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While on a plane to Panama with TACA Airline many years ago I met a salesman/con artist named Roberto Nuisance (his name has been changed). He asked me a few questions about my background and the purpose of my trip. After explaining that I was an investor in import/export and going to check on my product, he offered me a job. Three weeks on a Finca (farm/estate) in Guatemala. I would be earning $16000 for three weeks of work counting coffee sacks as they were loaded onto containers and transported by truck. He seemed legitimate. I decided to travel to Panama and attend a meeting at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Panama City with him. There were several men there, the most interesting were the head of the Central American Coffee Cartel Enrique Alfano (name changed), and the brother of Manuel Noriega, the President and virtual dictator of Panama. Many things were discussed but I had the smallest responsibility in the room. I was going to count sacks of coffee. My Panamanian impressions were such, they are proud people, the canal was much bigger than I thought and several days later I was on the estate of the Cutino family (name changed) counting sacks. Estates in Guatemala are nothing like the estates in America. In Guatemala, the flora and fauna are beautiful. I have never seen such beautiful Orchids. The wealthy are quite rich. They have servants everywhere. I have to admit, I had a wonderful three weeks with the people, food, and music at nighttime.
When my three weeks were up, I was told to meet Mr. Nuisance at Hotel Cortijo Reforma in Guatemala City that night. He never showed. I returned to my hotel only to have a man knock on my door and tell me I better leave tomorrow because the authorities were looking for Roberto and his associates. “What about my $16000?” ‘Roberto will contact you in New York.’ No! No!. I want my money.
I knew his girlfriend was staying at Hotel Cortijo Reforma. So, I persisted for several days to annoy her and asking for my money. After a boring, humiliating week and wanting to get home, I was finally told that my money would be at the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. (yes the same one) in room 301 on Saturday. For sure, I wasn’t leaving Guatemala without my money. Roberto’s girlfriend insisted it would be at the Watergate. I never saw Roberto again. I followed her instructions and sent a friend by Amtrak to the Watergate Hotel (yes that one) and sure enough, a man was there with my $16000 in hundred dollar bills. I worried all the way home if the bills were counterfeit, they weren’t.
There was much more to this story but the lesson to be taken from it all was, “Get paid upfront.,” or you can be sure to suffer the consequences.
