BajaNomad

Publisher Lands in Trouble in Baja

tigerdog - 6-4-2006 at 01:27 PM

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-defame4jun04,0,4277184...

Nancy Conroy's coverage of a real estate dispute has made her the target of lawsuits and criminal prosecution.
By Marla Dickerson, Times Staff Writer

June 4, 2006


ENSENADA, Mexico ? Publisher Nancy Conroy has created a niche for her twice-monthly newspaper by printing the kind of real estate information you won't find in glossy brochures.

Readers of the English-language Gringo Gazette have learned about time-share hucksters, stolen deposits, flimsy contracts and other pitfalls that have tripped up Americans racing to grab a piece of Mexico's fast-growing Baja peninsula.

It's a focus that has won her friends among would-be property buyers. It has also made her enemies among developers and cost her some advertisers. The outspoken USC Law School graduate may soon pay a higher price: her freedom.

Conroy, 41, faces as much as two years in prison stemming from criminal defamation and calumny charges related to articles she wrote about a Rosarito condominium development. Conroy reported that the parcel where the project was being constructed along the rugged northern Baja coastline was the subject of a long-running title dispute that could pose a risk to buyers.

The developers also filed civil lawsuits against Conroy and her newspaper seeking about $20 million in lost sales and damages after some purchasers allegedly backed out of their contracts after reading of the land-ownership battle in the Gringo Gazette starting in November 2004.

Court records and a spokesman for the Mexican developers, whose original partners included former Rosarito Mayor Hugo Eduardo Torres Chabert, paint Conroy as a muckraker who dragged the name of one of the city's leading families through the mud in a campaign to discredit them, benefit their business rivals and generate headlines for her publication.

Julio Mendivil, spokesman for the development group, acknowledged the existence of the competing title claim. But he said the partners believed that it had no merit and that their reputations suffered as a result of Conroy's articles.

"The company is going to put her in jail and run her out of the country," said Mendivil, administrator of Desarrolladora de las Californias, in a tape-recorded interview in his downtown Rosarito office. " ? We're going after her with everything we've got, whatever it costs."

Conroy, who said she was notified last week that she would have to stand trial in the criminal proceeding, said the developers were retaliating against her for disclosing facts that they didn't want buyers to know and that they aren't required to reveal to clients under Mexican law. Conroy said she stood by her reporting and expressed confidence that she would be vindicated in court.

Still, Conroy said her experience might make other scribes in Mexico wary about taking on tough topics and powerful people. In addition to racking up thousands of dollars in legal fees, Conroy said, she has become the target of an investigation into her immigration status that Mexican officials launched at the behest of the developers, a fact that Mendivil confirmed. She said she received an anonymous e-mail death threat and has had her newspapers stolen from racks.

"It's harassment," she said. "They are trying to silence the press."

Conroy's case highlights the continuing evolution of press freedom in Mexico. Openness has improved dramatically with the crumbling of the old ruling party, particularly among print and radio outlets. Nevertheless, crimes against journalists routinely go unpunished. And weak media protection laws make the press here more vulnerable to litigation ? and even criminal prosecution ? than in other democratic countries.

The legal actions also underscore the big bucks riding on real estate development in the Baja peninsula, which is depending on American buyers to keep the gravy train rolling.

"The real estate community hates her because they don't want her to rain on their parade," said Ensenada real estate agent Kerry Kay Sims. "She has been ostracized by lots of people."

Sims said she found the Gringo Gazette's coverage a little too focused on "gloom and doom," without enough mention of reputable developers and the thousands of satisfied Americans who have bought real estate in Mexico. Still, she described Conroy as a dogged researcher who was performing a valuable public service in an industry sorely lacking in transparency and consumer protection.

"Property developers are scoundrels everywhere, not just here, and you have to keep an eye on them," Sims said. "I have seen the look of sheer terror on developers' faces when they think [Conroy] may be writing an article about them. The fact that she is out there tends to make people behave a little better."

