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| Conflicting Tales on How a Brooklyn Businessman Evaded Bolivian Custody | Conflicting Tales on How a Brooklyn Businessman Evaded Bolivian Custody |
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| In an odd twist to a serpentine tale, two discrete stories emerged on Tuesday about how a Brooklyn businessman who was jailed in a squalid prison in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, for 18 months, then placed under house arrest, managed to escape and make his way to the United States. | In an odd twist to a serpentine tale, two discrete stories emerged on Tuesday about how a Brooklyn businessman who was jailed in a squalid prison in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, for 18 months, then placed under house arrest, managed to escape and make his way to the United States. |
| At a press conference in La Paz, Bolivia, Justice Minister Cecilia Ayllón described a remarkably lax house-arrest arrangement with little supervision and suggested that the businessman, Jacob Ostreicher, had been gradually testing the boundaries of his confinement, including trips to La Paz, until he simply slipped away “clandestinely.” | At a press conference in La Paz, Bolivia, Justice Minister Cecilia Ayllón described a remarkably lax house-arrest arrangement with little supervision and suggested that the businessman, Jacob Ostreicher, had been gradually testing the boundaries of his confinement, including trips to La Paz, until he simply slipped away “clandestinely.” |
| “We now see that the only purpose of all of this was so that in a given moment he could flee the country,” Ms. Ayllón said. | “We now see that the only purpose of all of this was so that in a given moment he could flee the country,” Ms. Ayllón said. |
| Mr. Ostreicher, who is in his mid-50s, went to Bolivia several years ago to manage a rice-farming enterprise he had invested in. He ended up being accused by the Bolivian authorities of laundering drug money, a charge he denies. Prosecutors never formally charged him, but in June 2011 he was jailed in Palmasola prison, a notorious complex with 3,500 prisoners that is ruled internally by an inmates’ committee. Mr. Ostreicher claimed that he was assaulted and humiliated until he paid off functionaries of the committee. | Mr. Ostreicher, who is in his mid-50s, went to Bolivia several years ago to manage a rice-farming enterprise he had invested in. He ended up being accused by the Bolivian authorities of laundering drug money, a charge he denies. Prosecutors never formally charged him, but in June 2011 he was jailed in Palmasola prison, a notorious complex with 3,500 prisoners that is ruled internally by an inmates’ committee. Mr. Ostreicher claimed that he was assaulted and humiliated until he paid off functionaries of the committee. |
| Ms. Ayllón said the authorities believed that Mr. Ostreicher traveled from the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz to La Paz. An official later said he had flown to La Paz early Friday morning. From there, Ms. Ayllón said, he apparently slipped across the border to Peru, most likely at Desaguadero, a small town on the picturesque shore of Lake Titicaca, about an hour and a half from La Paz. | Ms. Ayllón said the authorities believed that Mr. Ostreicher traveled from the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz to La Paz. An official later said he had flown to La Paz early Friday morning. From there, Ms. Ayllón said, he apparently slipped across the border to Peru, most likely at Desaguadero, a small town on the picturesque shore of Lake Titicaca, about an hour and a half from La Paz. |
| Ms. Ayllón said there was no record that Mr. Ostreicher had crossed the border, adding that he had evaded border controls. | |
| “Obviously for him it was easy,” she said, adding that Bolivia has a long border and many crossings. “We have some weaknesses like the lack of control at border crossings.” | “Obviously for him it was easy,” she said, adding that Bolivia has a long border and many crossings. “We have some weaknesses like the lack of control at border crossings.” |
| She said that Mr. Ostreicher traveled on to Lima, where he appeared to have been using his own name and passport. She said that records in Lima showed he left Lima on an LAN airlines flight to the United States Sunday night. Mr. Ostreicher’s time in Bolivia received a lot of publicity after the actor Sean Penn publicly called for his release. Mr. Penn’s efforts were instrumental in obtaining Mr. Ostreicher’s transfer from prison to house arrest. Representative Christopher H. Smith of New Jersey, who has been active in efforts to obtain Mr. Ostreicher’s freedom, issued a brief statement that ended with his thanking “Sean Penn for his tireless work to free Jacob.” Aides to Mr. Smith said he would not say more. Mr. Penn’s publicist, Mara Buxbaum, did not return a call seeking his comment. | |
| But Mr. Ostreicher’s daughter, Gitty Weinberger, told an entirely different story Tuesday. She said she had been told by her uncle, Aron Ostreicher, that her father was kidnapped from Santa Cruz. Her uncle, she said, made contact with the kidnappers and “negotiated a ransom.” She said she had not yet spoken with her father. | But Mr. Ostreicher’s daughter, Gitty Weinberger, told an entirely different story Tuesday. She said she had been told by her uncle, Aron Ostreicher, that her father was kidnapped from Santa Cruz. Her uncle, she said, made contact with the kidnappers and “negotiated a ransom.” She said she had not yet spoken with her father. |
