For those who are just catching up: Washington insider and anti-Communist advocate Otto Reich is currently engaged in a lawsuit against a group of young Venezuelans linked (the level of connection is up for discussion) to Derwick Associates. Derwick is a middleman firm that secured favorable contracts in the Venezuelan electricity sector around 2010 (the extent of these favors is also debatable). Reich claims these individuals tarnished his reputation and financial standing, and he has sued for defamation, racketeering, fraud, foreign corrupt practices, and conspiracy. The court dismissed the racketeering and conspiracy allegations, while other aspects of the lawsuit continue to proceed.
The pressing matter involves whether the court has “personal jurisdiction” over two of the defendants, Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt Lopez and Pedro Jose Trebbau Lopez. Both parties are presenting a mountain of evidence to prove or disprove that these individuals had legally recognizable ties to New York. The defendants argue they have minimal connection to New York, making it inappropriate for a New York court to judge them. Conversely, the opposing side must present facts to establish that the defendants indeed have ties to New York. Thus, the court is exposed to the activities of the Derwick affiliates in New York.
For over four months, a majority of the significant filings were kept sealed. This was quite frustrating. So much so that when Reich moved to unseal certain documents, I penned a letter in support of that effort. It was submitted on March 24. Perhaps coincidentally, less than three hours later, the judge mandated both parties to meet on March 26 to discuss unsealing the docket. On that date, the judge required the parties to provide redacted versions of their filings for public record.
The redacted documents were made public on Friday. They lack much of the financial information that some may have preferred. Instead, the bulk of the content includes specifics that appeal mainly to true enthusiasts, such as:
“In February 2012, Betancourt celebrated his 32nd birthday at Catch in New York City, hosting 20 family members and friends. (BET6-8, Exhibit 50 to Smith Decl.) Most attendees were part of Betancourt’s family, including his wife, mother, two brothers, and cousin. Notably, Betancourt’s business partner and cousin, Pedro Trebbau, was also present, along with Joaquin Mavares, who was then the Vice President of International Business Development for Pro Energy Services LLC (‘ProEnergy’), a company authorized to operate in New York and believed to handle the construction and operation of Derwick Associates’ facilities.”
Mmm, fish.
These documents provide evidence of Betancourt’s ownership of a penthouse at Olympic Tower in New York. One cited document notes that Betancourt commissioned an architect for work on “my residence” at that address. They also mention purchases of a “disc” artwork by Anish Kapoor from Sotheby’s. These details were initially shared in blogs and tweets, mirroring a lot of what was included in the original complaint.
Above all, these new documents pique my interest as to why any of this was ever kept sealed. I’m not familiar with this area of law, so I won’t speculate on the case’s outcome, but transparency in the legal process enhances public trust, no matter the direction it takes. This instance marks the first time we are privy to Trebbau’s and Betancourt’s reasoning for not being classified as New York residents. I have no clue if their reasoning is legally sound, but they certainly put forth a compelling argument. Essentially, they claim to spend very little time in New York and that Betancourt’s luxurious penthouse was intended solely as a vacation home.
If you’re interested in the Derwick case, take a moment to review these documents, and feel free to share your thoughts with me. Here again are the documents. The latest ones are dated 2015-04-03, which are documents 140 to 158.
The situational irony is that the Derwick team ended up revealing personal information when they initially tried to prevent reporters from covering them. They could’ve simply continued their lives privately, yet they made things tricky for those of us in the media, resulting in an unintended consequence of exposing who was present at whose birthday celebration. What a bizarre world we live in.