there. With the help of Del Torre, they handcuffed the suspect and waited for the local police. Matthew repeated to them, "You are never going to find her!" .
Officers Sagan, Hernandez and Pierson, and Sergeant Cliatt arrested Matthew. He was held for for a few hours and released. Next, we learn that the disappearance of Dana Rishpy is on the list of "Most Wanted" FBI (http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/brief.cfm?id=48334).
Lozada has no doubts. Matthew, perhaps along with his cousin Steven Miller, who was also at the Mezzanine party and whom little is known, was involved in the disappearance and possible murder of Dana. "His background indicates such," he says. "Although he tried to provide a convincing alibi contacting the family after the disappearance, he is only repeating a pattern of conduct."
Lozada also reveals that in 1989 Matthew went to prison for having drugged to unconsciousness a girl on the campus of the University of Santa Cruz, and then raped her. " "He put something in her drink and then sexually abused her," he says. As a result he went to jail six months and was on probation a few years.
However, in 1998, the charge was reduced in his file. The charge of sex crime became a mere "wrongdoing", ie, a misdemeanor, allegedly for "good behavior". "I have worked 24 years with such cases and never have I seen a change in qualification like that. I guess he had the support of his parents, very good lawyers, " concludes Lozada
The investigator failed to "interview" Matthew and that option is already lost. .Therefore, for the Rishpys, the last hope of knowing what happened to her daughter now lies in the media and in the responsible action of the Mexican authorities. . They expect, no more and no less, than the FBI to take the case and extradite Matthew Ryan Walshin. Perhaps then, they will know well where is Dana's body.
Part Six (Last segment)
Silvia Cherem
Bello Melchor: The Case is Closed
CANCUN, MX - The prosecutor of Quintana Roo, Bello Melchor Rodriguez denied the possibility that Dana Rishpy, the young Israeli tourist who disappeared in Tulum on the night of March 30, 2007, had been killed in the state and he repeated his version of the story. He said that this girl, without a passport and without money, traveled to Belize, where she was allegedly seen by several people.
In what were his first statements on the case after the leading newspaper in Mexico City, La Reforma began with the publication of a story in several segments, the prosecutor said that if Dana had been killed, her body would have already been found, and stated assuredly that "we have the evidence, that she was seen in Central America. "
He said that the director of Police , Diddier Vazquez, had traveled to Belize and met with people who saw and recognized the photographs that the agents brought.
Among the alleged proof, he mentioned that they had statements from the owner of the place where she stayed and her daughter "and three or four more."
He even pledged that "an officer of immigration saw her in Belize."
(Noticaribe) Bello Melchor said that, with regard to the Attorney-General's Office in Quintana Roo, and the disappearance of Dana, "of course the is case closed." (Noticaribe)
The publication, La Reforma, in the past five days postulated at least two new clues regarding what might have happened to this Israeli girl aged 25, who disappeared six months ago in the Riviera Maya.
First, a reader found that the police in El Cerrito, California, posted on the Internet. It was posted that on September 18th, they had arrested Matthew Ryan Walshin, a 38 year old resident of Henderson, Nevada. He had caused a minor at riot number 11100 on San Pablo Avenue, and was released hours later, pending the proceeds of an assault charge in Contra Costa County (report number 07-17543, in the page http://www.el/ cerrito.org/police/pr_0709.html? tpl = prn).
This permitted us to contact the investigator, Lozada (who prefers to skip his full name), a former San Francisco policeman who has investigated the case, and has monitored Matthew during the past four months, and recounted what happened that day.
The other contribution came from a reader who lives in the North of the Country and travels constantly to Playa del Carmen. When she saw the photo of Dana in La REFORMA she realized that, without knowing it then, she spent time with the young girl in what might have been the last hours of her life.
'Mati resists'
Recruited by the family Rishpy, Lozada, had for over 20 years worked undercover to catch murderers. He followed Matthew at a distance from May 7th . His mission was to seek a rapprochement, just a friendly interview to inquire about the case of Dana.
On September 18th he decided it was time to make his move. For weeks he had been sharpening his claws. But unlike other hippies who stay up to one month in the same site, Matthew was a nomad reluctant to make contact with strangers.
"He was partying with music and drugs. There was no way to follow his passage, or deal with it. He stayed only one or two nights and left. So, this went on for months, mostly in Northern California. Sometimes he would drive for six to eight hours from one state to another. There are those who would say that such behavior is the characteristically erratic and vagabond style of hippies, but I know that in my experience he acted because he was fleeing justice, "says Lozada.
Lozada affirmed that he appeared paranoid and vigilant, watching in the rear view mirror continuously to ensure that he was not followed. Moreover, despite having three cars , he only drove rentals ,changing continuously.
That Tuesday in mid-September, Lozada, who told REFORMA, after he testified regarding incident # 07-17543's Police Contra Costa County, thought that it was time to act.At 10 pm, the car that Matthew drove to Marin County , El Cerrito, licensed 5YKH064, was parked next to the fast food restaurant Weinerschnitzel, on Madison, west of San Pablo Avenue.
Matthew would soon reappear. .The investigator waited. He was accompanied by detectives Robert Tower, Leonard Morrow, Steve del Fierro and Rich Cairns, who were traveling in another car. At 10:45 PM, Matthew arrived. The street was lit and Lozada could fully recognize his face. He walked toward him. . The driver's door was already open. . Lozado identified himself as private investigator. Matthew responded: "I know what you want, so you came about the girl in Mexico." "Yes, I was hired by her parents," replied Lozada.
With nervousness, Matthew moved his left hand toward his waist. Lozada feared that he was armed and asked if he had a gun. Matthew began shouting angrily: "Dammit! I will kill you! ". He tried to use his car keys to stab Lozado in the eye a couple of times, but the investigator was able dodge him. . He tried to reassure him "I just want to speak with you."
Matthew managed to finally contain the keys in his hand. " He repeated with anger, "I kill you!" . To subdue him, Lozada wrestled him to the ground with the help of Del Torre, who came to lend support. Matthew defended himself shouting loudly, "Help, help! ... Michael,we are private investigators, drop the gun! ". Lozada and his team heard a gunshot from the apartment that Matthew left. His friend Michael lived there. With the help of Del Torre, they handcuffed the suspect and waited for the local police. Matthew repeated to them, "You are never going to find her!" .
Officers Sagan, Hernandez and Pierson, and Sergeant Cliatt arrested Matthew. He was held for for a few hours and released. Next, we learn that the disappearance of Dana Rishpy is on the list of "Most Wanted" FBI (http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/brief.cfm?id=48334).
Lozada has no doubts. Matthew, perhaps along with his cousin Steven Miller, who was also at the Mezzanine party and whom little is known, was involved in the disappearance and possible murder of Dana. "His background indicates such," he says. "Although he tried to provide a convincing alibi contacting the family after the disappearance, he is only repeating a pattern of conduct."
Lozada also reveals that in 1989 Matthew went to prison for having drugged to unconsciousness a girl on the campus of the University of Santa Cruz, and then raped her. " "He put something in her drink and then sexually abused her," he says. As a result he went to jail six months and was on probation a few years.
However, in 1998, the charge was reduced in his file. The charge of sex crime became a mere "wrongdoing", ie, a misdemeanor, allegedly for "good behavior". "I have worked 24 years with such cases and never have I seen a change in qualification like that. I guess he had the support of his parents, very good lawyers, " concludes Lozada
The investigator failed to "interview" Matthew and that option is already lost. .Therefore, for the Rishpys, the last hope of knowing what happened to her daughter now lies in the media and in the responsible action of the Mexican authorities. . They expect, no more and no less, than the FBI to take the case and extradite Matthew Ryan Walshin. Perhaps then, they will know well where is Dana's body.
Monday, October 29, 2007
DANA RISHPY SERIES: PART 5
Honey On Ashes (Part Five)
Silvia Cherem
Mexico City (05 October 2007)
Upon their arrival in Cancun, the Rishpys saw Dana's face on every corner . In the signs that their son had installed throughout the city, their daughter was smiling. The image was clouded with the inscription: "Missing. Dana Rishpy (25). " In her absence, a few days before, she had just turned 25 years old. A 5 thousand US dollar reward was offered to anyone who gave information about her whereabouts. The phones of the National Center for Federal Police were flooded with calls of false information.
The Israelis, and especially the Rishpys, were accustomed to seeing Dana's photo on posters. When she was 4 years old, a photographer friend asked permission to photograph her. The image of the little "doll" with green eyes and a pixie look was so profound that the Moshav Lajish used it to advertise the grapes that were produced in Israel. Dana was seen in all corners of the country. Trucks, windows, shelves, supermarkets, fruit boxes, and other spectacular places.
As a child, everyone knew her. Until very recently, her picture remained on fruit stickers. However, unlike those ads, her picture was now in Mexico. It seemed like honey on ashes.
Dania and Dror arrived in Mexico committed as a couple. No matter what the future held, they vowed to remain united. A few days before traveling, while still in Israel, they were introduced to a man who had suffered the murder of his son in the United States four years ago. He was 20 years younger than Dror, but he was already an old man.
Smoking and with despair, his fingers yellow from nicotine, he told them that not only had his son died, but he lost everything. Woman, family, money, friends, health, appetite and sleep. He never managed to find his son's body and the memory of his life passed. Each family member had an idea of how to respond to the loss, and the recriminations ended in irreconcilable breaks. "We were advised to not let it destroy us, to recognize that life continues. We promised that we would not fall into the black hole. We would live for our children, for our grandchildren, and for ourselves. "
The rhetoric seemed easy, but tears and pain were inevitable, loss of appetite and sleep. Dania was content with an illusory hope: "While there is no body, all theories and possibilities are open."
But not Dror, for him, the scene was stark. Dana had been killed. "Once I was disturbed to see her hair so long. I said, Dana, I am afraid that someone will strangle you with your hair. She was proud of her femininity. Today, I am appalled to have thought that. It torments me what she might have endured in her last moments. Perhaps Matthew wanted to rape her or drug her. Dana is not intimidated. She was tall, very fast, capable of defending herself, and he strangled her. I suppose that he did not want to kill her, but that happened ... There is no consolation. "
Key Witness
Dror thinks that Matthew could not have gotten rid of her body alone. Someone helped him. He arrived in Mexico with the intention of finding the accomplice. "They did not throw her into the sea or a sinkhole, nor did they leave her out in the open. I think that they buried her more than a meter deep in the sand dunes of the Biosphere Reserve, and as the culprits, stayed in Tulum until it was ascertained that it would be impossible to find her. "
"The Hungarian" who claims to be a businessman selling shirts and crafts, was the witness who Dror Rishpy was looking for. When he was finally questioned by police on May 25, Zsolt Fejer, who was not identified with any official document, said that on Friday, March 30th, he attended a party at the Hotel Mezzanine. He was alone. Around one o'clock in the morning, "Matthew" and eight of his friends "asked Fejer for a ride to Playa Esperanza (Hope Beach). Fejer rented a cabin in Hydens Hideout, where he was staying with his Argentinian wife and their toddler , who were visiting. He said that he agreed to give a"ride" to whoever could climb into the back of his red pickup truck. He was sure that there were a lot of people. But he only remembered "Matthew" and a girl with long hair. Around 3:00 am he said, "Matthew" woke him up and asked to borrow a blanket. From there, he knew nothing more. A week later, "Matthew" had told him that he was in possession of a backpack of a girl who had "gone on a trip."
The deposition of "The Hungarian" who admits that gave capsules of Ecstasy to Matthew, remained without further questioning. Police know, and confirmed in a later interview, which was conducted recently by a team of independent investigators, that he is a distributor of LSD, ecstasy and other drugs at parties and beaches. Nobody followed up on him.
The authorities also questioned the matter of the blanket. He said that Mati left it in the morning on the fence, but nobody verified if " The Hungarian" actually had returned it to the hotel. The blanket could have been tested to confirm or reject the hypothesis that it was used in the crime. It is suspected that this blanket, borrowed by a friend in the early morning hours, served to carry Dana's dead body. "The Hungarian" perhaps knows more than he has confessed. Perhaps he helped his friend to remove the body after the murder, "said Dror.
The Rishpys recognize that the local police initially tried to investigate They questioned the receptionist of the hotel. They went to about 30 places to explore jungle areas, mangroves and sinkholes. They inquired at airports and bus stations. They searched the leasing records in Tulum. They conducted searches in Campeche. This, however, was insufficient.
Bello Melchor, the State Attorney General ordered on the 27th of May, "Find her dead or alive." However, as summer approached and the influx of tourists, their attention was diverted. "In Tulum, there exists a symbiotic relationship with drugs, tourism and the complicity of the authorities, "says Raphael, Dana's uncle.
When the authorities in Quintana Roo, felt that they had exhausted all channels, they carried the search to Belize, in order to "locate Dana elsewhere,". They did this to propagate the idea that Quintana Roo is a safe area. On June 7th, Didier Vazquez, director of the Judicial Police of Quintana Roo,Jorge Rishmawy Avila agent of the Public Prosecutor of Tulum, and Mario Fernando Lira Manzanero, commander of the Judicial Police of the state, departed for Central America to find Dana.
