John and Joseph Peters, sons of former Minister of Government, Winston “Gypsy” Peters, appeared in the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court yesterday, charged with illegal possession of guns and ammunition.
They were among seven persons allegedly held by police on Saturday at a house at Taitt Street, Chaguanas, with three guns and a total of 90 rounds of ammunition. When the matter was called in the Chaguanas First Court shortly before 11am, the two brothers stood in the company of the five other accused persons — including two females — before Magistrate Nanette Forde-John. Standing in a straight line that went all the way across the prisoners’ bench, all seven pleaded “not guilty” and agreed to have their matter tried at the Magistrates’ Court rather than the High Court.
Apart from John and Joseph Peters, the others charged were Kingsley Antoine, Heidi Kesler, Alicia Lawrence, Cliff Taylor, Delamo Glasglow and Kambuy Lezama. Of the seven, foreign national Heidi Kesler has her own attorney, while Ian Gray represents Kingsley Antoine who has only one leg and appeared in court on crutches. All the others are being represented by Prakash Ramadhar and Brian Debideen. As she read the charges against the accused, Magistrate Forde-John indicated that they were found by police to be in possession of two revolvers and a single 12-gauge shotgun, as well as 64 rounds of .38 special ammunition, four rounds of 9mm ammunition and 22 rounds of 12-guage cartridges. The matter was adjourned to 30 April.
INVESTIGATIONS continued yesterday into a stabbing incident on Sunday night which left a Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain man dead.
According to reports, around 6.30 pm. Kerwin Joseph, 24, a tenant of one of the apartments at Nelson Street, was seen arguing with and slapping a female relative. A short time later, the two went into Joseph’s apartment where the shouting continued. When Joseph’s neighbours saw the female resident leave the apartment with blood on her clothes and in company with her two children, they became suspicious and went to check on Joseph.
They saw him lying dead in a pool of blood on the floor of the apartment. A report was made to Besson Street police. Visiting the scene were Supt Stephen Addison, Insp Manswell, Insp Ramnarine, Sgts Creighton Hudson and Randolph Boyce. Police have since detained a young woman in connection with the stabbing of Joseph whose alias was “Sprang”. Investigators are expected to visit the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today to await further instructions. Sgt Randolph Boyce of Besson Street CID is continuing investigations.
FORMER Airports Authority (AA) Chairman Tyrone Gopee withdrew from the Commission of Inquiry into the Piarco International Airport Project, NIPDEC was fearful of incurring the wrath of former Housing Minister John Humphrey and Ishwar Galbaransingh’s Northern Construction Limited (NCL) wielded significant political clout within the former United National Congress (UNC) government.
Prior to the start of yesterday’s hearing at the Caribbean Court of Justice, Gopee’s attorney, Carol Gobin, announced that the former AA chairman refused to participate further in the Inquiry and that the reasons for his withdrawal were outlined in a letter dated April 17, 2003. In that letter, Gobin claimed the Commission was acting contrary to Section 7 of the Commission of Inquiry Act Chap 19:01, which states that the Commissioners have a statutory duty to make a “full, faithful and impartial enquiry”. She also alleged that the procedure adopted by the Commission was flawed and had unfairly condemned Gopee “in the public eye and through the media, without affording him a timely and fair opportunity to rebutt allegations which have been made against him”.
Commission chairman, retired Chief Justice Clinton Bernard, said Gopee was summoned to appear before the Commission on February 28 to question persons who had made allegations against him and to give evidence on his own behalf. Bernard added that the records showed that Gopee ignored that summons. He said Gopee was again summoned to appear on March 17 and did so. On that occasion, Bernard continued, the former chairman was represented by Gobin, who questioned matters that were outside the Commission’s terms of reference.
Bernard said Gopee was summoned to appear on April 16 and produce a firearms contract reportedly signed between the AA and the Firearms Training Institute, which he was unable produce. At a previous hearing, Deputy Security Manager Leo Reyes said he had no knowledge of that contract. Asked by Bernard if she had received a transcript of evidence given by former Secretary to Cabinet Andrea Woo-Gabriel in which Woo-Gabriel said Cabinet had no record of giving permission to the Customs Department to waive duties on specialty equipment from American company Calamaquip for use at Piarco, Gobin said she had not. The attorney added that the transcript was irrelevant since Gopee was withdrawing from the Inquiry. Bernard said that if Gopee and his attorneys disagreed “with all that has gone on here, they have a right to go to the High Court and question it”.
As Gopee made his departure, Woo-Gabriel and former NIPDEC manager Ian Telfer who came prepared to be questioned by Gopee’s attorney, swiftly followed the former AA chairman out the door. The hearing continues today.
