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Fashion's Night In
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Marc by Marc Jacobs publicist Tim Garcia, under house arrest because of a criminal investigation, spent the night in a Gucci jacket and YSL boots.
Timothy Mark Depakakibo Garcia, a 25-year-old publicist for Marc by Marc Jacobs, has a court-ordered Fashion Week curfew.
Perched on a sleek white Armani Casa chair in his apartment in the modern, gilded Trump Plaza at 502 Park Avenue, Garcia is decked in head-to-toe designer: a supple caramel leather Alessandro dell’Acqua jacket, Alexander McQueen jeans, a thin white LnA tee shirt and YSL boots. His wrists are adorned with a big Cartier gold and silver Tank watch, a Cartier Love bracelet, a white enamel Hermes bangle and a $1000 dollar large gold plated spiked Hermes cuff called the Collier de Chien.
The ankle bracelet limits Garcia’s fashion choices. “I can’t even wear my knee high croc boots by Sergio Rossi for the fall,” he laments.
Then Garcia daintily rolls up his jeans to reveal one accessory he’d rather not be wearing: an electronic monitoring house arrest ankle bracelet, code number “HGM94472.” The thick plastic black box, the size of a pack of cigarettes, is snug up against his tiny ankle. Garcia’s movements are recorded by Homeguard 200, a big black machine connected to his angular, futuristic Bang and Olufsen phone.
“I’m sorry it’s so messy,” he frets. His good friend, the outrageously outré Manila based fashion blogger Bryan Boy is staying with him. Near the kitchen in the cozy, all-white one-bedroom apartment, Bryan Boy’s massive Louis Vuitton steamer trunk explodes open with designer duds. A white mohair Gucci dog bed, for Garcia’s five-year-old Yorkshire Terrier “Cartier,” rests under a an enormous flat-screen TV. On the kitchen table, two laptops are open and towers of fashion magazines, costume jewelry and beauty products are everywhere.
On March 6, 2009, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) barged into Garcia’s apartment—purchased with his mother Clarita D. Garcia, in 2004 for $765,000—and handcuffed him “right in this chair I’m sitting in,” he says. Garcia couldn’t stop crying. He was taken to the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, and then moved from a special housing unit to the general population. The only thing he could see from his cell window was a cemetery.
Garcia was arrested as part of a criminal investigation into the business dealings of his father, Major General Carlos F. Garcia, a former comptroller of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The elder Garcia stands accused of racking up more than 303 million pesos ($6.2 million) of ill-gotten gains, in the form of cash, real estate and other property. General Garcia is not an American citizen and is in jail in the Philippines where the scandal has taken on Imelda Marcos-like proportions in the local press. General Garcia’s wife and their three children (all American citizens), Timothy Mark, Ian Karl, 30, and Juan Paulo, 27 are all facing plunder charges in the Philippines, which carries a penalty of 30 years to life. They are all also subjects to extradition.
Tim Garcia remained in lock-up for 95 days. “It was the doorway to hell,” he remembers, in his soft voice. “I was in with trannies who needed hormone treatments,” he goes on, spinning the Hermes cuff like a toy. “Pete Gotti, the brother of John Gotti, was there…organized crime families. It was a long time, a chunk of my life.” His friends tell him he is resilient. And for someone being threatened with extradition and losing everything, he seems somewhat calm. “It’s life altering. Imagine yourself being secluded and out of sight and out of mind and being trapped. Imagine living a comfortable lifestyle and than all of a sudden you’re forced to coexist with armed robbers, organized crime people and people who sell drugs. The cream of the criminal crop. They put me with pedophiles. I was trying not to get raped every day. It was scary.” At the same time, Clarita, Garcia’s mother, was also in prison. “That hurt me the most. She’s 60 and to put her in prison in conditions like that is difficult for a son. She was in prison longer than me.”
In April, Garcia says he was asked to hand over his “apartment and bank accounts.” He protested. “I knew that it was all bullshit. I was like, ‘No! I will never waver in the conviction of my father’s innocence and doing that would just hurt my father’s case.” The government still contends that some of that $6.2 million dollars went into purchasing the Trump Plaza apartment. The government also says the Garcias transferred $2 million from the Philippines to the United States.
On June 8, Garcia was released from prison on a million-dollar bail. He was despondent and in shock. Then, in a strange twist of fate, he was offered the coveted job as a publicist for Marc Jacobs. He didn’t dare tell the fashion house about his court ordeal, but then Page Six broke the news for him. His bosses at Marc Jacobs didn’t blink. “I didn’t tell them about my situation. I don’t have a criminal record. They arrested me to put pressure on my family. I’m just fortunate that no one [at Marc Jacobs] cares and if anything, they are very, very compassionate to my situation.”
