We’ve all been had (allegedly), or “Sautered” as I like to call it. It’s no joke. Rosemary Sauter allegedly made off with millions of dollars and ruined lives. Hundreds  if not thousands of lives reaching out worldwide.

I ask one simple question? How was this possible? How can one person be able to get their hands on so much money without recourse?

The real estate industry here has taken a blow to the gut that will be felt for years to come. Now is the time for the Board Of Realtors and the industry itself to be PROACTIVE. Self regulate yourself if you can immediately. Speak out and protect yourself. Your silence is deafening.

Is this mess your fault? No, but obviously there weren’t enough checks and balances to protect this kind of event from happening. I implore you to do whatever you can quickly so that people can feel safe and secure that their life savings can’t be swindled.

I know many people here in St. Thomas in the real estate business and their honest and  hardworking. This is not your fault. This is one bad egg amongst many great ones.  If the industry is unable to self regulate then go to our government for assistance (I know, that’s not easy). But be out in front trying to get something done. Right now the only thing that matters is protecting future customers.

Until then no one can be safe.

I’m not an expert in real estate or legal matters. So feel free to disagree with what I’ve said. Maybe you can’t regulate yourself. If so now may be the time to use many attorneys to escrow money. This way the money would be spread out and one person couldn’t steal it all.

What say you real estate professionals? How can we fix this moving forward?

The St. Thomas Blog will open it’s virtual home to you. We will post all articles from anyone within the real estate community offering out suggestions to this mess. Just email me your article to: scott@stthomasblog.com and I’ll post it.

Rosemary Sauter, the owner of Remax Dream Properties on St. Thomas, has cleared her office out and is nowhere to be found according to one of her employees.

There is alleged reports of escrow accounts drained and bounced checks. upwards of millions of dollars have allegedly been taken from hard working folks just trying to buy their dream house.

Imagine the lives that would be ruined if this is true? We have reliable sources in the legal, mortgage and real estate community all offering up information about her alleged scheming.

I know she bounced a check owed to my company for $2,000. Click the photo to enlarge.

Here is an email we obtained from a source within the real estate community of St. Thomas:

To: MLS members
Subject: Message from St. Thomas Board

The Directors of the St. Thomas Board have asked that I circulate the following:

Dear Members:

The purpose of this communication is to inform you that facts have come to the attention of the St. Thomas Board of Realtors that require us to advise you not to deposit any funds into any of the St. Thomas Re/Max Dream Properties escrow accounts, including the sales, rental, and property management escrow accounts.  Specifically, the Board of Realtors has been advised that the issuance of checks needed for closings has been delayed in certain instances where funds from the Re/Max Dream Properties escrow accounts were required.  

In view of these delays, and related matters, the Board feels it is prudent at this time to issue this advice to its members, so they may better serve their customers and the public.  Please pass this advice on to any of your clients and customers who are or may be intending to deposit any funds into any of these accounts.

This communication is not intended to indicate that there have been any inappropriate actions or events in connection with the Re/Max Dream Properties escrow accounts or any persons associated with these accounts.  The Board of Realtors is not an investigative body and therefore is not and will not engage in any independent investigation regarding these matters.  The Board of Directors will endeavor to remain apprised of any further
developments, and will advise its members of any change to the advice contained in this message.

Sincerely,

Board of Directors

St. Thomas Board of RealtorsR

If you are doing any business with Rosemary Sauter I recommend checking your account. If you see Rosemary Sauter it may be wise to report her to the authorities for her alleged fraud.

This is all unconfirmed right now and we will report back as soon as we hear more. If you’ve heard anything or know where Rosemary Sauter is hiding please shoot us an email to:

scott@stthomasblog.com.

UPDATE:

Arrest Warrant Issued for Fugitive Realtor!

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2010/02/05/arrest-warrant-issued-fugitive-realtor

Make sure to check out the Blues Disciples this Thursday night at Jack’s at 7:30.

Drink specials start at 6 and they include $2 Miller Lite, $2 Jager and $2 Absolut.

As seen on a multi-ship Tuesday, around 3:30/4pm on Magens Bay, after everyone scurried to their cab to get back to the ship:

It’s a little hard to see, but if you click on & enlarge the pic you’ll see a line of trash stretching all the way down the beach. Really?!