Conroy's legal troubles stem from her writings about a tangled chain of ownership on an oceanfront parcel in the northern Baja city of Rosarito, where the developer, Desarrolladora de las Californias, is building a $30-million, twin-tower condominium project named La Jolla del Mar.

The investor group originally comprised Torres and his cousins, Eduardo Lorenzo Chabert Garcia and Marcela Brunet Chabert, who bought out his 25% stake in late 2005.

Torres, a well-known Rosarito businessman whose family owns two newspapers, the English-language Baja Times and the Spanish-language Ecos de Rosarito, said through a spokesman that, as minority shareholder, he opposed the litigation against Conroy and the Gringo Gazette.

"In all my experience, you do not sue newspapers," Torres said.

Desarrolladora de las Californias has records showing that it is the legal owner of the site. But Tomas Corona, a member of another prominent Rosarito family, likewise lays claim to the parcel. The matter has been wending its way through Mexican courts for years.

Title battles are common in Mexico and are one of the riskiest aspects for Americans purchasing real estate south of the border, where title insurance is not widely available. The U.S. State Department carries a lengthy warning about this and other potential stumbling blocks on its website at travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html.

Conroy has headed the northern edition of the Gringo Gazette since 2002, after a contentious split with her former business partner, Carrie Duncan, who publishes a separate English-language newspaper with the same name in the southern Baja city of Cabo San Lucas.

In an interview, Duncan accused Conroy of illegally wresting control of the northern Baja edition by diverting partnership assets into a new entity controlled by Conroy. Duncan said she was pursuing legal action to get the paper back.

Conroy contends that she did nothing wrong and that she is the rightful owner of the northern edition, which she operates out of a cramped office over a beauty parlor in an Ensenada strip mall. She said 15,000 free copies of the paper are distributed every two weeks in Ensenada and Rosarito.

One thing the former partners can agree on is that real estate is a hot topic among Gringo Gazette readers all along the Baja peninsula.

Conroy, a former attorney, said a steady stream of letters and e-mail from readers with real estate woes had motivated her to learn as much as she could about the purchasing process for foreigners in Mexico and to pursue stories she thought would enlighten them.

So instead of the recipe of the week or where to go for the perfect margarita, the Gringo Gazette's pages are anchored with stories such as that of the broker who skipped town with millions of dollars' worth of escrow money and the con artist who scammed buyers with a fake development project.

Conroy acknowledges that the coverage has cost her advertising dollars. Real estate ads in her publication are scarce. A group of local developers last year cited her brand of "yellow journalism" as one of the biggest threats to Baja's soaring real estate market, according to an article published in Ecos de Rosarito.

"I'm proud of that," said Conroy, who, far from keeping a low profile, bombs around town in a dented Chevy van plastered with the Gringo Gazette logo.

She also has won the appreciation of some readers. Las Vegas businessman Rich Sorrano credits the Gringo Gazette for helping him get his $10,000 deposit refunded this year by a Rosarito developer who returned the money after Conroy wrote about his difficulties.

Sorrano said he had intended to buy a couple of $335,000 condos as an investment but balked at what he saw as key deficiencies in the contract. He said he was saddened but not surprised to hear that Conroy was facing possible prison time for challenging a powerful local interest.

"Nancy is a candle in a sea of darkness," Sorrano said. "And in my opinion, she is about to be blown out."

Bruce R Leech - 6-4-2006 at 01:55 PM

Nancy made the old mistake of thinking she was in the USA:light: if she thinks there is freedom of the press here in Mexico? well look where she got herself.:no:

Don Alley - 6-4-2006 at 03:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bruce R Leech
Nancy made the old mistake of thinking she was in the USA:light: if she thinks there is freedom of the press here in Mexico? well look where she got herself.:no:


So, if we are posting on a message board, are we in the USA or Mexico?

There are some weird goings on here; should I be posting with an alias? Can they put me in jail for two years if I tick off an Important Person?

