Philipsburg:--- Member of Parliament Louie Laveist had yet another rough day in court on Wednesday afternoon when the panel consisting of three judges at the Court of Appeals rigged him with a number of questions regarding his resignation from the Culture Club Foundation. Laveist told the court that he founded the foundation long before he became a commissioner and while the intention was to expand the board of the Culture Club Foundation to which he was president, the decision for him to resign from the Culture Club was only done after he had a meeting with AMFO who advised him to resign since they did not want the subsidy they provided to Culture Club for flag day to have any political influence. Laveist said AMFO said they did not really have a problem with him being president but it was advisable for him to resign. His lawyer Jason Rogers also questioned Laveist as he brought clarity to the court regarding Laveist's resignation as president of Culture Club. Laveist said that at least four persons from his staff attended that meeting with AMFO and Roberto Richardson was among them.
The President of the Appeals Court bench confronted Laveist with statements made by Roberto Richardson, Lydia Arnel, and Virgillo Brooks who all claimed that they were not part of Culture Club Foundation. Laveist told the judges that he swore before God and man that all the members including his wife Betty Laveist Chittick were informed of the decision they will take for him to resign and the new members that would be appointed. He admitted that while a meeting was held and minutes were written up, all procedures were not followed because the Chamber of Commerce never got the information on the new members. Laveist said when he was interrogated by the investigators in 2008 he told them that while a decision was taken for him to resign and he did resign as the president of Culture Club Foundation, technically he remained the President of the Foundation based on the Chamber of Commerce records. The now Member of Parliament told the court that when he took office as a commissioner he was a "rookie" and he did not have a handbook to guide him.
In the statement given to the investigators, the judge said Richardson denied ever being the president of Culture Club, he even stated that he did not attend the meeting. Laviest told the court that some of the members did not attend the meeting which was held in the conference room of the government administration building because the members that were appointed were all members of his staff and they agreed on the appointments beforehand. He said the notes during the meeting were taken by his wife and those notes were turned over to Roberto Richardson who typed up the minutes. When he was asked by one of the judges why did all his staff members denied being members of Culture Club Laveist told the court that he even asked himself the same question. "Your honor I myself am trying to figure out why Roberto Richardson said the things he said when he was my executive assistant."
As for the $6000 Laveist took from Bargains Unlimited, he told the court that he cannot say how the check that was found in his office which was attached to a letter from the company for work permits was found. "I don't even know where the letter and check was found it was not at my house or on my person. I don't know who placed it there and I also don't know why they placed it there."
Laveist said that he personally sought sponsorship from Joe's Jewelry (Bargains Unlimited) for his radio program because they were moving the show from one radio station to the next and they only had four sponsors and in order to finance the radio show he needed eight sponsors. Laveist went as far as explaining the court that when he went to seek the sponsorship the manager of the company brought their plight to him about work permits for their workers. He said that Bargains Unlimited agreed to sponsor Culture Club for a period of one year at $500 per month and they made the payment in advance. The embattled Member of Parliament who is fighting the legal system to clear his name said he met with the management of Bargains Unlimited shortly after requesting the sponsorship and he advised them to document their problems and sent it to government with valid proof. Laveist said at the time companies on St. Maarten were cherry picking workers from each other. He told the court that three days after the meeting with Bargain Unlimited he and the Lt. Governor received a letter regarding the work permit plight the company was facing.
The judges also posed questions to Laveist regarding the plane tickets that were bought by Bemal Enterprises for him to travel to Canada and the $10,000 donation the company made to Laveist in exchange for purchasing furniture for the Government Administration Building. Laveist told the court that he did not make any arrangement with Bemal Enterprises. He said met one "Alicio" through his executive assistant Roberto Richardson and he was told that the company would provide them with tickets to Canada after the 2008 island council elections. Laveist said that all he knew of was the tickets and when he learned of the $10,000 donation after he was arrested he was hit by a thunderbolt because he did not promise anyone anything. He said while in Canada he was told that they were going to visit some furniture factories and he did it because for him it was all knowledge. He told the judges that he was not the one responsible for furnishing offices even though politically he held the responsibility of the government building. He admitted to the judge that he probably made a stupid mistake when he accepted the ticket to Canada but had he thought things over or had the knowledge he has now he would have never done so. The Member of Parliament even went as far as apologizing for what he called an honest mistake.
The Appeals Court retrial of the Laveist fraud case is currently taking place because the Supreme Court sent back his case to the Appeals Court since they made a technical error when they rendered the first verdict. The Attorney General, Taco Stien has requested that MP Laviest serve eight months in prison of which four months will be suspended and three years probation. They also requested a fine of five thousand guilders and that he be barred from office for three years. The Appeals Court is set to give its decision on October 24th, 2012.
Click here to view more photos of Member of Parliament Louie Laviest and his Attorney at the Appeals Court on Wednesday.
