Spin Cycle – Round and Round We Go

“…the Prime Minister went public to say that the person and/or newspaper that keeps the Natalee Holloway case alive are traitors to Aruba!”

The mission was clear and the purpose succinct. Stop media access to the island. Stop it now! Dilella and Cohen began their campaign by encouraging the increase of satellite uplinks from $800.00 to $4,000.00. The next move was to encumber the movement of electronic equipment through the airport. Every item was to be weighed, examined and weighed again. Movement through Aeropuerto Internacional became so inhibited that it became pointless to try and bring camera equipment.

It was media shut-down and the island bought it lock, stock and barrel. What a horrendous mistake!

Eyewitness accounts place Robert DiLella in Aruba only days after Natalee’s disappearance. He met with his primary Aruban clients, Nelson Oduber and the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association. With his guidance, the Strategic Communications Task Force was formed. Its sole purpose was to control media coverage of the Natalee Holloway case. The spin cycle officially began!

SMDG offers two services to its clientele, political campaign management and crisis intervention. The former boasts an array of political characters from assemblymen to senators. Their strategy runs the gauntlet, but most importantly they claim specialty in political “attack” campaigns. The following is a snapshot of SMDG’s client list:

POLITICAL CLIENTS:
Rob Andrews.............................. Congressman, NJ
Sharon Bock............................... Clerk Circuit Court, Palm Beach FL
William Brooks........................... Palm Beach Town Council, FL
Blondell Reynolds Brown.......... City Council Philadelphia, PA
John Burzichelli.......................... State Assemblyman, NJ
Wayne Bryant..............................State Senator, NJ
Glenn Cunningham................... State Senator, NJ
Mandy Dawson........................... State Senator, FL
Josephus Eggellettion............... Broward County Commission, FL
Lois Frankel ............................... Mayor West Palm Beach, FL
Chaka Fattah ............................. Congressman, PA
Doug Fisher ............................... State Assemblyman, NJ
Kristen Jacobs .......................... Broward County Commission, FL
Ken Jenne .................................. Sheriff Broward County, FL
Charlotte Rodstrom .................. Fort Lauderdale City Commission, FL
Laura Johnson .......................... Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge, FL
Joseph Roberts ........................ State Assemblyman, NJ
Sandi Love ................................. Mayor Gloucester Twp., NJ
Lou Manzo .................................. State Assemblyman, NJ
Lori Moseley ............................... Mayor Miramar, FL
Nelson Oduber .................. Prime Minister, Aruba
Nilsa Cruz-Perez ....................... State Assemblywoman, NJ
Alvin Penn .................................. State Senator, CT
Gisele Pollack ........................... Broward County Circuit Court Judge, FL
Miguel Pourier ................ Prime Minister, Curacao
John Rayson .............................. Mayor Pompano Beach, FL
Stacy Ritter ............................... State Representative, FL
Andrew Siegel ........................... Broward County Circuit Court Judge, FL
Steve Sweeney .......................... State Senator, NJ
Jack Seiler .................................. State Representative, FL
Lois Wexler ................................ Broward County Commission, FL

CORPORATE CLIENTS:

Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association
Center for International Studies
China Cable Consortium
DNN - Dyson News Network Real Estate TV
Guondong Trade Group - China
Blue Water Wind Inc.
Bill Johnson & Associates
Palm Beach Civic Association
Rutgers University
Wiznet Corporation

DiLella along with Stephen Cohen met with AHTA and ATA and urged them to form the Strategic Communications Task Force in June of 2005.

The task force included many notables in Aruba. Most were connected to tourism and politics. The membership list is telling:

Steering Committee of the Strategic Communications Task Force:

Myrna Jansen, chairperson ..... Aruba Tourism Authority
Serge Mansur, chairperson ..... Aruba Trade & Industry Association
Jorge Pesquera, chairperson ... Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association
Edwin Roos ................................. Chamber of Commerce
Jaap Beaujon ............................. Advisor
Agustin Vrolijk ........................... Department of Foreign Affairs
Frits Israel ................................. Aruba Tourism Authority
Gina Lopez-Gnecco ................... Aruba Tourism Authority
Rob Smith ................................... Aruba Hospitality & Security Foundation

Additional members :
Greg Peterson ............................. Aruba Trade & Industry Association
Olindo Koolman .......................... Former Governor of Aruba
Alfonso Riverol ........................... Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association
Andy Osbourne .......................... Aruba Timeshare Association
Jan van Nes ................................ Aruba Timeshare Association
Bill Carson ................................... Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association
Erik Brete .................................... Liaison to the office of the Prime Minister
Henry Baarh ............................... Minister Plenipotentiary Washington
John Merryweather .................. Former Government Official
Tamara Waldron ....................... Ministry of Tourism and Transportation
Ruben Trappenberg ................. Aruba Airport Authority

Contributing participants:
Helen Bautista ........................... Fitzgerald and Co.
Kelly Marshal ............................ Fitzgerald and Co.
Florence Quinn .......................... Quinn and Co.

The preceding list contains many of the movers and shakers of the island of Aruba. Each one of them turned a blind eye toward the crime against Natalee Holloway and focused upon preserving a false image of the island. It was a very foolish tactic, but they were led down the garden path by a couple of American spin doctors with academic credentials and a vast history of media experience.

How important is Dilella in all of this miss-information campaign? He was so key that George (Jug) Twitty cc’d him when he sent his letter to Governor Bob Riley.


(cont.)