Posted on 06/10/2010 3:42:20 PM PDT by Cindy
Note: The following text is a quote:
Joint Statement by United States Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick Maley Regarding the Joran van der Sloot Investigation
In April of this year, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office in Birmingham, Alabama initiated an investigation into allegations of criminal conduct by Joran van der Sloot related to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba five years earlier. Prior to law enforcement's involvement in the situation, Van der Sloot offered to provide information to an individual regarding the location of Natalee Holloway's remains and the circumstances of her death in exchange for $250,000.00. The FBI-led investigation was conducted in conjunction with Aruban authorities. The U.S. Attorney filed a criminal complaint charging van der Sloot with extortion and wire fraud on June 3, 2010.
Some news accounts have suggested that the FBI provided $25,000.00 in funds that were transmitted to van der Sloot. This is incorrect. The funds involved were private funds.
News accounts have also questioned why charges were not brought earlier, so that the tragic death of Stephany Flores could have been avoided. We offer our heartfelt sympathy to the Flores family. The Birmingham investigation was not related in any way to the murder in Peru. Despite having been in motion for several weeks at the time of Miss Flores’ death, it was not sufficiently developed to bring charges prior to the time van der Sloot left Aruba. This is not due to any fault on the part of the FBI or the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where agents and prosecutors were working as hard as possible to bring the case to fruition when they learned of the murder. A case based on events outside of the United States is a complex matter, and work was proceeding with all deliberate speed to prepare the evidence, the charges, and the necessary procedures to obtain custody of van der Sloot.
Regardless of their source, the question remains as to what role the FBI had in the transfer of these funds to Mr. Van der Sloot. Did they in any way help fund his murderous trip to Peru?
“”work was proceeding with all deliberate speed””
For anyone except a government employee, that means FAST! For government employees, it means we throw DELIBERATE SPEED out there so everyone thinks we’re really doing something.
Maybe they were trying to engineer a sting.
fixed it.
Naturally.
So did the Holloway family basically give up $25K to get Joran behind bars? I hope they can recover the money.
His comment about the Flores girl ‘ getting in his private business’ or whatever, is truly bizarre. To fly into a murderous rage so easily. I really have to wonder if there are any other victims out there.
That must be in reference to the comments made by Greta Van Susteren. She questioned whether the FBI had enough to make an extortion case, but were holding out for a murder charge, and in doing so let van der Sloot escape to Peru.
-PJ
That sure sounds like a CYA statement.
Easy to blame someone whom can't be here to rebut.
According to the Peruvian newspapers this afternoon, he is now claiming that Stephany attacked him first, and his actions were in self defense! What a man. There are police from Colombia in Peru right now lined up to up talk to him about two girls who disappeared in Bogota, from a casino, when he was there before he went to Peru. I think we are just beginning to get the whole story.
Oh, $25,000 in the bank didn't have a thing to with van der Sloot's gambling junket to Peru?
All I can say if that if I was a party to any of this, I would being having a problem sleeping at night.
Do Eric Holder's minions know how to make any other kind of statement?
No answer necessary.
mark
Dang. I half think he left her body there and ran around knowing he’d get pulled in just so he could get in the news again. Re: Peru, who knows how many skeletons are in Joran’s closet.
I wish I would have heard that particular show. I have great respect for Van Susteren's legal expertise, but I can't think what possible statute the feds would have used to charge Joran with murder here in the states.
While the US does assert extraterritorial jurisdiction in some crimes (mostly terrorism, and some crimes related to MEJA), simple murder isn't one of them.
If Joran took her in a boat and traveled outside the territorial waters of Aruba, and the feds could prove it, then they'd have a case as US Code does give the DOJ tremendous latitude for prosecuting crimes on the open seas.
I have read several of the Peruvian newspaper reports and if anyone is interested, below is a link to my blog post last night with the casino video. Note: Video is in Spanish.
Instead, Van Susteren was suggesting that the FBI waited too long, or that the Arubans tipped off van der Sloot that the FBI was coming, and he fled before the FBI could act.
Here's the transcript of the Greta show.
-PJ
Oh yeah. All that is completely believable. Although, I wouldn't point the finger at the FBI necessarily, but I would look at the DOJ. The FBI can't arrest anyone outside the US. It's completely up to the DOJ (that's Eric Holder's DOJ), to request that a foreign country effect arrest prior to extradition. The local USA office sat on this for too long.
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