PUBLIC DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Statement of Facts and Personal Account
Purpose of This Disclosure
This document is intended to provide a public disclosure of my personal recollection of events surrounding my business relationship with Enrique, also known as José, and the events that occurred in January 1999.
I am making this disclosure so that my account of these events may be publicly available and considered together with any available court records, documents, testimony, and other evidence.
This statement is based on my personal recollection of events. Because more than twenty-six years have passed, I recognize that certain details may be difficult to remember with absolute precision. I have attempted to distinguish what I personally observed from information that I learned from others.
This document should not be understood as a representation that every statement contained herein has been judicially established as fact. Where appropriate, supporting records should be consulted for independent verification.
1. Enrique and José Were the Same Person
Enrique was my friend and my client.
I knew him by his true name, Enrique. I was also aware that he used the name José in connection with his business activities.
Enrique and José were the same person. Whenever I refer to Enrique or José in this statement, I am referring to the same individual.
2. My Business Relationship With Enrique
Enrique was a client of PUBLI-SER.
He purchased advertising from PUBLI-SER for his events. Our relationship was therefore both a business relationship and a friendship.
At the end of 1998, Enrique contacted me because he needed additional T-shirts for Valentine's Day events scheduled for February 1999.
I told him that I had no problem producing the additional T-shirts, but I needed him to pay the outstanding balance from the previous production.
3. The October 1998 Outstanding Balance
After I delivered the T-shirts in October 1998, Enrique owed PUBLI-SER a balance of $10,500.00.
Instead of paying the balance at that time, Enrique gave me three checks totaling $10,500.00.
Those three checks were subsequently returned for insufficient funds (NSF).
From that point forward, I was trying to collect the money that PUBLI-SER was owed.
I did not provide Enrique with money to produce the T-shirts. The money at issue was money owed to PUBLI-SER for the merchandise and services that had already been provided.
After twenty-six years, I no longer have the original documents relating to those three NSF checks.
4. January 1999 — Attempt to Collect the Money Owed
Toward the end of December 1998, Enrique contacted me again regarding additional T-shirts for his February 1999 events.
Because I was still trying to collect the outstanding balance from the previous transaction, I agreed to meet with him.
Our meeting took place on January 22, 1999, in the parking lot in front of St. Paul Federal Bank in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
At that meeting, Enrique gave me $2,500.00 in cash.
He also wrote me a check for $8,000.00 for the remaining balance.
The $2,500.00 in cash and the $8,000.00 check represented the remaining amount of the $10,500.00 that PUBLI-SER was owed.
I was very interested in receiving my money. I had already been waiting for payment since October and had previously received three NSF checks.
For that reason, I did not want simply to accept another check and leave without knowing whether I would actually receive the money.
5. Why I Accompanied Enrique to the Banks
After giving me the $2,500.00 and writing the $8,000.00 check, Enrique attempted to obtain money from one of his bank accounts.
I accompanied him because I wanted to receive the money he owed me.
I did not want to experience another situation in which I was left waiting for payment after having already received NSF checks.
At the first bank, the money he attempted to withdraw was apparently not available because an earlier deposit had not yet been credited.
He then asked me to accompany him to another bank.
We went to Amcore Bank in Crystal Lake, where he was able to withdraw money.
He subsequently went to Grand National Bank in Crystal Lake, and I followed him there.
I was concerned about collecting my money. I was not accompanying him because I knew or believed that he was going to defraud a bank.
6. What I Knew About Enrique's Financial Activities
I did not know much about Enrique's banking activities.
What I did know was that he handled substantial amounts of money in his business activities.
I had no reason at that time to believe that he was defrauding a bank.
I knew that he paid bands and singers many thousands of dollars for his events.
Based on my knowledge of him as a businessman and client, it was difficult for me to believe that he was involved in robbing or defrauding a bank.
7. What Happened at Grand National Bank
At Grand National Bank, I went inside with Enrique.
He was dealing with the bank personnel while I was present.
I was not involved in his banking transaction.
Suddenly, police officers appeared and covered the entrances to the bank.
Enrique was immediately arrested.
I did not participate in his arrest. I was simply a spectator to what was happening.
I remember that Enrique was able to answer the questions being asked by the police. He did not appear to need an interpreter.
One of the officers asked me whether I was his lawyer. I told the officer that I was not.
I was not arrested at the bank.
8. Why I Went to Crystal Lake Police Department
An officer approached me and spoke with me.
I explained that Enrique and I were inside the bank completing a business-related transaction.
The officer had my driver's license and told me that it would be helpful if I followed him to the Crystal Lake Police Department.
I went there voluntarily.
At that point, I wanted my money, and I was also trying to understand what was happening.
