Msherps

[brucestephenson]

Letters in Prison

Actually, I would like to write to Mike in prison to keep his spirits up and tell him what's going on in the reptile world. Maybe I can print out some threads here and mail them to him! Even though we call it Cub Fed, if you watch Court TV, you know it is just a horrible prison where you never want to be.

If anyone knows how to mail letters to Mike, please post it here.

 

[Jim O]

Actually, I would like to write to Mike in prison to keep his spirits up and tell him what's going on in the reptile world. Maybe I can print out some threads here and mail them to him! Even though we call it Cub Fed, if you watch Court TV, you know it is just a horrible prison where you never want to be.

If anyone knows how to mail letters to Mike, please post it here.

Bruce,

You are a loyal friend, perhaps better than he deserves.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has an inmate locator tool. He seems to currently be residing at the Miami Federal Detention Center which may just be temporary.

http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp

http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFind...FirstName=michael&Race=U&Sex=M&Age=&x=32&y=16

I'll post a screen shot below in case those links "dry up".

 

[brucestephenson]

Thanks Jim O! It is always a pleasure to communicate with you!

 

[Bill_Leverton]

Thanks Bruce I understand Now

 

[nealdolson]

I received a refund for my snake, and MSHERPS told me to keep it, although I insisted on sending it back. So I have some work ahead of me with this snake, but I will do my best. They requested that I sent them pictures of the scarring on my snake, because the ad said that none of the snakes had any. I did, they reviewed them, and refunded my money.

I promised I would update my situation once it was resolved positively, so I am. No hard feelings here. The customer service up to the initial sale was supurb, no arguement there. I did have some difficulties reaching MSHERPS upon further analysis of my snake, but in the end, got things worked out. I am satisfied, and my post should reflect so. I would do business with again, I think it was mis information, or miscommunication. Thats the end of this thread for me.

 

[Chris@TSE]

Thanks for the update!

 

[Jim O]

Just thought I'd bring this back for an update of Mike Barrera.

It seems he has turned 22 while serving his time. Happy birthday, Mike. Sorry (not) that you weren't here to share some cake or maybe even a beer. He also now has a tentative release date of 12/28/2006. Mark your calendars all of you small fish, pawns, and the like cause we need to THANK him for all that he has done (because we would like him if we met him even though he wouldn't like us).

I am a bit surprised that he is still in a detention center. Amazingly he hasn't opened his yap to expose that gargantuan attitude of his and landed himself in a more restrictive setting. Though perhaps they have a "solitary" unit there too.


What a martyr!

 

[brucestephenson]

Jim, I love ya man, but that was cruel.

 

[Jim O]

Jim, I love ya man, but that was cruel.

Bruce,

I still maintain that Mike is lucky to have a friend as good as you are to him. More than he deserves IMO. And I respect that you are willing to risk your name and reputation defending him. That is very principled on your part, even if I disagree with you. Defending a friend as a friend is a very honorable thing. Defending his crimes and making excuses for them is not my cup of joe, but hey, it is still a (relatively) free country.

We can disagree about the rest, but I don't find him to be a martyr and I don't like his attitude. Locked up is where he belongs, and it's not supposed to feel good. We can argue all day long about the righteousness of civil disobedience, but you know what? We both agree that it is a fine way to protest. But that's not what Mike did. He did it for his ego (he wanted "what no one else had") and for his pocketbook. If he had made a public stand like freedom marchers have done and dared authorities to arrest him as a means of protest, I could conceivably respect that. But we all know that isn't what he did. He got caught with his pants down.

 

[brucestephenson]

I very much respect your views and opinions Jim. You are a shining example of debate etiquette for the rest of us.

 

[turtlepimp]

Mike called me yesterday.He seems to be in good spirits.He gets to do little but work out with the others.So much for Camp Cupcake,he is on the tenth floor of Krome.

 

[Gecko_Den]

Mike called me yesterday.He seems to be in good spirits.He gets to do little but work out with the others.So much for Camp Cupcake,he is on the tenth floor of Krome.

