April 24, 2001
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
BANCO NACIONAL de MÉXICO, S.A.
Plaintiff,
v.
Index No. 00603429
MARIO RENATO MENÉNDEZ RODRIGUEZ,
AL GIORDANO, and
THE NARCO NEWS BULLETIN,
Defendants.
____________________________________________
AFFIDAVIT OF AL GIORDANO WITH RESPECT
TO NARCO NEWS BULLETIN
Al Giordano, being duly sworn depose and say:
1. The website, www.narconews.com ("website") came
into existence on April 7, 2000.
2. Narco News Bulletin is simply a name that I chose to identify
the material placed on the website.
3. Narco News Bulletin does not have any independent existence.
As such, it has no assets, agents or employees.
4. Narco News Bulletin is not a partnership, corporation,
unincorporated association or other legal entity.
5. I established www.narconews.com by computer on April 7,
2000, while I was living in Mexico. The website was established
to open a robust dialogue and debate on the drug war in Latin
America and the effects of that drug war on democracy, human
rights, and the people of Latin America.
6. I moved to Mexico in September 1998 and have lived there
since that time.
7. Except for a short visit to Spain, I did not leave Mexico
between mid-March 2000 and August 9, 2000, the date on which
the above-captioned complaint was filed ("relevant time
period"). Obviously, I did not enter New York during that
time period.
8. At the time that the website was established in Mexico,
I received a password for the website, which I entered into a
software program on my computer called Adobe Page Mill. The password
has remained exclusively in my control.
9. Without the password to the website, articles cannot be
placed on the website.
10. During the relevant time period, I have posted or made
material available to be viewed on the website by taking the
following steps:
(a) The material to be posted on the website was laid out
on my computer screen, using Adobe Page Mill.
(b) After the material was laid out, I moved the cursor on
the computer screen to a menu item titled "upload"
and clicked the mouse.
(c) This caused the material to be sent by computer to an
internet server in Maryland.
11. Within seconds of the click of the mouse on my computer,
the material that I had laid out on my computer screen became
available for viewing on the website from anywhere in the world.
12. During the relevant time period, 80 articles were made
available on the website.
13. Each of the 80 articles concerned drug policy, with an
emphasis on Latin America.
14. All the underlying journalism with regard to the articles
at issue in this lawsuit was performed in Mexico.
15. All the articles at issue in this lawsuit were researched
and written in Mexico.
16. From the date of the establishment of the website (April
7, 2000) through the date of the filing of the complaint in this
matter (August 9, 2000), no one other than myself was directly
involved in the production of the materials made available at
www.narconews.com.
17. All the production work with regard to www.narconews.com
was performed in Mexico or Spain.
18. When a domain name is established, it is done by computer.
When I established www.narconews.com, as I stated above, I was
in Mexico.
19. At the time that a website is established, a person is
required to provide, among other information:
(a) The name and address of a registrant.
(b) The name and address of a billing contact.
(c) The name and address of an administrative contact.
20. When I established the website, I indicated that the
registrant was Narco News Bulletin, the billing contact was Al
Giordano, and the administrative contact was Al Giordano, all
with an address of P.O. Box 20743 in New York City. This was
a post office box that I had opened in the fall of 1996, when
I was a temporary guest of a friend in New York and which I had
retained after I moved to Mexico in July 1997.
21. I chose to use the New York post office box as the address
of the three contacts when I established www.narconews.com because,
at that time, as well as presently, I was reporting on the drug
war in Latin America. I was aware that a number of journalists
doing similar work had been killed and/or physically injured.
Accordingly, I used my old post office address in New York, rather
than my residential address in Mexico, in an effort to keep the
location of my residence in Mexico secret. In fact, I had lost
the key to the post office box in March 2000, the month prior
to the establishment of the website. I never obtained a duplicate
key and I never opened the post office box after March 2000.
At some point after March 2000, to the best of my knowledge and
belief, the post office box was reclaimed for non-payment of
rent.
22. The website is passive in the sense that it has never
been used to send or receive messages to or from individuals.
Any communication by me with visitors to the website is through
an e-mail address, not the website.
23. During the relevant time period, the website had no subscribers.
24. No business has ever been conducted on the website.
25. The website has no bank accounts in New York or anywhere
else.
26. No advertising has ever been done on the website.
27. Nothing has ever been sold on the website.
28. No contracts pertaining to, regarding, or concerning
the website have ever been made.
29. I alone have worked on the website.
Dated: April 24, 2001
___________________________
Al Giordano
This affidavit and accompanying
exhibits are offered to the Court in support of:
And are filed together
with:
Affidavit by Al Giordano With Respect
to Narco News Bulletin
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