TWO police officers with combined services of 42 years were yesterday committed to stand trial for the escape of prisoner Deochan Ramdhanie, which allegedly occurred on September 17, 1998 at the Princes Town Magistrates’ Court.
Sgt Conrad Farrel and PC Sheldon Callendar were both committed to stand trial at the next sitting of the San Fernando Assizes, after Magistrate Jai Naraine found that a prima facie case had been made out. The committal came in the Princes Town First Magistrates’ Court after the State’s last witness, Michael Ramlochan, was cross-examined yesterday by the two accused officers, since their attorney, Keith Beckles was not present. Ramlochan had turned State witness and had given his evidence-in-chief on October 24, 2002. Two Amalgamated security officers also testified for the State.
After the cross-examination, Magistrate Naraine found on the evidence that a prima facie case had been made out. The two police officers were then granted their own bail in the sum of $25,000. The preliminary inquiry into the Ramdhanie escape began on October 4, 1999, and a total of eight prosecution witnesses, including the police complainant, Supt Errol Denoon, testified on behalf of the State. The two officers have been charged with a total of eight offences arising out of Ramdhanie’s alleged escape.
Callendar is charged with misbehaviour in public office, aiding and abetting the escape of Ramdhanie and attempting to pervert the course of public justice. Farrel is charged with two counts of perverting the course of public justice on September 17 and 18, 1998, and misbehaviour in public office on September 18, 1998. They are jointly charged with misbehaviour in public office by allegedly agreeing to give false information on the escape, which allegedly occurred on September 17, 1998, at the Princes Town Magistrates’ Court. Ramdhanie was recaptured on October 6, 1998 in Venezuela, and is now serving a life sentence for drug trafficking.
THE WATER And Sewerage Authority (WASA) says provision of vehicles for its executive staff is part of the company’s policy to provide transportation for its employees and forms a normal part of the company’s fleet of vehicle.
In a release, WASA officials said they were surprised by the prominence given to the issue of the company providing executive transportation to its executives. They explained that the vehicles, like several others, will not be the property of any staff member. WASA went on to explain that it has leased similar type vehicles for its executives and in keeping with executive compensation packages, where the cost exceeds the approved provision, the executive would be required to meet the additional cost. WASA’s former CEO Kanchan Kanhai enjoyed the use of a Mercedes Benz, which was eventually negotiated as part of his settlement package. In another instant an executive benefitted and had “the facility of an Audi A6”.
OPPOSITION Senator Wade Mark is calling for the immediate removal of WASA CEO Errol Grimes and the entire WASA Board.
Mark said former Public Utilities Minister, Martin Joseph, “who presided over the waste and management at the Authority”, must also go. Mark said WASA had become a national scandal and the population was witnessing an abuse and misuse of taxpayers’ money to fatten the pockets of certain persons. He noted that, according to current Public Utilities Minister Rennie Dumas, all this was taking place without approval. “For Mr Grimes to tell the country that he is a civil engineer and he knows German and therefore should be paid a salary of $50,000 with a car worth $600,000 is to take us for fools,” Mark said, stressing that WASA only recently admitted it had an accumulated deficit of $5 billion. Mark said the waste, mismanagement and corruption at the Authority was unbelievable.
He said government was clearly not willing to take “strong action” against the “bandit behaviour” at the Authority. Mark said the UNC had already written to the Director of Public Prosecutions over two other matters at WASA. This involved the decision of the Board to give Emmanuel Romain $2 million after his matter had been dismissed by the court. The other involved the decision to approve a $51 million payout to Waterfarm Limited, in the face of advice from Ernst and Young not to have a settlement in excess of $11 million.
A recent newspaper report revealed that two Audi motor vehicles, totalling over $700,000, were purchased for the CEO and the General Manager, Richard Etienne. The Board has issued a release saying that the vehicles are part of the WASA’s fleet and do not belong to any specific individual. Mark said he was calling on the Prime Minister to appoint a Commission of Inquiry under Clinton Bernard to investigate the situation at WASA. Prime Minister Patrick Manning had announced a month ago that Bob Linquist was going to be hired to investigate WASA.
TWO WITNESSES gave evidence yesterday in the preliminary inquiry of a Guyanese businessman who faces extradition to the United States of America for trafficking cocaine.
Leon Paul Williams, 40, was arrested on a foreign extradition warrant for conspiring to traffic cocaine and trafficking cocaine between June 1993 and January 1997. The offences allegedly occurred in Washington DC. Williams was held at the Trinidad Hilton hotel on November 10, 2000, and the matter was subsequently called before Deputy Chief Magistrate Deborah Thomas-Felix. However, it was discontinued because the State wanted to introduce certain documents into evidence. He was re-arrested on May 3, 2001, and the matter was called before Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls.
