There is enough evidence to commit the bus matter involving 3 former UPP Ministers to the High Court for trial.
That was ruling of Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh who gave her decision in the St. John’s Magistrates Court today.
This means UPP Party Leader, Harold Lovell and Former Ministers, Dr. Jacqui Quinn and Wilmoth Daniel will be tried in the High Court on Embezzlement, Corruption and Fraudulent Conversion charges.
The matter involves three buses that were donated to the former UPP administration at a total value of about $600,000.
Investigators alleged the accused had the buses registered in their names and kept them for their personal use while they were in public office in 2008.
The committal hearing will take place next week Thursday.
The matter was previously dismissed by Magistrate Conliffe Clark during committal proceedings back in March 2017.
However, the Court of Appeal remitted the case to the Magistrates Court after accepting arguments that Magistrate Clark used the wrong legal test to determine if the charges could be committed to the High Court for trial.
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Great news I am out of pop corn but will get some real quick.
Hope the case file is ready so things can proceed smoothly and not take five years like the mad angry power hungry suing GB person.
All 3 washed up politicians just need to lay low. Lovell especially needs to give up his fairytale dream of becoming PM.
Wilmoth Daniel already made his mark as Health Minister.
Jackie Quinn’s legacy is first female MP and recipient of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of taxpayers monies for cancer treatment. Can the average “pickyhead” person be given such a “donation/loan” should they have a similar diagnosis???
Jackie got 150 thousand dollars to seek medical attention from the Medical Benefits….Im agreeing with previous blogger ..other womsn who are currently diagnosed with Breast Cancer could they get that same monies to go MIAMI …NYC…to seek such care….
What about our minister from St. Peter how much he get, not for cancer treatment, but we are proud. People wake up and put your country first. All a them taking this country for a ride, who doesn’t get millions and still governing, what we the people get especially in this coved-19 season.
You really think the MP for at Peterson need mbs money to do a cosmetic surgery?? Some yarl need to shut up!!
@he did not need but wanted and got it.
Well said
A name and shame case for the ages.All politicians had better cleaned their dirty handy works.Because I am looking forward to seeing some of you in 1735.Just wished the Prisoners still pulled those carts through St.Johns with their bags of groceries.Like in the old days.All thiefing Politicians must go to prison.Once found guilty in any Courts of Law.LOL
I believe Quinn-Leandro served 2 terms so is entitled to pension. Is she using any of that pension money to repay Medical Benefits?
That is what happens when they allow the IHI case to go the way of the dodo bird and did not vigariosly go after those we heard on the caribarena tapes
@cool Ruler
The government of the day did not allow the IHI case to go the way of the dodo bird. As Baldwin said he cannot lock up anybody. It is hard to overcome the black curtains and brown paper bags and even a police force too dumb or pretending to be too dumb to understand forensic accounting.
So the government at that time received a gift for the GOVERNMENT & PEOPLE of ANTIGUA & BARBUDA, but chose to to KEEP IT FOR THEMSELVES?? Wah kinda fart dis me ah hear yah tarl. Imagine somebody give me a gift to give to my neighbour and I decide to keep it for myself.
What was Harold Lovell thinking??? He is a trained lawyer and should know better. One can excuse Wimoth carz fu he head nah good. And Jackie I know that teacher Mary raised you better than that.
My only question,
Is is really through that the Buses were donated to the government but they are registered in the three individual’s names? I am just playing Judge/Jury here. That’s all I want to know.
The word is ‘true’ NOT ‘through’.
This case should have never been pursued. Did they use these buses for any financial gains OR did they use them for/in their constituencies for our citizens? Resources should be spent on corrupted practices such as those that are carried out through the different Statutory boards and the ministers under whose portfolio they fall. Waste ah time pan dis one!
@ALEX
Why These well learned Politicians would change the ownership of Government Property into Their names ? This is besides me. They should know better and should be punished.
@ALEX
Why These well learned Politicians would change the ownership of Government Property into Their names ? This is besides me. They should know better and should be punished.
