RSSTito Lacle of Aruba Today; Cross-Fire Scared Monkey Style (Part1)
The following is the first of a three part segment of a questions and answers session from last night’s Tito Lacle’s, Aruba Today, visit to Scared Monkeys. Tito, who was so kind to have come on Scared Monkeys last night and take some questions in the Monkey cage. He was also gracious enough to answer many follow up questions. Scared Monkeys thanks Tito for his time and insight into the Natalee Holloway case.
Questions are taken in random order from Scared Monkeys readers:
Friend of Monkey:
What resulted in investigation into beheading/Columbian
necktie? Was anyone charged?
TITO: NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT CASE
What of missing Columbian reporter Sergio Gomez whose truck was found
abandoned? (and the family said they thought Sergio left willingly but knew
not where he was)
TITO: WORKING ON THAT ONE
Is the manager of the excelsior casino missing also or on vacation?
TITO: HE LEFT THE ISLAND BUT REASONS UNKNOWN.. HE ALSO OWNS A COUPLE OF OTHER PLACES ON THE ISLAND. HIS NAME IS MICHEAL POSNER.
Does/did Joran have open credit at one or more island casinos?
TITO: HE FREQUENTED CASINOS.
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Golden:
Do you know if Steve C. is still working at C&C’s?
TITO: STEVE WORKED AT MI DUSHI AND TATTOO. HE FREQUENTS C&C. WILL CHECK IF HE WORKS AT C&C SINCE HE WAS FIRED FROM TATTOO AFTER HE WAS ARRESTED
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tlr:
RED-Can you ask Tito what his gut feeling is for the outcome of this
whole convoluted mess. And sort of OT how does he handle his new celebrity status?
TITO: THIS CASE.. THEY WILL NEVER FIND NATALEE.. THEY MIGHT SOLVE IT. ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT MY CELEBRITY STATUS.. DIDN’T KNOW I HAD ONE.
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erin_go_bragh:
Tito, are you aware of any Lorenzo’s involving the case? There is an alleged Lorenzo from Holland (now lives in Aruba) that might have eaten dinner with Natalee during her trip to Aruba. Allegedly, he’s around 27 and might have something to do with drugs…
TITO: HE LEFT FOR HOLLAND.. IF HIS NAME IS WEVER, THAT IS..
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golden:
Are Arubans aware of Jug’s letter to Al. Congress disagreeing with
any boycott? If so what is the general feeling about Jug having written the
letter?
TITO:THE LETTER WAS PUBLISHED TODAY IN MOST LOCAL NEWSPAPERS, SO YES.. THE ARUBANS ARE AWARE OF THIS LETTER
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Friend of Monkey:
When Mickey John was arrested he told me that 14 LE showed up at his house including van de rstratten…..is this common for
van der stratten and 14 LE to go arrest one man?
TITO: YES.. HE IS.. HE WAS AT ALL THE ARRESTS.. HE HEADED THE CASE AND WAS PRESENT AT ALL ARRESTS.
Has Tito heard of the shango posts? Would love to know how he feels about dirty hands and the sacrificial lamb
TITO: UNKNOWN TO ME
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crazybabyborg:
Wondering what Tito thought of the fabric pictures and the
relevancy to the case……
TITO: HAVE SEEN IT BEFORE.. BUT DON’T BELIEVE IT TO BE OF ANY SUBSTANCE.. BUT.. WE HAVE TO WAIT.. FORWARDED IT TO THE AUTHORITIES.. CRAZY.. I WILL LET YOU KNOW
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MuggsyMandrill:
One thing that I have always been curious about is the fact that the Aruban LE stated their reasoning for not immediately questioning Joran, Deepak & Satish was that they wanted to keep them under surveillance to see if they could get more information on Natalee’s disappearance.
Do you have any idea why they did not treat the 2 security guards in the
same manner, but instead, immediately arrested them and confiscated things they thought might have held evidence of their guilt in Natalee’s
disappearance?
