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Anybody see that quarter page display advertisment for ‘Don’t Go To This Extreme!” which appears on top of a photograph of a gun in the Tico Times this week?
It says “Been ripped off? Have criminals ruined your day?”
And then there’s a few paragraphs including one which says: “Gangs, crooks etc. We take care of them. We are a private entity working discreetly to help you get your stuff back. No bad guy or criminal organization too scary for our trained personnel.”
I would have thunk that these bad boys have never come across really scary guys or they would have had their brains blown out already but doesn’t this sound like ‘Hire a Hitman” to you? Or at least hire a mercenary? I might be seeing this stuff in Soldier of Fortune magazine but the Tico Times?
And Scott would this not be illegal in Costa Rica? Are they not taking the law into their own hands?
Either way I think the Tico Times has sunk to all time lows accepting this kind of advertising would you not agree?
EDITED TO INCLUDE URL OF A SCANNED COPY OF THE ADVERTISEMENT BEING REFERRED TO IN THIS THREAD:
Must admit I was a bit shocked seeing that.
The Tico Times has had some “colourful” advertisers over the years – Quite a few of the pyramid investment schemes which I warned about in my first book – long collapsed – like ‘The Vault’ advertised in there BIG TIME but I guess they are happy to take anybody’s money.
We do NOT accept advertising of any kind from anyone and as you may well know, we only recommend products and services where we know the people involved and where have normally done significant checking.
As an example, the insurance agent recommended in today’s newsletter is the gentleman that helped me buy global health insurance and I have been very happy with his services
To get back to your question, I am no attorney but would have thought that these people who are advertising are also going to extremes on your behalf no? And if something does go wrong and the persons you hired are killed, or they kill someone else while getting “get your stuff back”, since you paid them for their professional services, could you not be held liable for their death? Wouldn’t you be an accessory to murder?
Any other VIP members or attorneys care to comment on this?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comPS. I HAVE SCANNED THE AD’ FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON’T READ THE NEWSPAPER REFERRED TO – YOU CAN SEE IT AT:
This sort of thing makes Costa Rica sound like Dodge City of the old west. I guess when there is no decent police force around, people take matters into their own hands.
Perhaps I should shed some of my liberal attitudes about gun ownership before I move there.scott
you mentioned you are very happy with his services but all you did was purchase the insurance.. how would you know if he is any good until something happens to you??? i guess when that time comes we shall see.
You are absolutely correct ‘hrichards’
I have not yet had a medical emergency (Gracias a Dios) but as mentioned in my article, compared to the other insurance ‘experts’ I met with, John McGee has been 500% more communicative so that’s a good start…
However, we did check references which came out well…
I could have waited until I had an emergency and then told you how he responded (if I was able…) but, many VIP Members have been asking me for a recommendation and I have been telling them that I have been going through this selection process (with DOZENS of insurance people) and would announce who came out the best and John McGee came out head and shoulders above the rest.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThe advertisement sounds extremely strong and certainly would give you the
impression that they would do almost anything, criminal activity included,
to achieve their ends, on behalf of a Client. However, they do not state
any of the specific actions that they would take on behalf of a Client, no
planned criminal activity on their part is specifically stated, so the
advertisement isn’t illegal in itself, although strongly suggestive. They
could probably defend what they’ve said by stating that they offer a very
aggressive private investigator service, to solve the type of Client
problems that they have alluded to. Whether their activity stops at
aggressive information gathering, and authorized law enforcement officials
take over with the information that they have gathered, I don’t know the
answer to that. The advertisement certainly gives the impression that they
do it ALL themselves. In my opinion, I don’t think the Tico Times exercised good judgment in running such an advertisement.it might not have been good judgment on the part of the TT, but hey, after all these discussions on crime maybe a service like that is needed. a few months ago there was so much disgust about the lawlessness in that little town in the Nicoya peninsula (can’t remember the name now) where gangs were thieving, raping, and murdering that the local citizenry got together and hired some Israeli commandos to teach the bad guys a lesson (since the local cops were obviously ill equipped to do anything about the problems). Maybe it’s the same group of folks providing this new service. Obviously there is a need for such service or there wouldn’t have been the advert!
guys the big question is weather or not the TT sunk to a new low with this as.. but as to the growing need for services of this nature.. just this weeks TT you have 4 ads that appear catering to protection, guns,, etc..
what else does one do when they have been violated??? wait around and hope someone comes to the rescue??
file a report and just let it go as one of lifes experiences here in costa rica??
harlon
ps. scott.. thanks for the reply.. just thought it was funny to recommend something that whose services you have yet to recieve.
Just my 2 cents on Scotts recommendation, he’s recommending the services of an insurance broker and the quality of service he provided. It seems the insurance product and the company providing it would be another story…
THIS POSTED IN THE WRONG PLACE AND REPOSTED HERE BY SCOTT
Posted Sep 22,2008 9:03 AM judge_ed
In the USA accessory criminal liability would be difficult to prove unless there was evidence of an agreement to harm someone. I have no idea what CR laws on accessory liability might be so no one should consider using this service w/o checking w/a reliable CR atty to determine their potential exposure. Civil liability exposure would be a huge problem in the US since the ad certainly implies that these folks will go to extraordinary lengths on your behalf. Even punitive damages might be a real possibility. I’m an attorney w/ 40 years experience, mainly criminal law, and have been a trial court judge for 14 years.
Thats exactly what happens in a lawless environment when the victim does not receive legal /police protection. As far as liability for their services…good luck with prosecution. I would rather take the criminals rights and stats for getting off scott free than the victims anyday.
It’s their business, why not let them advertise. At least they’re up front about what they do, unlike others in CR. If the Tico Times starts to deny advertising business that they feel may not be up to the American Journalist standard, then I suppose they wouldn’t be running many realtor ads, no architect ads and certainly no legal professional ads.
As far as those kind folks with the ad, getting your stuff back. I guess it depends on what has been taken. If they take your wife or kid, you may want to hire them, keep that number handy if you live in paradise. Anything can happen. If they just take your household belongings, who cares, pura vida, call the police.
Sprite: I’m pretty sure you will be modifying your liberal views on firearms after living in paradise a few years.
One good thing about being a progressive; one can change direction more quickly than a conservative. I am seriously considering taking up some instruction on hand gun use.
I wonder what that protection business contract looks like. Do you suppose business is conducted without one?
Somewhat of a bizarre problem here. We always say that crime is out of control because criminals get away, yet we are worried that the same courts that lets criminals walk would somehow be very efficient in prosecuting us, if we get in trouble due to liability.
By the way, here’s an interesting anecdote. I went out to lunch with fellow co-workers and somehow topic shifted to crime. I was curious because I wanted to see a typical Tico experience with crime. ALL 5 of those I had lunch with have been robbed, ALL more than once (one was robbed 4 times). So if you haven’t been robbed, you’re probably spending too much time in front of your computer…..
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