Circular No 381

Newsletter for past alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.

Caracas, 21 February 2009, No. 381

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Dear Friends,

Relax and read on:

It is about smuggling, murder and a man named CARUPANO.

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In a message dated 7/14/2008 2:16:15 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

gyuris@yahoo.com writes:

Andres:

Yes, it is entirely possible.

There has always been a healthy smuggling trade between Trinidad and Venezuela across the straights.

And it will be there forever.

Back in the 60's it was contraband merchandise, today it is mainly drugs.

Smugglers, like pirates, as all criminals do, often readily kill-off each other even over petty grievances, It's not like they can take it to court.

More criminals die from being killed by their own colleagues-in-crime and enemies-in-crime than by law enforcement.

Attila Gyuris

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On Mon, 7/14/08, Andres Larsen <andres_larsen@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Andres Larsen
Date: Monday, July 14, 2008, 11:01 AM

The smuggling environment would seem plausible as far as some turf war between mafias, should that have been the case.

Venezuelan smugglers would work with their Trini counterparts or would sometimes doublecross them, feuding with them.

A reason as to why "Carupano" moved to the Mount in the first place could perhaps also have been that he was on the lam from some arrest warrant issued by Venezuelan authorities.

The story about Enrique and his purported tryst with "Carupano's" maid might ring a bell with Raul, Fulvio or Gonzalo.

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Attila GYURIS

Monday, July 14, 2008 1:52:47 PM

Thanks Andres:

Yes I think I may have heard something like that too, but, then who knows?

Stories and wild speculation fly around.

You really jogged my memory about Enrique Gomez fooling around with this girl in the back of the house.

I had forgotten about that!.

I think it would be a good idea to send your addition to the story below to the others also, so maybe somebody else's memory gets jogged enough to remember, and perhaps add even more details.

Maybe we can solve this mystery yet!

Attila Gyuris

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On Mon, 7/14/08, Andres Larsen <andres_larsen@yahoo.com> wrote:

Subject: Murder Mystery at the Mount.

Date: Monday, July 14, 2008, 10:30 AM

From what I heard back then "Carupano" was or had been a smuggler plying his trade across the Bocas del Dragon between Chaguaramas base and Guiria and Macuro.

Supposedly the crime had something to do with that, some squabble over undelivered goods, pricing or a payment to be made or collected.

Something along those lines.

I also heard "Carupano" had a young maid, don't recall if she was a local, but Enrique Gomez among some others would mess around with her in the back of the house of "Carupano" either while "Carupano" was there or absent.

Enrique passed away so there is no way now of confirming this second rumour.

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RE: Murder Mystery at the Mount.

Attila GYURIS

Monday, July 14, 2008 1:15:41 PM

Glen:

You are correct. It would be nice to put an end to this mystery.

Maybe somebody knows more than I do, and speaks up.

We can only speculate based on the little information we have, that's all.

"Carupano" was a really nice man to us all,

None of us ever had any problems with him.

He was missed by us all.

May God rest his soul.

Attila Gyuris

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Re: Murder Mystery at the Mount.

Rafael Echeverría

Monday, July 14, 2008 8:28:53 AM

Attila ...

THANK YOU MAN ! ... You can't imagine what an extraordinary support you are giving me with this story.

I am going a little slow though at this moment.

I completed seven chapters but I am stuck in trying to recapture the momentum of the avalanche of thoughts and memories that come to me.

Thank you Attila ... Thank You !!!

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Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:44:05 -0700

From: gyuris@yahoo.com

Subject: Murder Mystery at the Mount.

Hello Attila,

I wonder if that was the house Bassanta ended up living in ??

It could have been somebody wife he was messing with ??

It would be good to hear the real facts from Trinidad eh?

At this point we could assume anything.

Glen Mckoy.

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Attila GYURIS

Sunday, July 13, 2008 11:44:05 PM

OK, now to continue to my next instalment of my Abbey School stories:

(Some of you, especially the Venezuelan boys there during this time, may remember this story)

This is for Cheche's compilation of chronicles of the Mount.

Murder Mystery at the Mount.

Sometime during the years 1965 to 1967 there was an older man who was a Venezuelan retiree living in one of the small houses along the path leading down from the School to the Sports Field.

This small house was located on the right hand side just as you passed the PAX Guesthouse and you started downhill on the footpath.

I think it was either the first or the second little green cinder-block house on the right hand side of the path.

It had security iron bars on the windows,

In this house lived this older retired guy we called "Carupano".

