GUILTY Costa Rica - John Bender, 44, shot to death, Perez Zeledon, 8 Jan 2010

[newone]

There is a Vanity Fair interview that was written a few years ago.
A lot of detail about the jewels.
I am not sure if i posted it..
I read it yesterday at the hairdressers, to gather some background before last nights show

Posting it again, forgive me if I already did


http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Love-and-Madness-in-the-Jungle.html

the precious jewels are a way for them to keep ''cash'' in a sense that won't lose its value ....this case has a familiar ring to it (no pun intended) to MacAfee who fled Costa Rica after being accused of the murder of his neighbor.

AP and her husband were advised to flee the country when they were served with the lawsuit started by Silverman....MacAfee chose to flee than face the court system in Costa Rica and left behind an impressive amount of $ and real estate too.

If you have to leave town in a hurry having your $$ in something like diamonds or gold could come in handy. :twocents:

 

[Dushi]

the precious jewels are a way for them to keep ''cash'' in a sense that won't lose its value ....this case has a familiar ring to it (no pun intended) to MacAfee who fled Costa Rica after being accused of the murder of his neighbor.

AP and her husband were advised to flee the country when they were served with the lawsuit started by Silverman....MacAfee chose to flee than face the court system in Costa Rica and left behind an impressive amount of $ and real estate too.

If you have to leave town in a hurry having your $$ in something like diamonds or gold could come in handy. :twocents:

Excellent point
It could be difficult to get assets out of a foreign country in a hurry

 

[newone]

this is just MOO

I wonder IF wifey freaked out that last time when darling husband was talking to gun as she was trying to fall asleep and thought ''whoa! He's going to kill ME!" No matter how small she is there's nothing like a surge of adrenaline when you think your life is on the line.

or

((sorry to bring it up again but those pesky earplugs))

She waited til he was asleep and boom

 

[newone]

Anne bender stated that CR LE cleaned out the house, fridges, stoves etc.

I don't really understand the reasoning behind that.
I think I read that the legitimacy of owning the jewels was in question, or how they were brought into the country, but I can't find anything after the VF piece that mentions any charges other than murder.
The man was worth an estimated 70 million

Did LE treat it as ill gotten gains or was she robbed blind?

1. LE wanted to see documentation that the jewels were (a) declared if brought into Costa Rica and/or bills of sale (aka they were legit and not stolen)

2. AP was not allowed access to her $$ thanks to Alvarez who had been hired by her late husband to administer the trust he had set up and who ripped off the trust as well.

 

[Dushi]

this is just MOO

I wonder IF wifey freaked out that last time when darling husband was talking to gun as she was trying to fall asleep and thought ''whoa! He's going to kill ME!" No matter how small she is there's nothing like a surge of adrenaline when you think your life is on the line.

or

((sorry to bring it up again but those pesky earplugs))

She waited til he was asleep and boom

Given the forensic evidence, position of his body, no gun residue on his hand, etc., that sounds about right

 

[Dushi]

I do understand that LE would want proof that everything was legal with the jewels.
I am guessing that was provided as there has been no mention of other charges.

Maybe I missed something, but where are the jewels now?
Where is the furniture, appliances now?

 

[newone]

I do understand that LE would want proof that everything was legal with the jewels.
I am guessing that was provided as there has been no mention of other charges.

Maybe I missed something, but where are the jewels now?
Where is the furniture, appliances now?

The law has them. That's the short answer but it is fascinating....apparently the collection is worth about $15 million. There is a separate lawsuit surrounding the jewels and it is all about ''duty'' and undeclared assets coming into Costa Rica.

everything quoted is from this link

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Love-and-Madness-in-the-Jungle.html

"Investigators found more than 3,000 gems inside the home: diamonds, rubies, opals. Some lay neatly arranged in custom-made display cases; others sat randomly on counters or were stuffed inside backpacks. According to prosecutors, most had been brought into the country illegally: no receipts, no duties paid."


The husband was no fool and the collection did ''diversify'' his fortune especially considering the downturn in his Wall Street assets.

" The Wall Street bubble bursts in 2008. The Benders, facing liquidity problems, hit upon a cash business big on profits and short on tax oversight"


"Oses wouldn’t discuss this with me, but his smile said plenty. “What I can tell you is that this case is basically divided,” he said. “The murder litigation is taking place here. All the litigation concerning the precious stones that were found on the defendant’s property—that case is being litigated in a separate court in San José.”

 

[newone]

Here's another brick in the wall for the ''theory'' that la femme fatale wanted the jewels. It appears that there was a pre nuptial agreement wherein AP agreed that if/when marriage dissolved she would not have a claim for the property owned by her husband. AP was ''under the impression'' that when the trust was created it nullified the pre nup. Alvarez contended that the refuge was the beneficiary of the trust and not AP when her husband died. Alvarez bilked the trust according to a former employee.

"
Ann turned to the man who had hired the lawyers on her behalf: Juan Alvarez, John’s handpicked trustee, who assured Ann that everything would be taken care of. He said the same thing right up until August 2011, when Ann was arrested and then charged with first-degree murder.


