THE TIME HAS COME
TO REVEAL... 

We are positioned in September 1996... in Rio de Janeiro.

Going back in time is complicated... but memory registers and stores the most important events. We will cover the most relevant to understanding the facts.

Continuing...

Recovered from the scare and rested, we started to look for the means to return as soon as possible to Buenos Aires and retrieve the luggage that had been forcibly held back at the Hotel Salles.

We use important people, Entrepreneurs, Gallerists, Roberto Marinho and Filhos.  

Even Dr. Roberto's Ex-Wife... Mrs. Ruth Albuquerque, who was always very kind to us... a true Society Lady.  

One day, he invited us to have lunch at his Penthouse on Rua Garcia D'Ávila in Ipanema, almost on the corner of Praia. We were the 3: my Father, my Grandfather and me. As always, she was impeccable! On the menu, he served us abundantly with delicious prawns and a strawberry dessert, like a mouse pie, which I remember until today... the most delicious I've ever tried in my life! What a delicious lunch!  

At the time, and at other times we visited her, she told us that TV Globo was willing to buy the Portrait for us as a gift to Dr. Roberto. They would pay 500 thousand reais. Only this offer had not come to our attention. Looks like it was before the trip. How much would have been avoided! We never knew why they didn't look for us. It was a pity. The story would have been different. Anyway...

She could have helped us get back to Buenos Aires herself, but it seems she was prevented. In the end, she still had good relations with the Marinho Family, especially with João Roberto who visited her frequently and at the time lived close to her, in the Hain Nigri Building on Av. Vieira Souto 486.  

Still, he had helped us on some occasions when we had financial difficulties. I knew well what we were going through.  

Another attempt was with the ABL – Academia Brasileira de Letras. In the end, Dr. Roberto Marinho was part of the Immortals picture. We sent a letter to each of the Academics asking them, among all, to help us financially with the cost of the trip and the debt that was left at the Hotel. Thus, the ABL itself could pay homage to Dr. Roberto by presenting him with the Portrait that my Father brilliantly painted. It was a luxury!. Surprisingly there was no response, contrary to what was expected to be a natural supportive attitude... can you believe it?  

It could be inexplicable, but Dr. Roberto was a person who imposed his will. And Scholars must not have wanted to antagonize him. We assume. In fact, we didn't know why.  

The fight continued... we looked for other alternatives.

We decided to seek a personal approach with João Roberto Marinho.  

Jean Boghici, Collector, Marchand and Gallerist with whom we had good relations, one day called us and invited us to go to the Vernissage of the Sculptor Maria Martins Exhibition at his Gallery, at Rua Joana Angélica Nº 180 in Ipanema.  It was September 1997. Interestingly a year after the situation in Buenos Aires, reported in Part 2 of this story.

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We accepted the invitation, and that night, with the Gallery full, we suddenly heard Boghici calling out to João Roberto in a loud voice. That's when we recognized him crossing the hall and climbing the stairs to the mezzanine. We immediately went after him to talk to him. It was our first personal encounter. We introduced ourselves politely and got into the subject of the Father Portrait. He looked very serious. He wasn't very kind, but he listened to us, however without answering anything concrete.  We said goodbye, looked at each other from afar, almost measuring distances, until he went down and left.  

On another occasion, we unexpectedly meet him again at the inauguration of the Artist Jorge Eduardo's Exhibition, at the Ceremony of Awarding the Honorary Title of Citizen Carioca to Marchand Jean Boguici at the Museum of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro. We were invited by the then Director Heloísa Lustosa. She was a good friend of the Marine Family. After a while walking around the exhibition halls, full of people, and having greeted her, I remember that half an hour later I was startled when I turned my face to my right and saw João Roberto behind me, talking to some people . There he was again... very excited, laughing loud and clear, standing out and drawing all the attention to him. The three of us, my Father, my Grandmother and I, were also in super high spirits, happily chatting with interesting people. He circled the room until he passed us and stopped beside a girl.

