The story really starts over five years ago in my former apartment. If you recall it was located over the bus stop for all buses to Mismaloya and south. The apartment was huge and gorgeous, but the buses loading and unloading people drove me crazy. Also the management for the building was nonexistent. I hated it. Just below my balcony was a make shift stand where tickets to various trips were sold as well as invitations to Time Share seminars (we all know about those). I guessed that they were all con men, but one guy was quite helpful to me. Later I realized he over charged me for all the help he gave (I was new here, and yes stupid). His wife sold plastic cups of fresh cut fruit and coffee cake. I bought some almost every morning and got friendly with the whole family (they had a preschool little boy) One day he stopped me and told me of a plan he had to make us both some money. He wanted to buy a van and take people on his own to places like The Flea Market, the Botanical Gardens, the Zoo, etc. He showed me how just two full vans a day would make so much money. All he wanted from me was 15,000 pesos for the van. I knew his figures were flawed in the number of people, plus I knew how difficult it would be to control a crowd going through some place as large as the Gardens or the Zoo. There are always a couple of people who pay no attention to time or other people. He said it would be a partnership and I could recoup my "investment" in less than a year.
I was not that stupid, but thought that even a little extra income would be nice, plus I would have the use of a van. As soon as I saw the van, I knew this plan would not work. It was an awful old thing with dented fenders and door. No American is going to pay a lot of money to ride around in that wreck. He said he would paint it with colorful pictures of the gardens and zoo. It never happened. Next he said he had to apply for a license to drive tourist around. By the time he got his license the High Season was almost over. So one day I asked him to drive me to Home Depot. It is a long way and at the time cost about 120 pesos by taxi. He said sure, but he immediately turned around the corner and pulled up to a gas pump and asked how much I wanted to put in it. I did not want to put anything in it, but stupidly gave him 500 pesos. It was my last trip in the van. I never got a dime back and eventually he just disappeared. No one seemed to know why or where, but I found that he owed a lot of people money. So did I learn to be less trusting?? Of course not, I am a slow learner (translation = extremely stupid).
ENTER JORGE:: Saul has been my go to guy and fix it man since I moved to this apartment. I needed help replanting some plants and he brought Jorge over. He was a cute kid, very polite and a very good worker. He was fast and very strong. Fast is unusual in Mexico so I started hiring him to do some heavy lifting and cleaning. Saul does not like manual labor. Jorge was always in between jobs. He seemed to have no problem getting a job, but they never lasted more than a month or two. When he needed money he would call and ask if I had work for him. I would make up something for him to do ( something I really did not need to have done, or something I could have done myself) just to give him some extra money. He also asked if he could do his laundry. He was still living at his parents home which was just a few blocks from me. He said his father was no longer working and did not get a pension for another year. The family had no money and their washing machine broke. Of course I said yes so he starting coming to my home once or twice a week.
I did think that I was missing some money from time to time. I try to keep one or two 500 pesos notes hidden in my wallet between some credit cards, if I am out and run short, I always have extra cash. I would look and the money was gone. When did I spend it? I could not remember. Also I keep several hundred pesos in a drawer in my bedroom for day to day money. Larger amounts of money I had been hiding for years. I would look in the drawer and think that I thought I had more money than that. Then my computer was stolen. I could tell they came in through the kitchen window from the dirty foot prints. I had bars added to the window. More things disappeared so I had the locks changed. I kept U.S. dollars in a billfold I only use in The States. Shortly before my last trip, I checked and found I had two one hundred dollar bills and some twenty s. Then a few days later when I was lining up stuff to take, I noticed the money was gone. No one had been in the apartment except Jorge so I accused him of stealing the money. He was horrified and sad that I could think he was a bad person. He was so upset that I thought "well someone broke in before, maybe someone else stole it" Still the question remained, "why only the money?"
