As Bill’s story about Barbara Struncova being in drug rehab came to an end, a new story evolved. In this one, Barbara was buying “tons of coke” and sending it “back home in the mail.” Home? His home in North Carolina, or her home in Czech Republic? I assume he is referring to Czech Republic, because there is no one here from Czech to argue for her. He named a Czech friend as her accomplice.
What did I do? I looked the guy up.
Hell yes I did. I can’t exactly ask Barbara about it, so I asked him. It was a little awkward. Did you ever have to say to complete stranger, “Hi. Sorry—you don’t know me and please don’t think I’m a psychopath, but have you, by any chance, ever been a drug trafficker?”
He was amazingly nice about it. He said no. He said he has never sold any drug to anyone in his life. He said Bill would have witnessed him use drugs occasionally while he was on vacation, and that is probably how his name got attached. I said, “Thanks for being so kind. Pardon the stupid question. That’s what I thought.” So now it’s one guy’s word against the other. Pick the one you think is telling the truth: the Czech guy you don’t know, or the guy in jail that you do know.
But again, since I’m exploring all possibilities, I attempted to figure out how drug smuggling could be a truth I never saw.
So many problems with that supposition leap out at me. We won’t discuss, until next week, Bill’s suggestion that Barbara was murdered by the people who procured her these drugs, but keep it in mind because :
(A) That is a crap-load of a lot of coke. I’ve never been a drug dealer, so this is not the voice of experience speaking—but, how much money to you have to owe a drug dealer IN TAMARINDO before they kill you? This cocaine-mailing-to-Europe operation that supposedly existed is not some funny-tasting baking soda tucked inside a birthday card. We are talking about A LOT of cocaine that someone gave up all hope of ever being paid for.
(Honestly, you lost me right there. But I press on…)
(B) Sending it through the mail? What—Correos de Costa Rica? UPS? Mailboxes Etc? DHL in Liberia? I’m not saying it can’t be done, but a trans-Atlantic drug smuggling operation moving enough merchandise to end in a murder? Through the mail from Costa Rica? Successfully, let me add, because Barbara and her supposed accomplice were never suspected by the authorities. Amazing.
(In my estimation, a woman as smart as Barbara, if she had gotten it right that far, would have paid the guys she owed. She was an accountant. She knew how this works.)
(C) Mailing things is an enormous pain in Tamarindo. Or it was when Barbara and I lived there. I’m just saying. If you’re mailing drugs, you need to package them and take the packages to the place from which you will mail them. Which would be mighty hard if you, like Barbara, had no car. Not impossible–just hard. And you’d think someone would have noticed her pedaling down the street piled with packages, or taking a lot of mysterious trips to Liberia on the bus.
(Anyone?)
(D) Remember last week’s discussion of whether or not Barbara was a drug addict? In my understanding, people who successfully coordinate international drug trafficking operations large enough to put their lives in danger are not also addicts in need of rehab. They are smart, savvy business people who can afford cars. Generally speaking, of course. The addicts in need of rehab are at the other end of the food chain. The people who are both addicts and dealers are the ones hanging around the corner with pockets full of little white baggies, which not even Bill has the nerve to suggest about her.
I will always say in conclusion: I could be wrong. I don’t see how, but if you know something I don’t, feel free to speak up.
I am, however, willing to stick my neck out and say that, based on my own experiences with Barbara and in Tamarindo—I don’t believe it.
Next Monday in my last (I think) post in the series, I will explain why—even if I am wrong about everything I have said so far—I still don’t think a Costa Rican drug cartel killed Barbara.
Barbara Struncova
November 7, 2010
Hablando Sola / Talking to Myself 
As always, persuasively argued and put across most engagingly. What a sleazebag this Bill is! Let’s hope he gets what’s coming to him.
In my opinion – I don’t know why you would entertain lies -there is zero credence to this smoke screen – the facts, being the forensics, the motive, the attitude, the drinking problem, the board bag – the dismissal by the IOJ- as usual….those are the facts….this nonsense is just smoke – I don’t believe there’s any possible way for you to portray life in Costa Rica to the average person-the bicycle, the boxes, the mailing system, the impossibility of that – to how someone can go missing and there’s evidence of blood all in the closet, this man bought a board bag and borrowed a car at the time she disappeared and they don’t really bother to investigate further…I once wrote a post called Ants about a woman who was found burnt to death by her pool in Flamingo, it was ruled a suicide, they said she caught herself on fire…uh-I don’t think so..her husband was out and had gone to the store early in the morning…what store, early in the morning in Costa Rica…all of the mysterious deaths in CR are numerous and mind boggling, yet I still go back….what about the man the was shot between the eyes stepping out of the water in Tamarindo..the authorities said it was a random shot from someone firing in the hills..
Thank you so much for writing this! I also remember the last story you mentioned–the guy shot on the beach and it was supposedly random. Um. Ok…??
I’m not personally REALLY able to entertain any of this. I’m writing these posts (one more to come) because there are people out there who are totally caught in the web this guy is spinning. This is my feeble attempt to address what no one else has really addressed. In order to do that, I had to try to pretend to myself that the BS stories are true. They are PREPOSTEROUS to anyone who knew Barbara OR Tamarindo and UNSPEAKABLY RIDICULOUS to anyone who knew both. What you mention about the evidence at the crime scene–yes we are coming back around to that on Monday. You and I must think quite a bit alike. 🙂
Thank you for your words. I have hoped that more people would step forward and speak publicly as you have. So many have spoken to me privately. The more voices speaking the truth into the thunder of lies, the better.