I took advantage and went to meet you. I told him we wanted to arrange a meeting with him. With his back to me, he turned his face a little to the side and said: “call me there”. I answered with a question: "there where?" It had been pretty vague in the nomination. I imagined it would be in the newspaper, as he held the position of Vice President. He kept his back to me without saying anything else. So I said goodbye and got back together with my family and friends. At the time I heard him turn around and give me an effusive goodbye behind me! He left shortly thereafter. And so we stayed that night.

We later looked for him in the newspaper O Globo. We always talked to the Secretariat at the time, Cima. She was always very polite and kind to us. But no more scheduling the meeting to talk in person.  

In 1998, exactly two years after the situation at the Hotel Salles in Bs. As, between August and September the Eduardo Costantini Collection Exhibition took place at MAM in Rio de Janeiro, with the support of the Roberto Marinho Foundation, of which José Roberto Marinho was Director -General. Costantini had been promoting himself widely here in Brazil for having won the painting “Abaporu” by Tarcila do Amaral at Christie's in New York for U$1.3 million. It was a record! He wanted to open a Malba branch here in Rio de Janeiro, which in the end didn't materialize. But it gained a lot of prominence in our latitudes and in the rest of the world.

Who was in charge of the Costantini Exhibition Organization? She was then the wife of José Roberto Marinho, Frances Reynolds (now Ex-Marinho) through her Arte Viva Foundation, created in 1997 in Rio de Janeiro https://wiser.directory/organization/fundacion-arte-viva-europa/ (It was thus disclosed at the time, with an address in Lagoa at Avenida Epitácio Pessoa, 3724, 4th floor, with its headquarters in Madrid) of which she is the Founder and Director (today appears as the Instituto Inclusartiz responsible for the Exhibition, a cultural organization without for-profit with the mission of promoting dialogue and integration between culture and education, among other related objectives - https://inclusartiz.org/quem-somos/) founded exactly in 1998, that is, one year after the creation of the Art Foundation Viva... isn't that a curious fact? Today they appear as being two independent Institutions, of which Frances is Founder and Director. Both Created after 1996... when it happened at the Hotel Salles.

We already knew Frances personally and we always had a cordial relationship. She is from Argentina, with whom we sought support to promote our Painting, by Pedrini (my Father), Rosini (I had started as a Plastic Artist in 1996) and Marini (my Grandfather who followed the pictorial tradition). But there was nothing concrete from her. In early 2007 we looked for her by email at the Arte Viva Foundation in Madrid. We proposed that you organize an Exhibition of our Paintings, which we entitled “Three Generations in Art”. He forwarded our request to David Rodriguez Caballero, Director of Cultural Actions and Development of the Arte Viva Foundation, who responded considering our proposal very interesting, who would study our proposal, pending offering it to various cultural institutions and museums. There was no more return or sequel.

She invited us to the Inauguration at MAM, and we were there in person with Eduardo Costantini, whom we only had the option of greeting (unlike Buenos Aires when he did not receive us in his office and preferred to send him as a personal secretary)

João Roberto Marinho was also present, but this time we didn't speak, we looked at each other from afar.  

The next day we looked for Eduardo Costantini at Copacabana Palace where he was staying. His daughter came to talk to us at the Hotel reception saying that they were leaving and that there was no way to receive us. We tried.

The image we had of him was that of a serious and respected Entrepreneur in the Art Market, with whom we sought a pleasant and professional relationship.

Time passed and we persevered... always.

From time to time we appeared on TV Globo, where we were received by the then secretaries of Dr. Roberto, Neusa Trindade and Ricardo Wagner. Ricardo Wagner, very polite and kind, on one of these occasions, upon receiving us, commented to my Father: “I heard that you traveled with José Roberto to Buenos Aires”. My father and I looked at each other with strangeness and he answered Ricardo with a question: “when was this?”. Ricardo changed the subject and said to let it go, that he was wrong.  
 

The hypothesis was very absurd because we didn't know José Roberto personally, and we hadn't even had contact with him. How could I have traveled with my Father? It was very suspicious. This statement was hanging around our heads for a long time, and we tried to understand what was behind it, because Ricardo was serious and would never say something like that if he didn't have any real basis.  