I guess these politicians should have set up a corporation and transferred the buses to the corporation. Since there was no money to be gained from the buses, as they were used in their constituencies, then hiding them in a corporation or offshore account wasn’t worth the time. I thought the government now has the buses. This case is just a waste of taxpayer’s dollars. I guess this is a case of thieves pursuing charges against alleged thieves.
Give the money being spent on pursuing this case to hungry Antiguans.
Would you be able to say the same thing if it was politicians from the red side? Are you aware that at least one of the said buses was allegedly converted into a party bus? Stripper pole and all? If these allegations are true, which one of the 3 do you think is the culprit??
Well said Jennifer . I heard one of the buses was conformed into a STRIP CLUB.
@jennifer
If this is so go after the one who profited financially from the bus. You probably don’t know or heard of all the government assets the ALP people stole. How many of them have been charged? How do account for all those people who had nothing and under this government are millionaires? Justice is suppose to be blind but in Antigua it appears to be one eyed. How is this government able to get some of these cases in the court system? Maybe when the cases are thrown out Gaston will say it was somebody else’s idea in his government to pursue charges. This is pure vindictiveness. You want a case to Pursue, what about all the government lands at Fry’s hill that people related/affiliated with Gaston got in exchange for wash and basin lands that may or may not have been owned by them.
@ observation. Its carelessness on the part of UPP because all they had to do was just license them under the ministries and use them same way but not criminal. However, beyond that I await the outcome and further, I can hardly wait for the courts to tell us how public money has become NYAMCO money? Who are benifitting and how? What is National Housing? And who are the real owners and beneficiaries ? How we come to squander 2 million of CIP money and how? The local investigation of Odebretch and so on. Be careful what you started ABLP.
Zackie since when you can use government assets for party biz? Even if they had done what you suggested the bus’s still could not be used for party related events. Cort was smart enough, evidenced by his use of a charity, to understand the difference perhaps due to his prior experience with MBS scandal. You recall when he was seen to have used his office to help ensure his law firm got paid? The bus situation reminds me of when the government website was being use to advertise UPP events. No wonder BS thought it was acceptable for him to get moneys deposited onto his own personal account for making persons ambassadors. Guy politicians are arrested and imprisoned, globally for the conduct you now defend (eg see Rod Blagojevich, former NJ governor Cris Cristie officals found gility regarding Bridge Gate..) This is why laws like the Hatch act, in the US, which among other things prohibits using public funds designated for relief or public works for electoral purposes was passed in the US in 1938. Your party thinking (UPP and government are the same thing) and your willingness to defend such, is just a reminder of why the UPP should never be in office again
I know this off topic but I am PISSED. I am appealing to my UPP Executives and Members. Our Upp is Experiencing and Suffering from a Public Relations DISASTER.I listened to Cortright Marshall this Morning ( June 12 2020 ) with Darren Matthew Ward and I was ashamed. Cortright just talking about CONSULTATION. How can anyone consult in this COVID 19 CRISIS. I also listened to Damani Tabor another Disaster. My UPP Members please DO NOT let These Guys see the face of Radio anymore. These Guys are damaging our Party. If this continues UPP will be doomed in 2023. Please be guided accordingly.
Since you acting like a card carrying member and acting like you could do better, why didn’t you put yourself up for public relations officer of the party, instead of throwing stones from in the bush?
Cool Runner your party is in SHAMBLES. Maybe Lovell will listen to you. Let him know that Gisele was/is/will be his downfall. B Do you think Balwdin Spencer and George Walter resorted to such desperate measure to “showcase” their leadership?
@ JACK SINGER
Move to the Head of the class. For the life of me sometimes I wonder what is going in the UPP. Cortright Marshall and Damani Tabor are the two Persons UPP can find to represent Us ? These two Guys repeat the same thing over and over. Remember who We are up against ABLP. Something must be done ASAP. Where is Richard Lewis ?