Our small group was getting ready to leave, and as we stood up and looked around we were all completely disgusted at the number of plastic cups, cans and water bottles that were lying in the sand. We asked the lifeguard if this happened a lot, and she said ‘pretty much whenever there’s a ship in’.

Okay. Tourists – listen up, and I can’t believe I need to tell you this – but unlike the lido deck on your boat where there are plenty of people paid to pick up after you – Magens Bay – gorgeous, popular Magens Bay – does not employ little elves to scurry around and pick up your freakin’ trash! Take a minute and dump it yourself – there’s only fifty blue trash cans around the bar/restaurant area completely for this purpose! And don’t tell me there’s a language barrier, a trash can is a trash can is a trash can.

The next time I have a Tuesday or Wednesday off (typically our busiest ship days, you remember – the days Magens closes due to too much potential tourist dollars? *snort*) I might go down to Magens and slap the hands of each person who decides to drag their rented lounger away while leaving a pile of plastic cups and cigarette butts. I’ll totally do it to. If I can bounce non-guests from a baby shower in Shed #1 (true story) I can pull off trash moniter.

So, that’s my rant for the day. And, before anyone types angry words (’cuz we know you will, you sneaky internets) - after taking this picture we picked everything up and threw it away ourselves.

Who makes the best Brain Freeze on St. Thomas? In this category we’re specifically lookin for FROZEN DRINKS. So who makes the very best frozen concoction on St. Thomas?

Please comment and announce your favorite. These votes count, so get your friends, associates, whoever to vote. Help us spread the good word on St. Thomas Restaurants and St. Thomas Bars.

Don’t forget to vote for (click on the links):

Best Kept Secret

Best Slab O’ Meat

Best Spicey Meatball

Best Stickey Rice

Best Bartender

Best I Wanna Get Romantic

Best Newbie Restaurant

Best Crushed Grapes

Best Hoity Toity

A pretty grouping of beads in a store in downtown Charlotte Amalie.

If you’ve ever fooled around with jewelry making (as I have) than you will love this store. Right now a name would probably be helpful, wish I had one for ya! I do know it’s in the alley to the right of Palm Passage…happy hunting…

What to do on Thursday nights? It’s clear that Jack’s is THE spot. They had an awesome Reggae band there last Thursday and they bring in a new act every week. These live bands are good, really good and very funky.

Secondly the bar food is always good. They have great wings of course but I’ve had a few of their wraps and they’re yummy. And let’s face it Steve the owner is constantly there running the joint. I swear he has no real life outside of Jack’s But then again it seems pretty obvious that those owners that put forth the effort seem to have a great place.

Head over there and try them out for the first time or again. Ask for Coco (the cute blonde) she’s a very good server and she busts her butt. And of course our good friend Kevin at the bar is very willing to talk to you about how the Yankees buy championships

Yes, Jack’s is one of our advertisers but trust me, I spend more there in a month than they do for advertising It’s just a great bar and that’s the truth. If you’re cynical don’t believe me but trust me that it’s two way big thumbs up for Jack’s!

What’s your very favorite St. Thomas, high end, gourmet, too expensive for their own good restaurant.

This restaurant will be the place you go for a special occasion. The food has to be great otherwise they’re a fraud. You like the Hoity Toity Restaurant so much you brag to your friends about the amount of money you spent on dinner!

Please comment and announce your favorite. These votes count, so get your friends, associates, whoever to vote. Help us spread the good word on St. Thomas Restaurants and St. Thomas Bars.

Don’t forget to vote for (click on the links):

Best Kept Secret

Best Slab O’ Meat

Best Spicey Meatball

Best Stickey Rice

Best Bartender

Best I Wanna Get Romantic

Best Newbie Restaurant

Best Crushed Grapes

Let me define crushed grapes… best bottle of wine, glass of wine, and wine selection. A place where you go out to dinner knowing you’ll be able to celebrate with a bottle of something you love. This restaurant/bar knows it’s wine, period.

Please comment and announce your favorite. These votes count, so get your friends, associates, whoever to vote. Help us spread the good word on St. Thomas Restaurants and St. Thomas Bars.

Don’t forget to vote for (click on the links):

Best Kept Secret

Best Slab O’ Meat

Best Spicey Meatball

Best Stickey Rice

Best Bartender

Best I Wanna Get Romantic

Best Newbie Restaurant

We were never big fans of Iggies Beach Bar. The place was run down and those flies, don’t get me started. The food was average at best. But we heard they spruced the place up so we went and tried it out again.