Did José Roberto go to Buenos Aires with someone posing as my father? And what would have been the reason? For what purpose? The only question that was pending was the removal of our belongings, improperly held in the Hotel Salles, which, for us, were still there, including the Portrait of Dr. Roberto Marinho.

We keep the information and try to fit it into the general context.

Over time, in contact with many people to whom we told the situation of what happened in Bs. As. and the urgent need to return to retrieve our belongings held at the Hotel Salles, including the "Portrait of Academic Roberto Marinho", they expressed their understandings, which sometimes were configured more as clues or “camouflaged” information to avoid being exposed, as if it were an attitude of self-preservation, but without failing to elucidate our reasoning in the search for the truth.

Another hypothesis that they launched to us, and that made a lot of sense, was that the Marinho Family had made a deal with Costantini, negotiating the Exhibition of their Collection here in Rio de Janeiro, the perfect occasion to bring the 4 Paintings held at the Hotel Salles without calling attention and not even having to justify the ownership to the local authorities. They would naturally go unnoticed among 122 Works that made up the Costantini Collection... it was quite possible.  

We are reminded again of Ricardo Wagner's statement. That Pedrini would have traveled to Bs. As. with José Roberto. Does it have to do with one another? Did José Roberto go with someone posing as my Father and say he went with him?

The puzzle pieces were coming together with frightening factual logic!

We remember that at some point someone told us that we had “sold” the debt at Hotel Sales and all our belongings withheld, which in fact never happened! If so, why would we be searching for the truth until today, to the point of telling the real story, based on what happened? We have documentation that demonstrates that over the years we have tried in different ways to recover our assets.

Well, let's go...

We telephoned the Hotel Salles in Bs. As on several occasions. In 1997, for example, the manager Julio Cesar Galleti, who had retained our belongings in 1996, informed us that the debt, until that moment, August 1997, was readjusted in $1,700.00. The original debt was 830 pesos (as we had paid 100 pesos).

In 2000, we made new contact with Hotel Sales, and by phone I spoke with the Manager at the time, Hector Padrera, on the 12th and 13th of July. Naturally I asked to speak with the Managers I already knew, Mr. Galetti or Mr. Nicolás Pujatti. He informed me that they no longer worked at the Hotel, that the entire staff had changed after our stay and that the Hotel had been sold, that is, it had a new Owner. We are talking about a 4 year period only. He also said that our belongings were no longer in the room behind the reception or “maintenance shop”, which they had taken to another place, without specifying the exact location, which aroused our suspicions. He also told me (and what was more serious) that a person had presented himself there at the Hotel, without specifying exactly when, saying that my father had “sold the debt” to him at the Hotel Salles, which would have given him the right to rescue the 4 Paintings and the rest of our luggage. I was appalled by that information and disputed the statement right away! That had never happened!

For the removal of the goods, it was necessary to present the Notarial Minutes drawn up by the Registrar when we left and which did not stipulate a deadline to be closed, together with the 7 cards that corresponded to the volumes and were delivered to us by the "Conserje" or "doorman" responsible for reception, Aquiles Romero, documents that are in our possession until today, kept in a safe place and everything duly digitized.

The logical thing would be that we would have given these documents to that person, if we had in fact “sold the debt”. And certainly, if that were the case, we would have sacramented in writing. That is, such person must have presented some document that authorizes it. Otherwise, how would the Hotel deliver foreign goods registered in the Notarial Record to a stranger? As this did not happen, we can deduce that there was some illicit act committed, obviously without our knowledge or consent. And if in fact such a document existed, by the way "false document", it must have been presented at the Hotel Salles to retrieve our goods, and if so, the Hotel could have presented it to us as proof of its legality, which would legally support them to rebut any of our claims at any time. But this supposed document never appeared. In other words, it is very likely that it doesn't even exist.

Just imagine: if we had hypothetically done some transaction of “debt sale”, why would we be claiming our rights for so many years after? Does not make sense.  

From then on, we became more stubborn about returning to the Bs. As. to personally verify that our belongings, in fact, were still in the custody of the Hotel Salles as a trustee.  