I began watching Jorge more carefully and counting my money before he arrived. Then my CD player was stolen. That time I had left the door to the roof garden open. I really did not think that Jorge was capable of scaling the wall to get to my deck. It had to be a professional thief. I did figure out that the money taken from my Mexican wallet was always done while I was at the gym. It was the only time I left the house without it. And still I would find 500 to 1,000 missing. Something had to be done, so a friend ordered a camera for me that was a motion and sound camera that took a photo and sent it to "the cloud" where it was sent back down to my computer and my friend's computer. It even had an infra red lens that took picture in the dark. (since it was stolen, I only have a picture of the box) I set it up every time I left the house, but always hid it before anyone came over. I did not want anyone else to know I had it. The past two robberies had occurred on a Tuesday. The taco stand next door is closed on Tuesday so not many people are around to see someone accessing my deck or balcony. Three weeks past and no robberies. Then a few Tuesdays ago I returned from the gym to find Jorge sitting on the curb. He wanted to wash a few clothes. I explained that I was meeting a friend at the beach in two hours, but he said it was just a few things, but he had to wash his uniform for work that night. I told him to hurry and sent him upstairs while I hid the camera. While we waited he made himself a sandwich. He was always hungry and ate something almost every time he was here.
Besides the money I gave him for work, I did a lot more for him. When he moved to his own apartment in PTL I gave him linens, towels, and some pots and pans. They were extras I really did not need, but he could use. When he got a cold or flu, I gave him medication. One day he arrived with a horribly swollen jaw. I could tell from the smell it was a badly abscessed tooth. A friend of mine lost the sight of one eye from an abscessed tooth. I told him he had to see a dentist that day. He had no money so I gave him 1,000 pesos. He came back with a prescription for some expense medicine. I gave him another 500. Around his 25th birthday his cell phone was stolen. I gave him 1,000 to buy a new one. (did I tell you he was very cute). Every Mexican I knew told me that the thief was someone I knew. Every friend I had said it had to be Jorge. I could not believe that someone I had been so good to and had done so much for, could do that to me. Jorge was always polite, and even though he spoke not a word of English could be funny. He was charming.
In retrospect I think he was waiting for me under my balcony because he found he could not get into the house. After he had eaten we were both upstairs waiting for the dryer to finish. I was already to leave for the beach and had locked the balcony doors. He said he had to use the bathroom. While I was still waiting upstairs, he must have used the time to unlock my balcony door but leaving it closed and the drapes drawn. I left right after him locking the deck door and the front door, but never checking the doors I had already locked. I also reset up the camera. I had just reached the beach (about ten minutes) when I my phone rang. It was Hector who told me he just got an email from my camera showing someone who looked like Jorge going through my closet. I told him to call the police and took a cab home.
By the time I got here there were two patrol cars here and four policemen (well, two men, two women). The computer and the camera were gone. While Hector took them through the apartment, I texted Jorge. He neither speaks nor understands English so we mostly communicated in text messages. I wrote (in Spanish) that all I wanted was the computer returned. He said he had no idea what I was talking about. Then I told him the camera he stole took pictures of him and I had the police here. I just wanted the computer back. In essence, he said that it was no big deal for I was rich and had a big house (neither is true, but you will never convince a Mexican of that).. I told him he would be sent to jail. He wrote back that he was not going to jail and "over time" he would pay me back for the computer (it was obviously already sold). Not good enough! I told him I would send the police to the place he worked, then he threatened me. All this I have on my phone showing it was sent from his phone. The police were here for at least two hours and filled out seven forms. They needed my passport (checking to see when I arrived in Mexico) and for I.D. Then I had to sign all seven forms. Hector tried to explain what they said and the first one said "I had the right to contact and attorney" Why would I need and attorney?? Later I found out. They told me to bring the text messages and prints of the photos to the police station at 9:00 the following morning. Also I did not remember Jorge's last name and they needed that.and an address.