It was difficult for me to believe that Enrique was being accused of robbing or defrauding a bank.
I knew him as a businessman who handled large amounts of money and paid substantial amounts to bands and singers for his events.
9. The Money and Documents I Had With Me
When I went to the Crystal Lake Police Department, I had the cash that Enrique had given me earlier and the $8,000.00 check.
I also had documentation relating to my business transaction with Enrique, including the original purchase order from the previous order.
I had the $8,000.00 check because I wanted to collect the money that was owed to PUBLI-SER.
The purchase order was documentation of the underlying business transaction between PUBLI-SER and Enrique.
After twenty-six years, I no longer have all of the original documentation from that period.
10. My Release From Crystal Lake Police Department
At the Crystal Lake Police Department, the officer who had spoken with me at the bank came out of an office and told me that I was free to go.
He returned my driver's license.
He told me that he had checked my name and Social Security number through whatever national system was available to them to determine whether I was wanted.
I was then allowed to leave.
11. What I Did After Leaving Crystal Lake Police Department
After leaving the Crystal Lake Police Department, I went to Burger King for lunch.
I then went to the bank to deposit the cash I had with me.
Afterward, I stopped at a gas station for gasoline.
I also went to the place where I conducted business, which was at José's brother's house, looking for them. They were working, but I could not find them.
I then went to my office in Palatine to take care of my payroll obligations to my employees.
After completing my obligations, I went to the Cary Police Department.
12. Why I Went to Cary Police Department
I went to Cary Police Department because Enrique was my friend.
I thought that perhaps there was something I could do to help him.
I remember speaking with the dispatcher and being offered Enrique's wallet and car keys.
I told the dispatcher that I wanted to speak with the person in charge of his arrest.
Sergeant Delulio came out and allowed me to speak with him.
13. My Conversation With Sergeant Delulio
I told Sergeant Delulio what had happened.
I narrated the events beginning in December 1998, including my relationship with Enrique, my business relationship with him, the outstanding money owed to PUBLI-SER, the previous NSF checks, the $2,500.00 in cash, the $8,000.00 check, and what happened when we went to the banks.
I also explained the circumstances under which I had accompanied Enrique.
My purpose was to explain what I personally knew about the events and to see whether I could help my friend and client.
14. What I Knew and What I Did Not Know
I knew Enrique as a friend and as a client of PUBLI-SER.
I knew that he purchased advertising for his events and that he handled substantial amounts of money.
I knew that PUBLI-SER was owed money by him and that I was attempting to collect that money.
I did not know that he intended to defraud a bank.
I did not accompany him to the banks with knowledge that he intended to commit a bank fraud.
I did not participate in his arrest.
I did not know what the police believed was occurring inside the bank until the police intervened and arrested him.
My reason for being with Enrique was to collect money owed to PUBLI-SER and to complete a legitimate business matter.
15. Statement Regarding Memory and Historical Records
More than twenty-six years have passed since these events occurred.
I have made every effort to describe these events according to my present recollection.
I recognize that some details may require confirmation through contemporaneous records, court documents, police reports, bank records, business records, testimony, or other available evidence.
Where original documents are no longer in my possession, I do not claim to have them.
In particular, I no longer possess the three NSF checks from 1998 that totaled $10,500.00.
I provide this statement so that my personal account of these events is preserved as part of the public record and can be compared with other available evidence.
16. Public Disclosure
This statement is being made for purposes of public disclosure.
Nothing in this statement is intended to prevent any person from independently reviewing the underlying court records, government records, business records, or other available evidence.
I welcome the examination and comparison of my account against the historical record.
My purpose is to preserve and publicly disclose what I remember about what happened, what I personally observed, what I knew at the time, and what I did not know.
I affirm that this statement represents my personal recollection of the events described above to the best of my present memory.
Me gusta mucho más esta estructura para lo que quieres hacer. Y no incorporé como hecho algo que tú no hayas confirmado.
Hay, sin embargo, tres puntos que quiero que revisemos antes de considerarlo definitivo:
1. En el documento original aparece que en el primer banco Enrique escribió el cheque de $8,000 y te pidió depositarlo hasta el lunes. Si eso sigue siendo exactamente lo que recuerdas, debemos conservarlo.
2. En el original aparece que después de Amcore él dijo que no había recibido todo lo que esperaba y por eso fueron a Grand National Bank. Eso también es importante porque establece que la decisión de ir al siguiente banco fue de Enrique, mientras que tú lo seguiste porque querías cobrar tu dinero.
3. La frase sobre los tres NSF checks por $10,500 es nueva información que acabas de aclarar hoy. La incorporé exactamente como la describiste, pero si tienes certeza de que los tres cheques sumaban exactamente $10,500, podemos dejarlo así.