We never knew his real name.

As we Venezuelan boys walked down to the sports field we would wave to him, and sometimes stop and talk to him in Spanish.

He was from the little fishing town of "Carupano" on the Eastern seashore of Venezuela.

He was always friendly to us and soon after he would invite us into his living room and we would play cards and dominoes instead of going down to the sports field.

We would have great joke telling and bullshit sessions.

Sometimes he would let us drink a little rum with honey,

We always had a good time there and we laughed a lot.

Many of the Venezuelan boys would stop and hang out there, sometimes ducking down to hide when one of the priests or school staff walked by.

It was a way to break the monotony of the school and to do something different.

Suddenly, there was a strict prohibition from Bobo and Cutty for the school boys to visit "Carupano's" house.

No reason given. Just could not go there any longer.

Some of the boys still went there to visit clandestinely anyway, just because it was "prohibited" and to be able to get away with it.

One day in the morning, the rumour began to spread in school:

"Have you heard what happened to the old man Carupano?"

" No ... What?"

"He was murdered!"

"No way!. really?"

So we went down that afternoon, as if going to the sports field and, sure enough, the house was cordoned-off with several police officers standing outside.

As we passed the house we tried to glance inside as best we could.

The were signs of struggle, with blood spattered all over the walls etc.

They would not let us get any closer.

After a few days the crime scene was lifted and the windows were darkened with soot so nobody could see inside.

But we did anyway, we could still peek inside in certain places. and, sure enough, it was a grizzly scene. Carupano was gone.

None of the adults around there or in school would speak about it and nobody told us the reasons for the murder.

To this day I still don't the who, what, or why or the reasons or the motives for it.

After a while they cleaned up the bloody mess and for a long time the house stood empty, abandoned, locked and boarded up.

As far as I remember nobody ever lived in that house after that, at least not until I left the Mount in July 1969.

Today, being older and less naive, and having been in the federal criminal investigative profession for over 25 years, I have a suspicion that the murder had probably to do with some kind of revenge, maybe from some parent.

From the way this guy acted towards children, and the sudden prohibition to see him or to even speak to him, maybe, just maybe, this old guy could have been a child predator (?),... but this is purely speculative on my part, after 40+ years.

So this mystery still really continues....

Attila Gyuris

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On Sat, 4/5/08, Attila GYURIS wrote:

Subject: Tax season USA!

Date: Saturday, April 5, 2:03

Dear brothers from the Mount:

I will regale you with those other Abbey School stories after the tax season is over...In case you are not aware, especially those of you living in the lands of tax heavens (except Canada and UK, of course), it is nearing the end of Tax Season here in the US (April 15 is the deadline).

I just found out that I still owe more taxes than I already paid last year!

Dammit, I don't remember the last time that happened. WTF?

I have no idea why,.. yet..but I will find out.

Every year I usually get a nice refund check from the IRS, (which of course the wife promptly spends)...but that is another story.

Anyway...I am now scrambling to find every little missed deduction I can find to minimise this tax impact because if I don't bring the owed amount down below a certain value I will have to pay a penalty and also interest on top of the taxes owed.....and I don't really want to do that.

So, if you will forgive me, but my priority right now is to dive head-first into a pile of receipts and paperwork, calculator in one hand, the computer keyboard in the other, a notepad in front of the computer, a pencil in my mouth and the phone cradled in my left ear talking with my accountant.

Of course, the wife is doing her nails right now...I can smell the acetone.

Yes,...I think I will be a little busy for a while here...I will get back to you all as soon as I am done with this shit.

RIGHT NOW I AM NOT HAVING ANY FUN!!!!!

Attila Gyuris

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Attila GYURIS wrote:

HA! .....Never got caught!

Thanks,

I have a few more.

One about a real murder of an old man called Carupano, in one of the houses going down to the sports field, and another one about hunting cats at night behind the Refectory with bows and arrows.

A.T.

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david decastro thecalypsobandit@hotmail.com

date 12 December 2008

Hi ladislao,

I remember Tom 3 legged dog.

I cant believe it was still alive in some of those other old boys days.

I left the mount in 1953.

"bandit".

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That is for now, till the next one

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08GS0161REUNION2008, many UNKNOWNS and Fr. Cuthbert

08MP0005REUNION2008, Manuel Prada, George Laquis and Norman Sabga

08DM5201REUNION2008, many UNKNOWNS

58IF0020IFAGRP, Fr. Cuthbert and group.

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