Rodríguez convened a meeting with Bazán Cardemil, Fuentes, and Villarrubia. Villarrubia was eager to get to Argentina. He was an old hand at undercover journalism, and had no hesitations about this project. But going to Chivilcoy to investigate Paul Schaefer under false pretenses raised some serious questions for the editors. Villarrubia would have to deceive people in the community in order to find Schaefer. Was that fair? What was the problem if Villarrubia simply identified himself as a journalist?

Fuentes

Bazán Cardemil added that, while this was not the way she preferred to conduct CONTACTO investigations, it may have been justified by the bigger picture.

Bazán Cardemil

Moreover, like Fuentes she was worried about the ethical implications of tipping off Schaefer so he could escape again.

Bazán Cardemil

Which cover? So Bazán Cardemil came around. Villarrubia could go to Chivilcoy undercover. She did, however, have one condition: if the investigation was a success, before airing the final story they would return to Chivilcoy and tell their informants the truth. They would explain the reasons for the deception and ask for consent from those who appeared on film.

That still left a practical dilemma: how to concoct a credible disguise? Villarrubia came up with a good one. He had Italian roots, and they knew that over 80 percent of the population in the Chivilcoy region was of Italian descent. After debating various options, it was decided that Villarrubia would assume the identity of a sociologist researching the backgrounds of the Italian families in the region. For the investigation, he decided to use his Italian father’s last name, Sburlatti.