Following the route from the border, i.e from Corozal to Cayo Plascencia, they proceeded to show Dana Rishpy's photo to the villagers. They were accompanied by Santiago Góngora,of the Belize Police. Most of the people they questioned stated they had not seen Dana. Only one hesitated.
When they met with Peral Leslei, a woman 69 years old, who resides in Plascencia, they showed her photos of "a couple". Dana Rishpy and Matthew Walshin. She said that a few days earlier, they had been there. She did not know their names, but believed that they had gone to the Honduras. She noted, "I am not sure, but it seems to be them ." That was enough for the day of June 14th. A few days later, Bello Melchor, State Attorney General, forcefully declared that he had evidence that Dana was with her boyfriend "in Belize, and that they were headed for the Honduras.
When the television sounded this note on the evening news, Dania and Dror started receiving calls from acquaintances: "She's alive, she's alive." They knew that was impossible. Matthew remained in the United States and they knew exactly where. It was illogical, moreover, that Dana would have traveled without papers, without money and without calling. It was a stunt from the State Attorney General.
A few days later, Itzhak Erez, Israeli Consul,asked his counterpart of the Israeli embassy in El Salvador to seek Peral Leslei in Plascencia.
He arrived with new photos. However, this time of a niece who looked totally different than Dana. They showed the photos to the woman and asked if she recognized Dana Rishpy. She replied immediately, "I already told them that it is was her."
"It was obvious that this woman had reasons to confirm the information. I do not know if it was about money or the need to return a favor. What is a fact is that the information was false, "says Itzhak Erez.
Dania Rishpy called the TV stations on the night of June 14th to deny the alleged appearance of Dana. No one responded to her call nor corrected the error. Five weeks later, on July 21th, the Rishpys decided to return to Israel. The night before, Juancho, a dancer brought them to Mercedes Saviñon, a Mexican girlfriend. She gave her version of the crime stating that Dana had died by hanging.
Silvia Cherem
Mexico City (05 October 2007)
Upon their arrival in Cancun, the Rishpys saw Dana's face on every corner . In the signs that their son had installed throughout the city, their daughter was smiling. The image was clouded with the inscription: "Missing. Dana Rishpy (25). " In her absence, a few days before, she had just turned 25 years old. A 5 thousand US dollar reward was offered to anyone who gave information about her whereabouts. The phones of the National Center for Federal Police were flooded with calls of false information.
The Israelis, and especially the Rishpys, were accustomed to seeing Dana's photo on posters. When she was 4 years old, a photographer friend asked permission to photograph her. The image of the little "doll" with green eyes and a pixie look was so profound that the Moshav Lajish used it to advertise the grapes that were produced in Israel. Dana was seen in all corners of the country. Trucks, windows, shelves, supermarkets, fruit boxes, and other spectacular places.
As a child, everyone knew her. Until very recently, her picture remained on fruit stickers. However, unlike those ads, her picture was now in Mexico. It seemed like honey on ashes.
Dania and Dror arrived in Mexico committed as a couple. No matter what the future held, they vowed to remain united. A few days before traveling, while still in Israel, they were introduced to a man who had suffered the murder of his son in the United States four years ago. He was 20 years younger than Dror, but he was already an old man.
Smoking and with despair, his fingers yellow from nicotine, he told them that not only had his son died, but he lost everything. Woman, family, money, friends, health, appetite and sleep. He never managed to find his son's body and the memory of his life passed. Each family member had an idea of how to respond to the loss, and the recriminations ended in irreconcilable breaks. "We were advised to not let it destroy us, to recognize that life continues. We promised that we would not fall into the black hole. We would live for our children, for our grandchildren, and for ourselves. "
The rhetoric seemed easy, but tears and pain were inevitable, loss of appetite and sleep. Dania was content with an illusory hope: "While there is no body, all theories and possibilities are open."
But not Dror, for him, the scene was stark. Dana had been killed. "Once I was disturbed to see her hair so long. I said, Dana, I am afraid that someone will strangle you with your hair. She was proud of her femininity. Today, I am appalled to have thought that. It torments me what she might have endured in her last moments. Perhaps Matthew wanted to rape her or drug her. Dana is not intimidated. She was tall, very fast, capable of defending herself, and he strangled her. I suppose that he did not want to kill her, but that happened ... There is no consolation. "
Key Witness
Dror thinks that Matthew could not have gotten rid of her body alone. Someone helped him. He arrived in Mexico with the intention of finding the accomplice. "They did not throw her into the sea or a sinkhole, nor did they leave her out in the open. I think that they buried her more than a meter deep in the sand dunes of the Biosphere Reserve, and as the culprits, stayed in Tulum until it was ascertained that it would be impossible to find her. "
"The Hungarian" who claims to be a businessman selling shirts and crafts, was the witness who Dror Rishpy was looking for. When he was finally questioned by police on May 25, Zsolt Fejer, who was not identified with any official document, said that on Friday, March 30th, he attended a party at the Hotel Mezzanine. He was alone. Around one o'clock in the morning, "Matthew" and eight of his friends "asked Fejer for a ride to Playa Esperanza (Hope Beach). Fejer rented a cabin in Hydens Hideout, where he was staying with his Argentinian wife and their toddler , who were visiting. He said that he agreed to give a"ride" to whoever could climb into the back of his red pickup truck. He was sure that there were a lot of people. But he only remembered "Matthew" and a girl with long hair. Around 3:00 am he said, "Matthew" woke him up and asked to borrow a blanket. From there, he knew nothing more. A week later, "Matthew" had told him that he was in possession of a backpack of a girl who had "gone on a trip."
The deposition of "The Hungarian" who admits that gave capsules of Ecstasy to Matthew, remained without further questioning. Police know, and confirmed in a later interview, which was conducted recently by a team of independent investigators, that he is a distributor of LSD, ecstasy and other drugs at parties and beaches. Nobody followed up on him.
The authorities also questioned the matter of the blanket. He said that Mati left it in the morning on the fence, but nobody verified if " The Hungarian" actually had returned it to the hotel. The blanket could have been tested to confirm or reject the hypothesis that it was used in the crime. It is suspected that this blanket, borrowed by a friend in the early morning hours, served to carry Dana's dead body. "The Hungarian" perhaps knows more than he has confessed. Perhaps he helped his friend to remove the body after the murder, "said Dror.
The Rishpys recognize that the local police initially tried to investigate They questioned the receptionist of the hotel. They went to about 30 places to explore jungle areas, mangroves and sinkholes. They inquired at airports and bus stations. They searched the leasing records in Tulum. They conducted searches in Campeche. This, however, was insufficient.
Bello Melchor, the State Attorney General ordered on the 27th of May, "Find her dead or alive." However, as summer approached and the influx of tourists, their attention was diverted. "In Tulum, there exists a symbiotic relationship with drugs, tourism and the complicity of the authorities, "says Raphael, Dana's uncle.
When the authorities in Quintana Roo, felt that they had exhausted all channels, they carried the search to Belize, in order to "locate Dana elsewhere,". They did this to propagate the idea that Quintana Roo is a safe area. On June 7th, Didier Vazquez, director of the Judicial Police of Quintana Roo,Jorge Rishmawy Avila agent of the Public Prosecutor of Tulum, and Mario Fernando Lira Manzanero, commander of the Judicial Police of the state, departed for Central America to find Dana.
Following the route from the border, i.e from Corozal to Cayo Plascencia, they proceeded to show Dana Rishpy's photo to the villagers. They were accompanied by Santiago Góngora,of the Belize Police. Most of the people they questioned stated they had not seen Dana. Only one hesitated.
When they met with Peral Leslei, a woman 69 years old, who resides in Plascencia, they showed her photos of "a couple". Dana Rishpy and Matthew Walshin. She said that a few days earlier, they had been there. She did not know their names, but believed that they had gone to the Honduras. She noted, "I am not sure, but it seems to be them ." That was enough for the day of June 14th. A few days later, Bello Melchor, State Attorney General, forcefully declared that he had evidence that Dana was with her boyfriend "in Belize, and that they were headed for the Honduras.
When the television sounded this note on the evening news, Dania and Dror started receiving calls from acquaintances: "She's alive, she's alive." They knew that was impossible. Matthew remained in the United States and they knew exactly where. It was illogical, moreover, that Dana would have traveled without papers, without money and without calling. It was a stunt from the State Attorney General.
A few days later, Itzhak Erez, Israeli Consul,asked his counterpart of the Israeli embassy in El Salvador to seek Peral Leslei in Plascencia.
He arrived with new photos. However, this time of a niece who looked totally different than Dana. They showed the photos to the woman and asked if she recognized Dana Rishpy. She replied immediately, "I already told them that it is was her."
"It was obvious that this woman had reasons to confirm the information. I do not know if it was about money or the need to return a favor. What is a fact is that the information was false, "says Itzhak Erez.
Dania Rishpy called the TV stations on the night of June 14th to deny the alleged appearance of Dana. No one responded to her call nor corrected the error. Five weeks later, on July 21th, the Rishpys decided to return to Israel. The night before, Juancho, a dancer brought them to Mercedes Saviñon, a Mexican girlfriend. She gave her version of the crime stating that Dana had died by hanging.
"We leave physically, but we will not rest until we know what happened the night of March 30th, when Dana disappeared. We find it incomprehensible that if Matthew Ryan Walshin could be seen as a possible suspect, the State Attorney General has not filed a request to extradite him from the US. We are strongly opposed to the continuation of lies. Dana never left Mexico. With the support of the Israeli government, we will continue the search. We hope to find our daughter ... soon. "
The family is looking for the PGR to get involved in the case. On July 1st, Bello Melchor Rodriguez and Carrillo, Attorney General of Quintana Roo, decided to close the case. "How can it be possible that with such evidence that the crime was committed in their state, Bello Melchor would give up?" . The State Attorney said, without any sense of shame, the PGJE gave up because "Dana is playing games with the authorities."
(Expresión Libre, 1 de julio de 2007). Businessmen and hoteliers in the area, outraged at the turbulence, the spread of drugs and organized crime, murder and the disappearance of tourists in Quintana Roo, have demanded more than once the removal of the Attorney General (Free Expression, July 1 2007). Laura Susana Martinez Cardenas, an inspector from the State Commission for Human Rights, has alleged that in Quintana Roo "nothing is expedited without a bribe."
The case of Dana is just another murder, to add to an extensive list. The most notorious was that of Canadians Dominic and Annunziata Lanero, slain in their fourth floor room at the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort in Cancun, five-star hotel on February 20, 2006, after attending the wedding of their daughter Lily. More than a year later, with no progress in that brutal murder of the Laneros, without any breakthrough in the disappearance of Dana Rishpy, Quintana Roo residents wonder how long will extortion, inefficiency and tortuous application of justice continue in the State.
Cop eats pot brownies, Thinks he's dying. Idiot.
If we "are what we eat", then this guy needs to be "weeded" out.
FIRE THE FIREMEN
FDNY firefighters arrested in firehouse arson
9:36 PM EDT, October 28, 2007
Two firefighters have been arrested on charges of setting fire to a Manhattan firehouse. The Fire Department says the two men, who didn't work at the firehouse where the fire was set, face felony charges of arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
The Fire Department says the men are accused of using a flammable liquid to set an apparatus door on fire at Engine 34 in Manhattan. A firefighter on the scene saw smoke entering the firehouse and alerted on-duty firefighters, who extinguished the flame.
The Fire Department is not releasing any information on why the men may have set the fire. No information was immediately available on their lawyers
9:36 PM EDT, October 28, 2007
Two firefighters have been arrested on charges of setting fire to a Manhattan firehouse. The Fire Department says the two men, who didn't work at the firehouse where the fire was set, face felony charges of arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
The Fire Department says the men are accused of using a flammable liquid to set an apparatus door on fire at Engine 34 in Manhattan. A firefighter on the scene saw smoke entering the firehouse and alerted on-duty firefighters, who extinguished the flame.
The Fire Department is not releasing any information on why the men may have set the fire. No information was immediately available on their lawyers
Sunday, October 28, 2007
DANA RISHPY SERIES: PART 4
Hands Bound
(Part Four)
Silvia Cherem for La Reforma
Mexico City (04 October 2007) . Dror and Dania Rishpy arrived in Mexico in late May. Time was passing and they were tired of mourning long distance. Since there was very little they could do in Israel,they preferred to be at the scene. There, they could put pressure on, and shout to the four winds that their daughter had to appear. They were appalled by the lack of effort in the investigation, and the bureaucratization of the judicial system. The police in Quintana Roo never questioned key witnesses in depth, neither requested the American authorities to have Matthew Ryan Walshin make a statement about the disappearance of their daughter.
Dan, Dana's brother, and her uncle Rafael, who also traveled from Israel, had been in Mexico three weeks between Cancun and Tulum. They too were frustrated with the paralysis of the authorities. With the passage of days, already two long months after her disappearance, clues seemed exhausted.
