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[brother]

Scared out of Cyprus
By Stefanos Evripidou


British couple claim members of the mafia tried to extort money from them

A BRITISH couple are leaving Cyprus after 16 years following twelve months of harassment at the hands of a rogue ‘estate agent’ who sought to make a quick buck off them. Matters climaxed on Friday when the self-proclaimed agent reportedly sent thugs to their door in an attempt to frighten them into submission.

Disillusioned with rising prices on the island and problems purchasing a house, Janice and David Winnett from Episkopi are now determined to leave as they fear for their lives and that of their six-year-old daughter.

The Winnetts put their house in Episkopi village up for sale about a year ago, advertising the sale with three estate agents, and putting signs outside their house. The couple asked that visits be made by appointment only.

Last spring, a couple seeking to buy a house happened to be in the neighbourhood when they noticed the Winnetts’ house. They were shown around by a man called Stavros (not his real name). When they saw the For Sale sign outside the Winnetts’ house they asked to take a look inside. A bid was later made and the offer to purchase was accepted.

The Winnetts offered to reward the man accompanying the buyers £200 for his efforts, but he refused the money. Claiming he was an estate agent, Stavros instead demanded a total of £3,000. When they refused to pay him, he became aggressive and threatening, calling their home six times seeking the money. After receiving a number of threatening phone calls the Winnets went to the police station twice but to no avail.
Later two thugs claiming to be “mafia” knocked on their door asking for Stavros’ money. “When we met him, he told us he was an estate agent, but it turns out he’s not. He works at the British Bases,” said Janice.

“He started phoning us, threatening that he knew people in the village and was going to ruin us. He called over half a dozen times since then, including just before Christmas,” she added. “We went to the police twice but they didn’t do anything. People who knew him told us that he is a bit barmy.”

Then last Friday at around 5.45pm, while Janice was sleeping, two burly men knocked on the door. Her six-year-old daughter answered. “They told my husband that they had come from the mafia and want Stavros’ money. David told them to go to hell. Then we received a call from Stavros. He told us that his friends were not very nice people and made threatening remarks,” she said.

This time, the couple were really shaken by the physical presence of the two heavies and felt defenceless against the ongoing harassment.

“It’s terrifying. I am frightened and living in hell. My nerves are a mess and I have been unable to sleep. I just want to take my daughter out of here. My husband is 68 and I am 48. I still have a bit of punch in me but what if this kind of thing happened to a 75-year-old, it would finish him off,” said Janice. “He made veiled threats to us and then sent people round. We think he is connected with the mafia. It’s getting very, very scary.”

After the unwelcome visit, David Winnett went straight to the Episkopi police station for a third time. This time he took with him the prospective buyer of the house, who was with Stavros when they first saw the house. The buyer is a lawyer who knew Stavros through his work at the Bases.

“There was a very tangible difference in the atmosphere when he (the lawyer) arrived at the station. Up to that point, they had told me they couldn’t get involved because it was a civil affair. But when he told them in Greek that this was about extortion and demanding money through menace, things changed,” said David.

The police did act on the information given on Friday, calling Stavros to the station later that night. He rejected all accusations against him, saying he had a financial agreement with the Winnetts and was allowed to go.

A police spokesman told the Sunday Mail yesterday that as long as an official complaint wasn’t filed, the police could not pursue the matter any further.
“I thought that that is what I was doing on Friday. They were taking notes down. Why didn’t they tell me this from the start?” said David. “I will go do it first thing in the morning (today),” he added.

However, the Winnetts still live in fear that the phone calls will continue and possibly even the visits.

“The more people know the better. This is intimidation at a level we’ve never known before. Police were claiming it was a civil matter but I expect the police to protect us,” said David.

“This has really got to be blown wide open, so other people don’t have to go through what we’ve been through. I want to get out of Cyprus as fast as I can. I am the most law abiding, boring citizen, happily married with a little girl and I just want to get out,” said Janice, still shaken by Friday night’s visit.

[pantelis]

I don't think you have the entire story, Brother, so I can't comment. Your writer omits to say that Episcopi is in the British Base "area" and he/she speaks of police, it means the British Bases police.