TITO: GOOD QUESTION.. THE ARRESTS OF THE SECURITY GUARDS WAS BASED ON FALSE STATEMENTS BY THE THREE SUSPECTS. THEY LATER APOLOGIZED TO THE MAN FOR HAVING HIM INVOLVED IN THIS
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cubbeegirl
We heard early on around June 11 th that one of the boys had confessed to the murder of Natalee and that this boy would be taking LE to the place
where her body was. A few hours later we were told that this was a false
statement. Can you clarify what exactly happened concerning this?
TITO: THEY DID GIVE THIS STATEMENT.. JORAN CONFESSED OR SAID THAT AND IT WAS ON THE RECORD.. HE LATER CHANGED THE STORY
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Happinessis
HI–thank you–I’ve often wondered that if Nat did die –could she have been put in one of the big hotel freezers until she could be
moved—has that been researched?
TITO: UNLIKELY
What do you think of the information on this case from the National
Inquire???
TITO: DIDN’T EVEN TOUCH THAT ONE..
Was that whole missing shoe/shoes thing real or a red herring???
TITO: POLICE HAD A TIP ON THE MISSING SHOE.. THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A VALID TIP AND USED IT.. DIDN’T FIND ANYTHING THOUGH
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OneSillyMonkey
Hi Tito. TY so much for joining the SM forum to talk to us
On August 2′nd, Greta gave an interview with Police Lt Rudie Soemers, night watch commander. During that interview, Soemers told Greta that he believed Natalee left the island voluntarily and that she is alive. Last night, you mentioned what authorities believe was the second possible scenario of Natalee’s disappearance (died, then dumped in ocean). Going back to Soemer’s interview, would you say that other Aruban authorities concur with Soemer’s opinion – that Natalee left the island? If this is indeed what the majority believe, is that why we see little involvement in the landfill search? Do you know who the night watch commander was on the night/morning Natalee went missing? Was it Soemers, or can you give us the name or any info about who was on duty that night? The reason I ask is that there is some prevailing thought/rumor that Paul called whoever was the night watch commander on duty that morning. Thank you.
TITO: THERE ARE PHONE RECORDS BUT HAD THAT BEEN TRUE.. PAUL WOULD PROBABLY NOT BE FREE TODAY.. HE WAS DETAINED BASED ON INFORMATION HE GAVE HIS SON.. AND INTERPRETATIONS HEREAFTER
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Maritzka
The search at the VDS home, did they use cadaver dogs, do you know?
TITO: THEY USED ONE CADAVER DOG..
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Strike
I have a question (if I may)…
If anything, this case has seemed to expose a perceived problem with
underage drinking and gambling in Aruba. Do you feel (or has there been any attention paid to before this case) that there is a growing problem with
juvenile delinquency on your island because of this, and what have the
Aruban LE done to require establishments to enforce such laws in the future.
Thanks man!!!
TITO: YES IT HAS.. AUTHORITIES ARE CRACKING EVERY PLACE THAT VIOLATES THAT LAW
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Truthseeker2
Now that Jan Van Der Straaten is no longer working this case
can he be questioned in any way regarding any aspect of this case? If so,
can his statements be presented as evidence by way of a summons to appear in court to provide those statements under oath?
TITO: UNLIKELY.. HE WAS PART OF THE INVESTIGATION.
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Oldfart
Any chance of your paper doing a write to the editor questions
which Natalee’s family would respond to in the paper? This would be like the radio interview that Paul Reynolds did. It may or may not help
communications & understanding for all involved. Just a thought.