“My father is a government official in the Philippines,” Garcia explains carefully, his small voice growing deeper. “Basically they are accusing my father of stealing millions and misuse of public funds and me being his son, they locked up his entire family. The picture the Philippines press paints of my family is that we were dirt poor and with my father in this position for two years, we rose to astronomical riches. We are third generation despots in the Philippines.” Garcia pauses and checks his Blackberry, which makes a ping noise every few minutes. He silences his phone. “I can’t actually talk about the legalities of it all because it’s still pending.”
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Embers
Who cares?
A spoiled brat moaning about having to wear an ankle bracelet... but I suppose the real point of the article was to mention all the cool brand-name stuff he owns. Cry me a freaking river!
EdmondDantes
Pathetic story, pathetic excuse for a man, pathetic family. If Peter Davis is trying to develop a sympathetic character in the form of this guy, Tim Garcia, he's missed completely. But if he's revealing the repulsive self-indulgences and wallowing of a depressing little man, well, he succeeded. Tim Garcia, if you read this, PLEASE, stop whining and just buck up.
Tabloidhack
It's interesting that he won't turn over his financial records, seeing as how his father is innocent and all. Makes you wonder.
Embers
Why doesn't Tim Garcia turn over his records to investigators if his father is innocent?
markal-40
You and you're family are, in any way, no different from the biggest crook of all time - the Marcoses. Pray, tell us Filipinos how your family was able to LEGALLY amass this wealth, and I'll keep my mouth shut, but until then,mighty please, never ever picture your entire family as the victims here 'cause it is really galling!!!
Embers
Had to comment again about the following stupid quote:
"The ankle bracelet limits Garcia's fashion choices. "I can't even wear my knee high croc boots by Sergio Rossi for the fall," he laments."
Oh my goodness! That is the saddest, most pitiful thing I've ever heard. This poor man and his horrible suffering makes me want to weep. Will his boots be out of style by the time his ankle bracelet comes off? It is difficult and upsetting to know that I live in a nation where this kind of atrocity, this gross miscarriage of justice, can occur.
Thank you, Peter Davis, for telling the world about this very, very, very important story.
Embers
And the stupidest quote of all:
"In April, Garcia says he was asked to hand over his "apartment and bank accounts." He protested. "I knew that it was all bullshit. I was like, 'No! I will never waver in the conviction of my father's innocence and doing that would just hurt my father's case."
Now, if his father is innocent, then turning over financial records would prove that he didn't take the money. In what universe would a person refuse to turn over exonerating evidence to the prosecution? Now I KNOW that Major Garcia stole the money, and his son was obviously aware of it.
veritas-
how horrible to have his mom in jail,thats gotta hurt, i think the only person who deserves that is maddoff
Embers
Why won't Tim Garcia turn his recrords over if his father is innocent? doesn't make sense.
lhuillierboy
if you must know, his family is the equivalent of maddoff's in the philippines. his father earns a little over $500 a month as the comptroller of the military's budget and yet they can afford all these luxuries. and the family is clearly involved. in December 19, 2003, "a son of former AFP comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia is arrested by US Customs at the San Francisco airport for failing to declare US$ 100,000." they launder the money here in the US. shame on you Tim Garcia! for a more detailed background on the Maddoff of the Philippines check out this link: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/88666/Maj-Gen-Carlos-F-Garcia
namedujour
Wow. You know people like that exist, but you don't care.
moqueuo
my good lord, i could not even articulate how disgusted i am by this article, or, to be more accurate, by this animal. his father was a mere major general in an impoverished country where a college teacher earns $300.00 a month, and here's a family who can afford all these luxuries. while his experience in jail would have jolted the human spirit in him and encouraged him to repent for all his family's sins, here he is pretending that his father did nothing wrong at all. in country like the philippines where majority of its citizens live below poverty level, here's an animal who feels it is his birthright to live like a royalty. in a world of gnawing poverty and starving children, even a member of a royal family should not, must not live as decadent as he does. i am literally shaking right now, with repugnance. in a few minutes, i will cry inconsolably, with bitterness in my heart, over someone whose inhumanity offends me beyond words. i will cry for the millions of filipinos who have not heard or seen anything as frivolous as louis vuitton steamer trunk because these hungry human beings are occupied in earning a living that would put food into their table at least once a day. some of them die trying.
namedujour
We've got people-o-plenty with this self-serving attitude right here in the US.