I haven't lived in Miami since the late 80's but I thought Krome Detention center was owned by the INS and used for processing/detaining suspicious non US residents on their way in or illegals being deported out of the country.

Why is he being held there?

 

[JohnLokken]

Mike Barrera

Well, this thread was quite a suprise for me. I actually paid the 10.00 memebership fee just so I could post how ticked off I am regarding this whole Mike B situation. I have been waiting a year for Mike to make "good" on two animals that I bought from him. They both died a month after they were purchased. After being ignored for months by him....It took threatening him that I was going to go here and air how crappy his service has been to get a response. So, now that he is in jail. I am making a good assumption that I will be out for my 450.00.
Hopefully when he gets out my e-mail will warn others when he gets back into the buisness of selling animals. I will be sure to make it known how bad he is to purchase from. He is one of those sellers when things are good he will respond back to you. When things go bad. He will ignore you till he is put in a position where him actions will be put out for all to see.

Here are all our e-mails.

>----- Original Message -----
>From: [email protected]
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: Message from JohnLokken about Lets see your boas......
>Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 12:38:45 -0500 (CDT)
>
> >
> > Both mine died a month after I got from you. Not too happy about that. I figured I'd e-mail my response instead of posting it for all to see.
> > John
> >
> > This message was sent to you by the user: JohnLokken
> > from Kingsnake.com - Herpforum at http://forums.kingsnake.com >From: "Michael Barrera" <[email protected]>
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: Re: Message from JohnLokken about Lets see your boas......
>Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 16:42:12 -0500
>
>No way???!!! Why didnt you contact me? I would have done something to help you out. Thats a shame, do you know what happened?
>Mike


I figured I was screwed past a month of ownership. It was the female that had whatever she had. She went fast. The male went through exactly the same thing she did quickly after her. I figured it was because they were bagged together. Or, because they came together from the same farm. All I know is........I have two frozen babies in the freezer and I'm out 450.00 bucks. I toy around with the idea of getting them checked out by a vet. But, they're dead. Spending anymore money isn't going to bring them back. I'm just glad I quarantined them from my other snakes. Sorry to sound totally jaded.........But, I'm just not too happy about losing two great looking animals and then 450.00 on top of that. I now have two frozen snakes that I bought for a lot of money. Mostly I am just kicking myself. I knew to never buy farmed animals. I spent 450.00 to remember that.
John

>From: "Michael Barrera" <[email protected]>

This message was e-mailed to him in April 2005.

All I want is to have this resolved. And, if you would have e-mailed me back when I e-mail you...It would not have escalated to this level. I expect a lot from a seller. I give a lot as a lot as a seller myself.
The whole mite issue.....Let's not get too deep into this. I know they came from your animals. You may "fall on your sword" saying otherwise. But, being a VERY anal keeper.........I know where the mites came from. There is NO other place they could have came from.
I appreciate the fact that you will look at my e-mails first. I guess if that is the best you can do for me.........That will have to do. Right now I expect a miracle from you to make me feel somewhat ok about this whole "transaction". Again, I am feeling that I have in no way been treated like a valued customer. And, when we are done her...........We are done.
The fact that you are offering this deal a month after the fact is a good thing. My downfall was not getting to you sooner. I will take some blame for that. I had too much going on at the time.
Again, I just want this issue resolved. I want something for the 400.00+ dollars that I gave you. The fact that you are following this through is a good thing. It just sucks that it took a "threat" to get a response from you. I hate being that guy. It's not how I like to do business.
Again, let's just take care of this and be done.
John