The question that troubled us was: who could it have been? At that time, memory points us to José Roberto Marinho again. Was it him?

We came to believe that the information that the Padrera Manager had given us was logical and made sense. Why would I say something if I didn't have full knowledge of the facts?  

In the eagerness to obtain concrete proof, the following day, July 21st, I sent a fax asking the Manager Padrera to send us photos of the Paintings and luggage, demonstrating that they were really in the possession of the Hotel Salles. In the fax I referred to what we had talked about by phone, regarding the information that they would be charging 5 pesos a day for the safekeeping of our belongings since September 3, 1996 (which would add up to approximately 7,000/7,200 pesos approximately, almost 4 years later, of an initial debt of 930 pesos). We needed to make sure everything was with the Hotel. However, there was no reply to the Fax, much less the photographic proof I asked for, which somehow confirmed the possibility that someone had removed everything, as Manager Padrera had told me, and obviously, we could not find out.

The situation was beginning to take on another dimension. We thought about what kind of steps we could take from now on.

That was when we sought diplomatic support in Argentina and here in Brazil, so that they could help us in some plausible way.

So much so that on 09/01/2000 we sent a fax reporting what had happened to the then Consul of Brazil in Argentina, Ambassador Ademar Bahadian, requesting him to intervene with the Hotel Salles, so that they would keep the original debt so that we could remove our belongings. (Already suspecting that they were no longer there, but moving on to discover the truth).

On the following September 19th, we received an email reply from the Deputy General Consul, Ruy A. Tavora, acknowledging the receipt of our correspondence dated September 1st, and informing that, despite the intervention of the Consulate, the understanding of the Hotel Salles was that we should pay off the debt for 4 years of storage of our assets. He suggested that we hire a lawyer in the Capital of Bs. As. Why would he make such a suggestion? We naturally inferred that he saw a situation that needed legal support, because illegalities and abuses of authority would have been committed, followed by misappropriation, in which two Argentine citizens and a Brazilian were involved. The proportion that such conflict was about to reach portrays the diplomatic character of the issue, with two countries, their legislation and legal protections to be applied to the case.

Another issue that was pointed out to us is that, if in fact the Paintings were "sold" to a third person as claimed and described above, before leaving Argentine soil, a 30% tax should have been paid on the final sale value , which may have been negotiated at any price. However, as the 4 Paintings were valued together at 118 Million Dollars, and was publicly disclosed in Materias de Jornal Brasileiras and was included in the Argentine Notarial Act, the Argentine Government could have demanded 35.4 million Dollars in tax, if the transaction had reached the knowledge of Argentine Government and Finance Authorities. Hence, it can be deduced that the 4 Paintings left Argentina without making a fuss, well hidden, going unnoticed, which confirms the almost certain hypothesis that they came mixed between the Paintings that were part of the Costantini Collection.  

That is, the Artist does not sell the Paintings he owns, they are "stolen", or if they prefer a slightly softer term, but no less implication and serious, "improperly appropriate", he loses his personal luggage where there was professional material, you go through tremendous suffocation with your Family for years, while others gain and benefit at your expense. What indignation!

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Before continuing with the narration of the facts, I open a parenthesis to make the following observation that is very relevant to the subject:  

Our main claim has always been to know where the 4 Paintings are! They are Works of Art that cannot disappear, and the Author, in this case the Painter Pedrini, according to Brazilian Law, has the legal right to claim at any time the whereabouts of his Works in defense of their physical integrity, and to have access to the same. It is a moral, inalienable and inalienable right (Article 27 of the Copyright Law 9610/98 - LDA), supported in parallel by the Brazilian Constitution and other legal dictates.

LDA...

