ARUBA - Robyn Gardner, 35, Maryland woman missing in Aruba, 2 Aug 2011 - # 8

[LambChop]

so I am trying to figure out what laws he could have broken in the U.S. regarding this, as other than booking the flight, arranging the travel insurance, etc., everything transpired in Aruba.

If enough evidence was uncovered in Aruba to charge him, the insurance could be found to be a possible motive, the whole TRIP could be the means to the motive of the $$, but he can't be charged for a motive. I don't see what can be done to him here in the U.S. now that he is here?

I wish we weren't dealing with the 2 governments here, I don't think we will ever get all of the real information here. The whole Natalie Holloway (and I am not invoking that case to derail this thread or comment on it) just disheartens me that we will never get to the bottom of this here in the U.S. It is so frustrating to me after reading all that has transpired, since they let him leave Aruba, it will be very difficult to get him back.

IMO, MOO, etc.

GG purchased the insurance in the US. If he purchased it with the expectation of collecting because he knew she was not coming back......get my drift here.....his crime initially started/was planned on US soil and I believe this is a Federal crime. jmo

 

[Dushi]

Gotcha. I'll see if I can find where he said this - what a crock.

It was one of the TV interviews
I heard it too

 

[Seek&Find]

Just a quick note to give a big thank you to the hardworking, excellent mods we have on Websleuths. It's good to see people care about Robin and examine her case. I'm glad at Websleuths we keep our focus and treat each other with respect.

Imo, GG planned this. As a diver, and knowing he was one, all the circumstances around their supposed snorkeling excursion don't make sense. Im sure that's one of many reasons Aruban authorities suspect him. For one, we dive and travel a lot, and we've never seen anyone go into the water drunk. It defies logic and scuba training. Also, why would he enter the water with sneakers? Divers usually wear dive boots wirh rugged soles that fins slip over. We often slip off the fins and wear the booties while carrying gear, etc. And as a diver, why wouldn't he also bring his fins to snorkel, especially when he brought other standard gear? Doesn't make sense, IF the intent was to snorkel, imo.

I hope something breaks loose soon and the full truth is laid bare in this case.

 

[vlpate]

It was one of the TV interviews
I heard it too

I believe it, I just don't remember seeing it - I put nothing past him.

 

[Sapphire]

Gotcha. I'll see if I can find where he said this - what a crock.

In this piece Giordano mentions the name of the travel book....




Mr. Giordano also pointed out that his attorney in Aruba had advised him to contact the insurance company as soon as Ms. Gardner vanished. Helicopters, vehicles, search dogs, scuba divers, and other private resources were being used to look for the missing woman, raising concerns if the insurance policy would cover such costs.

"My lawyer at the time, Michael Lopez, said you need to call insurance immediately. Helicopters and divers might send you an invoice. Call insurance and ask them how they deal with these expenses," Giordano said.

He then added that a book for tourists, the Holland Handbook for Travelers, allegedly published by the Dutch government, instructs travelers that when someone goes missing they should first call authorities, then contact their insurance company.

A book with a similar title, Belgium and Holland. Handbook for travellers, is archived and available for reading online, but was published in 1891 by Karl Baedeker.

<snip>

http://www.examiner.com/news-analysi...-robyn-gardner




Travel book with similar title. You can read it online here:


http://books.google.com/books?id=_G...ce=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

[LambChop]

Lambchop.

Do you think there's not an official travel guide written by Holland for Aruba?

That mentions calling your travel insurance if someone in your party goes missing?

Would both GG and his lawyer make this obvious blunder?

I don't think so.

I'm not saying there isn't a travel guide. What I'm saying is that it is easily researched and could have been done so AFTER his arrest. His personal injury attorney cannot confirm or deny this took place but claims, in his statement, that GG knows very well what took place. That says a lot. My guess is the information about the tourist guide did not come from his Aruban attorney. jmo

 

[Micheline]

It was JB that let that big old cat out of the bag. Out of his own mouth JB said that GG agreed to give the personal injury attorney 1/3 of the insurance payout. He went to a personal injury attorney not a criminal attorney and they discussed the insurance he had on RG. We only have GG saying the only reason he called was to discuss paying for searching for RG. The Holloways were never charged why would GG be charged for searching. Plus the agent reported GG sounded like he'd own the lottery. That sounds like he was discussing a payoff.

