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Notes taken during conversation with Gene (Eugene) Crain concerning the facts of his involvement with the controversy reported by Gringo Gazette (Feb.-May).
Date: May 3, 2000 Summarized by Al Razutis from notes taken during the conversation. There was no audio recording of the conversation. Summary of statements made by Gene Crain: On Saturday, February 12, 2000, after having made repeated requests (in January-February) to the contractor of a nearby work site, Joe Nied, to clean up a open pit used for defecation by the workers on the home site being built for the Roths, Gene Crain states that at approx. 5 p.m. he went to the site and poured gasoline on the open latrine adjacent to the work site. He states that he did not set it on fire and that there was no one else present at the site. His motive for dousing the latrine with gasoline was that the unsanitary conditions had been a breeding ground for mosquitoes (which had increased in number over the previous weeks) and that it posed a serious health hazard to the community and himself. He felt that due to the inaction by the contractor Nied, there was only one solution and that was to kill the infestation with gasoline. On February 17 (Thursday) police came to Zacatitos to take him (Crain) to San Jose and make a formal statement. The police informed him that Joe Nied had made a statement on February 16 accusing him of setting fire to the work site. (Statement by Joe Nied - Exhibit 2 ) While leaving Zacatitos, Gene dropped in on Peter McGonagle to inform him of his departure. The police did not require Peter McGonagle to go in with them or make a statement. In San Jose, Gene made a statement without benefit of lawyer or translator. This first statement was subsequently challenged by his lawyer and replaced with a second statement made in the presence of a lawyer and translator on April 10. (Statement by Gene Crain - Exhibit 3 ) On February 28th, a front-page article appeared in the Gringo Gazette ('Two Gringos Investigated in Arson') authored by 'Bill Jerome Holme' , an article which accused Gene of arson, endangering the life of a night watchman, and which stated that he and Peter McGonagle - identified as an accomplice to Gene Crain in the arson - had been arrested and were out on bail. (Article - Exhibit 1 ) On Wednesday March 1, approximately 40 people meet with the publisher of the Gringo Gazette at Buzzards Bar and Grill (La Laguna). At this meeting Joe Nied's statement to the police was read as well as Gene Crain's first statement of the police. Crain did not speak directly with Carrie Duncan at the meeting. He has not talked on the phone with Duncan. On March 6th, a petitions was circulated (drawn up in part by Al Razutis) among the homeowners requesting that the Health Department come to Zacatitos to inspect the Joe Nied construction site for violations. On March 9th, Crain drove a Health Inspector from San Jose, along with Felipe Tercero (interpreter) to Zacatitos and the Joe Nied construction site. He mostly stayed in the car and was informed by Tercero of what transpired between the foreman of the site and the Inspector. Crain says that at the time of this visit, the perimeter walls were 60 percent complete, there was no roof, no plaster. There was excrement in various locales in the vicinity, the new 'Port-a-Potty' which had been subsequently installed on the site was overflowing. When the Health inspector discovered fresh human excrement in an unfinished room, he told the foreman he was citing the work site for unsanitary conditions (non-compliance) and would issue a order to be picked up by the foreman the next day in San Jose del Cabo. An order was issued requiring compliance in 5 days or the job site would be shut down. The job site was shut down and the house remains unfinished. (Health Inspection Order - Exhibit 6 ) On April 5th Gene Crain, in the presence of his lawyer and interpreter made a formal statement to the police in response to the charges by Joe Nied. (Exhibit 3 ) On April 10th, the Gringo Gazette published three articles, including an editorial by Carrie Duncan, and a letter purporting to be from Joe Nied, alleging criminal activities by Crane and Peter McGonagle as well as Ian McGonagle and Dr. Lynn Kramer. (April 10 articles - Exhibits 8, 9, 10 ) His response to the charges in the February 28 and April 10th Gazette are summarized: 1. Crain denies that the house was set on fire. He states that he only poured gasoline on the open latrine and that he acted alone. There was no house on the work site, only foundations and unfinished walls and a open latrine. 2. He has never made any calls threatening anyone. He has never made any statements to the Gringo Gazette attributed to him in print. 4. He has never been arrested; he has never been served with a deportation order. 5. He has never harassed workers or intimidated anyone and the charges brought by the Gazette are totally false. 6. He drove a Health inspector to the site in response to a home owner petition calling for an immediate inspection of the unsanitary conditions at the site. The inspection produced a citation against the site. 7. He has never bribed the police. He added: "For what (reason would I bribe them)?" He says that some of the Gazette's information is possibly from James Killiam (Rictor construction), a rival construction firm that has suspended work. This suspension of work he says is due to the fact that Social Security was after him, unions were after him, and that Enrique (Castaneda) a previous job foreman, was after him for unpaid wages to his workers. On April 11, a day after the Gazette articles, and the editorial by Carrie Duncan, two officers from Immigration came to Zacatitos looking for Crain and Peter McGonagle. Since neither were at their homes, the officials left a summons with Peter's father for an appearance at Immigration (San Lucas) the following day. Crane did not see a summons, nor was he ever served with a summons. On April 12, at 11 a.m., Peter McGonagle along with his attorney appeared at Immigration offices at San Lucas. Gene Crain, who had not been served with any summons, voluntarily appeared at the office. McGonagle and Crain were required to wait outside and were not present at the hearing which was conducted between immigration officials and McGonagle's attorney. No action was taken by Immigration against Crane and McGonagle. In fact, their applications for work permits were proceeding with due process. Crain is out of pocket for translators, copies, trips to town, all of which have depleted his moneys and made it difficult to work. In addition to spending 3500$ of his own money, he has had to borrow 6 thousand dollars. He estimates that he has lost to date (May 3) 20 days of work which represents approximately 2 thousand dollars of income. His lawyers in Los Cabos are Sarah Pilar, Jorge Correa. The charges against him are currently under investigation by the police in Los Cabos. His contact information is:
Gene Crain |