Kind of reminds me of the current health crisis. There's an article on Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2009/09/11/republicans/) about how "a certain kind of Republican" only shows concern for health issues that impact them personally. For instance, Cindy McCain is all about raising money for migraine headache research. She is "outraged" that we only spend millions a year in research.
Anyway, look around. See people driving luxury vehicles, living in McMansions? Think they care about the uninsured people who are dying down the road? No. I can hear them screaming in town hall meetings from here.
They only care about you if you have a migraine, and only then if THEY get migraines. That's how it works with them.
punchys
There are some very basic errors in the headline and article that make this very distracting to read. Probation, parole, and bail (aka pretrial release) are different. Prison and jail are different. Jail (also sometimes called a detention center) is for people who have been arrested but not yet convicted, as well as people who have been convicted but sentenced to short terms of confinement (typically less than a year). Prison is only for people who have been convicted, and usually only for those with longer sentences (a year or more). Bail (aka pretrial release) is for people who have been charged but not yet tried or convicted. Parole is for people who have been convicted and were released from prison early. Probation only applies to people who have been convicted; it's a type of sentence; often it's in lieu of confinement (jail or prison) but can also be following a sentence of confinement (for example, two months jail followed by two years probation).
Most laypeople don't know or care about the distinctions. Journalists whose writing pertains to the criminal justice system should.
chambo
What HOGWASH, who really cares and does the author of this story really know the facts of the situation. I don't think so and I know he does not. It's mostly a fairytale and frivoulous bullshit. Also the author puts himself in a position for a liable lawsuit. I suggest he take this sight down.
FlipNFlip
Mr. Davis, if your purpose in writing this blog is to initiate a sympathy campaign on the plight of Tim Garcia, then you are a sad little man in the middle of New York. But if you wrote this to tell the world how a frivolous little boy wails at the loss of his freedom amidst the fashion brands that adorn his home - thank you very much.
For those who take the sympathy side of this sad little princess - Mr. Garcia is the son of a lowly paid general in a third world country called the Philippines, a former colonial territory of the United States that was bough by Washington as a reparation from Spain. Garcia is the son of a General who takes home a pay of little less than US$ 500.00 a month.
The Philippines has a population of 90 million, a third of US population and nearly half earns less than 3 to 4 dollars a day. The father who is a controller meaning handled financial transactions for one of the poorly equipped and underpaid Armed Forces in the world is facing bribery charges pocketing purchases. As the butterfly son wails over his lost little freedom, an ankle monitor by his branded leather boots, soldiers of the Philippine army is fighting in wet and dangerous jungles fighting Communist insurgents and Islamic extremists with their worn out boots, dying to help stop terrorists who are part of the group who destroyed your World Trade Center eight years ago.
Fifty percent of the 90 million Filipinos are below the poverty line, nearly 5 million are abroad trying to earn money to send home and feed their families. You would see a Filipino possibly serving your coffee, driving your cab there in New York, or perhaps cleaning the toilet of your hotel, maybe even caring for your bleeding noses at the general hospital downtown.
If there will be any sad sympathy for this little sad confused boy - America hates Maddof so much, what your financial guru did is nothing compared to what Garcia and his family has done to people in the Philippines - people are dying here because money needed to feed and care for people here have to give it up because of the frivolous lifestyle of this Tim Garcia.
If there is any truth to the American fairness and justice, this little prick whining over his incarceration is like a puss leech who eats the blood, flesh and soul of his countrymen.
Now, in parting, does Tim Garcia and his family have any real wealth to spend and act like royalties? No! The family who lives in Trump Plaza declared that the only property they ever have in the Philippines is a small bungalow house that even New York sewer rats would hate to live in.
Unlike most who leave aliases here .. my name is Allan de los Reyes and one of my relatives is a front line soldier who died in the island of Mindanao fighting Islamic extremists, died poor with little benefit left for a service to the Philippines and for America's freedom!
