Contrary to its reputation as the “gold mine” for its strong collecting power, the Dominican Consulate of New York wrote several bad checks in the beginning of April. In other words, their checks bounced like balls.

This situation, which spread like wildfire, left the check recipients bewildered.

One of the most pathetic cases is of check number 5534 from Chase Manhattan Bank made out to the Alumni Association of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD).

The check for the humble amount of $150 bounced not just once but twice, due to the fact that its recipients, who at first blamed a bank error, tried to deposit it again.

Another victim of the Consulate’s poor finances was an advertising agency that preferred to remain unnamed, for fear of falling out of favor with the Caribbean nation.

A spokesperson for the agency said that the check was for an amount at least three times larger than the aforementioned.

“I can’t say that it’s not true, they have written checks without funds to various people,” said the spokesperson. “I don’t want you to mention me because there are people there who deserve a certain consideration. Not the Consul or the embarrassing people he brought there, but someone who deserves my consideration asked me not to talk about this.”

According to the spokesperson, this Consulate and its administration are shameful.

“The Consulate always has its problems, but these people are not acting professionally...a receipt from month ago and, without shame, they tell you that there is no more money. Just like that, with no class, and then they give you a bad check. An institution like the Consulate is not allowed the luxury of losing control, whether or not it has money in the bank,” added the spokesperson.

We asked Dr. Rafail Lantigua, the President of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), what he thought of the issue.

“Don’t talk to me about that. That’s something you should ask the Consul,” Dr. Lantigua said, adding, “and remember that the Consul isn’t a member of the party here. I don’t know anything about this issue.”

Secretary General of the New York office of the PRD, Henry Taveras, admitted that the party also had received a check for $2,000 from the Consul that bounced.

Another victim of the Consulate’s bad checks was an Upper Manhattan travel agency, whose check for a four-digit number also bounced.

“I prefer not even to talk about this. Those people are shameless,” said a representative of the travel agency who only agreed to speak anonymously.

“This bill has been drawn out for months, they keep saying tomorrow, and this and that. Then they asked me to redeposit the check. All I want is my money.”

The same source told us several times that Dr. Lantigua had also been given “several” good checks.