Art. 24. The author's moral rights are:

I - to claim, at any time, the authorship of the work;

II - having their name, pseudonym or conventional sign indicated or announced, as being that of the author, in the use of their work;

III - to preserve the unpublished work;

IV - to ensure the integrity of the work, opposing any changes or the practice of acts that, in any way, may harm it or affect it, as author, in its reputation or honor;

V - to modify the work, before or after it is used;

VI - to withdraw the work from circulation or to suspend any form of use already authorized, when the circulation or use implies an affront to its reputation and image;

VII - that of having access to a unique and rare copy of the work, when it is legitimately in the possession of another, for the purpose of, through a photographic or similar, or audiovisual process, preserving its memory, in a way that causes the least inconvenience possible to its holder, who, in any case, will be indemnified for any damage or loss caused to it.

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It is also necessary to take into account the Argentine Laws that assertively must point out legal defense paths from various perspectives.

Returning to the story...

Hiring a lawyer in Brazil already has high costs. In another country then! For us it was impractical.

That's when we received on the 11th of October (we are in the year 2000) another email from the Brazilian Consulate in Argentina, in addition to their email of the 19th of September. They provided us with the email from the Defensoria del Pueblo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, as they have a specific program to protect tourists and act in consumer protection.  

A few days earlier, on October 6th, we had sent a fax to the Directorate of Legal Consular Affairs and Assistance for Brazilians Abroad, addressed to the Director General, Ambassador Ruy Pinheiro de Vasconcellos, requesting him to intervene with the Brazilian Consulate in Bs . At.  

I sent an email again on 10/13/2000 to the Deputy General Consul, Ruy A. Tavora, and on 10/17/2000 I reinforced the mailing by attaching a copy of the Notarial Act, as a reply to your email of 09/19/ 2000. I would like to emphasize that I talked about it with the Vice-Consul, Mr. Rodrigo Medeiros, on 10/3/2000, whom I mention in my reply. This time we had new information. I told about the hypothesis raised that a third party could have removed our belongings without our knowledge alleging the false "debt purchase", therefore illegally, asking them to go to the Hotel Salles to check and take photographs that prove that our belongings, in fact, they were in possession of the Hotel. And that, based on the information received, we understood the reason for so many obstacles, blocks and injustices practiced against us, because at this point, we were already facing very difficult situations that had prevented us from returning to Bs. As. to solve this situation.  

I commented that, at the same time, we were worried that so many lies could harm our good relations with the Marinho Family, since we intended to present Dr. Roberto with the Portrait on his next birthday, 12/3/2000. For that, we needed to retrieve it first. I took the opportunity to thank the Defender's indication in Bs. As.

Our next step was to contact the Defensoria del Pueblo de la Ciudad de Bs.As, to whom we sent an email on October 17, 2000, requesting information on the procedure to be able to recover our assets.

In phone calls they informed us that the Secretary General was Mr. Héctor Masquelet and they asked me to send them my documentary data (I informed the Brazilians and Argentines) and address, which I did on 23 and 24 October 2000.  

We are waiting for feedback. And without having received any contact, I called on the 21st of November. I was attended by Dr. Diego Console, who had asked me to send them by mail a copy of the Notarial Ata, of the 7 cards corresponding to the volumes, the list of the account we left at the Hotel (which was in my name, since it was me, with my Grandfather, who entered the Hotel first on 8/27/1996) and the fax sent to the Hotel Salles, since the Consulate had not brought these documents to them, as agreed with the Vice-Consul, Rodrigo Medeiros. I sent it by mail as registered correspondence the following day, November 22, together with a letter with information, including requesting that they send us a copy of the Official Letter sent to the Hotel on 11/20/2000, which we did not receive, as you told me you have it shipped yesterday. It was addressed to Dr. Gabriela Sakim.

I also got to talk to Dr. Juan Carlos Gastaldi on a few occasions.

On the 27th of November, we received the email from Mr. Héctor Masquelet with the aforementioned Official Letter with the closing date of the 23rd of November, which has as reference “Actuación Nº 4333/00” and requests information from the Manager of the Hotel Salles about what happened, making mention of the legal attributions of the Defender's Office. Our cause won an official number.  