>From: "Michael Barrera" <[email protected]>
>To: "John Lokken" <[email protected]>
>Subject: Re: So, since you can't answer e-mails at all.........Do I need to take this tothe
>Date: Sat, 02 Apr 2005 19:36:45 -0500
>
>no sold, i would have you sent that....
>nothing right now.....waiting for shipments to come in....
>mites dont come out of colombia.....only indonesia, and I have never had a mite in my collection, remember alot of these animals were for my possesion.....not to resale, unless they turned out to not match other snakes, or similiar.\
>If I see an email from you on a snake, i will read it first..
>MikeB
>p.s. honestly I did not recieve any emails from you other than one for a boa I was selling.
>I believe you have the wrong impression of me as I offered you that deal and you had never made a claim....I offered you that deal a month or two after the fact, you had never notified me, so I was doing this as show of good faith and what kind of operation I run here.
>I do not screw people.......and I do not liek being pushed to do something non obligatory....it will happen when it happens....i am doing this out of good faith...not to"look" good.
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "John Lokken" <[email protected]>
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: Re: So, since you can't answer e-mails at all.........Do I need to take this tothe
>Date: Sat, 02 Apr 2005 14:03:18 -0800
>
> >
> > So, it took this to finally get some sort or response from you.
> > It sucks that it took me sending complaints to the BOI and
> > kingsnake to get a response from you. But, better a response
> > finally than none.
> > Why didn't you just let me know that back then until letting it
> > become what it is now? I would have been satisfied with that. I
> > am a patient man. Now I am just ticked off by your "customer
> > service".
> > And, trust me. The mites came from those animals. The last
> > animals I have received were back in 5/21/03. There were no mites
> > here before that.........And, there were no mites after that
> > purchase. There were mites just after I got your animals. I
> > sprayed them as well. It doesn't mean that you have killed
> > everything.
> > They were also not sold before I contacted you. Because a week
> > after my e-mail was sent to you I saw other anerys posted by you.
> > That is what really ticked me off.
> > It is obvious we will never do business with one another again.
> > Let's resolve this issue now and be done with it. If you are not
> > going to issue me my money back let me know what you have. I will
> > see if something interests me. If not, give me a heads up when you
> > are posting animals on the classifieds. I think I deserve a least
> > you going out of your way somewhat to get this resolved.
> > Do you still have that pink surinam for sale? Or, has that sold?
> > John
> >
> >
> > > From: "Michael Barrera" <[email protected]>
> > > To: "John Lokken" <[email protected]>
> > > Subject: Re: So, since you can't answer e-mails at all.........Do
> > > I need to take this to the
> > > Date: Sat, 02 Apr 2005 16:20:38 -0500
> > >
> > > they are sold before you contact me.....I have never had
> > > complaints from anyone else.....
> > > you will get hooked up once boas come in....I do not issue
> > > refunds. I have also never had mites here, so I have no clue as
> > > to how you got mites. I have never ever had a mite in my facility.
> > > Everything gets sprayed when bought, and when placed in the faclitly.
> > > Anyways, take t who you want, I will only issue replacement animals.
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "John Lokken" <[email protected]>
> > > To: [email protected]
> > > Subject: So, since you can't answer e-mails at all.........Do I
> > > need to take this to the
> > > Date: Sat, 02 Apr 2005 07:42:09 -0800
> > >
> > > >
> > > > BOI and Kingsnake?
> > > > I really a pretty mellow guy by nature. But, your lack of
> > > > contacting me back is really becoming annoying. I am trying to
> > > > resolve this problem away from the public eye. But, I am beginning
> > > > to think that this might be the only way to have you resolve this
> > > > problem.
> > > > I lost over 400.00 here. You said you would take care of me. And,
> > > > I am using your words. Each time I e-mail you with a possible
> > > > replacement..........I hear nothing.
> > > > The politeness has left for me. I don't want an animal from you
> > > > anymore. Paying me back is seeming better and better each time I
> > > > have to try and deal with you about this. (And, me dealing with
> > > > you is one sided venture.)
> > > > I have to honestly say that I am afraid of your animals. When I
> > > > received the two they had mites and then died shortly after I
> > > > received them. And, to paraphrase you.........Your contact has
> > > > cleaner animals than most keepers. I have not found this to be
> > > > true at all. To think that I might be possibly introducing more
> > > > animals like that into my collection scares the crap out of me. I
> > > > have worked too hard and spent way too much money on my animals to
> > > > have them lost because of unclean animals.
> > > > I spoke with two friends about you before I bought your animals.
> > > > One said that you will never return e-mails or calls if there is
> > > > something wrong. The other said your animals were not clean. I
> > > > should have listened to them. Because I am dealing with exactly
> > > > those two issues with you.
> > > > Unfortunately, I went off what was said about you on the BOI. And,
> > > > it was all pretty positive. I am kicking myself for not listening
> > > > to my friends.
> > > > This was suppose to be resolved in December of 2004. It is now
> > > > April 2005. I have yet to hear from you. If you think I'm just
> > > > going to go away and give you over 400.00 you're crazy.
> > > > Make things right with me. If I don't hear from you in a week from
> > > > this e-mail I will file complaints with kingsnake and I will take
> > > > this to the BOI and keep on until this is resolved.
> > > > Like I said before, I am a really mellow guy. I have tried to be
> > > > very patient with this. My patience is up. I would like this
> > > > issue resolved.
> > > > John Lokken
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > MikeB
> > > M n R-Reptiles
> > > 10121 sw 118 terr
> > > Miami Fl 33176
> > > 786-853-7065
> > > Please make all Money orders and checks payable to Michael Barrera.
> > > Paypal addy: [email protected]
> > >
>
>
>MikeB
>M n R-Reptiles
>10121 sw 118 terr
>Miami Fl 33176
>786-853-7065
>Please make all Money orders and checks payable to Michael Barrera.
>Paypal addy: [email protected]
>
>--