@ Cool Runner
These are just suggestions because I have been hearing Persons talking on the streets. Why pick a fight with me ? I have my Upp at heart.I have voted UPP all my life. Please open your mind. Stop throwing stones.Save your stones for the enemies.
COOL RUNNER why don’t you use your real name and stop hiding behind FALSE names ?
Foreign criminals are running rampant all over Antigua, and this is what the ALP is wasting scarce resources on? Pathetic!
You rather them waste scarce resources on a “new” Wadadli Power Plant that did NOT receive the necessary parliamentary approval and then host a blood-in-hotel-lobby press conference to reveal the pig in a bag ?? Or you prefer them allow hoteliers to hold on to our ABST? You prefer they take us to the IMF? You prefer to hear “sharpen you cutliss back and belly”?
They should have listened to Chanlah Codrington. What a weak, tactics-deficient puppet is “leading” the UPP.
@Gr8. Barbados gone to IMF and they are obviously smarter than us. What is your point? By the way home come ABLP cannot tell us up to now if the power plant is ad ‘old’ as they claimed. The idea wad to break the Hadeed monopoly and thanks to ABLP, we are right back to whete we were before. If the face of all this you arrowd are aimed at UPP. Where are the 500 homes before COV19? How come not even the pretense if a stimulus was given? Why cant the price of gas be reduced? Those ate the issues not old time UPP sudden.
Zackie BDS is smarter than us? You Antiguan? Have you paid attention to the conditions for that BDS IMF loan? BDS had to let go some 1K public servants. Will you attack the government here if it went down that road or will your party aceept that since the public service is bloated, this is the best solution? We won;t hear things like government is heartless? We causing families to starve etc? Have you heard that instead of fully paying public servants they are looking at paying them in government bonds? Barbados is not alone in pushing this, so also is the government of SLU
@ ZACKIE
Don’t understand your posting .Stop drinking the blue koolaid . It would help your Damaged Brain.
Antigua Much Better under ABLP.
@eric. You can say its better all you want, that does not make it so. The number of people who beg for a likkle change on a casual walk up market street tells me you are not just wrong but very wrong. By the way, what is Blue Koolaid? Sure cant be anything compared to the Red Koolaid which we all know exists.
@ Layla Dickson
Who is the ABLP P. R.O.? UPP P.R.O is doing a good Job.
Did Baldwin Spencer also get one of the buses? How come he wasn’t charged? I guess birds by any other name still flock together.
@tenman. If as you claim one was converted to a party bus, then there is no way I would condone that. However as far as I am aware, they were used for community/constituent work. That is something ABLP has been doing for eons. So since when ABLP cares about such things? We have heard of the PM signature forged; the IHI scandal, the Odebretch scandal etc etc. None of these seem to interest the ABLP govt but this obvious carelessness, which include other things like a now deceased ambassador, just seems too easy for the to take. Look, if corruption was intended then UPP has no idea how to do it because no way they could leave themselves so exposed. I am no lawyer but I know intent is a large part of consideration of guilt. I will leave it there.
@zackie
These labour people are a lying, thieving and vindictive set of people. They are hell bent on staying in power and they don’t care how much of taxpayer’s money they spend in their pursuit and who they have to destroy to stay in power. Don’t think for one moment they care about Antiguans. They only care about the wealth They can accumulate by staying in power.
Zackie, the court will determine who is guilty, however I think we can both agree it would be wrong to have the bus painted in party colors? Have UPP political material on the bus? If they are used in a community everything has to be done to ensure its not seen as politically partisan. Do you agree?
As far as the other issues mentioned 1. The broker allegedly involved has been civilly charged and criminal charges are likely (t. 2. An ambassador has resigned though he makes clear the allegations are false, the company with roots here has lost its license and a liquidator is in place. Zackie if a labor man had done same, you would not be trying to determine intent. Both political parties have human being hence there will be cases of sin. Difference between ALP and UPP, is the latter pretends it has all angels
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