That same November 27th, after receiving the email from Dr. Masquelet, I wrote a letter, in my own hand and on personalized paper with my photo, addressed to Dr. Roberto Marinho, expressing once again and effusively, our desire and certainty that the Picture had to stay with him and in his Home, to his delight and joy, a certainty we have had since the Work was conceived. I mentioned that there were setbacks along the way that prevented us from holding an Exhibition in his honor on the occasion of his 96th birthday, choosing the MNBA – National Museum of Fine Arts or the Roberto Marinho Foundation (owned by him), places that did not confirm the space for this purpose, making impossible the resulting Sponsorships that would allow us to return to Bs. As. and recover our goods, mainly his Portrait, which we would present to him on December 3rd. I told him that this rescue had become a goal for us, a reason for life that would mark the end of a traumatic stage and the beginning of a new stage with harmony and peace. I also informed that we had requested support from the Brazilian Consulate in Bs. As., who in turn referred me to the Public Defender of the City of Bs. As. against us when we traveled in 1996, which 
it had culminated in the retention of our baggage, including his Portrait. I mentioned the Notarial Ata and that I even went to the Itamaraty in Brasília, without having received any definite position. And that everyone promised us to solve everything by the end of this year (2000).  It was what we most wanted to see him happy and be at peace with him and his Family. I praised our appreciation, admiration and respect for him, for being such an important figure for Brazil and the world, standing out as a personality for expanding and encompassing himself with wisdom, education and vision, benefiting many human beings who need to live and grow with stability. I mentioned that we had not yet achieved this blessing, that we were fighting opponents and traitors who deceived us and took advantage of our confidence to impede our growth, attributing it to what could be envy. I confirmed that we would never stop fighting, however difficult, and that we would do what we could to present you with the Portrait. I asked for his understanding, figuring we couldn't give him a gift for his next birthday, maybe that Christmas, as it wasn't just up to our goodwill. But that he knew that the Portrait was already his and that no one could object to that fact. I stated that it was a dream to reach the end of the millennium as part of your select group of friends. I congratulated him from my heart and in advance for his new birthday, wishing that God would bless him with more years of life and that he would allow us to share with him moments of happiness and sincere friendship. In closing, I convey my best wishes for health, peace, joy and unity. I ended with the word: Longevity and signed. I delivered this letter personally, in the hands of a secretary of his at the Presidency of Jornal O Globo in downtown Rio de Janeiro (Roberto Marinho was the President), who signed Pontes at 17:10 hrs, 11-27-00. (We keep the copy that proves it was received).

As you can see, we kept Dr. Roberto abreast of everything that was going on, in detail, as a demonstration of good faith on our part, because we were always very sincere, with nothing to hide, staunch defenders of the truth, trustworthy . That's why we prove, with our actions, our way of proceeding in the light of the truth...always! You might think it was naive, and yes... today we realize that we were pretty naive. But we are faithful to our well-intentioned essence, we have a good  nature, it is our way of being. And we greatly appreciate good relationships with people. With Dr. Roberto it was no different. In the end, he has always been a great admirer of Pedrini's Painting, my father, acquiring some of his paintings since 1983 that are still part of the Roberto Marinho Collection.

Well... back to the historical sequence... we were receiving, by email, on 11/27/2000, the letter that the Public Defender sent to the Hotel Salles.

After that, it was only on December 7th that the Public Defender's Office sent us by email the Hotel Salles response, dated November 22nd, through its lawyer, Dr. Julio de Kemmeter, who used lying and easy to contest arguments .  

Note: there is a contradiction regarding the date on which the Defender's Office would have sent the Official Letter to the Hotel. The Defender's Office says it was on 11/20/2000; The Hotel Lawyer mentions that they would have received such Official Letter on 11/11/2000. They had a period of 10 days. If it was the 20th, they responded 2 days later and within the deadline (would they be scared?); now it's gone on the 11th, it would have taken 11 days to respond and one day outside the deadline stipulated by the Public Defender's Office (they may have wanted to convey the impression of calm).

Following up with the content of Dr. Kemmeter's response...

First: he stated that I, Rosângela, had stayed at the Hotel from 28/08/1996 to 03/09/1996.  In fact, I went in the day before, 8/27/1996, as stated in the account status, and it was not alone, because as already reported, my Grandfather was with me. Also because suite 408 was for 3 people, it had 3 single beds (an important factor that influences the daily rate). My father would arrive a few days later... I've already covered this chapter of history.