TITO: WE HAVE INTERVIEWED BOTH THE FAMILY MEMBERS AND THOSE STATEMENTS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE ARUBA TODAY SISTER PAPER BON DIA ARUBA
Jug Twitty calls Out Aruban Government Spokesperson Ruben Trappenberg
Last night on Scarborough Country, Jug Twitty made some rather interesting and strong comments with regards to what Aruban spokesperson, Ruben Trappenberg has been saying lately. Frankly after hearing some of Mr. Trappenberg’s comments first hand on the set of Greta’s show I have been waiting for some type of response. Finally last night, Jug Twitty began did just that by stating the following regarding Trappenberg’s recent comments:
But the whole thing is—is frustrating to me. Last night, I saw something on TV. It was very frustrating, when Ruben Trappenberg said something to the effect that—somebody asked him about, well, you need to pay for all of the family’s expenses. Oh, we are. You know, everything is comped, all the cab rides, all the hotels, all the—everything.
And, you know, that’s so frustrating to me, Joe, it’s unbelievable. I mean, I cannot believe the man came on there and said that, because…
SCARBOROUGH: So, is he lying?
TWITTY: … I can’t tell you how—absolutely. They are not paying for all our things. And, yes, they have offered to help us with a couple of things, but they are not comping our rooms down there. I put Beth in a nice hotel because I wanted security in there, and the owner of the hotel was nice enough to come and give us a discount on the room, but they are not comping our rooms.
Jug then went on to discuss how on earth that all of the families expenses are being covered when he certainly has a credit card statement to prove otherwise.
They’re not comping—I have there in probably 70 cab rides. I have never had anybody offer me to give me a free cab ride. It’s just unbelievable to even come and say that. And I have seen my credit card bills, if they want to pay for it. I don’t want them to pay for it. I don’t want the Aruban government to give me a penny. All I want to do is, I want to find Natalee and I want to go home.
Then as the interview went on with Jug and Beth Twitty, Beth made the following comment regarding further things that Trappenberg has stated:
HOLLOWAY TWITTY: Well, all I was going to say, and there was also another false statement made that was by Ruben Trappenberg, the spokesperson for the government.
You know, the FBI was not involved from day one, and it was only until my plea that came probably June the 5th that we began getting some response and some involvement from the FBI. But, you know, we had to pursue that ourselves and from supporters in the U.S. to be instrumental in getting that.
And then, there were only in an assistive mode, remember, for many, many, many weeks, and basically up until just—until—until recently. And, still, I am not sure if they are much more into that unless now all the documentation, from videotapes, from audiotapes are being released. So, you know, that was a false statement.
One of the comments that has most bothered me because it affected me personally and those searchers around me that Trappenberg made was the one about Aruban Government equipment used in the landfill helping search for Natalee Holloway. Trappenberg’s made a reference in some form of cute comment stating, “well, you know, I don’t know if the White House has backhoes in their backyard, but we don’t have them down here”, was about as uncalled for and unprofessional as it gets. Then again with hat follows later on in this post may semi answer such ridiculous comments. Jug Twitty, however, decided to certainly let the world know how he felt about the backhoe comment:
TWITTY: Joe, I would also say, it’s so frustrating to us, because, you know, here’s the government down there. They are saying they are helping us.
And I am sure they are, but when Ruben Trappenberg comes on there and says statements like—this was on another network or something the other night—that they were complaining that the government wasn’t helping with backhoes and things like that, and that EquuSearch and private investigators—private entrepreneurs down there, like Jossy and people, were donating equipment.
And Ruben Trappenberg come on and goes, well, you know, I don’t know if the White House has backhoes in their backyard, but we don’t have them down here.
You know, what kind of statement is that? I mean, it just frustrates me to no end.