-bolded by me

Ehm no, he said Mario Lopez tried to get Gary sign a retainer agreement where he would be getting one third of the insurance money.

09:40 into the interview:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/gary-giordano-interview-happened-robyn-garnder-aruba-15063287

I could see GG going to an just a regular attorney for advice but a personal injury. Why would anyone do that when they take 1/3 off the top for fees? Why, personal injury attorneys also do wrongful death. He knew RG's mother was coming. jmo

Mario Lopez is not a personal injury lawyer, his expertises are: employment law, family law, criminal law and intellectual property.

Mario Lopez's website:

http://lopezlaw.aw/advocaten.php

 

[vlpate]

Lambchop.

Do you think there's not an official travel guide written by Holland for Aruba?

That mentions calling your travel insurance if someone in your party goes missing?

Would both GG and his lawyer make this obvious blunder?

I don't think so.

Which lawyer?

I am not speaking for LC, just stating my own opinion - would the guide not tell them to call authorities if someone goes missing? Maybe they just edited out, or snipped parts of the guide and got mixed up?

What I really find odd is that anyone reads the travel guides.

 

[vlpate]

-bolded by me

Ehm no, he said Mario Lopez tried to get Gary sign a retainer agreement where he would be getting one third of the insurance money.

<respectfully snipped>

Mario Lopez's website:

http://lopezlaw.aw/advocaten.php

Why would Mario Lopez try to get GG to sign anything - were they at the Grove?

 

[LambChop]

-bolded by me

Ehm no, he said Mario Lopez tried to get Gary sign a retainer agreement where he would be getting one third of the insurance money.

09:40 into the interview:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/gary-giordano-interview-happened-robyn-garnder-aruba-15063287




Mario Lopez is not a personal injury lawyer, his expertises are: employment law, family law, criminal law and intellectual property.

Mario Lopez's website:

http://lopezlaw.aw/advocaten.php

Oh, I'm not the one that called him a personal injury attorney. That was JB. Personal injury attorneys have a different pay scale and take 1/3 or nothing depending on the outcome of the case. JB claims ML asked for 1/3 of the insurance money. For some reason JB thought ML was representing GG as a "personal injury" attorney when GG first hired him. It gets more and more interesting as we get deeper and deeper into this.

It would be nice if JB explained that further but I don't think we will be hearing from him any time soon, at least not in regards to this subject. jmo

 

[Sapphire]

Gary Giordano: The $1.5M Insurance Policy
Suspect in Robyn Gardner's disappearance reveals why he bought travel insurance.
03:37 | 12/01/2011


Watch video:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/gary-giordano-discusses-travel-insurance-policy-15063434

 

[vlpate]

Gary Giordano: The $1.5M Insurance Policy
Suspect in Robyn Gardner's disappearance reveals why he bought travel insurance.
03:37 | 12/01/2011


Watch video:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/gary-giordano-discusses-travel-insurance-policy-15063434

Ah thank you ... Holland handbook for travelers. Says to call insurance company, but nothing about search insurance.

 

[LambChop]

Ah thank you ... Holland handbook for travelers. Says to call insurance company, but nothing about search insurance.

