Three lawyers on trial for fraud

Three lawyers and a bailor go on trial today before Justice Prakash Moosai on charges of fraud and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Attorneys Ken Wright, Mervyn Mitchell and Yaseen Ali, together with bailor Patrick Hannibal, appeared yesterday before Prakash Moosai in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court, but the matter was adjourned to today to start. The men face a total of 11 indictments which stem from the use of a deed to obtain bail for Maximo Jose Gonzales, a Venezuelan charged with trafficking in cocaine.

The State is alleging that the documents which the men used to obtained Gonzales’ bail was fraudulently obtained.  Particulars of the offence read: “Ken Wright, Patrick Hannibal, Yaseen Ali and Mervyn Mitchell, on divers days between the 8th days of August, 1996 and the 25th day of December 1996, in the island of Trinidad, conspired together and with other persons to pervert the course of public justice by falsely pretending that protocol of deed Nos 24346 of 1996 and 23919 of 1996 were good and valid documents and that the proprieties referred to in the said deeds...were owned by Shaamar Mackoon and Ramkissoon Singh respectively and as such, the said Mackoon and Singh were entitled to use the said properties to secure bail for Maximo Jose Gonzales, a person in custody charged on indictable information... and did use the deed to secure release of the said Maximo Jose Gonzales from custody.”

When the matter starts today, a battery of Senior Counsels are expected to appear on behalf of the attorneys. Defending Wright are Theodore Guerra SC, Pamela Elder SC and Gilbert Petersen SC leading Ravi Rajcoomar. Ali will be defended by Israel Khan SC, Larry Lalla and Nadia Astraph, instructed by Llewellyn Thompson while Mitchell’s defence team will be Osbourne Charles SC  and Rajcoomar. State prosecutors in the matter are Wayne Rajbansie and Sherry Ann Bassaw.