Maybe Mr. Trappenberg would like to explain to us all how the Aruban Government owned landfill does not either own directly the equipment that works on the landfill property or at the very least contracts with equipment owner’s and thus that equipment acts as an agent of the Aruban government? Parsing words of whether the equipment is owned or not is irrelevant. The fact that at any given time they could have been asked to help searchers looking for Natalee Holloway in the land fill is. As this story has gone on and the many statements that have been made by Mr. Trappenberg have become more and more puzzling and to Natalee’s family obviously frustrating. Then this bit of information was brought to my attention regarding Ruben Trappenberg. He has a Tickle site? You have got to be kidding me? A spokesman for the Aruban government has a Tickle site with a profile, how are we supposed to take this serious? More to the point, how does an official spokesperson for the Aruban government supposed to be taken seriously when of all things he has a Tickle site? To each their own but somehow the fact that the mouth piece for the government has one of these just seems inappropriate. I thought nothing more regarding this matter would amaze me, but I stand corrected.
Jug Twitty Appeals to the Governor of Alabama for No Boycott
In a letter from Jug Twitty to the Governor of Alabama, Jug appeals to the Governor to reconsider their stance on any form or request of a boycott on Aruba. As many have made comments that Jug has over-reacted or acted too emotionally in dealing with authorities in his step-daughter’s disappearance. The above letter certainly shows a different side of Jug in a behind the scenes letter to the Governor of AL requesting that there be no boycott. Also the Aruban people may want to take a close look at this letter as well as Jug in no way seems to want in any form a boycott that would hurt the innocent and caring people who have helped his family so much in finding Natalee Holloway.
As previously posted, Alabama Lawmakers Ask residents not to travel to Aruba:
This may be a bit premature and actually probably a bad idea in general. Today the Alabama House passed a resolution to boycott travel to Aruba. Just as it was wrong when Dee Fine asked for boycotts on her radio show; this may be even worse. I am failing to see the productive value in such a measure except to further strain the relationship that of recent had been going in a more positive direction.
On the very day that the “Aruban Aruban Prime Minister Nel Oduber and Minister of Justice Rudy Croes ordered all materials pertaining to the Natalee Holloway investigation to be given to the FBI”. Talk about bad timing. One would think that even the family might be troubled by such a statement at this point. The Holloway’s and Twitty’s have made it abundantly known that their problem is not with the Aruban people. Their issues have been with the investigation and those it it, some who are no longer on the case.
It would appear that Jug Twitty has pretty much the same idea in mind. A boycott or threatened boycott of Aruba could only hurt relations with the Aruban people and Government when they are needed more than ever. Especially since the Aruban Prime Minister is offering his cooperation and the FBI is now able to access files on the case. Many people should see what Jug is sending to American law makers, especially the Aruban people, as this is a far cry from demanding boycotts at all cost in any attempt to hurt the Arubans. As Jug says, “Aruba and its people should not be harmed of the actions of others over which they had no control.”
Look for Beth and Jug Twitty tonight on MSNBC’s Scarborough Country at 10:00pm EDT.
Update: 8/12/05 from Scarborough Country Transcripts
SCARBOROUGH: Let me ask you, Jug, about a letter you wrote to a friend of mine, Bob Riley, who I served with in Congress. Now, of course, he is governor of—he is governor of the state of Alabama. And you wrote a letter talking about how the Alabama legislature had proposed a resolution boycotting travel to Aruba.
But you sent a letter to Riley, asked them not to be part of that, saying—quote—"Aruba has provided housing, volunteers through the Red Cross, supported nationwide searches and treated us with reverence and respect. This resolution would allow some factions to drive a wedge between our new friends and those who want us off the island.”
Jug, despite the fact that you are terribly frustrated with Ruben Trappenberg and other people in Aruba, you still don’t want the Alabama state legislature to push for a boycott on travel to Aruba?
TWITTY: No, I don’t. Absolutely not.
I mean, I am sorry they—that this has come to what it has. They could have cleared this up in the—we should have had an answer as to what happened to Natalee within, at the most, two weeks. And I’m sorry it’s come to what it has. And, of course, my family has gone through tremendous stress during this.
