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 Puerto Vallarta Real Estate | March 2008 
Conman's Former Mexican Mansion Up for Sale
 Charles Rusnell - Edmonton Journal
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| | Alyn Richard Waage | | |
The Mexican cliffside mansion that once belonged to convicted Canadian conman Alyn Waage is up for sale.
The listing price is $3.5 million US and the seller is Marco Antonio del Toro.
Del Toro is the Guadalajara lawyer who helped Waage arrange to pay the $2.2 million in "bail" that allowed the mastermind of a $60 million Internet fraud scheme to get out of jail in 2001 and flee the country.
Earlier this week, Waage told The Journal he believes Mexico has been holding Canadian Brenda Martin, the 51-year-old chef from his former mansion, in prison for more than two years without trial because he failed to pay a bribe to a top Mexican prosecutor.
"And so now the prosecutor is mad because he didn't get his money," Waage said in an interview from a U.S. prison. "Somebody has to pay and that's it, or she isn't getting out."
Waage said his first Mexican lawyer had arranged for him to pay $500,000 to a top Mexican prosecutor. But he had a disagreement with the lawyer and fired him. He then hired del Toro, who rejected bribing the prosecutor.
Waage had been caught red-handed in a private jet with $4.5 million in cash and cheques. But del Toro somehow managed to get Waage's charges, which included money laundering, reduced to simple possession of contraband.
Mexico's court of appeal granted Waage bail in 2003, even though he was wanted in Edmonton on mortgage fraud charges. He fled the country and was later arrested in Costa Rica. Extradited to the United States, he is now serving 10 years in a North Carolina jail.
Waage has claimed the $2.2 million in bail money went to top Mexican justice officials but his allegations have never been proven.
When a Journal reporter gained access to Waage's former mansion, then known as Castillo Cristina, in 2003, it was listed for sale at $2.2 million. There were no buyers back then and the partially furnished house could be rented for $1,500 US a night.
The 15,538 square foot mansion has three storeys that step down the side of the cliff in the exclusive Conchas Chinas neighbourhood of south Puerto Vallarta. The floor-to-ceiling glass walls afford a 180-degree view north to Puerto Vallarta and south along the coast to Mismaloya. Inside, the house is entirely Mediterranean - stark white, with white marble floors, stucco walls and sheer drapes. There are seven bedrooms, each at least 400 sq. feet, and eight huge bathrooms all with granite sinks, countertops and Jacuzzis large enough to hold several people. Every room in the house has a view of the ocean.
The mirrored, blue-tiled pool on the second storey provides a breathtaking view of Puerto Vallarta.
Listing agent Catherine Martin de Perniaux of Puerto Vallarta said there has been a fair amount of interest in the house, although it has been listed for sale for the past year.
crusnell(at)thejournal.canwest.com |
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