[brother]

This is all the cyprus mail had on the story, just thought it to be interesting.

[brother]

Sleeping easier
By Stefanos Evripidou


British family relieved by response to claims of intimidation

THE BRITISH couple caught in a cycle of harassment and extortion over the sale of their house in Episkopi breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as the authorities and media picked up their case and rushed to investigate their claims.

This week’s Sunday Mail featured the plight of Janice and David Winnett, reporting on their year-long ordeal with a rogue ‘estate agent’ that left them terrified and determined to leave the island as soon as possible.

“Now everybody is paying attention. On Sunday morning, we got a call from TV stations wanting to interview us and when I went down to the police station again, there was an incredible difference in their response,” said David.

“Later they came to our house and told us we could prosecute or let the matter go, as long as he didn’t bother us again. I chose the latter. They spent time with us and gave us all the possibilities.”

“Two men from Immigration also came to visit us. When we asked why, they replied, ‘you are immigrants and it is our job to look after you’. They listened to what we had to say and then went on to talk to Stavros (the man accused of demanding money),” he said.

When questioned again on Sunday, Stavros refuted claims he had sent people round to The Winnet’s house.

The Winnets put their house in Episkopi village up for sale last year. Around spring time, one couple were being shown several houses in the area by a self-proclaimed estate agent, Stavros (not his real name). While being driven around, the couple spotted the For Sale sign outside the Winnets house and asked Stavros if they could use his phone to call the homeowners.

One thing led to another, an offer to purchase was made by the couple and a deal was struck. The Winnets offered Stavros £200 for his troubles, which he refused, demanding instead £3,000.

Since then the Winnets have received numerous threatening phone calls harassing them to come up with the money. Last Friday, the Winnets told the paper how their six-year old daughter answered the door to two thugs claiming to be mafia and seeking Stavros’ money. Soon after, they received a phone call from Stavros warning them that his friends were ‘not very nice people’.

The British couple claim they had made two visits to the police station before then and one immediately after the heavies showed up on Friday.

The police called Stavros to the station on Friday for questioning. He refused any claims of harassment, but acknowledged that he had asked for £3,000 as a gift for helping in the sale of their house.

The couple felt that no one was paying attention to their plight and as foreigners felt vulnerable to the false claims of the man, who, it turned out, was not an estate agent.
The situation changed somewhat after Sunday’s publication. Two television channels went to Episkopi to hear the Winnetts’ story while police spent the day taking statements from the British couple, the house buyers and Stavros.

The prospective house buyer, Michael Michael, who works as a lawyer on the British Bases, told the paper that the police spent over two hours at his house Sunday night taking statements.

“It was my wife who actually saw the house, so apart from him (Stavros) being there and lending us his phone, he was not instrumental to the purchase whatsoever. I gave him £30 for showing us around but other than that, no agreement was made,” said Michael.

At some point, Stavros had called Michael to tell him that the house was plagued with rotten wood, but only after David Winnet had refused to pay him the £3,000.

“This is a wrongful claim for money, which is a civil matter, but the way he seeks payment is criminal, demanding money with menaces,” he noted.

“Anyway, the police were at my house until after midnight last night, so they seem to be taking it very seriously now,” he added.

For their part, police claim they first heard of the case in December when Janice called up to complain about harassment calls. The police advised her to get CyTA to monitor her calls so they could be recorded and traced but she didn’t. They were not informed about thugs visiting the Winnetts until Sunday, said police.

They further argued that David was adamant that the case did not go to court and refused to go into details, waiting until Sunday to tell them of the strangers’ visit. The police would have investigated the case immediately had the couple made an official written complaint, they added.

David disagreed: “I went in myself to see them before Christmas. I told them about the two men on Friday, and as far as the decision not to go to court is concerned, that was taken on their recommendation.”

However, a little disagreement over the facts did not change the obvious relief felt by the British couple.

“Now the world knows, I feel absolutely secure, of course I’ll still be locking my doors but the difference we feel in security is amazing, especially Janice,” said David.

“People are taking notice now, they are no longer saying ‘be quiet you silly woman’. When you feel frightened in your own home, its terrifying,” noted Janice.