Family: Why Did Woodbridge Man Die In Dominican Republic?

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The New Jersey family of Joseph Allen, the 55-year-old Woodbridge man who died in the Dominican Republic last week, wants answers. And they are simply not buying the Dominican government's claim that the otherwise healthy Avenel man died of a heart attack.

"Look, my mom was a nurse for more than 50 years," said Allen's brother, Jason Allen, on Thursday. "My brother had just had a physical for his job before he went on vacation. There were no red flags for a heart attack: No high cholesterol, no chest pain. He worked out."

Allen is the ninth American to die under mysterious circumstances in the island nation. The FBI is currently investigating at least six of the American deaths, specifically whether they drank tainted or bootleg liquor.

Jason Allen, 44, of Summit, described his older brother as a salt-of-the-earth, "blue collar guy." He worked as a dispatcher for PSE&G for decades. Joe loved to watch football and he also loved to vacation in the sunny, friendly Dominican Republic.

"He'd gone to the resort (where he died), Terra Linda in Sosua, many times before. It was like home for him," said his brother. "He wasn't some obnoxious American tourist who'd drink too much or be rude when he went there. He knew all the staff and talked to them. He said the people there were really nice."

Before this most recent trip, Allen asked his brother if he was nervous about safety.

"I asked if he was sure he wanted to go, with the shooting of David Ortiz and everything, but he brushed it off. He loved the DR. He loved the people," said his brother. "He was like, 'I know these people, this is my place.' He just felt very comfortable there."

Timeline of Allen's last few hours

Last Sunday, June 9, Allen departed for what would be his final trip to the Dominican Republic.

He was vacationing with a group of his childhood friends. It was on Wednesday, the fourth day of their trip, that Allen started feeling ill, very hot and feverish, those friends later relayed to his brother.

"They all got breakfast that morning and all went for haircuts and they were sitting on the balcony at their room and he was sweating profusely. He was like, 'I can't take this anymore, I don't know how you guys can sit out here,' and went inside to take a shower," recalled Jason. "After the shower, he said he felt much better, but still not 100 percent. So he said he was going to go lie down in his room."

Unlike in some of the other Dominican deaths, alcohol does not appear to be a factor in this case: No friend could recall Joe drinking on Wednesday and he never drank anything from the hotel minibar. "He always said he never touched the minibar when he traveled, so he didn't get hit with a big bill when he checked out," said Jason. "He said that was an amateur move."

Allen declined to go out with his friends to some clubs that night, and said he wanted to keep sleeping. His friends texted him throughout the night, and started to get nervous when they saw he hadn't read their texts.

The next morning, Thursday, July 13, they were very alarmed he still hadn't read them and was not answering their phone calls.

"They went to the front desk and that's when they opened the door to his room and found him on the floor," said his brother.

As per law, the Dominican government performed an autopsy on Allen right away. They mailed the results to his family: Written fully in Spanish, the death certificate said he died of natural causes, a cardiac arrest.

"I just have no reason to believe he died from a regular old heart attack," said Jason. "That's a tough pill for me to swallow."

Tragically, Joe's 23-year-old son was scheduled to join him for the tail end of this vacation, in a Father's Day meet-up in the Caribbean. Instead, Allen's son ended up signing papers to have his father's body embalmed and brought back to the U.S.

"Another thing that happened is the Dominican officials really pressured my nephew to have his body embalmed right away, which reduces the chances of having a second autopsy or taking further blood samples," said his brother. "Now we learn from the State Department that is not true, we could have transported the body home on dry ice."

"I'm confident we're going to bring my brother back home," he said. "But I'm not so confident in the DR's ability or willingness to be transparent with a proper investigation or toxicology reports."

Once Allen's body is back on American soil, the family is going to see if they can have a second autopsy performed, or get a toxicology report.

What does Jason suspect killed his brother?

"I do think it's something he ingested: Whether it's a beverage or something he ate. People talk a lot about alcohol, but there can be bad water or bad soda," he speculated. "Tourism is a big business. If they can't get the drinks the way they are supposed to — direct from Coca Cola or Evian, for example — or if it's too expensive, they are going to cut corners. I think they are cutting corners in some way."

Allen said he has no desire to speak to Terra Linda resort; he called them "the fox that is guarding the hen house." When Patch called Terra Linda, we were politely asked to direct all questions to the Dominican Republic Tourism Board.

Despite the media attention, the U.S. State Department told ABC on Wednesday there has not been an uptick in American deaths in that country. Additionally, it was Dominican authorities who requested the FBI's help in doing toxicology tests on some of the bodies.

The Dominican government is working to reinforce the island's food and beverage safety standards, said Dominican Tourism Minister Francisco Javier Garcia in a statement last week.

U.S. Congressman, Senator now involved

The Allen family also now has some powerful names fighting on their behalf: When he read about Allen's death, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (who represents the Woodbridge area) contacted the Allen family this week, Jason said. Pallone also sent a letter to the U.S. State Department and the FBI on Wednesday, calling for more transparency in their investigation.

U.S. Bob Menendez has also been in contact with the family, a spokesman for the senator confirmed.

"One of the victims, Mr. Joseph E. Allen III, was from (my) congressional district in New Jersey ... I ask that you immediately take steps to update the bereaved families and ensure they are given all information on the cause of their loved one’s deaths," wrote Pallone. “I ask the Department of State and the FBI to provide an update on the current investigations of these illnesses and deaths, and what possible steps can be taken to prevent any further loss of American lives.”

Pallone also asked the State Dept. to consider revising their travel advisory to the DR, so "American travelers have a full understanding of the travel risks," should they choose to go there.

"Is it still possible to get some kind of clues from my bother's body? Or has too much time passed?" wondered Jason. "In reality, nothing we say or do now is going to bring my brother back. But if we can stop another family from feeling this way, we would be happy with it."

Ongoing Patch reporting:

NJ Man Is 9th American To Mysteriously Die In Dominican Republic

Toxin Exposure Possible In Dominican Deaths, Rutgers Prof Says