Second: he accused me of trying to withdraw from the Hotel (a lie!) owing 930 pesos, claiming that I had paid nothing since my admission. Two lies that are easy to prove: I still have the receipt that proves that I paid 100 pesos when we entered the Hotel. So the debt would actually be 830 pesos. And at no time did I try to leave the Hotel without paying! When, on that fateful September 3rd, the Manager called us in the suite, it was very early and the three of us (Father, Grandpa and I) were asleep, so he woke us up. We hadn't even had breakfast yet! It demanded that we pay the debt in full so far, and the Notarial Ata proves it! If it was as he claims, they would have intercepted us at the Hotel reception with all our belongings wanting to leave. Nobody would try to leave a Hotel leaving their valuable belongings behind, especially when there are 4 important Works of Art! We were sleeping! He lied again!

Third: he accused me that, as I was a foreigner and did not have a credit card, the only way the Hotel had to charge what it called legitimate credit was to retain the pockets of my property and the 4 duly packed pictures, which, according to him, , were still inside the Hotel. In this sense, there were already indications that they would no longer be there, much less inside the Hotel, as explained in this historic above. I also emphasize that the pockets did not contain only my goods, but ours, including professional material. And the paintings are by Pedrini, my Father who was present. Another important detail to point out is that both my Father and Grandfather are Argentineans, and I have an Argentine DNI with permanent residence there.
 

As explained in the 2nd part of this story, we had cash to pay a good part of the debt, and as the reserve was for 10 days and we were almost at the end of it with 3 days to go, and with resources to receive, we would complete it quietly Full payment. The Manager did not accept and practiced his abuse of power.  

Fourth: claimed that I tried to return my belongings on many occasions without offering to pay the debt (blatant lie!) We would never have intended such an absurdity!

Fifth: they understood that, according to what they explained, they were entitled to charge the credit with interest and late payment, in addition to the costs of depositing the “goods” held as collateral.  

As you can see, he misrepresented the facts shamefully, wanting to justify the practice of an illegal trampling, as if I (we) had given reasons for it, and that's not how things turned out. The documents corroborate the absolute truth.  

Our subsequent reaction was to vehemently rebut all false accusations.

Thus, we wrote an extensive letter dated 11/12/2000, sent by email on 12/12/2000. In this document we contest each of the lying arguments (pointed out above) and already explained in this report in the 2nd part related to the trip. I also suggested that they look for Escrivã Mónica Iglesias to report what she saw and left her scandalized, as she witnessed the real situation that the Hotel practiced against us in an aggressive, violent, disrespectful and illegal manner; I have attached a photo of her card with her personal contacts, such as her phone number and address.  Another aspect that I pointed out in this letter was in relation to the commercial contacts we had been establishing with Argentine Cultural Institutions and Art Galleries, in the search for partnerships with Plastic Artists and Cultural Promoters, which certainly, according to the negotiations previously initiated, would yield results for us successful in the sale of some of the Works of Art that we carry (except the Portrait of Academic Roberto Marinho). So much so that on that day, September 3, we had a meeting scheduled at 3:30 pm with the Director of the Casa Rosada Museum, Dr. Irma Arestizábal. Days before, I personally went to the Museum, and Dr. Arestizábal's secretary had written in her own hand the telephone numbers to schedule that meeting. We were also expected in two Art Galleries that same day. We were totally unable to go or to give notice by deselecting the cause of the disorder that had created us. Therefore, we had no intention of leaving the Hotel that day, let alone giving up such valuable belongings. Based on the information received, I kindly requested that, in accordance with the *legal attributions of the Defender's Office, they go personally to the Hotel to verify whether our belongings, in fact, were there or in an external warehouse, and in what state, photographically recording each of the volumes, not being enough written statements.  