Embers
I had no idea how bad it was. Thank you for posting this. I posted some points about how stupid this article is, and they were removed by the editors. Hope this doesn't get removed too.
quitit
the truth of the matter is, one cannot even be rich by receiving the salary of a general here in the Philippines. i'm talking about what they legally receive as compensation for their service. this is the philipines. you don't get to be that rich unless
a) you were born moneyed
b) you have a succesful multi-million business
c) you work abroad and get 10000 USD monthly or more (possibly as a nurse or a dentist). even then it would still take years to save that amount of moolah.
here in the philippines, there is hardly any middle class. you're either filthy rich, which means you are one in a million, quite literally. or you're dirt poor ... one with the masses. i heard that in some sugar cane plantations, farmers get a sum of 10 pesos for a whole days work. that's about 10 cents for you guys. it's the plantation owners who are more likely to own a trump plaza apartment and YSL boots and ... well ... you know the rest.
lhuillierboy
Amen!
Embers
All I said was, in what universe would you refuse to turn over exonerating evidence to the prosecution (Garcia's refusal to turn over his "bank and apartment records"), and the comments were removed.
Thanks for proving me right, person who took those down!
Embers
Peter, if you don't want to cause Tim Garcia legal problems, why did you write this article?
What a load of drivel.
Embers
Why won't Tim Garcia turn his records over to investigators if his father is innocent?
Embers
Why won't Tim Garcia turn his records over to investigators if his father is innocent?
masha2008
This is sickening. The Garcias got their money from the coffers of the Philippine goverment. As comptroller for the army, Garcia had control of millions of pesos, including aid given by the U.S. to the Philippine military that was supposed to purchase better equipment for the soldiers fighting communists and muslim extremist in the jungles of the Philippines. Instead of purchasing quality equipment, Garcia only allowed for low-quality boots and misfiring guns etc. Many soldiers have died, many wives widowed, many children have become parentless, many lives shattered so Tim Garcia can buy his gold cartier tank watch.
The Garcias have no other source of income and yet they have 3-4 real estate properties in the United States. We are awaiting his extradition.
I am calling for a boycott of everything Marc Jacobs. I spit on Marc Jacobs. This is a serious and a moral matter.
mikeinmanila
I have been covering this story as Journalist here in the Philippines since the story broke of Tim and his brother were caught by US Customs smuggling in $100,000 in cash into San Francisco Int'l airport.
His Mom, per court records and US customs documents went balistic - telling customs officers in a high pitched angry tone - didn't they know who she was her husband was high ranking general in the Philippine Military. He was the comptroller of Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Customs officials then expalined to Mrs. Garcia all they had failed to do was declare the funds and show where they came from and pay a tax on it since it came in from overseas.
US Law is any cash over 10,000 US dollars in cash must be declared. Further that it must not be hidden. This is explained to any traveler on a plane.
She then went ballistic again explaining the money came from gifts... dole-outs, commissions etc.... And then in a angry tone reminded the US customs officials they were not dealing with Filipino's.
Her sons and herself were US citizens. They were promptly arrested read their rights and had the whole book thrown at them.
RICO was put into effect - it is illegal for a US citizen to benefit from corruption - read the law.
No source of funds was given for the purchase of the trump towers flat. No source of income was given for clothes, numerous homes in the Philippines over a dozen luxury cars and jewelry and more.
Worse when the serial numbers of the bills were traced, widely reported in media reports both here and in the US the cash was directly traced to counter terrorism funds meant for use in the fight vs. al qaeda.
You know the guys who brought down the twin towers? That flat, the things you see inside, nearly everything that Tim has is per his indictment US taxpayer funds converted to cash and stolen.
Scores of Americans 17 troops and two American hostages to be exact and over 1,400 Filipino troops and hundreds of civilians have been killed by the Abu Sayyaf, the US prosecutors allege - everything you see in that apartment is blood money meant for medical supplies and aid versus the same group of terrorists that struck NYC.
Tim should be happy no one in jail ever found out what he was accused of or perhaps he never would have made it out in one piece.
To think anyone would defend or try to support this man and his family's case on the anniversary of 9-11 is astounding.
To hear he has not been convicted is amazing, please look into the case of general Carlos Garcia his father. Pls talk to the US attorneys office .
For a New Yorker, a American to live off the blood money meant to stop terrorism is treason of the highest order.
Tim's privileged life, those of us who have lost loved ones in this war is a glaring example of justice delayed and denied.
I know he has rights and is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. But, he should hang his head in shame not boast or brag. He lived off what has been proven in courts here as stolen gov't funds in the case of his father. And he should not be allowed to benefit from that crime. In the memory of all who lost their lives on 9-11 and in fight versus these extremists Tim is an example of the worst kind of traitor.
