Piarco accused held at Miami airport

Hillman-Waller is one of 11 persons charged in the second Piarco Airport Terminal project corruption case. He is also one of the persons charged with a series of offences in Miami. Among those charged in Miami are former Maritime boss Steve Ferguson and Ishwar Galbaransingh, Chairman of Northern Construction Limited, for whom extradition warrants were executed last week.

Hillman-Waller was one of three Americans who surrendered to the Trinidad and Tobago authorities in August 2005, after warrants were issued. When he appeared before Magistrate Ejenny Espinet then, cash bail in the sum of $2.5 million was granted and he was allowed to leave Trinidad.

The case was called several times since then, but the Americans have not always been present.

On Tuesday, Hillman-Waller was arrested by officials of Homeland Security as he was about to depart Miami International Airport.

Hillman-Waller is being detained at the downtown Miami Federal Detention Centre until his bail hearing tomorrow. United States authorities plan to object to bail on the ground that Hillman-Waller allegedly committed new offences while on bail in the US and Trinidad.

Hillman-Waller was charged with the following new offences:

1) Conspiracy to knowingly and corruptly endeavour to persuade other people to withhold testimony, records and objects relating to federal proceedings.

2) Did knowingly and corruptly endeavour to persuade Leonardo Mora-Rodriguez (another defendant) to withhold testimony, records and objects relating to requests made by the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago to the US.

3) Did knowingly and corruptly persuade and attempt to corruptly persuade Mora-Rodriguez, with intent to cause and induce the said person to alter, destroy, mutilate and conceal objects with intent to impair the objects’ integrity and availability for use in offical proceedings.

4) Did knowingly and corruptly persuade and attempt to corruptly persuade Mora-Rodriguez and another person with intent to influence the said person’s testimony in an official proceeding that is the trial of the US v Raul Gutierrez and others.

Hillman-Waller, along with Americans Ronald Birk and Raul Gutierrez are charged with other persons with corruptly receiving more than $144 million in contracts between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2001. Birk and Hillman-Waller were partners in Birk-Hillman Consultants.

The three Americans are charged jointly with ten other persons on a total of 21 charges — Steve Ferguson, Ish Galbaransingh, Amrith Maharaj, Brian Kuei Tung, Sadiq Baksh, Ameer Edoo, Tyrone Gopee, and Peter Cateau. Five companies have also been charged.