Gerard Thomas, Director of Legal Marine Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave evidence yesterday under the directions of attorney David West, head of the Central Authority Department of the Attorney General’s office. Thomas was cross-examined by defence attorney Desmond Allum SC and re-examined by West. Also appearing for Williams is attorney Rajiv Persad. Cheryl Mendonca, an Administrative Officer V in the Ministry of the Attorney General, was the second witness to give evidence. The defence reserved the right to cross-examine the witness. Magistrate Mc Nicolls adjourned the matter to May 5. Williams, who currently resides in Arima, is on $750,000 bail with two sureties. He was granted bail with the conditions that he report to the Arima Police Station and he does not go within half a mile of any airport or seaport.
FORMER Planning Minister John Humphrey declared yesterday that his successor Dr Keith Rowley could not block plans by the Issa Nicholas Development Company to construct a multi-million dollar town house complex at Goodwood Park. However, he was uncertain whether all the pre-conditions for that complex’s construction had been met while he was minister.
Last week, Rowley expressed shock that the company had been granted “full planning permission” to build the complex without approval from eight State agencies. The Minister said Humphrey granted permission for the project despite significant objections raised by the Goodwood Park community. Dr Rowley added that his Ministry could take steps to stop the project. Speaking to reporters at the Caribbean Court of Justice yesterday, Humphrey declared: “I don’t think Dr Rowley has the power to stop the project. The courts would have that power but he would not have that power.” He explained that approvals on such projects were either conditional or unconditional. “The approvals I made as minister were conditional on certain things being done, so that one is not an exception,” he said.
Asked whether all the pre-conditions on this project had been met, Humphrey replied: “I don’t know because some of those conditions pertained to water, to roads, environment, things like that. You have agencies who are responsible for those things.” The former minister added that he was particularly baffled by the reaction of residents to the project. “I could not understand the objection raised by Goodwood Park residents because in Goodwood Park you already have apartment complexes finished. So why are they raising objections to this one?” he asked. The residents objected to the development following heavy rains last year which caused significant damage to private property and the roadway in the upscale west Trinidad neighbourhood.
The Caribbean School of Arts, Eco-Tourism and Languages will, at 6 pm on April 29, launch a book of “Patois and English Folksongs of Trinidad and Tobago” written by Augustus “Junior” Howell.
The launch will take place at the school which is located at No 3 Longden Street, Kew Place, Port-of-Spain. Patois and English local folk songs is the author’s contribution to the preservation of TT’s Patois heritage. The book is a compilation of a textbook and compact disc. Junior Howell, the author, is a distinguished musician and teacher, who has included in this offering the music score and a Lesson Plan of teaching the subject matter.
The main benefactors of the material will be primary and secondary schools, music schools, choirs, communities and other organisations. Attending the launch will be former Minister, Dr Cuthbert Joseph, Victor Prescot, Adolphus Daniell and Ms Jocelyn Sealy. In addition at the launch, patrons will also be treated to performances by The Clive Zanda Quartet, La petite Musicale, La Petite Juniors, and Malick Performers. The book is already available to the public at all leading bookstores, the Caribbean School of Arts, and sales representatives.
DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Geoffrey Henderson is expected to be called in to give directions to the police regarding the death of 25-year-old Garthon Joseph who fell about 40 feet to his death after being chased.
Senior Eastern Division police officers told Newsday yesterday that the death has “criminal implications” since Joseph, of Rio Grande Trace, Matura, was chased. Homicide sources also described Joseph’s death as unnatural and were awaiting yesterday’s post mortem report to determine exactly which way the investigations will swing. The autopsy had not been performed up to late evening, however. “We are viewing the incident as serious,” a senior officer said, adding that they need to look at all the evidence gathered before taking it to the DPP.
Police sources also said that Joseph was not familiar with the area and therefore did not know where he was running while being chased. Police reports are that around 3am Sunday, Joseph and five others including his 27-year-old brother, Garth were walking south along the Toco Main Road, Matura. Police sources told Newsday when the five reached the vicinity of a beach house, they noticed another group of five coming from the opposite direction.
Police said a member of the other group began to make “bad jokes” and later chased Garthon Joseph, who ran a short distance then fell over a 40-foot cliff and fell to the rocks below. Lawmen said members of both groups carried Joseph first to the Sangre Grande Police Station then to the Sangre Grande Hospital. He was said to be bleeding from the nose and frothing from the mouth. And around 6am Sunday, police said hospital authorities informed them of Joseph’s death. A report was made and a party of officers under Cpl Phillip Llewelyn of the Matura Police Post visited the scene and conducted investigations.