no sold, i would have you sent that....
nothing right now.....waiting for shipments to come in....
mites dont come out of colombia.....only indonesia, and I have never had a mite
in my collection, remember alot of these animals were for my possesion.....not
to resale, unless they turned out to not match other snakes, or similiar.\
If I see an email from you on a snake, i will read it first..
MikeB
p.s. honestly I did not recieve any emails from you other than one for a boa I
was selling.
I believe you have the wrong impression of me as I offered you that deal and you
had never made a claim....I offered you that deal a month or two after the fact,
you had never notified me, so I was doing this as show of good faith and what
kind of operation I run here.
I do not screw people.......and I do not liek being pushed to do something non
obligatory....it will happen when it happens....i am doing this out of good
faith...not to"look" good.

 

[Justin Mitcham]

http://www.fws.gov/southeast/law/News/BarreraSentenceDOJ.htm

Personally I hope this guy rots, smuggled over 500 protected animals with a value of 200-400k!!!
I wonder how many animals died from his method of shipping, how many people affected.
Give you a little story here...
last year I purchased some star torts from a guy in Florida, (due to a ongoing investigation USFW has asked me not to mention his name to anyone...)
these stars were very small ,hatchling size, they did very poorly and one died a few weeks after receiving them. I chalked it up as a bad deal and that's it..a couple months ago while watching TV I get a knock at my door,it is USFW wanting me to answer some questions.
Apparently these torts were smuggled in, and sold to various dealers in the Florida area..especially Miami, then sold to other across the us via Kingsnake.com etc. I cooperated fully with them and gave them all the info they requested. They also told me how these were smuggled, they were shipped mostly USPS as books etc...Seems to be too much of a coincidence for me to discount that Mike DIDN"T have something to do with this.. To make a long story short these animals are now being traced by USFW, everyone who is intentionally or unintentionally involved are now under the microscope etc... Also apparently many of these wild caught stars have died in captivity since importation... WHY because someone wanted to make a buck...People like this humble self important Mike are destroying our trade one law,one smuggled import at a time. The guy selling these torts sold them on kingsnake for only 200ea, we thought that was a seriously smokin deal, turned out it wasn't, I also feel bad for all those people who acquired there animals legitimately, for they have to deal with someone cutting corners, devaluating there offspring and making it hard for them to sell there animals at a decent price.All there hard work ruined because someone wants to make a buck. This hurts us all..it's irresponsible , unethical and any true reptile breeder ,hobbyist etc knows this...Mike B got his funding to do what he wanted to do , from illegal poaching, shipping and sale of endangered species, through his actions he has encouraged the poaching and marketing of such animals. Do you think that those are the only customers these poachers have, I wonder how many other species of animals , mammals,birds ,etc.. have been hurt due to his funding and encouraging of there actions. I doubt these poachers just collect torts and turtles!!!
In essence Mike cut corners to get to where he is today, he didn't do it through hard work, breeding etc.. but through selling,trading illegal animals...
