Dear Fellow Investors,                                   March 22, 2009

                   You have asked about John Manners.  He returned to Costa Rica for about six weeks in December and January, during which time he was quite active in the affairs of the UCCR.  That should be no surprise to you who know him personally.  He has returned to the States for follow up examination and closure of his ileostomy.  This surgery was performed with success,  no evidence of his colon cancer was detected, and he is feeling well.  He plans to return to Costa Rica again in mid-April.

                   Since the disastrous conclusion of  the Oswaldo trial last summer we have spent much time reevaluating our fundamental strategy and exploring options that would be worthy of our time and effort.    We know that LEV has been involved in the same process.  So certain were we all that the trial outcome would be favorable that no one – including LEV – gave much thought to alternatives.

                    LEV has made clear to us that he is not interested in negotiating at this time because of his distrust of the system (quite understandable in view of the treatment received by his brother).  His desire is to pay his investors, and his concern is that his assets might fall into the hands of the government.  He is making his own plans to achieve one without the other.

                    We (UCCR) still believe that our best chance to recover our investment is to receive the money from Enrique.  We have good reason to believe that our money is secure – so secure that even LEV does not have access to it.      We do not know how much there is, if it is earning interest, or how it may have been affected by the downturn in the global economy. What we do know is that it would be foolish to assume that we could ever

expect to receive a penny from the Costa Rican government.  Therefore, it seems reasonable to us to do whatever we can to get the banks to release the money.

                    For that to happen:  1.  All charges against LEV have to be dropped, and 2.  The only government entity with the authority to do that  is the Ministerio Publico.  In this matter we refer specifically to Walter Espinoza, the prosecutor in the case, and his boss, attorney general Francisco Dall’Anesse.  (An executive pardon was considered until we learned that this would only apply in the case of a convicted criminal.)

                    There are two legal recourses available,  which in and of themselves could influence the attitude of the “powers that be”. Both would target the government – not LEV. One is compulsory arbitration.  This approach would be similar to that taken by the Canadians.  While the objectives would be the same, the conditions are decidedly different.

With the signing of CAFTA – which sets those conditions – there is no requirement to exhaust all legal remedies in Costa Rica before the case can proceed, all U,S. citizens can participate, and the advance of the case is greatly accelerated.  The disadvantage is the amount of money that each side must deposit as the case goes forward. 

    The other possibility is to file a lawsuit against the prosecutor

and the judge alleging violation of civil rights and mismanagement of the case in the beginning, which resulted in direct loss to the investors. Since a new Administrative Code was adopted recently, there are provisions that also accelerate the prosecution of a case of this nature. That is to say, there are specified time limits to the conduct of each stage of the case. We know that this can be done legally and that the evidence is strong, but more research is necessary before making any recommendation. 

                     As stated above, we do not anticipate ever receiving any compensation from the government.  Our primary objective would be to raise the discomfort level and to convince those who would have reason to be concerned that it would be beneficial to everyone involved to bring this matter to a close. Not the least of the benefits would be the potential of a  stimulated Costa Rican economy.

                    If you wish to comment, do not hesitate to do so.  But please do not anticipate an individual reply.  If we receive multiple responses related to the same theme, we will attempt to answer them collectively.  When we are a bit further along with our investigations, we will pass the information on to you.

                              That’s all there is for now.               UCCR

Monday, 23. March 2009