| “He paid X amount of money and my father was dropped off in Pacific waters,” said Mrs. Weinberger, 31, the mother of five, in a phone call from her home in Lakewood, N.J. She did not know whether by Pacific waters her uncle meant a boat. “From there he was taken to an undisclosed location,” she said. | “He paid X amount of money and my father was dropped off in Pacific waters,” said Mrs. Weinberger, 31, the mother of five, in a phone call from her home in Lakewood, N.J. She did not know whether by Pacific waters her uncle meant a boat. “From there he was taken to an undisclosed location,” she said. |
| She said she received confirmation of her father’s escape when she received a phone call Monday afternoon from Mr. Smith telling her that the State Department had learned that Mr. Ostreicher was “safe in the United States in an undisclosed location.” | She said she received confirmation of her father’s escape when she received a phone call Monday afternoon from Mr. Smith telling her that the State Department had learned that Mr. Ostreicher was “safe in the United States in an undisclosed location.” |
| “He’s 100 percent in the United States,” said Mrs. Weinberger. | “He’s 100 percent in the United States,” said Mrs. Weinberger. |
| A State Department spokesman said “Mr. Ostreicher arrived in the United States Monday morning,” but would not give more details. | A State Department spokesman said “Mr. Ostreicher arrived in the United States Monday morning,” but would not give more details. |
| Aron Ostreicher did not return several calls asking for an account of the escape or the supposed kidnapping. | Aron Ostreicher did not return several calls asking for an account of the escape or the supposed kidnapping. |
| One American government official who has been fighting for Mr. Ostreicher’s freedom said he thought the kidnapping tale was “a cover story” to lessen Bolivia’s embarrassment and deter officials there from aggressively seeking his extradition. Some Bolivian political analysts said the nation might have been happy to see Mr. Ostreicher leave because his case had widened to include embarrassing corruption charges against government officials accused of trying to extort him and steal his assets. The American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns about the safety of those involved in the escape, said he learned from relatives involved in Mr. Ostreicher’s rescue that a team of “professionals” orchestrated and assisted Mr. Ostreicher’s escape to Peru and onward. | |
| Mr. Penn, a leftist who is on good terms with Bolivian President Evo Morales, was contacted by an organization that aids Jewish prisoners and traveled to Bolivia last December, where he publicly called for Mr. Ostreicher’s release. Mr. Ostreicher was let out of prison and confined to his home in Santa Cruz. But the authorities would not let him leave the country. | Mr. Penn, a leftist who is on good terms with Bolivian President Evo Morales, was contacted by an organization that aids Jewish prisoners and traveled to Bolivia last December, where he publicly called for Mr. Ostreicher’s release. Mr. Ostreicher was let out of prison and confined to his home in Santa Cruz. But the authorities would not let him leave the country. |
| Ms. Ayllón said that Mr. Ostreicher’s house arrest required him to be confined to his home from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., after which he was free to carry out activities. He was asked to report to the authorities every 15 days. There were no guards, she said. | Ms. Ayllón said that Mr. Ostreicher’s house arrest required him to be confined to his home from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., after which he was free to carry out activities. He was asked to report to the authorities every 15 days. There were no guards, she said. |
| “The charges against him are still in effect and undoubtedly his escape shows us that this man took part in the crimes he is accused of,” she said, adding that the government would ask the United States to extradite Mr. Ostreicher. | “The charges against him are still in effect and undoubtedly his escape shows us that this man took part in the crimes he is accused of,” she said, adding that the government would ask the United States to extradite Mr. Ostreicher. |
| Jimmy Montaño, a lawyer for Mr. Ostreicher in Santa Cruz, said that for the first three or four months of Mr. Ostreicher’s house arrest there was a round-the-clock police guard at his home but that it was eventually lifted. | Jimmy Montaño, a lawyer for Mr. Ostreicher in Santa Cruz, said that for the first three or four months of Mr. Ostreicher’s house arrest there was a round-the-clock police guard at his home but that it was eventually lifted. |
| Mr. Ostreicher’s daughter said she had not seen her father since August when she traveled there. She said her father, who has the tremors of Parkinson’s disease, did not look well. | Mr. Ostreicher’s daughter said she had not seen her father since August when she traveled there. She said her father, who has the tremors of Parkinson’s disease, did not look well. |
| Mr. Ostreicher’s wife, Miriam, said the two separated in September. She said she had not heard from him about his return. | Mr. Ostreicher’s wife, Miriam, said the two separated in September. She said she had not heard from him about his return. |
Joseph Berger reported from New York, and William Neuman from La Paz, Bolivia. Monica Machicao contributed reporting from La Paz, and Andrea Zarate from Lima, Peru. | Joseph Berger reported from New York, and William Neuman from La Paz, Bolivia. Monica Machicao contributed reporting from La Paz, and Andrea Zarate from Lima, Peru. |