you ask why aren't his friends here defending him ..it's because obviously some of them don't want the heat or they are already in trouble. Mike plead guilty to a lesser charge...in my opinion seems like a deal was met between him and USFW, they normally don't give breaks unless....you give names. Do you think they stopped at Mike, I wonder how many other people are now under investigation...some probably deserve to be...but some don't. I didn't appreciate them at my house looking me over like I am some sort of criminal. In the end they found no wrong doing on my part. But on the other hand, the guy who sold me the stars was trying to sell me adults as well, one of my best friends wanted a very large colony from him. Do to circumstances at the time the deal did not happen, but if it did I would of ruined my friend, he had saved up all his cash to make one good investment buy, I told him that it was a steal , buy several adults for 350ea.. man I would not be able to sleep at night if he would of got busted and the animals confiscated, doubt he would get fined or face any charges..but loosing several k in animals would of been equally devastating to him and his wife who is undergoing Chemotherapy for cancer at this time.
When Mike gets out I like to see if he get's somewhere with hard work, now that he doesn't have the funding and or cool animals for barter will his contacts be so inclined to deal with him...it's seems when he was smuggling he had a unfair advantage over legitamate breeders and dealers, now he doesn't have this advantage and will have to do things the honest way.

By the way John , sorry to hear about your experience with Mike, I have had a similar exp with him in which he shorted me something I paid for and didn't want to send it because he'd loose on shipping. After months all I got was insults, he finally paid the company I work for the balance but only because someone else who he worked for at the time made him do it...
Mike was a complete jerk too me and I will never forget it.. in fact last year at Daytona I was around him several times, all he did was stare at the ground when I'd eyeball him..this guy has no spine...

 

[JohnLokken]

I must say that I agree with everything you state. It's like I try to teach my kids. Your actions affect more people than just you. This is a prime example. I would be really upset to have people in my house because of him. I would have some REAL issues with that. Not becuase I am trying to hide anything. I am just a very territorial guy. I don't like people uninvited in my space.
Like you, I will never forget the way I way treated by him. I will always be sure to let people know just how horrible this guy is. Like I said before, if the transaction goes well........He is your best friend. If there is a prblem......You will be ignored.

The real bummer for me was I did a search on here about him. Everything about him was "good". I'm not blaming this site about that at all. All I'm saying is that I will do my part to let others know just how horrible he is to do buisness with.
Thanks for sharing.
John

 

[romad119]

I was looking to get some CB ATBs but then I got this reply:

Alan,

The total will be $159.00 Shipped Overnight (FedEx) to your door with a 100% Live Arrival Guarantee. This includes the insulated shipping box and deli-cups. I do accept payment via PayPal, but I will have to add the 2.9% + 30 cents fee that they take away from each transaction on to your total.

This will come out to a grand total of $163.91 including the PayPal fee. My PayPal address is, [email protected]. Please let me know when you've sent payment.

Thanks,
Mitch
M.S. Herps

PS - They're feeding on fuzzies.

--------------------------------

Sorry, but after thisthread along with the violation of Paypals TOS I will definitely be steering away!

 

[Gecko_Den]

You should forward the e-mail to Pay Pal, I'm sure they would love to see it....

 

[romad119]

Done deal!

 

[romad119]

The forwarding to paypal that is. I also stated in it that this was the reason I was turning down the transaction.

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

I make it a point to NEVER purchase anything from someone who adds a PayPal surcharge. It is no different than saying you accept credit cards but want me to pay your CC vendors processing fee.