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SNOWING IN BALI

Meanwhile, in Bali, Italian jeweller Juri and American surfer Gabriel were trying to cut a deal.

The two westerners had shared the concrete floors of the police cell, sleeping on towels, until Gabriel splashed out cash. ‘I always had $1000 in my pocket.’ He was the first to be allowed a thin mattress and was soon getting margaritas delivered to the police cell. When he moved to Kerobokan Prison, he slung the boss $1000 to transfer instantly out of the vile initiation cell into the foreigners’ block, sharing with Argentinian hashish dealer Frederico. Quickly renowned among the guards for his cash-splashing, they nicknamed Gabriel ‘America’.

Like most, he was anxiously trying to do a deal and get out. One morning the police drove him and his lawyer, William, to a meeting with the prosecutors. Afterwards, William met with the judge and the deal was set. For $50,000, Gabriel would be sentenced to three years, six months. William just had to slip them the cash an hour before the courts opened at 7 am on the day of his verdict.

Handcuffed in the bus, en route to his last day in court, Gabriel was stressed, desperately hoping the deal would work.

William had the money in time for the deal, it was all set, and I was just ready to get this behind me, because your head is just so foggy when you don’t know what you’re going to get. I was all worked up. I went to the court, I’m sitting there in the cell waiting, and they called my name. But I hadn’t seen William yet; he was always there when I went to court – he would meet me at the bars.

Then the prosecutor came to take me into court. He had an angry look. I was asking, ‘What’s wrong, what’s wrong? Where’s William?’ I was freaking out and he wouldn’t even look at me. He just grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into the courtroom and rammed me

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