Mike on Crime

By Mike McIntyre and Jason Bell
Winnipeg Free Press

A grand jury in Puerto Rico is behind closed doors considering a bombshell confession that could throw new light on the September 2005 killing of former Winnipeg millionaire Adam Anhang.

The Free Press has learned a man has come forward and admitted killing Anhang — and he’s also telling the FBI that Anhang’s ex-wife was the mastermind of the deadly plot.

The developments come just months after another man, Jonathan Roman Rivera, was convicted at trial of murder and sentenced to 105 years in prison.

Rivera has always claimed he is innocent.

“If the FBI can now demonstrate that he wasn’t there or involved, he should be released,” the victim’s stunned father, Abe Anhang, said Wednesday from Winnipeg.

Anhang said the FBI took over the investigation after Rivera’s trial in an attempt to find out who else was behind the murder. They have now taken their findings to the grand jury, and Anhang believes more arrests are imminent.

“The FBI have a much larger reach than the local police and have been doing a fantastic job. (Arrests) may be happening as we speak,” he said.

Alex Pabón Colon — dubbed “Alex the Mad” by media in San Juan — was arrested last month as a potential material witness to the Anhang killing.

Yet the case took a surprising twist when the FBI obtained a letter they believe was written in March 2006 by Colon to Anhang’s ex-wife, Aurea Vazquez Rijos, and her sister Marcia. Abe Anhang has now received a translated copy, which he forwarded to the Free Press this week.

In the letter, Colon, 29, asks the women for a $200,000 loan following an earlier payment of $30,000 and threatens to spill their secrets if they don’t comply.

“I’m not playing. I am getting pissed. If you fail to come through with this second favour that I am asking for I will also fail you and I do not care about the risk of what could happen to me. I will betray you,” Colon writes.

He said the money is needed immediately to pay off debts and expenses. Colon also mentions that Aurea had left Puerto Rico “running” from authorities.

“Since all this happened you believe that I am a sucker, but I am not really. I have no fear of facing this case which has turned very ugly, things did not turn out as we thought. But I only did you a big favour. I did not know this person. For you he was a stumbling block that hampered you,” wrote Colon.

He also claims things got “too hasty and a little crazy” on the night of Anhang’s slaying.

“Remember that we are all very involved in all of this, so work with me and I will always be a faithful person. I really am a man of my word and give 100 per cent,” Colon wrote.

“Now send me the money I am asking for and everything will be as it is now, don’t let me down and everything will be OK.”

Anhang, 32, was beaten and stabbed as he and his wife were walking from a restaurant in Old San Juan where they had been discussing their pending divorce after just six months of marriage. Officials say Vazquez, who was slightly injured in the altercation, did not co-operate with the investigation and fled to Italy.

Nothing was stolen from Anhang and robbery is not believed to be the motive for the slaying.

Anhang was a wealthy real estate investor who developed beach-front condominiums and hotels in the U.S. island territory and was CEO of an online gambling software company based in Costa Rica. His estate — estimated to be worth as much as $25 million — has been frozen by the courts.

A jury convicted Rivera, 24, of first-degree murder last October despite a lack of forensic evidence. Asked by Judge Abelardo Bermudez if he had any final remarks before sentencing, Rivera replied simply: “I’m not involved in this.”

Abe Anhang has always believed several people were involved in the death of his son — including Vazquez.

The Anhang family is suing Vazquez, Rivera and several others for US$50 million, alleging they conspired to have him killed. Vazquez has since sued Anhang’s parents seeking half his assets and earnings acquired during their marriage, plus an additional $1 million in damages for freezing his estate.

Prosecutors in Puerto Rico told local media they still maintain Rivera has been rightfully convicted of the murder.

As well, San Juan newspapers reported this week that Vazquez is five months pregnant and remains in Italy. She has failed to come to Puerto Rico for scheduled depositions pertaining to the ongoing civil case.

Lawyers representing the Anhangs claim the Vazquez lawsuit should be immediately dismissed based on the fact she hasn’t come to court and is seemingly snubbing her nose at the justice system. Her lawyers claim she is battling sickness related to her pregnancy and is unable to travel.