They were leaving when I realized that I not only had no copies, but not even the case number, nor did I know where the police department was. The girl came back and on a scrap of paper wrote down the number and a long explanation of where to go the following morning. They said any taxi driver could take me there. NOT TRUE! The next morning I got up early but was still rushed to get out of the house by 8:30. I dashed out and hailed the first taxi and told him I had to go to the police station. He said which station. I gave him the written instructions and told him my friend said he thought it was near the bus depot. He said "which bus depot" All this is in Spanish and I decided he was not a good choice so I waved him on. The next driver spoke perfect English said he knew where it was and we took off. We got half way there when I remembered they said to bring my passport. I had a photo copy that I always carry and they had it for two hours the day before. The driver said he would ask his boss. The boss said I definitely needed my passport, so we turned around and went back. I quickly grabbed it and we took off again. He was hurrying but I knew I was going to be very late. Then he passed the bus depot. He said he knew where to go and kept on driving. Maybe ten miles later we were almost to Bucerios when he pulled up to a one story white building. I asked if he was sure and he said he would go in with me. Sure enough it was the wrong one.
We headed back toward the bus depot. He had been so nice (in spite of driving way out of the way) and he spoke English. He also said he lived just a few blocks from me so I asked for his name and telephone number. He said I could call any time for anything. What a lucky break I thought as I have always wanted a good cab driver who spoke English that I could call. When we arrived he went in with me again and sure enough I had finally arrived at the right place. I asked how much for I planned on giving him a big tip. He said 700 pesos! Yes, we almost made almost three trips, plus he drove way out of the way. A one way fare should be 150 pesos or 450 for three full trips, which we did not do. . What an ass! He just lost a good customer. Of course the policeman standing there could not care less that he was over charging me. I checked in at the desk where I signed my name, printed it and he gave me a lanyard with the number 25 on it and motioned me through some air port metal detectors toward some chairs against the wall (not one word of English, of course). After about 20 minutes I asked him if I could go out for a smoke, Sure no problem. I came back through the metal detector and sat down again. I had been there at least another 20 or 30 minutes when I got up and asked when my number would come up. He then pointed to another woman at a desk against another wall. I was supposed to check in with her. Who Knew?
Finally a woman I had seen prancing back and forth on six inch heels spoke to me in English She took me into another room to wait for the inspector in charge of my case. She however spoke no English. I gave her the photos and showed her the text messages. She said she still needed his full name and address. I told her he works at Lala Leche (the major milk produce company here) in the warehouse at night. Not good enough! So I told her I would get them and left. The cab home was 150 pesos. I was sure Saul would know his family's address and name. He said he did not. I took his photo around my neighborhood. They all recognized him but no one knew his full name. They do not want to be involved. I did get his family's address, but no name. I now have a Mexican who has also lived here for a long time trying to get the family name.
Mexicans to whom I have spoken to said that even with his name and address, the police will do nothing. He will not be arrested, let alone put in prison. The best I can do is hope that a black mark goes on his police record to prevent him from ever getting a good job again. You have to sue him. There is a new law determines the amount of a fine if someone breaks into your home and hurts you. The fine is larger if they kill you. I cannot see how this will help. Stealing a computer is considered a minor offense. It was two computers, two cameras, a CD player and ten or twenty thousand in pesos, not a minor crime to me. Of course I have no proof he has been thief for the past months. I do have photos of him breaking in and the text messages admitting stealing the computer, but they said I really should have two witnesses. It may be hopeless. Jennifer wants to put up his photo on a poster stating that he is a thief. He lived in this neighbor for 25 years so it would have an affect. She also said if she sees him, she will beat him to a pulp and I believer she would. She is a tiny lady but fierce. .
It is a sad story. I am mad about the computers and the money he stole, plus he hassle of trying to find a new one in English. When he stole the first computer (not knowing it was him) I told him about the loss of all my photos from my travels all over the world. Photos of China, France, Russia, Turkey, Japan all gone. I guess that did not register with him. Jennifer thinks he must be a sociopath. I do not know, but I am also sad. He was someone I trusted and helped. He now has the first good job since I have known him making twice what he made at Oxxo. He now has medical insurance and Mexico's sort of social security where he earns point toward buying a house one day. He could lose it all. It is also sad when I think that 95% of the Mexicans are good, honest, hard working people, but a few Jorges taint them all. A sorry tale for everyone.
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