Uh, on second thought, uh, I DO use an alias. There is no such person as "Don Alley."

And I live in Slovakia. Never been to this baha place.

:lol:

MexicoTed - 6-5-2006 at 08:28 PM

Does anyone have information pertaining to the article? Is it true or any insiders information?
Ted

jerry - 6-5-2006 at 08:34 PM

yup don and i live just down the street from ya:tumble::tumble::tumble:

Dave - 6-5-2006 at 08:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MexicoTed
Does anyone have information pertaining to the article?


Yes, anything you would want to know. But you won't hear it from me. :biggrin:

We're all amazed that Nancy is still among the living. ;D

Capt. George - 6-6-2006 at 03:46 AM

remember one thing, you are only a guest in a FOREIGN COUNTRY, no matter how long you' ve been there or what you have invested..

step on the wrong toes and it's adios gringo...that could include jail time.

If they dol jail Nancy every American property (owner?) should do all in their power to right a terrible wrong. Guest or not, we are the backbone of the Baja economy.

Harry Houdini

Baja Bernie - 6-6-2006 at 07:46 AM

Nancy can be a real pain in the a$$ but she usually has all of her ducks in a row when she prints something. I can't remember her ever having to retract any story.

All of us who are or have lived in Mexico have a great tendency to stick our heads in the sand as it relates to Mexican law and how easily it can be directed at any foreigner who crosses, or is even perceived to cross, any Mexican. The laws on criminal defamation and calumny charges can be charged by anyone against anyone. Yep! Even gringos can make these charges--if it is against a Mexican they are seldom followed up on.

We had a Frenchman in camp who kept, righfully, complaining against another gringo. The second gringo took him to court on these charges and the Frenchman was told, bu the Judge, to shutup or he would be deported--even though everything he said was true.

Later, Mexicans brought the same charges against the second gringo and 'he' was deported--twice!

The Frenchman loved Baja so he kept his mouth shut until the day he died.

I totally agree with Dave's observation about the fact that she is still breathing. A real gutsy woman.

Ted, Any gringo still living in Baja would be a fool to talk to you about Nancy or this entire matter. Again, Dave is right when he says you won't hear it from him.

Bruce R Leech - 6-6-2006 at 08:14 AM

In Mexico any person that is not a Mexican citizen is not allowed to get involved in Politics. this dos include writhing and publishing stories about politics. also don't think they cant tell where you are when you make a post on the internet.. in the Mulege area we have had some peple that had to pay a visit to the immigration for what they put in the internet.

Bob and Susan - 6-6-2006 at 08:17 AM

i've got my room at the Santa Rosalia Prison reserved:lol:

Bruce R Leech - 6-6-2006 at 11:45 AM

grover this thread has evolved some what. you might want to read the posts just before mine and it might make more since. sorry

Capt. George - 6-6-2006 at 12:52 PM

CAPT WHO????????????????????????:no:


dO i GET CREDIT FOR BEING MENTALLY UNSTABLE??:moon:

Charlie Chaplin:P

There IS freedom of the press in Mexico.

Dave - 6-6-2006 at 02:32 PM

However, unlike the U.S., the consequences are a tad different. :rolleyes:
Quote:
Originally posted by Bruce R Leech
Nancy made the old mistake of thinking she was in the USA:light: if she thinks there is freedom of the press here in Mexico? well look where she got herself.:no:


Nancy has been operating under the mistaken impression that since the paper is published in the U.S. and only distributed in Mexico, she can print whatever she likes. She's about to be awakened from her dream to confront her nightmare. ;)

JESSE - 6-6-2006 at 06:10 PM

Shes skating in very thin ice, one of these days shes going to damage the real estate interests of a money launderer of a major drug lord and then you know exactly whats going to happen.

Blancornelas did the exact same thing, he now has to travel with 8 army special forces soldiers, in bulletproof cars, and can only go from home to his newspaper.

Good luck Nancy.