When this happened, Ann found herself at Alvarez’s mercy. He severely restricted the flow of money to both Ann and the refuge, and security cutbacks allowed poachers to return. Alvarez justified his actions by pointing to a postnuptial agreement between John and Ann. The gist of it was that Ann had waived her right to John’s property, and so Alvarez controlled everything on behalf of the refuge. Ann, however, believed that the postnuptial agreement was invalidated when they created the trust.

But then, in the months that followed, Ann caught a couple of breaks. One came in the person of Milton Jimenez, a former accountant at Alvarez’s law firm. Jimenez was so distraught about Ann’s plight that he quit his job and opened the firm’s books to her. He alleged—both to me and in sworn court depositions—that Alvarez had bilked the trust for millions, which he used to finance a lavish lifestyle and grand real estate ventures, including a high-end equestrian center in northern Costa Rica. Alvarez had done so, Jimenez alleged, by exploiting the Benders’ trust. “He believed that he was the sole heir and owner of the trust,” Jimenez said in a deposition."

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Love-and-Madness-in-the-Jungle.html

 

[Dushi]

The couple’s mansion was an amazing 5-story, 8,000-squared foot house, which included an elevator, pool and helipad. It is said to be valued at $4.5 million. Authorities found over 300 Tiffany lamps inside the house, as well as over 3,000 precious gems. Among them were diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds.



The number of precious stones was such that investigators on the scene, initially attempting to count the diamonds and gems, later decided to simply begin weighing them and packing them into suitcases. In all, 4 suitcases full of diamonds and gems were removed from the home.

http://insidecostarica.com/2013/01/...ed-of-killing-wealthy-husband-claims-suicide/

 

[Dushi]

Apparently, Bender brought the jewels from Africa to sell them in private, millionaire-only auctions at the couple’s mansion. Participants would travel to Costa Rica exclusively to participate. Authorities believe the jewels involved may have been black market.



The jewels were confiscated by the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), until it can be determined if import taxes were paid, and the source of the gems.

OIJ authorities stated that the confiscated fortune of jewels have been placed in the vaults of the Banco Central de Costa Rica. If Patton is unable to prove the legality of the jewels, and pay appropriate tax, they will be forfeited to the State.

http://insidecostarica.com/2013/01/...ed-of-killing-wealthy-husband-claims-suicide/

 

[Dushi]

And, while Patton claims that her husband was bipolar and depressive, others, including friends and co-workers said that Bender was in good psychological health, and did not suffer from depression.

http://insidecostarica.com/2013/01/...ed-of-killing-wealthy-husband-claims-suicide/

 

[newone]

This is a fascinating case ..... I have not found anything yet that discloses the outcome of that suit started by Silverman.

 

[Dushi]

This is a fascinating case ..... I have not found anything yet that discloses the outcome of that suit started by Silverman.

It is fascinating.

 

[newone]

latest updated show that was dated September 2014

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-death-of-john-bender-suicide-accident-or-murder/

 

[cynic]

I posted a summary of the case and my analysis at the sister-site to Websleuths, Forums for Justice:
http://www.forumsforjustice.org/for...mansion-Murder-or-suicide&p=196748#post196748

 

[newone]

Ann had a bit too much perk in her step from what I recall about the interview prior to the court case. She had a new love interest etc. All a bit too contrived.

Thank you for providing your summary!

 

[newone]

From your summary:

Ann's account of injections etc raise some concerns for me too.

It would be great if she could receive a mental evaluation .....

 

[cynic]

From your summary:

Ann's account of injections etc raise some concerns for me too.

It would be great if she could receive a mental evaluation .....

BBM
Yes, and remember that in the early going there were these rumblings from the defense camp:

Beyond that, Ann’s two attorneys assured her that she could not be charged because of her inimputabilidad, which basically means mental incapacity. At no point, it seemed, did her lawyers claim she was innocent.
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Love-and-Madness-in-the-Jungle.html

The lawyers, however, were picked by Juan Alvarez. Given the potentially dubious motives of Alvarez, it was not surprising that Ann dismissed these lawyers, but it would have been interesting to see how she would have fared with a defense centering on mental capacity.

 

[newone]

Is there any word on the outcome of the Silverman lawsuit? Was there a judgement prior to the murder?

 

[cynic]

Is there any word on the outcome of the Silverman lawsuit? Was there a judgement prior to the murder?

I’m not sure how long the CBS crew remained in Costa Rica for the filming of the 48 Hours episode dealing with the case, but they were there until at least shortly after Ann’s conviction on May 27, 2014.
In that episode there is the following:
In July 2012, with murder charges hanging over her head, Ann took Alvarez to court for fraud. The suit claimed Alvarez used the Bender trust as his personal piggy bank, buying horses for his horse farm and paying his credit card bills. Authorities raided his office and confiscated 135 boxes of documents. The court then removed Alvarez as trustee.
“The investigation is still going today,” Alvarez told “48 Hours.” “Prosecutors haven’t interviewed me … At the end of the day, this investigation will go nowhere because the accusations are bogus.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-death-of-john-bender-suicide-accident-or-murder/

I guess it's entirely possible that it remains unresolved as of right now.