The Clumsiness of an Investigation
Dana's family was concerned, above all, that questions to witnesses were not incisive. Flor Pastrana, for example,indigenous advocate aged 34, was a friend of Matthew's since 1996. It was she who rented him an apartment for a nominal amount. Apartment number 2 Chemuyil 13, where he took refuge after the disappearance of Dana. She was barely questioned . This woman, who in 2001 stayed at the home of Matthew on Maui, became embroiled in a thicket of contradictions to justify (pages 51 and 52 of the preliminary investigation T-386/2007).
Pastrana declared that on March 31st in the afternoon, the day that Matthew said that Dana "had not returned from the ruins," she met him. He told her that he wanted to move because Vincent, a craftsman, had threatened him.
Mixing interchangeably the names Mirador (Viewpoint) and Caribbean Sea, Flor said that Matthew did not change hotels then, but much later, because "he couldn't deal with everything, his stuff and the girl's (...) and he was wary of leaving the girl's backpack with someone else."
She stated that she read a note from Dana in English which said: "Wait for me, I will return", a note that investigators knew never existed. And if someone claimed that Matthew did not wait long enough, Flor added, "Mati had wanted to wait for the girl longer, but could not deal with the threats of the artisans."
She adds more information. In April, ie, after Dana's disappearance, Matthew bought a truck that was still parked in the front of the apartment that he rented. The public prosecutor never asked her why did she believe that Matthew abandoned his car. Why did he buy a car if he was only using his bike. Also, if she maintained communication with him , and where was the note that she assured that she had read.
"The court acknowledges that Flor lied in her statements, as a blog on the Internet reveals regarding the case (http://yourfreepress.blogspot.com/2007/05/new-evidence-in-rishpy-case.html ); she defends Matthew, almost always anonymously, "says Dror.
The family also was concerned that the police had taken more than a month until May 25 to question Zsolt Fejer, a Hungarian citizen aged 34, a friend of Matthew, tattooed on every inch of his body, who, as already stated and contained in the dossier, sold drugs in Tulum and Playa del Carmen. A group of private investigators who recently took the case said that the "Hungarian", as he is nicknamed, told them that he sold Matthew tablets of ecstasy and LSD.
The investigation that led to "The Hungarian" as a witness was valuable. He appears in the pictures of the party near Dana and the people, where he is well identified. Everyone recognized him as a "friend of Matthew." "When we arrived in Tulum, we questioned why he had not been called yet to testify. The policemen responded that they had failed to identify him. The surprise came when we were leaving the offices of the police. My brother turned around and there, he saw "The Hungarian" himself.
"Surely he is protected. Most likely, he distributes money to the police in order to sell drugs in the area, "says Dania.
The findings of the police were spurious. The first week of May, for example, Dan and Raphael found the car that apparently belonged to Matthew. It was a gray Toyota pickup truck with plate number XPV 605 from Oregon. Police broke the glass and said they had found traces of blood, which would qualify the crime as murder.
The police of Quintana Roo, after securing and guarding the car, ordered on May 10th that the Department of Expert Services conduct a blood test with luminol to certify the findings. In the Mexican and Israeli media, information was widely circulated. There was talk of a clue"conclusive". The family, through Interpol in Jerusalem, sent Dana's hair sample. Her DNA would be compared with the blood that was in the vehicle.
However, the chemist, Arnulfo Mendez, of the Expert Services Branch, conducted three expert opinions that were contradictory. First, on May 10th, he confirmed that on the floor of the rear of the car and at the top of the trunk, there was a presence of blood. Then, that the chemo luminescence reagent was positive in the middle of the door. And finally, three days later, when applying benzidine, noted that there were no traces of human blood.
For Dror, this was either a means of entertaining the press, or a way of "masking the murder. " Dania has an uncle in Germany who is a specialist in DNA. He is internationally famous. He said that it was absolutely absurd that an expert could doubt whether it was human or animal blood, because even with a microscopic sample, it can be determined. Worse still to doubt whether it was blood or not .
The researchers who took the case recently cast doubt on any finding in his car. The only indication that points to Matthew are the dubious statements of Flor, and also in back of the apartment where he was living. There is an area where pigs and poultry are slaughtered for consumption at local restaurants. It is possible that waste products of meat, fat and animal blood had been tracked into the car and that the experts confused it with human blood.
The agony of uncertainty
From Israel, the Rishpys had acted in concert with the Mexican investigators, mobilizing resources and efforts. Their house in Haifa was a cauldron of activity during the entire month of May. The friends of the family and friends of the children ,Dalit (40), Dafna (37) and Dan (35) offered any kind of help.
"There were so many calls and suggestions, we were overwhelmed. We never knew we had so many acquaintances. " A friend of Dania living in Belgium, traveled to Haifa to handle the torrents of information.
With support from investigators, they knew Matthew's whereabouts. He continually moved within the USA. Maui, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Nevada ... Cities where his wealthy mother now remarried , owns property and pays mortgages on behalf of her son. A confidante of Dana's parents contacted Matthew's mother at her home in Las Vegas, and let her know that he was suspected of murder. She listened and said that she would offer no help..
Matthew, for his part, opted for silence. He acted on the advice of his father, Perry Walshin, a lawyer who in his youth defended an accomplice of Charles Manson, murderer of Sharon Tate. Matthew stopped answering e-mails, paying his expenses with credit cards or answering his cell. With a new image as a hippy, his full grown beard seemed outdated. Mati, as he liked to call himself, began to jump from city to city, avoiding any traces.
Faced with the impossibility of finding strong clues , acquaintances of the family began to contact witches, shamans and scholars. One said that Dana was abducted in one of the boats moored in Tulum. "We had to come to the area to see that there were no boats." Another imagined that Dana was traveling on a ship bound for Saudi Arabia to join the harem of a sheik, an explanation more in tune with the culture of the Middle East than with the Mexican reality. One further stated that Dana had fallen from a cliff, and that she was lost in the ocean. " "The Israeli experts who were in Mexico told us that if she had drowned, hundreds of carrion birds would have found her body. In addition, the current would wash ashore bones or pieces of clothing. But, there was nothing. One impossible hypothesis. "
Each proposal opened a sea of possibilities. Possibly in a boat with round windows, held hostage by a woman. Trapped in a forest in Venezuela, drugged against her will. Hidden in a jungle, and like the tale of witches, her mother had to go decoding locks on her way to release her. Trapped in a cave in Chihuahua. In a weakened state in a car in the jungle. A psychic lit hundreds of candles imbued with sugar and cinnamon with Dana's name. Another meditated with objects and photographs.
Almost all insisted that she was alive, but not how to get to her. " "We were very confused.There were no clear clues from the psychics, nor the police. Our family was consumed with despair. Our children were awoken by Dana's cries for help, without being able to help her. "
Before traveling to Mexico, Dror visited Uri Geller at his home in London. Geller is world renowned for his psychic powers and, and has been a friend of his for decades. Without promising results, he requested a photo of Dana. He did not give them false hopes, but contacted a multimillionaire who has investigative offices worldwide, assuring them that he might help. "Tell nothing to no one and never give his name," said Dror.
This tycoon was the first person they visited when, in late May, the Rishpys arrived in Mexico. He had already sent a specialist to Cancun. They were confident that that day would have bundles of information that would clarify the record. They hoped Dana would be found alive. The investigator, a bald man, said that he took Dana's photo to all the brothels in the Riviera Maya, and that nobody knew her. He went to groups in the underworld, without obtaining results. Rather than giving him information,they made him wary.
He said that since the first day he arrived in Quintana Roo, he realized that they followed him and took photos. "We urge you to beware. The mafia in Cancun is boiling. Do not say that you are helping Dana's parents. They can kill them. " They will cut their wings.
With more information than the police, he began his slow journey in Mexico. His hands were tied also.
(Part Four)
Silvia Cherem for La Reforma
Mexico City (04 October 2007) . Dror and Dania Rishpy arrived in Mexico in late May. Time was passing and they were tired of mourning long distance. Since there was very little they could do in Israel,they preferred to be at the scene. There, they could put pressure on, and shout to the four winds that their daughter had to appear. They were appalled by the lack of effort in the investigation, and the bureaucratization of the judicial system. The police in Quintana Roo never questioned key witnesses in depth, neither requested the American authorities to have Matthew Ryan Walshin make a statement about the disappearance of their daughter.
Dan, Dana's brother, and her uncle Rafael, who also traveled from Israel, had been in Mexico three weeks between Cancun and Tulum. They too were frustrated with the paralysis of the authorities. With the passage of days, already two long months after her disappearance, clues seemed exhausted.
The Clumsiness of an Investigation
Dana's family was concerned, above all, that questions to witnesses were not incisive. Flor Pastrana, for example,indigenous advocate aged 34, was a friend of Matthew's since 1996. It was she who rented him an apartment for a nominal amount. Apartment number 2 Chemuyil 13, where he took refuge after the disappearance of Dana. She was barely questioned . This woman, who in 2001 stayed at the home of Matthew on Maui, became embroiled in a thicket of contradictions to justify (pages 51 and 52 of the preliminary investigation T-386/2007).
Pastrana declared that on March 31st in the afternoon, the day that Matthew said that Dana "had not returned from the ruins," she met him. He told her that he wanted to move because Vincent, a craftsman, had threatened him.
Mixing interchangeably the names Mirador (Viewpoint) and Caribbean Sea, Flor said that Matthew did not change hotels then, but much later, because "he couldn't deal with everything, his stuff and the girl's (...) and he was wary of leaving the girl's backpack with someone else."
She stated that she read a note from Dana in English which said: "Wait for me, I will return", a note that investigators knew never existed. And if someone claimed that Matthew did not wait long enough, Flor added, "Mati had wanted to wait for the girl longer, but could not deal with the threats of the artisans."
She adds more information. In April, ie, after Dana's disappearance, Matthew bought a truck that was still parked in the front of the apartment that he rented. The public prosecutor never asked her why did she believe that Matthew abandoned his car. Why did he buy a car if he was only using his bike. Also, if she maintained communication with him , and where was the note that she assured that she had read.
"The court acknowledges that Flor lied in her statements, as a blog on the Internet reveals regarding the case (http://yourfreepress.blogspot.com/2007/05/new-evidence-in-rishpy-case.html ); she defends Matthew, almost always anonymously, "says Dror.
The family also was concerned that the police had taken more than a month until May 25 to question Zsolt Fejer, a Hungarian citizen aged 34, a friend of Matthew, tattooed on every inch of his body, who, as already stated and contained in the dossier, sold drugs in Tulum and Playa del Carmen. A group of private investigators who recently took the case said that the "Hungarian", as he is nicknamed, told them that he sold Matthew tablets of ecstasy and LSD.
The investigation that led to "The Hungarian" as a witness was valuable. He appears in the pictures of the party near Dana and the people, where he is well identified. Everyone recognized him as a "friend of Matthew." "When we arrived in Tulum, we questioned why he had not been called yet to testify. The policemen responded that they had failed to identify him. The surprise came when we were leaving the offices of the police. My brother turned around and there, he saw "The Hungarian" himself.
"Surely he is protected. Most likely, he distributes money to the police in order to sell drugs in the area, "says Dania.
The findings of the police were spurious. The first week of May, for example, Dan and Raphael found the car that apparently belonged to Matthew. It was a gray Toyota pickup truck with plate number XPV 605 from Oregon. Police broke the glass and said they had found traces of blood, which would qualify the crime as murder.
The police of Quintana Roo, after securing and guarding the car, ordered on May 10th that the Department of Expert Services conduct a blood test with luminol to certify the findings. In the Mexican and Israeli media, information was widely circulated. There was talk of a clue"conclusive". The family, through Interpol in Jerusalem, sent Dana's hair sample. Her DNA would be compared with the blood that was in the vehicle.
However, the chemist, Arnulfo Mendez, of the Expert Services Branch, conducted three expert opinions that were contradictory. First, on May 10th, he confirmed that on the floor of the rear of the car and at the top of the trunk, there was a presence of blood. Then, that the chemo luminescence reagent was positive in the middle of the door. And finally, three days later, when applying benzidine, noted that there were no traces of human blood.
For Dror, this was either a means of entertaining the press, or a way of "masking the murder. " Dania has an uncle in Germany who is a specialist in DNA. He is internationally famous. He said that it was absolutely absurd that an expert could doubt whether it was human or animal blood, because even with a microscopic sample, it can be determined. Worse still to doubt whether it was blood or not .
The researchers who took the case recently cast doubt on any finding in his car. The only indication that points to Matthew are the dubious statements of Flor, and also in back of the apartment where he was living. There is an area where pigs and poultry are slaughtered for consumption at local restaurants. It is possible that waste products of meat, fat and animal blood had been tracked into the car and that the experts confused it with human blood.
The agony of uncertainty
From Israel, the Rishpys had acted in concert with the Mexican investigators, mobilizing resources and efforts. Their house in Haifa was a cauldron of activity during the entire month of May. The friends of the family and friends of the children ,Dalit (40), Dafna (37) and Dan (35) offered any kind of help.
