ALBERTO DIAMOND THREATENS THIS BLOGGER

               

An anonymous lawyer, responding in the comments section of this blog, and obviously acting on behalf of the former Panamanian Secretary of Banking, Alberto Diamond R, has threatened legal action against your writer, though he has not stated that he represents Diamond. In a letter that first defined defamation, and then stated that I should delete the article, lest I be sued for damages, it arrogantly asked me whether I had any proof of Diamond's misconduct. Mr. Attorney, I do not scare easily. Do you not know my background ?

Let me kindly respond:

(1) Alberto Diamond R publicly stated, on the record, and to a Panamanian journalist, who subsequently printed it, that he had been responsible for seventeen billion dollars entering the Panamanian banking system. Venezuelan nationals did not, at that time, have anywhere near seventeen billion dollars in legitimate capital, in US Dollars, available to invest, anywhere. This is a statement of fact; does Diamond propose to prove otherwise ?

(2) During his tenancy, not one single money laundering investigation was filed by his office, let alone any convictions, in the banking sector, for money laundering. That is a verified fact.

(3) Alberto Diamond abruptly disappeared from Panama when he left his office, and he cannot be found at this time; He fled the country.

I wonder if the anonymous lawyer, who declined to identify himself, know that I received my law degree long before he ever did. You will notice that he is claiming defamation of character, because the defense to libel and slander is truth. His character is already in the toilet, due to his corrupt conduct.

I challenge Sr. Diamond to come to the United States, and file his civil claim against me, for he probably fears arrest upon arriving here, and either a criminal charge in the United States, or extradition back to the Republic of Panama, because Diamond is under investigation there.

Remember, if Diamond stays out of the United States, in hiding somewhere, and files a civil suit against me, he will be required to come to the US for a deposition, which he will decline, for the reasons that appear in the previous paragraph. I cordially invite St. Diamond to come to Miami and file his suit. The list of Panamanians, and Americans and Canadians who want to sue him, might keep him busy here.

We have laws in the State of Florida about frivolous litigation, Fla. Stat. § 57.105, and those laws provide for the award of attorneys' fees against not only the plaintiff, but his attorney as well.