HOT OFF THE PRESSES!!! El Guardian, a Puerto Vallarta newspaper, has an article about Paul Crist, Alejandro Gomez Hurtado, Don Pickens, and what they call the "gay mafia." IT'S A MUST READ!!! Read it here.
From November 2007 to July 2008, Paul Crist of Hotel Mercurio has paid his phony "lawyer" Alejandro Gomez Hurtado to bribe people to shut down Club Mañana no less than six times (the latest being July 19, 2008) and still seeks to shut it down permanently. He is causing a great deal of distress and financial insecurity for the 70+ employees of Club Mañana, most of whom have families to support. He does this for no reason other than pure greed, envy and hatred. Does it surprise anyone that after NINE months of abuse and harassment we would decide to fight back? Don't be angry with us. Paul and Alejandro have brought this on themselves. THEY HAVE MADE IT CLEAR BY THEIR WORDS AND THEIR DEEDS THAT THEY WILL NOT STOP UNLESS WE PAY THEM THE EXTORTION MONEY ALEJANDRO HAS DEMANDED - WHICH WE WILL NOT DO. We will fight back and protect ourselves from these shameless bullies.
Paul Crist deserves every bit of misery that comes his way and does not merit any support for his actions from anyone. He certainly does not merit any guests at his hotel. Only support Hotel Mercurio if you don't care that your money will be used to cause financial and emotional distress to fellow gays and lesbians.
Sadly, some people like bullies and ally themselves with them because they themselves are timid, hopeless, cowardly creatures. Hoping to escape harm, they assist the bully as he destroys people's lives. Paul Crist and Alejandro Gomez Hurtado have always found a multitude of assistance from Casa Cupula (Don Pickens and Darrique Barton), Antropologie and Sama (Jose), Banana Cantina (Debbi Egan), the Yahoo Gay Travel Board (Gary Beck) and blog addict Tracy Parks. If you care at all about where you spend your money and what is done with it, and you should, do not patronize these businesses. They harm people for no reason.
Today, July 16, 2008, Paul Crist and Alejandro failed in their latest attempt to humiliate Peter Deep and Club Mañana. When Club Mañana started working with a chef for their new restaurant, Que Raro, Paul and Alejandro immediately went to the chef's former business partner who, desperate for money and a new restaurant, agreed to give false testimony about the chef and Peter. Then Alejandro lied to the prosecutor and said he served Peter to appear twice. He had never been served. But in Mexican law if you're served twice and don't show up to answer to the prosecutor, the police come and bring you there themselves. You're handcuffed and thrown into the back of a truck and it's humiliating. Even though you're only going in to answer questions about a complaint, it looks the same as if you're being arrested. So Alejandro lied and sent the police and a photographer hoping to get a shot of Peter being "arrested" for the front-page of tomorrow's newspaper. Sorry. Justice prevailed and there were no rides in any police cars, assholes.
Recently, in August 2008, a professional and influential Los Angeles gay man recently complained about Hotel Mercurio. As he tells it, he met Paul Crist at the Gay Games in Chicago where they were both promoting business. Paul took his email address and immediately started hitting the guy up for "investment" in his "expansion" and "properties." Thankfully, the guy didn't bite. But letting bygones be bygones and wanting to support the gay community, he booked a room at Hotel Mercurio on his next trip to Puerto Vallarta. For $95 a night, he got what he described as a "dirty closet" where he was afraid to walk barefoot or use the bathroom. Obviously disappointed and in need of a decent hotel room, someone referred him to Gib, the wonderful concierge at Brisas del Mar. For $75 a night, this guy moved to a beautiful one-bedroom condo with an even more beautiful view for the rest of his visit. This guy is so angry at Paul Crist and describes him as "one of those guys who goes into business to rape the gay community." We couldn't agree more. The only people that we know that have a fond word to say about Hotel Mercurio are those people who like to bring back boys without ID back to their rooms. It's not allowed in any other gay hotel. Minors don't have ID in Mexico. It's not issued until they're 18 years of age.