"There were so many calls and suggestions, we were overwhelmed. We never knew we had so many acquaintances. " A friend of Dania living in Belgium, traveled to Haifa to handle the torrents of information.
With support from investigators, they knew Matthew's whereabouts. He continually moved within the USA. Maui, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Nevada ... Cities where his wealthy mother now remarried , owns property and pays mortgages on behalf of her son. A confidante of Dana's parents contacted Matthew's mother at her home in Las Vegas, and let her know that he was suspected of murder. She listened and said that she would offer no help..
Matthew, for his part, opted for silence. He acted on the advice of his father, Perry Walshin, a lawyer who in his youth defended an accomplice of Charles Manson, murderer of Sharon Tate. Matthew stopped answering e-mails, paying his expenses with credit cards or answering his cell. With a new image as a hippy, his full grown beard seemed outdated. Mati, as he liked to call himself, began to jump from city to city, avoiding any traces.
Faced with the impossibility of finding strong clues , acquaintances of the family began to contact witches, shamans and scholars. One said that Dana was abducted in one of the boats moored in Tulum. "We had to come to the area to see that there were no boats." Another imagined that Dana was traveling on a ship bound for Saudi Arabia to join the harem of a sheik, an explanation more in tune with the culture of the Middle East than with the Mexican reality. One further stated that Dana had fallen from a cliff, and that she was lost in the ocean. " "The Israeli experts who were in Mexico told us that if she had drowned, hundreds of carrion birds would have found her body. In addition, the current would wash ashore bones or pieces of clothing. But, there was nothing. One impossible hypothesis. "
Each proposal opened a sea of possibilities. Possibly in a boat with round windows, held hostage by a woman. Trapped in a forest in Venezuela, drugged against her will. Hidden in a jungle, and like the tale of witches, her mother had to go decoding locks on her way to release her. Trapped in a cave in Chihuahua. In a weakened state in a car in the jungle. A psychic lit hundreds of candles imbued with sugar and cinnamon with Dana's name. Another meditated with objects and photographs.
Almost all insisted that she was alive, but not how to get to her. " "We were very confused.There were no clear clues from the psychics, nor the police. Our family was consumed with despair. Our children were awoken by Dana's cries for help, without being able to help her. "
Before traveling to Mexico, Dror visited Uri Geller at his home in London. Geller is world renowned for his psychic powers and, and has been a friend of his for decades. Without promising results, he requested a photo of Dana. He did not give them false hopes, but contacted a multimillionaire who has investigative offices worldwide, assuring them that he might help. "Tell nothing to no one and never give his name," said Dror.
This tycoon was the first person they visited when, in late May, the Rishpys arrived in Mexico. He had already sent a specialist to Cancun. They were confident that that day would have bundles of information that would clarify the record. They hoped Dana would be found alive. The investigator, a bald man, said that he took Dana's photo to all the brothels in the Riviera Maya, and that nobody knew her. He went to groups in the underworld, without obtaining results. Rather than giving him information,they made him wary.
He said that since the first day he arrived in Quintana Roo, he realized that they followed him and took photos. "We urge you to beware. The mafia in Cancun is boiling. Do not say that you are helping Dana's parents. They can kill them. " They will cut their wings.
With more information than the police, he began his slow journey in Mexico. His hands were tied also.
DANA RISHPY SERIES:PART 3
The Squaring of a Crime
by Silvia CheremMexico City (October 3, 2007)
Dana disappeared in Tulum. Her parents were alarmed by her absence. An American named Mati was the key to knowing more about her. Nevertheless, her disappearance was viewed with suspicion. Police in Quintana Roo did not help much, and the family wanted better results.
The first question that Itzhak Erez, consul of the Israeli embassy in Mexico asked Dror Rishpy when he telephoned him in Israel on April 24th was, whether Mati, just Mati only because nobody even knew his full name, was credible.
For him, Mati was a questionable piece of the puzzle, and now he didn't even respond to emails sent to him. Even so, rather than listening to his intuition, Dror wanted to cling to rationality: "He is totally trust worthy. He is a decent guy who told us about the disappearance of Dana. You should not be wary. "
On May 25, Erez organized several plans of action. He designed a flyer detailing the disappearance of Dana, which included photos, names and contact information, in English, Hebrew and Spanish. They were posted near Cancun and Tulum. An Israeli doctor who lives in Cancun contacted Stern offering to serve as a guide and support in the area. Stern began interviewing Israelis living in the Riviera Maya, in an attempt to obtain information. He sent an email to Mati, who never responded, and reserved a flight to leave that same night for the Federal District in Cancun.
Mark Stern arrived at the airport at midnight. At 5:00 am on May 26th, he departed for Tulum to meet two hours later with Mario Fernando Lira Manzanero, commander of the local Judicial Police. That same morning , he organized a small brigade of volunteers, policemen and journalists to start the search.
They started in the Caribbean Sea, bungalows where they found the backpack. With a photograph of Dana in their hands, they combed the archaeological area, beach ,fishermen and the jungle. They asked at each step if someone had seen or recognized her. They spoke with the people involved and searched for witnesses, attempting to unravel the threads of an unexplained disappearance.
At mid-morning, with no major findings, Mark Itzhak Stern decided to separate from Itzhak Erez to direct a two-pronged investigation: one regarding Dana, and another attempting to locate Mati. With the support of the commander and Lira Aviv Gezonterman, a 32 year old Israeli , who lives in the area and spoke with Dana at the Mezzanine party, Stern began looking for Mati.
Mati was the last person who saw Dana alive, it was he who gave notice of the backpack. He sought him as a witness, not as a suspect.
Findings
Despite the fact that everyone knew Mati in Tulum, the police still did not know his full name. Michaela, owner of a German restaurant Saffron confirmed having seen him the previous night. She was his neighbor, he lived above her apartment, and that night she heard his footsteps, moving furniture, and noise. He caused mistrust. He caused her German shepherd, always quiet, to become nervous.
She led the police to his apartment. The door was open, and they entered without touching anything. Mati, however, was no longer there. Probably, before the mobilization and the leaf letting of Dana's photo throughout the area of Cancun and Tulum. Mati, whose name is Matthew Ryan Walshin, had left a few hours earlier. Precisely when they were searching his room, now empty, he boarded flight 316, U.S. Airways Cancun to San Francisco, via Phoenix. He had been on the Riviera Maya nearly three months, from February 5th until April 26th.
In that small space with a kitchenette, rustic and dirty, littered with cigarette butts everywhere, there were still ice cubes in a refrigerator, cold drinks and a newspaper from Miami dated April 25, the day before.
He paid his bill through April 28th to Flor Pastrana Flores, his friend since 1996 and owner of that apartment in the village, on federal highway Tulum-Playa del Carmen and behind the nightclub Cabaret. He paid a symbolic amount. Only thousand 100 pesos for almost 15 days. He had taken refuge there a couple of weeks ago, when he left the hotel Caribbean Sea, after leaving Dana's backpack in charge of the hotel receptionist.
Matthew Ryan Walshin, who fled from justice, became the prime suspect. On the floor of the apartment, in his haste to leave, he left his driver's license issued in Los Angeles, California. It revealed his photograph, fingerprint, address in the United States and personal data. He was not 32 years old, as he told Dana, but 38 (born December 22, 1968).
From Israel, the Rishpys hired a group of soldiers who specialize in finding bodies in disaster areas. While their hope was that their daughter was kidnapped or drugged against her will, the group was sent to see if she had drowned or died falling from a cliff. They arrived in Tulum in the first days of May, and, since they did not speak Spanish, they were accompanied by Dan, Dana's brother, who lived in Spain.
Besides looking at pieces of clothing and bones in the vicinity of the beach, they examined tiny objects in the jungle with thoroughly trained dogs, studied sea currents and constantly questioned people about Dana and Matthew. Information flowed in droplets. In fact, it was almost zero.
"As for the Mexican police, they did not like the foreign investigators in the area and drove them off. Unknowingly, they made a mistake. "
Dan learned that a young photographer spoke about the weekly party at the Mezzanine. sent He reviewed his photos from March 30, and found several pictures of Dana. She was sitting back watching the show of Afroamerican drummers. taking pictures, walking alone, chatting with Steven William Miller, uncle or cousin Matthew, of whom nothing is reported in the police investigation. Dana is wearing a long sleeved green and black sweatshirt and black trousers. She is carrying her camera on her belt.
Dan noted that none of these objects sweatshirt, trousers or camera were in his sister's backpack, now,in the custody of the police. He concluded that in the heat of Tulum, which exceeds 40 degrees Celsius at noon, Dana could not have gone on March 31st wearing those clothes. If she really left for the ruins at 11:30, in the words of Matthew in one of his emails, she would have worn shorts and a short-sleeved shirt Additionally, she would have put those same clothes from the night before in her backpack.
Also, he noted that,as obsessive as she was about protecting herself from the sun's rays, she would have taken a hat and sunscreen, which were still packed.
Matthew had lied. Dana disappeared on the night of March 30, after the party at the Mezzanine, and not, as Matthew said, the morning of March 31st. Dana never went to the ruins, everything suggests that Dana died that night.
Lines of Investigation
The Public Prosecutor's Office began to take statements from potential witnesses. In each of the testimonies that are recorded in the preliminary investigation T-386/2006 the name "Matt" or "Matio" appears: a man tan and thin, with a thick beard, long blond curls and drugged out blue eyes. Almost every person interviewed described him as problematic and questionable.
Olaf, an employee of Don Cafeto, remembered him accosting some female Argentine tourists. Zsolt, a Hungarian who was his friend, said that "Matthew" had "problems with women" because he sought to have sex with them against their will. Yaad, a former girlfriend, stated that Matthew was impotent and was always stoned on marijuana and ecstasy tablets. Another young woman anonymously noted that Mati continuously stalked her.
The testimony of Scott, an American who on his own volition traveled to Mexico to give a statement regarding the disappearance of Dana, is revealing. This disciple of the psychic Ann Brennan, author of "Hands that heal," said that on April 4th, he chatted with Matthew on the beach.
They spoke of real estate and their shared desire to buy properties in the area. Scott recounted that day, that Matthew began to talk about a girl that he had met, who had gone to the ruins and had never returned.
He said her backpack was "impeccably organized," and he sought to show it to Scott. Scott questioned him as to why he had not given the backpack to the police. He Insisted that there something was wrong, because five days had passed. Matthew replied, "I am afraid of telling them because then they might suspect me."
A couple of days later, around 23:00 am, well into the night, Matthew arrived frightened at Scott's bungalow. Disheveled, he, insisted that he did not know what to do with the backpack. He alluded to the passport, a thousand dollars, which the girl left in a yellow card and contact details of her parents. Scott shifted the burden. "Go to the Police." Matthew refused.
Scattered and anxious, speaking incoherently. His anguish was eased only when he left. Then, he would seek council from his father, a lawyer in Los Angeles.
Scott said that Matthew never returned to see him. He said that Mati harassed women and that on one occasion, a man chased him on the beach to beat him. "I get the hunch that he is unstable, unbalanced and in need of care," he concluded.
A couple of weeks later, with the assistance of Interpol, the Mexican police entered into the record file number DGAPII/5315/07 that Matthew Ryan Walshin had an extensive criminal history in the United States. The office of Sheriff of the county of Santa Cruz and Lakeport records state that in 1989 Matthew was charged with rape, resisting and obstructing a police officer and contempt of court. In 1990, he was charged again for rape and sexual assault, and sentenced to five years' probation and 180 days in jail.
In 1993, he relapsed, and was accused of sexual assault in Santa Cruz, and later in San Francisco. (Source: Silvia Cherem / newspaper Reforma)
Octubre 3, 2007 08:20 AM October 3, 2007 08:20 AM
Saturday, October 27, 2007
DANA RISHPY SERIES: PART 2
The Wrong Target (Part Two)
Silvia Cherem
Mexico City (Oct. 2, 2007)
Dania Rishpy hung up the phone on April 7 and wrote her daughter an e-mail: "Dear Dana: a boy who is called Mati called us to tell us that he left your bag at the reception desk. He said that he had to go. Please call or send us an email to know how you are. "
She had communicated with her family by e-mail 10 days before, on March 28th. She seemed happy.
She reported that she had been in Cancun, in a small hotel where she met people "really cute" on the 27th, two Frenchmen, and 28th, a German, who toured the beaches of Cancun that she photographed. She sent the pictures. On the 29th, she thought about going to Isla Mujeres, where, she wrote, she would surely find many Israelis. " She said, "I still did not see Israelis, but all other tourists are wonderful." Three times she mentioned the words "very nice people." In hindsight, Dana seems naive.
"Many of the Israeli backpackers lower their guard when traveling. They feel that far from the Middle East, they are out of danger. They need to relieve their tension, and to hear young people, build relationships and live intensely, without concern, breaking down vigilance maintained at home. They think that all will be good, "explains David Dafni,a representative in Mexico.
