Nature provided big bang opening for Trump Tower

The big bang for the “grand opening” of the Trump Ocean Club on Wednesday July 6 came from the skies and not the organizers.
A torrential downpour accompanied by a violent electrical storm, flooded streets around Punta Pacific, and the building, intended to be a stand out on the Panama skyline, but already hemmed in by other structures, could not be seen from the nearby Club Union.
Donald Trump, unfazed by weather omens, court cases, and his persona non grata status in the city, stood alongside President Ricardo Martinelli at the official opening of the tower to announce that he wants to bring the Miss Universe Pageant to Panama for the second time in 2013, ten years after it last visited the Isthmus.
He was declared persona non grata by the city council after remarks he made about the handing over of the Panama Canal to the country. At the time he was still playing with the idea of running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidential race. He pulled back from that venture after a put down by President Barack Obama at a Washington media roast.
Martinelli said that Pope Benedict XVI would also be visiting Panama in 2013.
Meanwhile a local chat forum is filled with complaints from those who have bought into the tower, questioning contracts, and unfulfilled promises, and calling for a strong organization to fight for their rights. One of the key salesmen for the project, Brazilian Alexandre Ventura an associate of convicted felon David Murcia Guzman is awaiting trial on charges of fraud. He was also caught up in a scandal relating to posting bail with overvalued plots of farm land.
Ventura’s reputation as a real estate seller collapsed in 2007 after several of his clients who bought apartments in Trump Ocean Club and other projects, alleged in lawsuits that that Ventura had defrauded them.
Several buyers who purchased commercial and residential units in Trump Tower Panama filed a civil lawsuit in a Florida federal court against Roger Khafif the Panama developer, Trump and the organization for using deceptive sales practices.
Khafif’s lawyers in Florida claim in court documents that the process should be adjudicated in Panama, as stipulated in the purchase agreements.
Ventura has six complaints against him for fraud, after selling apartments that did not exist, to Venezuelan citizens. He also appears in the trial of his partner David Murcia for the illegal taking of funds and a complaint for crimes against the honor and making false statements to the detriment of the former mayoral candidate Roberto Velasquez.
Stories allegedly circulated by Ventura about the candidate receiving funds from Murcia, led to him losing his strong lead in pre election polls, to Bosco Vallarino, who was elected mayor.