New Times stated that Frank Rubino is legal counsel to Willy and Sal. Contrary to this statement, Mr. Rubino represents a co-defendant who is also included in the indictment.
Your article also states that Willy and Sal were drug dealers in high school. This is a false statement.
Prosecutor Ken Bell states that Augusto Jay has a perverted sense of honor. On the contrary, Justo Jay, in his refusal to assist the government, has displayed courage and a strong sense of character. Justo fully understands the high price he has had to pay for his decision not to cooperate with the government in exchange for a lighter sentence. It is my opinion that this commitment toward friendship is rare and, indeed, should be admired.
It is a shame that the government has had to revert to cheap bargaining in order to make their cases stronger. If this is the way the U.S. government operates, this is not justice. What ever happened to the democratic principle that one is innocent until proven guilty?
Finally, it is my opinion that the media, including your publication, have distorted the facts regarding this case to achieve your own sensationalistic purpose.
Alina Falcon (Mrs. Willy Falcon)
Miami
HAUTBOYS MYSTERY SOLVED, BEN "LA-Z-BOY" PEELER GIVES NEW MEANING TO "MUSICAL CHAIRS"
This is just a note to thank you for Todd Anthony's favorable comments regarding our band, Hautboys ("On the Rocks," February 12). We appreciate his remarks regarding our now-discontinued Sunday night residency at the "Cactina," but we'd like to point out that the set that he missed at the Miami Rocks show, and which he heard went "less than wonderfully," was not a Hautboys set - we didn't play Miami Rocks, in fact - but was a performance by Jodi and the Sixth Street Band, a project with which we had no connection whatsoever.
The confusion may have come about due to the presence of Jodi and the ubiquitous Zen Ben Peeler both at the show and every Sunday at Cactus Cantina, where Miami's finest multi-instrumentalist is part of the furniture. However, the Hautboys proper is actually a three-piece guitar, bass, and fiddle line-up consisting of Ade Peever, Dan Radcliffe, and Rick La Rue, respectively. Jodi and the Hautboys was the name we gave to a collaborative effort put together especially for Miss Linda Lou at the Cantina, where we played with Ben and other invited guests, between September and January.
Anyway, thanks for the plug, and we hope this doesn't sound picky.
Hautboys
South Miami
FESTERING SORE
I was so appalled at Rafael Navarro's column, "To Have and Have Nat" (February 5), that I felt compelled to write this letter. Mr. Navarro violates every rule of responsible journalism in his acid-tongued and implicitly personal critique of the ninth Miami Film Festival. A journalist should be detached from his work and objective in his writing. His column comes across as a bitter vendetta against Nat Chediak and the festival itself. You can almost interpret it as a little boy whining because he didn't get to play with the big boys - hardly the kind of objective, investigative-type journalism that New Times is known for.
Regarding his view that the film festival is submediocre, one only has to review the line-up of this year's films and note that a good percentage are Oscar entries and/or winners at other international festivals. As someone who was actively involved in promoting Latin American films exhibited in San Francisco's International Film Festival for more than five years, I feel comfortable in stating that the programming in Miami's festival is of world-class status.
Regarding his view that it's ludicrous to have it at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts - isn't it time we reclaim and promote downtown Miami as a viable alternative to Coconut Grove and Miami Beach as a venue for cultural events?
All I can say to Mr. Navarro is, Grow up and stop whining!
Maria Bures
Coral Gables
FESTERING MORE
Funny how nothing's good enough for Rafael Navarro. Funny how Rafael Navarro wasn't good enough for the Miami Herald.
There's enough negativity around. Get rid of him.
John Schuster
Miami Beach
GUNS N' HOSES: AN EPILOGUE
How Kirk Semple's article about the demotion of firefighter Dan Corcoran ("Guns N' Hoses," September 4, 1991) can turn into the events in the life of Douglas Jewett is beyond my understanding ("Guns N' Hoses: Part 2," January 8). Since it has, I feel it is only right that I clear up certain points.
In regard to the statements made by Chief of Metro-Dade Police Mel Montes, my misunderstanding was with the French team, not with a Mexican general, and the Mexicans on site were the ones who told the French to leave. We were in Mexico City for eleven days without the assistance or socializing of Chief Montes or anyone else. I returned to Miami, after many days of no sleep. I had lost about 30 pounds and had blood in my urine. I was told I was not in good enough health to return to Mexico, so I suggested that Joaquin del Cueto return as team leader. If Chief Montes felt he needed to spend time with the Mexican general, it was not due to my behavior.
In El Salvador we were told by U.S. embassy personnel that the guerrillas threatened to kidnap Americans responding to the disaster sites. We were offered guns to protect ourselves, and I told them we didn't need guns because there were already too many guns around us in El Salvador and we had bodyguards.
Chief Patton was to be a liaison between the team and the embassy. When we returned to a building we'd had under control earlier, del Cueto and I heard screams from one of the tunnels. The Swiss team was using some heavy equipment, which had caused the building to shift and a heavy beam to fall on a lady's chest. A rescuer from Guatemala was also caught inside, and after rescuing both, I came out steaming. I asked who had allowed the use of heavy equipment. Chief Patton said he did, and we started screaming.
I explained that I was made the chief of the operation by the host country. It had nothing to do with ranks, but because of the gossip started by the Mexico incident, I decided to walk away and allow Chief Patton to take over, if that was what he wanted.
To clear up the Washington, D.C., incident, Chief Montes was not present. Before going inside the White House, we were searched and cleared. I have a photograph of the president receiving the patch; the smiling faces in the background do not express a readiness to kill or be killed.
Unfortunately, I cannot go into any details about all of our rescues, our triumphs, and defeats, but I invite anyone interested, including Chief Montes, to come to my home, interview me, and look at all the videos, clippings, and letters that I have. Who knows, maybe someday I will have time to write about these events at length. One thing you can continue to count on is that I will continue to save lives, stepping on toes if I have to, and will continue to serve the city by choice.
Douglas M. Jewett
Miami
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