In New York, Dania continually checked their e-mail, awaiting news from her daughter, but the days passed and there was no response. "Dana, please take care of yourself and contact us. Do not forget to put on sun screen. We love you. " "Dana: What's happening? Why haven't we heard from you? Call us. "
Intuitive as they say women are, this mother tried not to be alarmed. "I understand that when you are traveling, it is sometimes difficult to communicate. While we camped in Patagonia, we had no contact with the family for just over two weeks. I was not worried. I was comfortable thinking. "No news is good news ". I believed that if something had happened, we would have heard. "
Dania was one of those who believed that her family was shielded with a mantle of luck. "During the last war, from our apartment, we saw the whole of northern Israel, to the mountains of Lebanon. When Hezbolláh attacked, we listened to the sirens, and Dana and I ran to the basement shelter. We only stayed a few minutes, then curious, we went to see from the terrace where the bomb had fallen. She believed that the bad things only happened to others. "
However, in New York, she began to have strange premonitions that something was going to happen. "I have never felt anything like this, it was inexplicable." I felt that this life had been "too good" and imagined the impending death of someone. She thought of her parents, with more than nine decades of life.
Dror, to whom she confessed her concern, was worried about their son Dan, a resident of Valencia. "I called so many times that I was left feeling uneasy. For our heads, we never thought that the problem would be Dana. " On Sunday, April 15, Dania checked e -mail shared by family members. She noted that Dana had not used her e- mail for two weeks. Messages were still unopened. They had accumulated. Dania recognized all senders: Israeli friends, family, cousins scattered around the world. One, however, immediately caught her attention: "Flower Power." When she opened it, she thought that nickname could refer to hippies or drugs.
"Dana is a vegetarian since age 4. She is always concerned about healthy living, does not support cigarettes or alcohol. She would not wear anything from animal skin, much less tolerate people who consume drugs. It was strange to relate to someone with that nickname. "
The e-mail was from Mati. At 16:45 am on April 7, after speaking with Rishpy, "Flower Power" wrote to Dana: "Hello, I am going to the Caribbean Sea. Your bags will be with the receptionist. It's Saturday and I have to move on. I hope you have a good trip. Take care. Mati."
"Where is the Caribbean Sea?" Dania entered into Google to find out whether it was the name of a hotel in Cancun. There were more than 800,000 references, nothing precise. Also, she had the phone number of Mati. They did not call. Dror, the father of Dana, chose to write: "Hi, Mati. Until now we have not heard of Dana. Do you have any idea where she could be? Please, please, because we are beginning to worry. Thank you very much for your help. Dania and Dror. "
That same day, Mati replied: "Hello, Dror, I am Mati. I have not seen or heard anything about Dana from Saturday March 31. She mentioned that she met a young Australian in Isla Mujeres before coming to Tulum. It was assumed that I was going to find her at 1:00 on Saturday, 31st in the bungalow. The last time I saw her was at 11:30am this Saturday. She was going to go to the ruins, possibly with some young people from Quebec. I never saw her at 1:00, so I left a note on the door for her to meet me 200 meters from there, on a camping site on the beach that she knew from the day before. Sorry, but I have no more information. Take care. Mati. "
The information fell like a deluge. It was the first time in their life they heard the word Tulum. They knew nothing of its lush forests, archaeological sites and sacred places. The ideas began to turn in their minds. If from March 31st Mati had not seen Dana, why was it not reported until April 7, one week later? Why did he not sound the alarm? Why, despite opening the bag and finding the phone number of her parents, and knowing that there was money, documents and all her personal items, he did not call immediately? However, they tried to calm down; He was their only source of information, and they preferred to cling to the hope of optimism. Dana certainly was alright.
Dror sent Mati another message and asked the name of the cabin in Tulum, and if he knew of any other person who had been in contact with Dana. On April 16, Dror received the second message from Mati. "The cottages are called Caribbean Sea. They are on the beach north of Tulum, next to the ruins. I do not have the name of anyone. Take care. Mati. " Again they searched on the Internet and did not find a hotel with the name of the Caribbean Sea.
They resumed communication: "Do you have the address, telephone or e-mail? We want to know if Dana picked up her backpack that you left at the reception ... Mati seemed closed. He never said he was still in Tulum, did not provide any evidence of his identity or showed the slightest intention to help find Dana.
On April 21st, with short language and brief communication, he replied for the last time: "I do not have any info on the Caribbean Sea, but it is next to Don Cafeto. Perhaps that will be useful." Everything smelled bad. That day, Dania and Dror flew back to Israel. They departed bound for Tel Aviv and not Mexico. They thought that there, they could have better results with the support of acquaintances and the Missing Persons Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. " Without speaking Spanish without knowing anyone what we were going to do in Mexico? Stand on the beach in Tulum crying, to shout that our daughter disappeared? ".
On April 23rd, the Rishpys searched the internet for a phone number of the Judicial Police of Tulum. An officer named Paul responded. It was he who on the 24th went with a team of policemen to the Caribbean Sea cabins, located on the beach, in the archeological zone. His intention was to make a tour of the dozen rustic bungalows with sand floors, made of wood, without electricity and roof guano, to investigate whether Dana was there.
Sergio Canul, receptionist and in charge of the place, which only carries a record of the first names of their guests, denied the presence of the Israeli and confirmed that her black backpack with green and turquoise markings, had been left there for 17 days.
The face of fate
That same day, with the discovery of the backpack,was just the beginning of the first page of the judicial record. They had already spent 25 long days since the disappearance of Dana. That day, too, the Israeli embassy in Mexico and the media, Mexican and Israelis would have the first information about the case.
All Dana 's belongings"from shoes and clothes, to her toothbrush," perfectly arranged in clean bags were stored inside the backpack. In another package was a smaller envelope, with eight "travelers checks" of $ 100, her Mastercard, her ticket back to Tel Aviv, her passports "Israeli, German (by the nationality of her mother) and the Economic Community European, "a coupon and a couple of journals written in Hebrew.
Dana was obsessive in recording every moment of her life. At her home in Haifa, she had dozens of newspapers, photographs and letters, including a diary of all her dreams ." She had up to five or six per night. Her mother, shocked by many testimonies documenting and opening her life recently joked with her. "Oh, Dana, documents every moment as if she were going to die soon." At that moment, she laughed. Today, the heart of Dania reflects on that premonition.
On the last page of the diary today in possession of the Judicial Police, Dana wrote in Hebrew on March 30, probably the last day of his life. "I went to Isla Mujeres and took a boat back to Cancun, two trucks and a taxi, and I find myself on the beach in Tulum, which is out of this world. "
She says that, on the bus to Tulum, she met two Swiss and an American who rode to Playa del Carmen. They confirmed what they feared. Tulum was crowded with tourists. She continued, "We took a taxi together to the beach.
It was the last time anyone saw her, perhaps her last night. "How lucky I am!" , was the last thing she wrote, but luck is only one side of chance. The arrow gave its destination to the wrong target.
Silvia Cherem
Mexico City (Oct. 2, 2007)
Dania Rishpy hung up the phone on April 7 and wrote her daughter an e-mail: "Dear Dana: a boy who is called Mati called us to tell us that he left your bag at the reception desk. He said that he had to go. Please call or send us an email to know how you are. "
She had communicated with her family by e-mail 10 days before, on March 28th. She seemed happy.
She reported that she had been in Cancun, in a small hotel where she met people "really cute" on the 27th, two Frenchmen, and 28th, a German, who toured the beaches of Cancun that she photographed. She sent the pictures. On the 29th, she thought about going to Isla Mujeres, where, she wrote, she would surely find many Israelis. " She said, "I still did not see Israelis, but all other tourists are wonderful." Three times she mentioned the words "very nice people." In hindsight, Dana seems naive.
"Many of the Israeli backpackers lower their guard when traveling. They feel that far from the Middle East, they are out of danger. They need to relieve their tension, and to hear young people, build relationships and live intensely, without concern, breaking down vigilance maintained at home. They think that all will be good, "explains David Dafni,a representative in Mexico.
In New York, Dania continually checked their e-mail, awaiting news from her daughter, but the days passed and there was no response. "Dana, please take care of yourself and contact us. Do not forget to put on sun screen. We love you. " "Dana: What's happening? Why haven't we heard from you? Call us. "
Intuitive as they say women are, this mother tried not to be alarmed. "I understand that when you are traveling, it is sometimes difficult to communicate. While we camped in Patagonia, we had no contact with the family for just over two weeks. I was not worried. I was comfortable thinking. "No news is good news ". I believed that if something had happened, we would have heard. "
Dania was one of those who believed that her family was shielded with a mantle of luck. "During the last war, from our apartment, we saw the whole of northern Israel, to the mountains of Lebanon. When Hezbolláh attacked, we listened to the sirens, and Dana and I ran to the basement shelter. We only stayed a few minutes, then curious, we went to see from the terrace where the bomb had fallen. She believed that the bad things only happened to others. "
However, in New York, she began to have strange premonitions that something was going to happen. "I have never felt anything like this, it was inexplicable." I felt that this life had been "too good" and imagined the impending death of someone. She thought of her parents, with more than nine decades of life.
Dror, to whom she confessed her concern, was worried about their son Dan, a resident of Valencia. "I called so many times that I was left feeling uneasy. For our heads, we never thought that the problem would be Dana. " On Sunday, April 15, Dania checked e -mail shared by family members. She noted that Dana had not used her e- mail for two weeks. Messages were still unopened. They had accumulated. Dania recognized all senders: Israeli friends, family, cousins scattered around the world. One, however, immediately caught her attention: "Flower Power." When she opened it, she thought that nickname could refer to hippies or drugs.
"Dana is a vegetarian since age 4. She is always concerned about healthy living, does not support cigarettes or alcohol. She would not wear anything from animal skin, much less tolerate people who consume drugs. It was strange to relate to someone with that nickname. "
The e-mail was from Mati. At 16:45 am on April 7, after speaking with Rishpy, "Flower Power" wrote to Dana: "Hello, I am going to the Caribbean Sea. Your bags will be with the receptionist. It's Saturday and I have to move on. I hope you have a good trip. Take care. Mati."
"Where is the Caribbean Sea?" Dania entered into Google to find out whether it was the name of a hotel in Cancun. There were more than 800,000 references, nothing precise. Also, she had the phone number of Mati. They did not call. Dror, the father of Dana, chose to write: "Hi, Mati. Until now we have not heard of Dana. Do you have any idea where she could be? Please, please, because we are beginning to worry. Thank you very much for your help. Dania and Dror. "
That same day, Mati replied: "Hello, Dror, I am Mati. I have not seen or heard anything about Dana from Saturday March 31. She mentioned that she met a young Australian in Isla Mujeres before coming to Tulum. It was assumed that I was going to find her at 1:00 on Saturday, 31st in the bungalow. The last time I saw her was at 11:30am this Saturday. She was going to go to the ruins, possibly with some young people from Quebec. I never saw her at 1:00, so I left a note on the door for her to meet me 200 meters from there, on a camping site on the beach that she knew from the day before. Sorry, but I have no more information. Take care. Mati. "
The information fell like a deluge. It was the first time in their life they heard the word Tulum. They knew nothing of its lush forests, archaeological sites and sacred places. The ideas began to turn in their minds. If from March 31st Mati had not seen Dana, why was it not reported until April 7, one week later? Why did he not sound the alarm? Why, despite opening the bag and finding the phone number of her parents, and knowing that there was money, documents and all her personal items, he did not call immediately? However, they tried to calm down; He was their only source of information, and they preferred to cling to the hope of optimism. Dana certainly was alright.
Dror sent Mati another message and asked the name of the cabin in Tulum, and if he knew of any other person who had been in contact with Dana. On April 16, Dror received the second message from Mati. "The cottages are called Caribbean Sea. They are on the beach north of Tulum, next to the ruins. I do not have the name of anyone. Take care. Mati. " Again they searched on the Internet and did not find a hotel with the name of the Caribbean Sea.
They resumed communication: "Do you have the address, telephone or e-mail? We want to know if Dana picked up her backpack that you left at the reception ... Mati seemed closed. He never said he was still in Tulum, did not provide any evidence of his identity or showed the slightest intention to help find Dana.
On April 21st, with short language and brief communication, he replied for the last time: "I do not have any info on the Caribbean Sea, but it is next to Don Cafeto. Perhaps that will be useful." Everything smelled bad. That day, Dania and Dror flew back to Israel. They departed bound for Tel Aviv and not Mexico. They thought that there, they could have better results with the support of acquaintances and the Missing Persons Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. " Without speaking Spanish without knowing anyone what we were going to do in Mexico? Stand on the beach in Tulum crying, to shout that our daughter disappeared? ".
On April 23rd, the Rishpys searched the internet for a phone number of the Judicial Police of Tulum. An officer named Paul responded. It was he who on the 24th went with a team of policemen to the Caribbean Sea cabins, located on the beach, in the archeological zone. His intention was to make a tour of the dozen rustic bungalows with sand floors, made of wood, without electricity and roof guano, to investigate whether Dana was there.
Sergio Canul, receptionist and in charge of the place, which only carries a record of the first names of their guests, denied the presence of the Israeli and confirmed that her black backpack with green and turquoise markings, had been left there for 17 days.