And, you know, I wrote that because I don’t want the people—it’s not the people of Aruba. It’s—and, you know, bless their hearts. Everybody down there has opened up their hearts to us. But, you know, when Trappenberg comes on there saying he is paying all the tabs and we are down there mooching off of him and things like that—I mean, he didn’t say that, but that’s the way it makes me feel—that’s not right.
Appeals Case On Behalf of Suspects; Diario
And yet another translated article from Today’s Diario.
Appeals Case On Behalf of the Suspects In Natalee Holloway Case Diario (page 3, 11 august 2005)
Oranjestad (AAN): Yesterday morning at court the umpteenth case took place, relating to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. After the Judge of Instructions rejected the petition of of the lawyers of the suspects to prohibit the FBI get documents and tapes of the interrogations made in this case, the lawyers appealed the decision and the case took place yesterday.
After the case was over, press had the opportunity to talk with the different lawyers in this case.
The first lawyer who came was Antony Carlo, who represents Joran van der Sloot. Carlo said that on behalf of his client he dealt with two appeal cases, where the first dealt with giving documents to the FBI, where the judge heard his arguments and the arguments of the Attorney-General.
According to Carlo, it is not known yet which day the decision will be made. For what deals with the second case of appeal, this is about the rejection of the Judge of Instruction of Carlo’s petition to stop interrogating his client.
It seems that van der Sloot indicated that he has nothing else to say, so he and his lawyer feel that it is not necessary to take him to the police station every time, to keep questioning him.
When DIARIO asked the lawyer if it is true that his client is talking, the lawyer said that he did not want to give a comment and left.
When Mr. Oomen, who represents Deepak Kalpoe came out of court, was not very interested in talking to the press, especially American press. He started to walk away, however he answered questions of local press, while the American press became frustrated, reason being that he said nothing in English.
According to DIARIO that this was because Beth Twitty went to the workplace of Deepak and had a hidden microphone and camera.
The mother did this in cooperation with NBC, thus American press. Maybe the lawyer is angry with American press for this reason, and he refused to speak with them at that moment.
When Oomen came outside, DIARIO asked him his opinion on the fact that Beth Twitty taped his client in his workplace. Oomen explained that the complaint that his client entered against Beth includes this fact as well, and that it is now in the hands of the police.
DIARIO also talked with lawyer Kock who represents Satish Kalpoe, who said that he and his client did not agree with the rejection [of the petition to forbid FBI access to the documents and tapes of the case] of the Judge of Instructions and that he hoped that this Monday he will have a positive result.
One of the aspects that he regretted was that also one of the reasons why he does not want FBI to have certain information is because recently Beth Twitty traveled to the U.S. and now she returns with a lot of confidential information.
According to Kock this cannot be and this is why it is not good for the FBI to have all documents and tape.
According to Kock, what Beth did, meaning that she taped Deepak with a hidden camera is something that can not happen [not allowed] in the U.S. He says that he understand that the mother is desperate and that she is trying everything so that the case will not die out. Kock does not think that there is information or indication, as shown in the press, that his client will be detained again, seeing that since the day that the Kalpoes came out [of jail], they did not receive an invitation of the police or any legal agency, to answer questions again.
[Note: For 'case' read 'court case'. The article says 'case', but they mean 'court case'. Also, the Attorney General appears on behalf of the government in appeal cases. There is nothing special about this. Just so that there isn't any confusion. ]
Hat Tip: Aruba Girl
More Pictures From Aruba; Family Discusses With EquuSearch
In just one of the many discussions that went on between the Holloway-Twitty families with Texas EquuSearch, keeping the family apprised of the situation and searches on-going. Natalee’s family not only were in constant discussion with EquuSearch, but also on numerous occasions came to and participated in the search at the landfill. Below Bruce Barton, one of the the Search and Rescue dog teams is seen discussing his searches with family members, Dave Holloway, Dave’s father-in-law and Linda Allison.
Above Joe Huston discusses with Natalee’s aunt, Linda Allison, the continuing efforts and searches going on at the landfill for the afternoon .
