An Official Web-wide Apology

[Oblik]

First off I would like to say that what has happened over the last several days is one of the most embarrassing and unwanted thing to have happened. This ordeal started out as an argument between myself and a fellow member on stoggiechat.com. There was no way I would know that it would carry this far. I very sincerely and sympathetically apologize for what has gone on recently.

Before I purchased the Cohibas in question I had done a significant amount of research on spotting fakes. When I first bought a box of Cohiba Robustos I was very careful to observe all of the things that you should look for. I undoubtedly was convinced that they were the real deal and shortly after purchased a box of Espledidos. Unfortunately as you have all seen it has been determined that they are fake. The box that they came in, the seals, the papers that came with them, the box codes, the holograms, the presence of triple caps, and even the presentation were all real. The band resembles a real Cohiba quite well to the untrained eye. Many of you will agree with me on that. But, to a person who has much more experience with Cohiba it is fairly obvious that they are not the real bands. I was fooled, Dave was fooled at first and some of you may have been fooled even up to this point.

I am not here to plead a case. I am now a statistic and I feel very bad about the trades that I have made. I in no way, shape or form EVER intended to burn anyone of my fellow BOTLs. This was not intentional in any way. At first I refused to believe that it was true, but now after all of this mess has gone web wide and I have seen all of the evidence to show me my faults, I freely admit that they are in fact fake Cohibas. I am truly sorry for the fuss that I have caused.

To my knowledge I have traded out 5 of them, one in a pass that I started, two more in two other passes and two in a private trade. My offer to anyone who has one of these (and yes this includes you Dave) is to contact me at oblik23@yahoo.com and I will work out something with you to square things up.

In this I was a victim and I also created victims. I was wrong and I admit that now. To the people who I have wronged and to the communities that this has affected, I sincerely apologize and hope that all of you can forgive me. I can be very hard headed at times, but when I am wrong, I am wrong. This is one of those times. Please accept this apology and let’s get back to being a good BOTL community.

Carlos Velasquez