An out-of-work man who claimed to be one of the heroes responsible for helping people from the rubble of the collapsed nightclub fire has admitted that he was lying and was paid to tell people he was there.
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Rafael Rosario was the hero of the hour after claiming to have saved 12 people after the nightclub disaster in the Dominican Republic. The roof of a nightclub collapsed after a fire, trapping and killing 231 people and injuring more than 200.
The out-of-work security guard went on to do tours and media appearances, speaking about his heroics. However, as he was leaving the studio of one of his interviews, he was apprehended by police. He was then placed under arrest for his false claims.
He was then forced to make a public apology, which was aired across the police social media channels. Rosario had claimed to be there to save lives. He also said that police had not been helping and were profiteering from he disaster.
"I'm here to deny those videos, that I wasn't there. I didn't rescue those people, and that the rescuers and the police there were profiting, and that they were just taking people out as if by chance, as if by preference. That's false, a lie," he said in his online statement.
False Hero Was Paid To Lie About Involvement With Nightclub Disaster
Speaking about his lies, he also revealed that he had been paid to say he was helping people in the destroyed nightclub. "I apologize to the public, I apologize to the authorities, that they forgive me about that. I did it because they gave me money since I wasn't working right now. They gave me money."
Who was paying him to lie is still unclear. Who could have profited from his lies is anyone's guess. Either way, speaking out against the local police and saying they were robbing the establishment and the victims is a sure way to get on the wrong side of them.
However, he isn't the only one to make the claim that police were profiteering. A TikToker known as Bokita RD also claimed to be a survivor of the nightclub disaster. On his social media, he said that "The police were just messing around, trying to take what little they could find."
He was recently also arrested by local police. They claim he was also lying about his involvement in the nightclub fire. He has since rescinded his claims and statements online.
