By Kevin McCauley
5W Public Relations represents Jacob Ostreicher, the Brooklyn flooring contractor who has been jailed without formal charges in Bolivia for nearly a year.
The 53-year-old Ostreicher invested in a rice farm in Bolivia. He claims the manager of the operation, who turned out to be linked to a Brazilian drug trafficker, stole money from the project.
When he flew to Bolivia to investigate, Ostreicher was arrested on money laundering charges after investigators discovered the rice farm was on land owned by a drug gang.
A judge ordered the release of Ostreicher -- after his family posted bail -- but reversed his decision before he could leave the Santa Cruz prison.
Ostreicher began a hunger strike last month to highlight his plight. His lawyer claims that Ostreicher is languishing in prison due to broken justice system under President Emo Morales, a leftist leader who is no friend of the U.S.
Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5W, said his firm was hired by the family of Ostreicher. He promises a “full-scale campaign,” an effort that already features the freejacobnow.com site and has received media play on CNN, Fox and “Nightline.” |