To my knowledge no agency charges for searches.....unless......the person reporting has given a false statement. So why would his Aruban attorney tell him he needed to call the insurance company (if this were true). What was it that GG told his attorney that his attorney felt GG could be charged for the search????? Is this another slip of the tongue??????? jmo

 

[katydid23]

Of course a travelers handbook is going to tell you to call your ins company if your companions is missing ---IF YOU HAVE A POLICY THAT IS. And that was the point. He called his ins company because he wanted to cash in his policy. And he needed to know what steps he needed to take. imoo

 

[vlpate]

To my knowledge no agency charges for searches.....unless......the person reporting has given a false statement. So why would his Aruban attorney tell him he needed to call the insurance company (if this were true). What was it that GG told his attorney that his attorney felt GG could be charged for the search????? Is this another slip of the tongue??????? jmo

He alluded to it with the dramatic introduction about the searches and the helicopters that might have to be called in - but he didn't quite go there, the gentleman in the plaid jacket interrupted him.

You may be right - which is why it baffled me that JB would let him ramble on and on the way he did.

 

[NavySubMom]

GG purchased the insurance in the US. If he purchased it with the expectation of collecting because he knew she was not coming back......get my drift here.....his crime initially started/was planned on US soil and I believe this is a Federal crime. jmo

O.K., That is what I am HOPING is part of this whole crime. IMO, MOO, etc.

 

[LambChop]

He alluded to it with the dramatic introduction about the searches and the helicopters that might have to be called in - but he didn't quite go there, the gentleman in the plaid jacket interrupted him.

You may be right - which is why it baffled me that JB would let him ramble on and on the way he did.

I think JB was only interested in discrediting ML as an attorney because of what GG discussed with him. Maybe it just never occurred to JB that this "Aruban" attorney had ethical standards that he abides by. lol

 

[Nova]

The difference here is he is saying it could, not that it is. If there were women disappearing on a regular basis I would believe it was a problem in Aruba and could possibly account for RG's disappearance. But they are not, nor are European woman, Dutch woman or women visitors from SA reported missing from the island. Someone would report them missing. You come in by plane or cruise ship and you are accounted for coming and leaving. They ask you where you are staying and know exactly where to find you if they have to. jmo

Exactly. The ambassador starts with "it is conceivable", then works himself up to a "serious" or "significant possibility." But never once does he mention having heard of an actual case.

(This is not to say I don't appreciate the link, sapphire. I do.)

 

[Nova]

I am not using any terms, I am simply referring to something Giordano brought up not me.

Well, so far we have umpteen thousand references to "human trafficking" where it means kidnapping and selling a woman into forced prostitution.

And we have one brief reference where it means smuggling illegal immigrants.

So your insistence that the latter is the most obvious meaning is unconvincing.

 

[Sapphire]

Exactly. The ambassador starts with "it is conceivable", then works himself up to a "serious" or "significant possibility." But never once does he mention having heard of an actual case.

(This is not to say I don't appreciate the link, sapphire. I do.)

No problem, Nova.

Based on this article (below), I'm not comfortable saying it doesn't exist in Aruba. IMO, actual cases often might not be reported. Or those reported are dismissed or not always acted upon.

However, one case that was acted upon involved Alex Mathew, who is currently being held in KIA in relation to an investigation involving human trafficking. IIRC, it was suspected the dancers at his establishment, Foxy Lady, had to work long hours for low pay under socially unacceptable circumstances. This also involved a lack of freedom, where the dancers were not permitted to resign. Maybe Alex Mathew will be the first offender to be prosecuted as a human trafficker (if he is guilty.)




2011 Trafficking in Persons Report - Aruba
Aruba (Tier 2) *


Aruba is primarily a destination for women and men subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Those at greatest risk of trafficking are foreign women in Aruba's commercial sex trade and foreign men and women in the service and construction industries. Also at risk are Chinese men and women working in supermarkets as well as Indian men in the jewelry sector, and Caribbean and South American women in domestic service. There are indications of past instances of Aruban children under 18 in prostitution in Aruba.

The Government of Aruba does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government has not yet successfully prosecuted any trafficking offenders to date, though the Aruban anti-trafficking coordinator has demonstrated outstanding leadership in advancing the government's response to human trafficking during her short time in office, and the government initiated several complex prosecutions during the reporting season. The government also showed improved efforts in the area of victim protection, primarily officials' increased victim identification measures.


http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,ABW,,4e12ee99c,0.html