I describe, translating into Portuguese, the *assigned attributions:  

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3) Request views of files, reports, documents, antecedents and any other element deemed useful for the purposes of the investigation, even those classified as reserved or secret;

7) Request the assistance of the Public Force to carry out their investigative work (if they refuse)

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I expressed, with good reason, my dissatisfaction with the bad behavior and bad faith of the directors of the Hotel Salles who infamously try to transfer their own guilt to me, wanting to unfairly accuse me of their own crime, disrespecting me as a person, to my Family and my Country, not admitting offenses by these citizens who lie, contrary to the Notarial Ata, the real facts and all the documents that prove the opposite of what they falsify. I reiterated the request to Dr. Masquelet to appear in person at the Hotel's premises and to take the appropriate legal and judicial measures, reverting in my favor, as damages and losses, moral and patrimonial, the readjusted values that I require, as they have been the real causers of the debt and the infamies proffered against me and my Family, by time and  inconvenience caused, loss of profit, including the cancellation of the Exhibition that we would do in Homage to Dr. Roberto Marinho, when we would present him with the Portrait painted by my Father, the Painter Pedrini, on the occasion of his 96th anniversary, completed on 12/03/2000 . Finally, I thanked him for his intervention, confident that before the end of the year (2000) I would be able to obtain a fair solution and thus avoid having to make history public through the Press, which would cause an international controversy because it was 4 Paintings that totaled $118 million. Our desire was to reach a peaceful solution where our integrity, morals and ethics, were safeguarded, as well as the image of the Defender's Office. In the body of the text I have attached: *the photos of the 4 Paintings with names, dimensions and prices; the receipt of payment for the first night; the personal card of Escrivã Monica Iglesias; and the note from the secretary of the Director of the Casa Rosada Museum.

*These same attachments were sent separately and by fax on the same day 12/12/2000.

In one of these emails, I asked you to send us the articles of the Argentine Civil Code regarding accommodation. I informed that that same day, by telephone, I had spoken with Ms. Gimena, who would entrust the task to the staff of the Legal Department. At the end of the day, Dr. Masquelet confirmed the receipt of all information regarding the 4333/00 Act.

I remember they sent us these legal references, the ones we have kept and printed. Some articles were related to the issue of “misappropriation”.  

We were keeping phone contacts in the meantime.

After that, on 03/14/2001 we received an email from the Public Defender of the City of Bs. As
signed by Dr. Carlos Guzzini, who states that, after negotiations with the authorities of the Hotel Salles, he managed, through him, to accept our proposal to pay US$1,000.00 to return our retained belongings to us, with nothing more to complain about. by neither party. He asked us to speed up the procedures and to communicate it as soon as possible, in order to prevent such negotiation from becoming frustrated. 
A day passed without us seeing the email. At the time we used Internet cafes, as we didn't have a personal computer yet.  

Dr. Guzzini called us on 26/03/2001 to let us know that he had sent the email.

The following day, 03/27/2001, I answered Dr. Guzzini's email, acknowledging receipt of his email and leaving a record of his phone call the day before. I was grateful for the negotiation I had reached with the Hotel Salles authorities and said that we would probably travel in May of that year, my father and I, author of the 4 Paintings and subscriber to the Notarial Ata, to recover our belongings, as long as they were in perfect condition for nothing else have to claim, upon payment of 1,000 dollars, according to your negotiation. That we would let him know on a date and time that we would arrive in Bs. As. And that this matter was a priority for us and that we had the greatest interest in resolving it as quickly as possible. I reiterated my thanks.

We believe that we had great success at the time, and that all our efforts had borne good fruit.  

With great enthusiasm from that moment on, our immediate goal was, once again, to get the financial resources as quickly as possible so that, finally, after 4 years of arduous struggle, we could return to Bs. As. and recover our goods and businesses. 4 Paintings.  

We tried and tried, in every way possible, to resort to well-known people who had prestige in the Society and a good financial situation. Days went by... months... and nothing! Amazingly... we couldn't do it at all! Affliction had begun to take over our emotions.

But, in order to enable a greater understanding of the obstacles we faced, let us point out the main facts relating to our situation at the time.

Follow it in Part 4: THE CONSEQUENCES.

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By: Rosângela Jassé Silva Pedrini
 

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