PHILIPSBURG:--- Since the appointment of Rolando Brison to the St. Maarten Tourism Authority (STA) by Minister of TEATT Ingrid Arrindell last Friday social media on St. Maarten has been exploding with all sorts of comments regarding the appointment of Brison to such a prestigious position when there are numerous scandals surrounding one of St. Maarten’s brightest minds and possible future leaders. Brison who is known to be very brilliant ever since he was in high school, today has a questionable reputation, especially with his marketing company. Documents provided to SMN News proved that these are not just allegations or scandals against Brison but in fact, he did misappropriate funds while working for WINAIR.
Based on research conducted and documents obtained by SMN News it shows that Brison has a lot in his closet and it will also remind Ministers and or politicians that when selecting persons for certain positions there must be proper background checks conducted on potential candidates.
What is somewhat awkward is the press conference held by the Minister of TEATT Ingrid Arridell on Friday afternoon where only one reporter was invited to make the announcement that Brison was the candidate that was selected from the group of persons who applied for the position. Awkward especially since due process such as an advice by the Corporate Governance Council and screening by VDSM has not yet been completed, yet the Minister chose to invite one media person to make the announcement. Hopefully, the Minister of TEATT will show up at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers' press briefing to explain the backward procedure used in the announcement made on Friday.
The announcement brought on severe criticism by several persons especially those that had personal dealings with Brison who did marketing for them and on behalf of the SCDF.
Brison did marketing for DigiKidz and VxG gaming that did not end well, one source told SMN News.
Several other organizations and companies contacted SMN News and alleged that Brison would make them all sorts of promises when marketing for the St. Maarten Carnival Foundation (SCDF) and when the time comes those promises are not being delivered.
However, the most explosive of all is the letter written by the former the chairman of WINAIR Board of Directors Micheal Ferrier who gave details about Brison and the misappropriation of the company’s funds that has still not been repaid.
In the letter written by Ferrier on Sunday, he clearly stated that the board of WINAIR chose not to file criminal charges against Brison because they wanted to give the young man the opportunity to repay the monies embezzled from the company.
However, SMN News also learned that WINAIR is in the process of filing court procedures against Brison to recover the funds he promised to repay. Sources say WINAIR has been busy with their lawyers for the past months and the process is ongoing. The source further explained that the board of WINAIR knows that Brison is a young local and they felt they gave him enough time to make his wrong right.
Based on the documents SMN News obtained, Brison signed an agreement admitting that he used the companies’ monies because he was a troubled situation. Rolando Brison embezzled the sum $41,230.04. The confession was made to Roberto Gibbs, the Director of Finance of WINAIR on April 10th, 2012.
For the purpose of clarity and to show that what was written by Michael Ferrier and SMN News in the past, the agreements signed by Brison can be viewed below.
Click here to view the documents Brison signed with WINAIR management.