Both to his country and his City he says he loves.
bangbang
Very well said! Tim Garcia's family is absolutely DISGUSTING!
mikeinmanila
As a additional adendum to my earlier post I submit the column of Jarius Bondoc - whose reporting led to the arrest of Gen. Garcia and filing of formal charges after the charges were filled in the U.S. federal courts.
Here's the other side:
Monday, April 21, 2008
More of what General and Mrs. Garcia said
GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc , The Philippine Star, Monday, April 21, 2008
Voluble Clarita D. Garcia wanted back the $100,000 cash that U.S. Customs confiscated from her sons in Dec. 2003. But she felt that she and her husband, AFP Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia, hadn't explained enough. So on Apr. 6, 2004, she handwrote Customs agent van Dyke (presented as is):
"This statement is in addition to justify how we were able to accumulate the $100,000. As on the papers submitted by my husband, he just showed his income tax return from his earnings, which showed insufficient funds to accumulate the amount brought by our two sons. Aside from my husband's declared income, he did not mention his other income from his travel and schooling allowances, honorariums and gratuities given to him due to his added duties and functions designated for his position as Major General in the Philippine Armed Forces.
"For example, honorarium benefits: My husband holds different chairmanship and directorship with different Armed Forces institutions and he receives money allowances for every meeting that he attends weekly.
"Travel allowances: As a comptroller, J6 Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Comptrollership, he is a member of the Management Team of Projects. For example: A certain foreign company wins a bidding from the Bids and Awards Committee for selling military hardware. This procurement is approved by the Secretary of National Defense and Office of the President. Then a team committee is formed in the Armed Forces to oversee the implementation of the contract. Since my husband's office is under the Department of Budget and Management that holds the budget of the whole government, his office is part of the inspection team. In one of the provisions of the contract, a team of committee will oversee the implementation of the contract before, during and after. During the 'before' portion of the contract, my husband goes to inspect the site or location of the plant of the contracted party. Then during the 'during' portion of the contract, he goes back to the contracted country to see the actual products. During the 'after' portion of the contract, he returns to the contracted country to accept the finished product. During these travels, my husband always brings me along and we are each given travel allowances by the proponents/host country. He is also by his office stipend and allowances to be used at his discretion. As a wife, I am also given an envelope as they called 'shopping money' that I can use for my own discretion, no receipt of how we use the stipends are ever required. Business class airfare/first class accommodations and transportation are provided by the host/proponents and this happens on every trip since 1993 to present. Our meals, purchase of souvenirs and cost of visiting sites are also paid for by our host. As a result, our allowances are not used and we are allowed to keep them. I am unable to provide the exact amount of each stipend/allowances because it varies from country to country we are assigned to visit.
"When my husband is assigned to travel domestically in the Philippine Islands to conduct inspection on different military camps, he is also given stipend/allowances and also often given gratuities.
"With regards to expenses such as salaries for our drivers, security guards, their wages are paid for by the government. My husband's office is provided with government vehicles, free gasoline, housing allowances and lots of gratuities, gifts received from colleagues. This is again part of the PERKS that my husband receives from holding a key position in the Philippine Armed Forces.
"Also, when he was sent for schooling abroad, his salaries and allowances go to his savings. The counterpart country also gives him stipend and housing allowance. For example: when he took his Master's Degree at Monterey Post Naval Graduate School, CA 1993-95; for those period he was given allowances from his country and counterpart country. Since I am a license registered nurse in California, I was able to work for two years as a nurse that also contributed to our income. This money was not only accumulated for 1-2 years but this is our accumulated savings for the past years.
"With regards to my income from the resort and orchard that came from my parents inheritance, Philippine laws allow the reporting of income, for the first two years of operation, as a loss. Then even though the corporation made profits since its start of operations, we reported a loss the first two years of operation.
"As an American given or accumulating peso funds, I always change these peso funds to dollar money, including all the profits of our corporations that accumulated through the years.
"(Signed) Clarita D. Garcia, 4/6/04."
* * *
abby0522
it is disgusting to see a son of a general in the philippines who earns just $500 dollars a month live a lifestyle 90% of filipinos cannot even dream of having! they cannot even show proof of how they amassed that amount of wealth, yet the vulgarly flaunt what they did with the money....wearing an anlke bracelet is nothing compared to living in a shanty, not knowing where or when your next meal will come from, with no toilet facilities or fighting in a war for your government with boots with holes, no decent meals, the rebels better equipped than you are. I dare Tim Garcia to trade one day of his life with an ankle baraclet to a day in the life of a filipino soldier fighting in Mindanao!!!!
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