Nice job Iggies!

We really enjoyed ourselves last night, which was all you can eat King Crab. Not a bad deal for $39.00 each as we plowed through bucket after bucket between the 6 of us. The service was great as they had many servers walking around with plenty of buckets and butter.

The redo makes the place look nice and inviting. It’s now a spot we’d hit on a more regular basis. If you haven’t tried them out after the redo get over there.

Seriously, check these guys out:

See them live at Jack’s Restaurant this Thursday night the 28th at 7:30!

Drink specials start at 6 and they include $2 Miller Lite, $2 Jager and $2 Absolut.

So…we like to check our blog reports to see what kind of stats are happening.  Occasionally we come accross, well, ah, er, um…some interesting search terms people use to find us on Google. This term was searched 3 times yesterday (I’m hoping by the same person):

“fat ass black girls in st. thomas island”

You’ll be happy to know we come up 4th in Google for that phrase. Yay! We are directly under the following (some words omitted by us because our moms read this…but feel free to check the links if you’re curious. you’ve been warned):

YouTube – SEXY XXX BIG BOOTY BREAST LESBIAN GIRLS …
	1 min 28 sec – 6 Dec 2007 - Related Videos. black bike week booty big bubble butt girls BikesandAss.com … St. Thomas Girls Gone Wild #3. 10519 views … www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwk9RDoP – Related videos -

Here we are! So tame after the previous three…

St Thomas Restaurants Real Estate Cruise Ship Beaches Caribbean …  

Funny stuff. All out of our control

A truly beautiful place to visit and literally do nothing on their picture-perfect beaches. Two one-hour ferry rides from St. Thomas gets you there. Or one faster ride on a private boat. Or one much faster plane trip.

Either way, everyone should go at least once.

What’s your favorite restaurant/grill for hands on food? Think; burgers, ribs, chicken wings, you get the point. Stuff you need extra napkins for and maybe a wet-nap.

Please comment and announce your favorite. These votes count, so get your friends, associates, whoever to vote. Help us spread the good word on St. Thomas Restaurants and St. Thomas Bars.

Don’t forget to vote for (click on the links):

Best Kept Secret

Best Slab O’ Meat

Best Spicey Meatball

Best Stickey Rice

Best Bartender

Best I Wanna Get Romantic

Best Newbie Restaurant

This is a brand new restaurant on St. Thomas…Can be ANY type of restaurant.

Oh, so shiny and soft, ready to provide great service. The furniture still looks great, the owner still smiles. This place is probably super busy because they are the new hot thing on St. Thomas.

Please comment and announce your favorite. These votes count, so get your friends, associates, whoever to vote. Help us spread the good word on St. Thomas Restaurants and St. Thomas Bars.

Don’t forget to vote for (click on the links):

Best Kept Secret

Best Slab O’ Meat

Best Spicey Meatball

Best Stickey Rice

Best Bartender 

Best I Wanna Get Romantic

Check out Badman, Saturday night the 23rd at Caribbean Saloon!

Click photo to enlarge

If you’ve never seen Badman check them out they’re great.

This is the restaurant you take the woman/man you love and or lust for. The food is remarkable and presented well, the atmosphere gets you in the mood. If there is one place to show the one you love or lust for a good time this is it.

Please comment and announce your favorite. These votes count, so get your friends, associates, whoever to vote. Help us spread the good word on St. Thomas Restaurants and St. Thomas Bars.

Don’t forget to vote for (click on the links):

Best Kept Secret

Best Slab O’ Meat

Best Spicey Meatball

Best Stickey Rice

Best Bartender

Check out these guys, appearing live at Jack’s Restaurant this Thursday night the 21st at 7:30:

Sol Driven Train is a band in motion. Perpetually piling on and off the bus, the momentum of their hard work and heart-felt music propels the group upward.

At shows, the band members bounce to the pulse of the music along with the crowd. Stylistically the band “seamlessly mixes Allmanesque Southern rock, languid world-beat, swampy funk and downright catchy melodies as they swap lead singers and instruments.

A punchy horn section adds an extra dimension of sweaty soul to the genre-blurring jam party” (Atlanta Creative Loafing, 11/21/06).

Drink specials start at 6 and they include $2 Miller Lite, $2 Jager and $2 Absolut.

Meet Charlotte

Imagine the officers surprise if they should pull her over as she is NOT a male.