The face of fate
That same day, with the discovery of the backpack,was just the beginning of the first page of the judicial record. They had already spent 25 long days since the disappearance of Dana. That day, too, the Israeli embassy in Mexico and the media, Mexican and Israelis would have the first information about the case.
All Dana 's belongings"from shoes and clothes, to her toothbrush," perfectly arranged in clean bags were stored inside the backpack. In another package was a smaller envelope, with eight "travelers checks" of $ 100, her Mastercard, her ticket back to Tel Aviv, her passports "Israeli, German (by the nationality of her mother) and the Economic Community European, "a coupon and a couple of journals written in Hebrew.
Dana was obsessive in recording every moment of her life. At her home in Haifa, she had dozens of newspapers, photographs and letters, including a diary of all her dreams ." She had up to five or six per night. Her mother, shocked by many testimonies documenting and opening her life recently joked with her. "Oh, Dana, documents every moment as if she were going to die soon." At that moment, she laughed. Today, the heart of Dania reflects on that premonition.
On the last page of the diary today in possession of the Judicial Police, Dana wrote in Hebrew on March 30, probably the last day of his life. "I went to Isla Mujeres and took a boat back to Cancun, two trucks and a taxi, and I find myself on the beach in Tulum, which is out of this world. "
She says that, on the bus to Tulum, she met two Swiss and an American who rode to Playa del Carmen. They confirmed what they feared. Tulum was crowded with tourists. She continued, "We took a taxi together to the beach.
The Swiss found a cabin, and I accepted the offer of the American to share his. His name is Mati, he is from Santa Monica. He is 32 years old. He has lived here for two months, working in real estate. I do not know his intentions, but I do not want anything to do with him; At least until he takes a bath and cuts his hair. He seems friendly, but he stinks. "
She refers to Mati as being kind to her when she told him of her experience in Isla Mujeres.
There, Dana had met some youth, who she wanted to make friends and was rejected. She added, "It's incredible how everything can change in one day. Today, I am happy to be here and not having to stay in Isla Mujeres another night . " She wrote, she would go to a bar with live music at night. Her story finishes off with a lapidary sentence: "What a good fortune to meet a guy like Mati, who knows this place!" .
That night, Dana and Mati went to a beach party that was organized every Friday at the Hotel Mezzanine. According to statements by Israelis, Americans and Mexicans, Dana was there. They saw her taking photos including some that documented her last final minutes.
It was the last time anyone saw her, perhaps her last night. "How lucky I am!" , was the last thing she wrote, but luck is only one side of chance. The arrow gave its destination to the wrong target.
Friday, October 26, 2007
"YOU'RE DOIN' A FINE JOB BROWNIE"
Looks like NYPD point man, Paul Browne would like to do away with Press Pass credentials. The press pass has been a coveted tool for covering stories in New York City. It allows a journalist access to events that the general public is excluded from. Now if Mr. Browne has his way, then one would surmise that "news" coverage would be reduced to a single voice. That of the governing agency. This has been quite effective in China, Russia and other dictatorships.
See Browne rant in this video.
See Browne rant in this video.
DANA RISHPY SERIES: PART 1
"Confirmed: disappeared." CIUDAD DE MEXICO, MX. October 1, 2007
Dana wanted to go to Patagonia with her parents, but made the decision too late, and it was not possible to include her in the tour. She found a ticket to Cancun round trip for only 120 dollars and decided to travel to the Mexican Caribbean, with the marvelous beaches, but never imagining the nightmare that awaited her and her family.
The first call was received by her parents on April 7.
A young man telephoned the Rishpy's apartment in New York; The number was recorded in Dana's diary. Dania, the mother answered. It was a brief exchange, seemingly trivial.
. "I am Mati, I met your daughter She left her backpack with me and I got to go."
He did not say where or when they met, or his full name or where he had to go. Her parents did not ask. "Leave it in the hotel lobby reception. Please make a note so she knows where to find her things when she returns. " For Rishpy the call was irrelevant. Her daughter, a young highly predictable, and sensible girl, surely she had left for some sight seeing at the ruins, perhaps to Chichen Itza, and would return in the afternoon. Nothing to worry about.
Dana, of Israeli and German nationality, had traveled to Cancun on March 26 from Los Angeles. She was the youngest of the family. She was born more than 10 years after her three older siblings and grew up as the baby adored by her parents. She traveled with them They were tireless adventurers They had traveled through various corners of the world. And now both retired Dror was an El Al pilot for over 35 years, Dania, a travel agent, enjoyed knowing exotic places. Twice a year, they stayed in a house on the island of Menorca and in their apartment in New York City.
It was not the first time that Dana was traveling alone. At the conclusion of her military service, compulsory in Israel, Dana visited Thailand. And now, after her trip to San Francisco, where she was looking for a computer animation school, arrived in Mexico eager to meet other people and enjoy the sun and the beach. Initially she wanted to go to South America, but her parents advised against it.
. "It seemed that it might be dangerous for a young woman traveling alone."
She, then found a cheap ticket to Cancun and, as if destiny was on track, her parents gave her permission to travel. ""We had been there 30 years ago, and the image of a secure paradise stayed in our memory."
Dana, a swirl of energy, wanted to take a rest from her numerous activities of sports and artistic projects. In Israel, the whole world knew her. For four years, she dubbed voices for children's programs on Israeli TV.
Specifically, she was the voice of Sakura Kinomoto, the heroine of the popular Japanese series "Cardcaptor Sakura". Israeli children from 7 to 15 were fascinated by this character. There is even a Web site for Sakura and a regular group of fans.
She was also trained and won first place in a 100 meter race. She then moved her footsteps to learn animation techniques hoping to work in Pixar/ Walt Disney films as a producer. She also began a promising career as a singer.
With an inexhaustible imagination, a few months before leaving Israel she wrote a rock song with her friend Boaz Peleg. They made a home video filmed in the garden of her home, which is posted on YouTube (www.youtube.com / watch? v = I0hPuEpm9uE). This was not only popular, because nearly a thousand Israelis saw her video in a week. But it prompted a call from a producer who invited her to compose more songs, to launch her career.
In a paradox of destiny, more than 300,000 people have viewed her video after her disappearance. In her video,Dana is wearing a black shirt with the words "Alive" (alive). Determined and beautiful, with an overwhelming personality, she sings to the young men to leave her in peace, that they should enable her to breathe. Aludía a Ofer, Yoni, Tomer, Eyal, Dor, Ronnie y Chagai. Aludía to Ofer, Yoni, Tomer, Eyal, Dor, Ronnie and Chagai. In words that now fly like dried leaves, the seductive Dana sang her desire for freedom, she did not want to be tied to anyone. She wanted to be a new girl to dance and live without any load: "I am just a girl, and there are many others, if love appeared, I would recognize it... Let me in peace."
Tired of superficial relations, Dana appeared to anticipate that, far from Israel, on the other side of the world, a man in the wrong place, would leave her breathless and lifeless ... Despite her brimming desire to live.
Cancun, a date with destiny
Dania and Dror, parents of Dana, left Israel to Patagonia at the end of January 2007.
Despite being 70 and 63 years, respectively, they would go to backpack for two weeks in the area of El Calafate, walking with a team of experts on the trail in Perito Moreno, enjoying breathtaking views of lakes, glacial formations and landslides . "Certainly we are more adventurous than any of our four children. Dana decided too late that she wanted to come with us, and it was not possible to include her. The group was closed. "
The night before leaving, the last to be shared with Dana, her home was ablaze with activity. Israeli journalists were there to interview Dror Rishpy. He enjoyed being celebrity for a day, and never imagined that as a paradox of destiny, upon his return to Israel, again found the press at home. This time, for reasons unexpected, devastating.
The newly released film "The Last King of Scotland.", was shown in Israel that January. Dror Rishpy had been the personal pilot of Idi Amin from 1965 to 1967. Following the independence of the African country, Israel gave intelligence and military assistance to Uganda. Journalists sought to review the past.
Dror, who had not seen the film, said that, before Amin became the macabre and evil tyrannical dictator, Idi Amin was like a child who liked to be amused and laugh. Daily, he asked to fly over the savanna frightening lions and elephants, which ran terrified at the sound of the plane and the wind that originated in it's wake. The then chief of the Armed Forces of Uganda once wanted to fly beside a buffalo to see it bombed by plane from the air. When, after much discussion, he became convinced that they could crash, he gave a gun to his son to shoot and kill the animal. He then shot him, and embracing their prey, traveled on satisfied.
"To Dana these stories were always entertaining. Being girlish seemed to be fascinating, and she has always been a little child, "confesses Dania, who, unlike Dror, still talks about her in the present tense. "She was 25 years old, but seemed, 16. We loved her tenderness and innocence: collection of stuffed animals and Care Bears, she enjoyed children's movies and liked to play at being my baby. She hugged me all the time. We are so close. I do not know if I can survive without her. "
While they went to Patagonia, Dana would travel to the United States. Dror and Dania found themselves mid-March in New York City. They would enjoy a couple of weeks together, attending concerts, listening to operas, visiting art exhibitions.
Dana departed from Tel Aviv to New York in February. She had already completed a course in animation at the Open University of Israel in Ramat Hasharon, Kfar Hayarok, and was skilled in managing the software Photoshop and Freehand She wanted to find a school to improve her animation techniques in the United States.
First, she stayed a couple of weeks in New York, learning photography in the studio of Ron Habib, a friend of the family. He has documented scenes of war in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan for Time magazine. From there, she left for San Francisco, where she found a couple of Animation Schools. One of which, after taking advice from their parents, she applied to. Finally she visited with some cousins of her mother in Los Angeles. "She discovered that part of the family, and stayed there a couple of weeks," said Dania.
Dania and Dror expected Dana to return to New York, speaking on a daily basis with her. She equivocated whether she wanted to stay in Los Angeles or travel to the warm climate of South America. It was then that she found the $ 120 ticket to Cancun. "Anything was better than the cold," she said. She did not know that she was wrong. (Source: Silvia Cherem / Reforma)
Dana wanted to go to Patagonia with her parents, but made the decision too late, and it was not possible to include her in the tour. She found a ticket to Cancun round trip for only 120 dollars and decided to travel to the Mexican Caribbean, with the marvelous beaches, but never imagining the nightmare that awaited her and her family.
The first call was received by her parents on April 7.
A young man telephoned the Rishpy's apartment in New York; The number was recorded in Dana's diary. Dania, the mother answered. It was a brief exchange, seemingly trivial.
. "I am Mati, I met your daughter She left her backpack with me and I got to go."
He did not say where or when they met, or his full name or where he had to go. Her parents did not ask. "Leave it in the hotel lobby reception. Please make a note so she knows where to find her things when she returns. " For Rishpy the call was irrelevant. Her daughter, a young highly predictable, and sensible girl, surely she had left for some sight seeing at the ruins, perhaps to Chichen Itza, and would return in the afternoon. Nothing to worry about.
Dana, of Israeli and German nationality, had traveled to Cancun on March 26 from Los Angeles. She was the youngest of the family. She was born more than 10 years after her three older siblings and grew up as the baby adored by her parents. She traveled with them They were tireless adventurers They had traveled through various corners of the world. And now both retired Dror was an El Al pilot for over 35 years, Dania, a travel agent, enjoyed knowing exotic places. Twice a year, they stayed in a house on the island of Menorca and in their apartment in New York City.
It was not the first time that Dana was traveling alone. At the conclusion of her military service, compulsory in Israel, Dana visited Thailand. And now, after her trip to San Francisco, where she was looking for a computer animation school, arrived in Mexico eager to meet other people and enjoy the sun and the beach. Initially she wanted to go to South America, but her parents advised against it.
. "It seemed that it might be dangerous for a young woman traveling alone."
She, then found a cheap ticket to Cancun and, as if destiny was on track, her parents gave her permission to travel. ""We had been there 30 years ago, and the image of a secure paradise stayed in our memory."
Dana, a swirl of energy, wanted to take a rest from her numerous activities of sports and artistic projects. In Israel, the whole world knew her. For four years, she dubbed voices for children's programs on Israeli TV.
Specifically, she was the voice of Sakura Kinomoto, the heroine of the popular Japanese series "Cardcaptor Sakura". Israeli children from 7 to 15 were fascinated by this character. There is even a Web site for Sakura and a regular group of fans.
She was also trained and won first place in a 100 meter race. She then moved her footsteps to learn animation techniques hoping to work in Pixar/ Walt Disney films as a producer. She also began a promising career as a singer.
With an inexhaustible imagination, a few months before leaving Israel she wrote a rock song with her friend Boaz Peleg. They made a home video filmed in the garden of her home, which is posted on YouTube (www.youtube.com / watch? v = I0hPuEpm9uE). This was not only popular, because nearly a thousand Israelis saw her video in a week. But it prompted a call from a producer who invited her to compose more songs, to launch her career.
