Aaronski Esparzinski
I don't doubt those who personally knew Dan through sailing have a perception of a great guy. However what most of them fail to acknowledge, even in the face of FACTS, is that Dan planned and executed a well-thought out scheme to defraud many investors, including me and my wife. It is no accident that he was able to steal $900,000 from mostly people who wanted to do some good with their little investments for the victims of hurricane Katrina, to get them out of FEMA trailers and into real homes where their children could feel safe. I actually stayed in contact with Dan, and when I realized what he had done, continued a dialogue with him because he told me he intended to pay me back little by little. The first check he sent me was merely a delay tactic, because it bounced as soon as it was presented to the bank. Even then, I was one of his victims who did not turn over my huge pile of evidence documents to the FBI, even after they interviewed me. When agent in charge Tom Simon told me how much time Dan was facing I actually felt sorry for him. What a SAP I was. As it turned out the FBI didn't need my evidence; they had plenty. I also knew the other partners in his scheme, John Disotell and John's lawyer in Biloxi, MS. As it turned out Dan couldn't even be man enough to be accountable for his actions. After he was indicted on 28 federal counts of fraud, he decided to take the chicken's way out and become a witness against Disotell and his lawyer. I was still talking with Dan after the first time he was in the hospital, and I knew he would never make good on the money he ripped away from me and my wife. I'll have to work well into my 70s thanks to Dan's greed and dishonesty. An ethical and moral person does not just do something like this and spend the money on yachts, sailing, drinking, partying, his family, and living it up. He's living in a beautiful home in Hawaii, racing yachts, all with money he STOLE from others. What a giant piece of crap he turned out to be, after all that good stuff everyone says he did. I hope he is looking down to see the shame he has placed on his sons and wife for ruining other people's lives just so he could have a lot of fun. On the bright side, it's a lot harder to separate me from my money now, even when it is for a good cause. Another bright side is his sons got a private school education, probably with money Dan stole from others. Death was actually too good for Dan, he should be rotting in Federal prison for his crimes. Sometimes there is no justice.