In a paradox of destiny, more than 300,000 people have viewed her video after her disappearance. In her video,Dana is wearing a black shirt with the words "Alive" (alive). Determined and beautiful, with an overwhelming personality, she sings to the young men to leave her in peace, that they should enable her to breathe. Aludía a Ofer, Yoni, Tomer, Eyal, Dor, Ronnie y Chagai. Aludía to Ofer, Yoni, Tomer, Eyal, Dor, Ronnie and Chagai. In words that now fly like dried leaves, the seductive Dana sang her desire for freedom, she did not want to be tied to anyone. She wanted to be a new girl to dance and live without any load: "I am just a girl, and there are many others, if love appeared, I would recognize it... Let me in peace."
Tired of superficial relations, Dana appeared to anticipate that, far from Israel, on the other side of the world, a man in the wrong place, would leave her breathless and lifeless ... Despite her brimming desire to live.
Cancun, a date with destiny
Dania and Dror, parents of Dana, left Israel to Patagonia at the end of January 2007.
Despite being 70 and 63 years, respectively, they would go to backpack for two weeks in the area of El Calafate, walking with a team of experts on the trail in Perito Moreno, enjoying breathtaking views of lakes, glacial formations and landslides . "Certainly we are more adventurous than any of our four children. Dana decided too late that she wanted to come with us, and it was not possible to include her. The group was closed. "
The night before leaving, the last to be shared with Dana, her home was ablaze with activity. Israeli journalists were there to interview Dror Rishpy. He enjoyed being celebrity for a day, and never imagined that as a paradox of destiny, upon his return to Israel, again found the press at home. This time, for reasons unexpected, devastating.
The newly released film "The Last King of Scotland.", was shown in Israel that January. Dror Rishpy had been the personal pilot of Idi Amin from 1965 to 1967. Following the independence of the African country, Israel gave intelligence and military assistance to Uganda. Journalists sought to review the past.
Dror, who had not seen the film, said that, before Amin became the macabre and evil tyrannical dictator, Idi Amin was like a child who liked to be amused and laugh. Daily, he asked to fly over the savanna frightening lions and elephants, which ran terrified at the sound of the plane and the wind that originated in it's wake. The then chief of the Armed Forces of Uganda once wanted to fly beside a buffalo to see it bombed by plane from the air. When, after much discussion, he became convinced that they could crash, he gave a gun to his son to shoot and kill the animal. He then shot him, and embracing their prey, traveled on satisfied.
"To Dana these stories were always entertaining. Being girlish seemed to be fascinating, and she has always been a little child, "confesses Dania, who, unlike Dror, still talks about her in the present tense. "She was 25 years old, but seemed, 16. We loved her tenderness and innocence: collection of stuffed animals and Care Bears, she enjoyed children's movies and liked to play at being my baby. She hugged me all the time. We are so close. I do not know if I can survive without her. "
While they went to Patagonia, Dana would travel to the United States. Dror and Dania found themselves mid-March in New York City. They would enjoy a couple of weeks together, attending concerts, listening to operas, visiting art exhibitions.
Dana departed from Tel Aviv to New York in February. She had already completed a course in animation at the Open University of Israel in Ramat Hasharon, Kfar Hayarok, and was skilled in managing the software Photoshop and Freehand She wanted to find a school to improve her animation techniques in the United States.
First, she stayed a couple of weeks in New York, learning photography in the studio of Ron Habib, a friend of the family. He has documented scenes of war in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan for Time magazine. From there, she left for San Francisco, where she found a couple of Animation Schools. One of which, after taking advice from their parents, she applied to. Finally she visited with some cousins of her mother in Los Angeles. "She discovered that part of the family, and stayed there a couple of weeks," said Dania.
Dania and Dror expected Dana to return to New York, speaking on a daily basis with her. She equivocated whether she wanted to stay in Los Angeles or travel to the warm climate of South America. It was then that she found the $ 120 ticket to Cancun. "Anything was better than the cold," she said. She did not know that she was wrong. (Source: Silvia Cherem / Reforma)
DANA RISHPY SERIES: PART 1
Famed Mexican journalist, Silvia Cherem (shown in photo) has written a six part series regarding the disappearance of Dana Rishpy. It is with great pride that we are able to provide it to you. The article originally appeared in the leading Mexican paper, LA REFORMA.PART 1
DANA RISHPY CONFIRMED MISSING
By Silvia Cherem
Grupo Reforma
Dana Rishpy traveled to Cancun to escape the cold New York weather and what she found was death.
Although her body was never found or evidence of a homicide, Dror and Dania parents of the young Israeli have no doubt that she was murdered somewhere in the Riviera Maya, on the night of March 30.
Their certainty is well founded. For four months of despair, they undertook the desperate but unsuccessful search for their daughter. Throughout this time, they managed to identify and locate the prime suspect: Matthew Ryan Walshin, an American citizen with a history of criminal sexual offenses.
The pain over the loss of their daughter joined the frustration and hopelessness of negligent and at times deceitful actions of the authorities of Quintana Roo, especially the Attorney Bello Melchor Rodriguez.
The state officials not only demeaned the clues about the crime, but decided to make it a matter of youthful immaturity, underscoring without any evidence that the girl disappeared as a person " conflicted and drug addicted", and went happily " with her bridegroom " to Belize and the Honduras.
"Everything was absolutely untrue. Dana is still unaccounted for. Surely, Dana does not exist any more, "regrets Dror Rishpy, interviewed shortly before returning to Israel. He was desolated that he could not even provide a decent funeral for his daughter.
From today , we present this story, which moves from a young crime victim, to the neglect by the authorities. And finally, to the anguish of her parents.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
OPEN LETTER TO MATTHEW WALSHIN AND FRIENDS
In a series of anonymous responses to "MATTHEW WALSHIN BUSTED AGAIN", posted on YFP, Rafael Martínez Alequín would like to respond.Statement: Anonymous states that Martínez Alequin cannot be trusted when he "printed untrue statements about Matthew's record"
Response: YFP stated earlier that Walshin had served five years in an Oregon prison for rape. YFP corrected that statement with later information that Walshin served six months in prison and subsequently five years probation. Although some of the info was incorrect, this does not exonerate Walshin from his charge of sexual assault for which he served time.
Statement: "The Mayor of New York does not want him covering council meetings because of his strange and rambling incoherent questioning."
Response: Martínez Alequin does cover City Council meetings in NYC as well as the press conferences of Mayor Michael Blomberg. One need only to view the blog and will see evidence of such. The latest being an interview with City Councilman James Oddo which is posted on YOU TUBE. Martínez Alequin's issue with Bloomberg is the right for blog journalists to be Press pass credentialed.
This issue applies not only to Martínez Alequin but to bloggers throughout the US.
Statement: As to the recent arrest of Matthew, it is stated. "The actual cops did not arrest Matthew it was a citizens arrest made by these corrupt undercover cops"
Response: Firstly, how do cops make a "citizen's arrest". Secondly, how do you know that they are corrupt? And if Matthew justly defended himself, then why was he charged with assault? Surely, the court would have seen things from his point of view. Contrary to opinion, the court record states that he has to appear for parole violation. That is not the opinion of YFP, it is the California court record. (see blog post)
Statement: "The facts are Matthew was the first one to tell Dana's family by phone and email that she had disappeared. Also Matthew told about ten friends in Tulum that Dana disappeared
does that sound like someone who had something to do with the disappearance it does not make sense."Response: Well....it could sound like a perfectly contrived alibi on the part of Matthew. As for Matthew contacting Dana's parents. It was Dana's parents who contacted Matthew when they did not hear from her. Three weeks later, he disappeared.
Statement: "Dana went to the pyramids so she was seen by other people who either can't remember or won't admit it."
Response: Surely you are joking! Dana was a beautiful, slender woman with hair down to her waist. She had light eyes and pale skin. She stood out in a crowd. Surely someone would have seen her if she had "really" visited there.
Statement: (In regards to Matthew) "He did leave Mexico when he realized how corrupt Melchor Rodriguez was as he falsely accused two canadian women of murdering a couple. Also
he (Matthew) gave the family valueable information"
Response: Matthew fails to define why Melchor Rodriguez is corrupt. He cites that Rodriguez falsely accused two Canadian women of murdering a couple. Yes, that murder is still unresolved but that does not make a case for Rodriguez being corrupt. As for the valuable information that Matthew allegedly gave Dana's family, they speak otherwise. On the contrary, they feel that he withheld information and is yet to reveal more facts. (see blog posts from Dana's parents)
Statement: "Matthew did not want to end up like Eric Volz in Nicaragua who is serving 30 years for a crime he did not commit. He had ten witnesses that said he wasn't there. Mexico would rather blame a gringo than do a real investigation to get the heat off there own backs. All for the money and tourism"
Response: For Matthew to compare himself with Volz is ludicrous.
Volz is a former resident of Nashville and a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, where he majored in Latin American Studies.[2] Volz later moved to Managua, where he sold real estate and launched EP (El Puente) Magazine, advocating for smart growth and ecotourism.[3] Volz is the son of a former member of The 77s. Matthew has a past that is somewhat suspect to say the least. He has benefited from the legal aid of his father, Perry Walshin, esq. and in all the articles regarding Matthew, we are yet to learn of his employment history.
Statement: "Also he was not the last person seen with Dana"
Response: Really? Then who were the last people seen with Dana? What happened to Matthews's cousin, Steve Miller? He was part of the entourage. Why have we not heard from him? Matthew's friend, El Hungaro stated that Matthew borrowed a blanket from him on the night of Dana's disappearance. At that point, Dana was in Matthew's company. When the blanket needed to be located for forensic purposes, it suddenly disappeared.
YFP has documented this story from it's inception. Many anonymous posts have defended Walshin. In the judgment of YFP, he is innocent until facts prove otherwise. However, there is troubling information which casts doubt on the protestations of his defenders. Matthew did relay information to Dana's parents. But, her parents feel that more has been withheld than revealed. Matthew's dash for the border was swift and deliberate. The cooperation of Mexican authorities has been slow and bumbling. Key evidence has been lost or not assessed properly.
Important witnesses have not been interrogated and Matthew continues to watch the unfolding events with impunity.
So YFP extends an invitation to Matthew and friends to submit a videotape detailing their protests and or information. You are encouraged to remain anonymous. If you do not want to be seen, then simply cover your face with a scarf. We will provide the forum and the space for your side of the story. Bring it on boys.....bring it on!
HISPANIC POLICE SUE RACIST SUPERVISOR
N.J. Officers Sue Commander, Say He's White Supremacist
POSTED: 5:19 pm CDT October 24, 2007
NEWARK, N.J. -- Five Hoboken police officers sued their city and a commander on Wednesday, charging they have endured racial slurs and intimidation from a superior because they are Hispanic.
The federal lawsuit they filed claims that a commanding officer is a white supremacist and that the police chief has taken no action against him.
The commander who was sued, Lt. Angelo Andriani, was not at headquarters on Wednesday. A desk sergeant in the morning declined to take a message for him, and did not have a current phone extension for the lieutenant. An officer Wednesday evening at police headquarters took a message for Andriani, but it was not immediately returned. No listings for Andriani could be found in Verona.
Police Chief Carmen V. LaBruno did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Bill Campbell, a spokesman for Hoboken Mayor David Roberts, said they had not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
In the lawsuit, the officers claim that Andriani regularly used the n-word and said "the white race was destined to rule and dominate others."
"It's very difficult to do your duties under these circumstances," Sgt. Edwin Pantoja, one of the officers who sued, told reporters at a news conference announcing the lawsuit.
Another of the officers, Detective George Fonseca, said, "You suck it up and do what you got to do to survive. I have a family to support." Fonseca, a former Marine, choked up as he related that his children by his first wife, a black woman, are biracial.
According to the lawsuit, when the Hispanic police complained to about their commander's behavior, he would "respond with threats, intimidation and harassment."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages to be paid by the city and Andriani.
The Hispanic officers also charged that from 2004 to 2006, Andriani ordered them to perform chores at his home in Verona, including digging holes for a deck, cleaning his boat, and shucking 10 bushels of corn.
POSTED: 5:19 pm CDT October 24, 2007
NEWARK, N.J. -- Five Hoboken police officers sued their city and a commander on Wednesday, charging they have endured racial slurs and intimidation from a superior because they are Hispanic.
The federal lawsuit they filed claims that a commanding officer is a white supremacist and that the police chief has taken no action against him.
The commander who was sued, Lt. Angelo Andriani, was not at headquarters on Wednesday. A desk sergeant in the morning declined to take a message for him, and did not have a current phone extension for the lieutenant. An officer Wednesday evening at police headquarters took a message for Andriani, but it was not immediately returned. No listings for Andriani could be found in Verona.
Police Chief Carmen V. LaBruno did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Bill Campbell, a spokesman for Hoboken Mayor David Roberts, said they had not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
In the lawsuit, the officers claim that Andriani regularly used the n-word and said "the white race was destined to rule and dominate others."
"It's very difficult to do your duties under these circumstances," Sgt. Edwin Pantoja, one of the officers who sued, told reporters at a news conference announcing the lawsuit.
Another of the officers, Detective George Fonseca, said, "You suck it up and do what you got to do to survive. I have a family to support." Fonseca, a former Marine, choked up as he related that his children by his first wife, a black woman, are biracial.
According to the lawsuit, when the Hispanic police complained to about their commander's behavior, he would "respond with threats, intimidation and harassment."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages to be paid by the city and Andriani.
The Hispanic officers also charged that from 2004 to 2006, Andriani ordered them to perform chores at his home in Verona, including digging holes for a deck, cleaning his boat, and shucking 10 bushels of corn.
GIULIANI APPROVES BLIND GUN OWNERS
Giuliani: Blind Should Be Able to Carry Guns
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
By Mosheh Oinounou
LEBANON, N.H. — Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani is leaving the door open to allowing the blind and physically disabled to carry guns.
During a town hall meeting in northwestern New Hampshire Tuesday night, Giuliani told a former police officer blinded in the line of duty and concerned about the former New York City mayor's stance on guns, "You don't have to worry."
"You have a constitutional right, that is protected, to bear and carry arms. It is the Second Amendment," Giuliani told about 200 attendees in a high school gymnasium in Lebanon. "If someone disagrees with that, you have to get the Constitution changed."
He added that he believes in only three restrictions for those wishing to exercise their Second Amendment right — a previous criminal record, a history of mental instability and an age requirement.
Kenyon Tuthill, 61, who served as a Suffolk County, N.H., police officer until his injury, told FOX News that he was satisfied with Giuliani's answer.
During his two terms as mayor, Giuliani supported strict gun laws at both the local and national level and advocated the federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. But as a presidential candidate, he vows to protect Second Amendment rights at the federal level allowing state and local authorities to determine their own "reasonable" restrictions.
New Hampshire, the Live Free Or Die State, is known for its limited gun-control laws, including no waiting period for purchases, no background checks for buyers of rifles and shotguns and no restrictions on children under 18 possessing firearms, according to the Brady Campaign, a gun-control advocacy group.
But the rural state with lots of sportsmen and a high rate of gun ownership annually has fewer than 100 total murders, including non-gun crimes, and Second Amendment rights are hugely important to constituents of both parties.
New Hampshire allows the blind to possess firearms, Tuthill said.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
By Mosheh Oinounou
LEBANON, N.H. — Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani is leaving the door open to allowing the blind and physically disabled to carry guns.
During a town hall meeting in northwestern New Hampshire Tuesday night, Giuliani told a former police officer blinded in the line of duty and concerned about the former New York City mayor's stance on guns, "You don't have to worry."
"You have a constitutional right, that is protected, to bear and carry arms. It is the Second Amendment," Giuliani told about 200 attendees in a high school gymnasium in Lebanon. "If someone disagrees with that, you have to get the Constitution changed."
He added that he believes in only three restrictions for those wishing to exercise their Second Amendment right — a previous criminal record, a history of mental instability and an age requirement.
Kenyon Tuthill, 61, who served as a Suffolk County, N.H., police officer until his injury, told FOX News that he was satisfied with Giuliani's answer.
During his two terms as mayor, Giuliani supported strict gun laws at both the local and national level and advocated the federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. But as a presidential candidate, he vows to protect Second Amendment rights at the federal level allowing state and local authorities to determine their own "reasonable" restrictions.
New Hampshire, the Live Free Or Die State, is known for its limited gun-control laws, including no waiting period for purchases, no background checks for buyers of rifles and shotguns and no restrictions on children under 18 possessing firearms, according to the Brady Campaign, a gun-control advocacy group.
But the rural state with lots of sportsmen and a high rate of gun ownership annually has fewer than 100 total murders, including non-gun crimes, and Second Amendment rights are hugely important to constituents of both parties.
New Hampshire allows the blind to possess firearms, Tuthill said.
THE FAT POLICE ARE AT IT AGAIN
NYC tries again to get calories on menus
By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 24, 8:52 PM ET
NEW YORK - Burger joints beware: New York's calorie crusaders are at it again. City health officials announced Wednesday that they hope to revive their stalled plan to force fast-food chains to add calorie counts to the big menu boards that hang above their counters.
The city's original effort to put calories on menus was struck down by a judge in September, but Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said the regulation has been reworked and is ready for a second try.
"People deserve to have more information when they are ordering food," he said.
Like the previous regulation, the new version presented to the Board of Health on Wednesday would require restaurants like McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell to list a calorie count for each menu item as prominently as the price.
City officials have argued that action is needed to address an obesity epidemic in the city, which they blame partly on more residents relying on fast food for a large percentage of their regular meals.
The idea, Frieden said, is to make people think twice about ordering a 1,000 calorie lunch, which for many people is about half the recommended daily total of calories.
Health officials believe that New York City was the first place in the U.S. to enact a regulation requiring some restaurants to put calorie information on menus.
Since then, other cities and states have considered similar rules. California lawmakers passed a bill similar to New York's regulation, but it was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this month. King County, Wash., which includes Seattle, enacted a menu labeling rule in July.
As with the original rule, the new policy wouldn't apply to most fine dining establishments, or the thousands of family owned delis and pizza shops around the city; only chains with 15 or more stores will be covered, and then only restaurants serving standardized portion sizes that can easily be measured for calorie content.
Restaurants are, nevertheless, almost certain to sue for a second time over the plan.
New York State Restaurant Association Executive Vice President E. Charles Hunt called the proposal unfortunate.
"It goes beyond the scope of good government," he said. "It is micromanaging small business."
Fast-food companies have argued that the calorie data will clutter menus and irritate customers, who don't necessarily want to be confronted with health data.
In their first lawsuit, restaurants also argued that the health department doesn't have the authority to impose such a rule.
A federal judge agreed, to some extent. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell said the initial rule conflicted with federal food labeling laws. But he also suggested that a few adjustments could resolve those legal hurdles.
The revised rule contains one major change:
Initially, the policy only applied to restaurants that had already decided to offer nutritional information voluntarily to customers. Most fast-food giants have made nutritional information available on posters or Web sites for years, and the city argued that it would be easy for them to provide some of the same information on their menus.
This time, restaurants would be required to post calorie information whether they had done so previously or not.
The city's Board of Health took the first step toward approving the regulation Wednesday by voting to publish it and hold a public hearing. A final approval vote would not take place until January.
By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 24, 8:52 PM ET
NEW YORK - Burger joints beware: New York's calorie crusaders are at it again. City health officials announced Wednesday that they hope to revive their stalled plan to force fast-food chains to add calorie counts to the big menu boards that hang above their counters.
The city's original effort to put calories on menus was struck down by a judge in September, but Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said the regulation has been reworked and is ready for a second try.
"People deserve to have more information when they are ordering food," he said.
Like the previous regulation, the new version presented to the Board of Health on Wednesday would require restaurants like McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell to list a calorie count for each menu item as prominently as the price.
City officials have argued that action is needed to address an obesity epidemic in the city, which they blame partly on more residents relying on fast food for a large percentage of their regular meals.
The idea, Frieden said, is to make people think twice about ordering a 1,000 calorie lunch, which for many people is about half the recommended daily total of calories.
Health officials believe that New York City was the first place in the U.S. to enact a regulation requiring some restaurants to put calorie information on menus.
Since then, other cities and states have considered similar rules. California lawmakers passed a bill similar to New York's regulation, but it was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this month. King County, Wash., which includes Seattle, enacted a menu labeling rule in July.
As with the original rule, the new policy wouldn't apply to most fine dining establishments, or the thousands of family owned delis and pizza shops around the city; only chains with 15 or more stores will be covered, and then only restaurants serving standardized portion sizes that can easily be measured for calorie content.
Restaurants are, nevertheless, almost certain to sue for a second time over the plan.
New York State Restaurant Association Executive Vice President E. Charles Hunt called the proposal unfortunate.
"It goes beyond the scope of good government," he said. "It is micromanaging small business."
Fast-food companies have argued that the calorie data will clutter menus and irritate customers, who don't necessarily want to be confronted with health data.
In their first lawsuit, restaurants also argued that the health department doesn't have the authority to impose such a rule.
A federal judge agreed, to some extent. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell said the initial rule conflicted with federal food labeling laws. But he also suggested that a few adjustments could resolve those legal hurdles.
The revised rule contains one major change:
Initially, the policy only applied to restaurants that had already decided to offer nutritional information voluntarily to customers. Most fast-food giants have made nutritional information available on posters or Web sites for years, and the city argued that it would be easy for them to provide some of the same information on their menus.
This time, restaurants would be required to post calorie information whether they had done so previously or not.
The city's Board of Health took the first step toward approving the regulation Wednesday by voting to publish it and hold a public hearing. A final approval vote would not take place until January.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
STATEN ISLAND BP FUMING MAD WITH DA
Molinaro Slams SI D.A., Advertises Grandson's InnocenceStaten Island Borough President James Molinaro placed a full page ad in the Staten Island Advance blasting Staten
Island D.A. Daniel Donovan. Molinaro called the trial and the sentencing of his 18-year-old grandson Steven to 5 years in jail a "miscarriage of justice."In 2006, Steven was arrested for beating up a 14-year-old Staten Island Advance paper boy and, this year, Molinaro was accused of violating an order of protection and driving down the paper boy's street.
D.A. Donovan took himself off the case, because he was once Molinaro's deputy borough president, and the Manhattan D.A's office prosecuted the young Molinaro.
In spite of some questionable evidence, the jury found Molinaro guilty of criminal contempt. When sentencing the young man to the maximum, the judge said, "You have been given every opportunity to escape prison in this case.... It's your actions that have brought us to where we are today, not anything anyone else has done."Molinaro's advertisement includes the following phrases, per the Advance:
...Because of District Attorney Donovan's concerns about the 'appearance of impropriety,' dozens of other defendants face the same fate. Appearances, it seems, can be deceiving. And deny equal justice under the law. And produce a miscarriage of justice...The ad also mentioned how the Manhattan prosecutor pointed at and mentioned Borough President Molinaro.
Donovan, who faces re-election, issued a statement saying, "As District Attorney I have both legal and ethical obligations to bring to the attention of the Court any actual or apparent conflict of interest concerning cases that come before me."
Steven Molinaro's lawyers are going forward with an appeal. And Ron Kuby and Curtis Sliwa discussed the ad during their radio show; Sliwa suggested, "Why didn't he just eliminate all those words and just say, 'Donovan, I thought you were my friend. You were my deputy borough president. You should have thrown the case in the direction of my [grandson].'"
NAZI CONCERT COMING TO MIDTOWN
Marko Perkovic (known as Thompson on stage, portrayed by Kitler is coming to town, and the protesters are awaiting -- with good reason. The Croatian rock star is known for nostalgically warbling for the Ustaša regime and glorifying the Nazis in his songs, and we can't imagine his anti-Semitism sing-a-longs are going to be very popular here in New York. The musician isn't all about the controversial topics (though it does get him lots of publicity), he also croons tunes about God and family.
Can these lighter topics balance out his glorification of war and his nation's Nazi past? No...but he'll be bringing his full set for two shows to the Croatian Center in Midtown next month anyway.
In past concerts, he has performed an anthem of the country's Nazi-backed military regime — the Ustaša — that references extermination camps where tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies were killed during World War II. He greets adoring crowds with a famous Ustaša slogan — and many respond with the Nazi salute.
"To glorify what happened during the Holocaust is not what we need in the world today, nor do we need it in this city — after the events we have recently been through. To play with that for the sake of music, or even conviction, I find it totally repugnant," the director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Task Force Against Hate, Mark Weitzman, said. Many individuals and organizations, including Weitzman, have been in talks with the Croatian Embassy, who are equally as interested in stopping these shows (in an attempt to clean up their image with interesting in joining the European Union).
Interestingly enough, tickets are being sold in a number of places around town, including some popular Croatian bars in Astoria -- the proprietors of which don't see why the $45 ticket is so controversial. In fact, many are touting him as a Croatian hero and "good person."
By Jen Carlson in Event , Music , http://gothamist.com/news_nyc/ Link Comments (9) Recommend
Can these lighter topics balance out his glorification of war and his nation's Nazi past? No...but he'll be bringing his full set for two shows to the Croatian Center in Midtown next month anyway.
In past concerts, he has performed an anthem of the country's Nazi-backed military regime — the Ustaša — that references extermination camps where tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies were killed during World War II. He greets adoring crowds with a famous Ustaša slogan — and many respond with the Nazi salute.
"To glorify what happened during the Holocaust is not what we need in the world today, nor do we need it in this city — after the events we have recently been through. To play with that for the sake of music, or even conviction, I find it totally repugnant," the director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Task Force Against Hate, Mark Weitzman, said. Many individuals and organizations, including Weitzman, have been in talks with the Croatian Embassy, who are equally as interested in stopping these shows (in an attempt to clean up their image with interesting in joining the European Union).
Interestingly enough, tickets are being sold in a number of places around town, including some popular Croatian bars in Astoria -- the proprietors of which don't see why the $45 ticket is so controversial. In fact, many are touting him as a Croatian hero and "good person."
By Jen Carlson in Event , Music , http://gothamist.com/news_nyc/ Link Comments (9) Recommend