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| Richard Chelterham |
Press Secretary in the Prime Minister’s office, Barry Collymore has brushed aside claims about the existence of a video tape depicting Grenadian leader, Dr. Keith Mitchell allegedly collecting US$500, 000.00 in bribe money from international con-man, Eric Resteiner.
Collymore was responding to the latest publication put out by U.S-based journalist David Marchant that a copy of the tape is currently held by the District Court of Massachusetts which is due to sentence Resteiner within a matter of days on mail and wire fraud.
In response to questions posed to him on Monday by GRENADA TODAY, the Barbadian-born Collymore said that the renewed claim of alleged evidence in the “Briefcase issue” against Prime Minister Mitchell is nothing more than “an attempt to resurrect a dead issue with no evidence.”
Collymore declined an offer made by this newspaper to supply him with a copy of Marchant’s article which was printed by KYC news.
“I have enough fictional books at home for reading”, he told this newspaper.
Collymore said that Government has already stated its position on the issue and that a Commission set up by Governor General, Sir Daniel Williams to investigate the allegations was unable to find Dr Mitchell guilty of an offence.
He charged that the people who were openly stating that they had the evidence against the Prime Minister were unable to come forward with it.
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| David Marchant |
The Press Secretary urged this newspaper to get the evidence from the people who claim to have the so-called tape of the transaction between Dr. Mitchell and Resteiner in Switzerland in June 2000.
He said that if indeed there is a video tape of the transaction, he is certain that what transpired is exactly what the Prime Minister had indicated.
Dr. Mitchell told the nation in a radio and television broadcast that he accepted “approximately US15, 000” from Resteiner and not US500,000.00 as was alleged.
He said the money was given to him to offset the cost of a trip to several European States and not in the form of any bribe to appoint Resteiner to a diplomatic posting.
The Grenadian leader also denied that he had collected the money from Resteiner in a briefcase.
The December 7 story that was written by Marchant indicated that Grenada authorities turned down the offer of a video tape showing Prime Minister Mitchell receiving the money from Resteiner.
According to the article, the Mitchell government was notified more than 12 months ago by Resteiner's attorney, John Amabile, that a copy of the six-year-old tape still existed and could be obtained through a formal request for assistance to the authorities in the United States.
Resteiner is being held in custody awaiting sentencing for seven counts of mail and wire fraud to which he pleaded guilty earlier this year at the U. S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Resteiner's sentencing hearing in Massachusetts has been re-set for December 27, 2006 but it is expected to be postponed again until the New Year.
He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each of his five counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud.
The con-man has been in custody since his arrest in Singapore in February, 2004 and in U. S. custody since June, 2004.
Marchant quoted Amabile as saying that no such request was made and the reason for this is that the person who would be incriminated by the evidence - P.M Mitchell - would have to approve such a request.
The article claims that Resteiner showed a copy of the tape to U. S. federal agents in an attempt for leniency at his sentencing, which is expected to take place in the New Year.
“...It does indeed show Mitchell receiving a briefcase stashed with cash at Resteiner's 176-room villa in St. Moritz, Switzerland on June 25, 2000...”, it said.
The Grenadian leader has consistently denied that claim which was first alleged in OffshoreAlert 31 months ago by Timothy Bass, Resteiner's former Director of Security who covertly recorded the meeting at his boss's request.
Bass claimed it was partial payment for Grenada appointing Resteiner as an Ambassador, which he hoped would provide him with diplomatic immunity against prosecution.
The Marchant report said: “OffshoreAlert understands that the U. S. Government does not intend to act on what the recording depicts because the incident has nothing to do with the $47 million investment fraud for which Resteiner is being prosecuted and has no connection to the U.S. at all in that it took place in a foreign country and Resteiner is no longer a U. S. national, having renounced his citizenship in 1995.
“The U. S. Government does not have a copy of the tape and, according to Amabile, .... it could not assist with providing the evidence to the Grenada authorities without receiving a formal request.
“The most obvious way to do this is for Grenada to make a request for judicial assistance under the 1996 Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty that exists between the two countries, which would then allow the U. S. to make an application to the Massachusetts court for permission to serve a subpoena on Resteiner's representatives requiring them to turn over a copy of the tape.
“The U. S. makes many such applications each month on behalf of foreign governments and they are routinely granted by the courts”, it added.
The Offshore Alert publication pointed out that details of what it called “this latest twist in the cash-for-favors scandal” involving Prime Minister Mitchell emerged in a sentencing memorandum that was filed by Amabile on Resteiner's behalf at the U. S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on October 25, 2006.
It said that key parts of Amabile's account have since been confirmed by Dr. Richard Cheltenham, the Barbadian-born jurist who was appointed by Governor-General, Sir Daniel Williams as the sole Commissioner in an inquiry into the Switzerland affair.
The article quoted Amabile as saying in his sentencing memorandum in the U.S court: "In the early stages of his detention (Resteiner) in the United States, the defendant was approached by the government through counsel concerning the availability of video evidence portraying an alleged bribe of a foreign head of State, the Prime Minister of Grenada.
"The defendant, through counsel, cooperated in procuring this evidence from a foreign country, presented it to government agents, and submitted to a debriefing concerning the activities depicted in the video tape.
"At the time that this occurred, an investigation was being conducted by a Commission of Inquiry in Grenada. Counsel was contacted by the Commissioner, seeking evidence from the defendant.
"The position of the United States, as communicated to counsel, was that nothing would be done to facilitate the cooperation of the defendant with the Grenadian authorities absent an official request through diplomatic channels.
"This position was communicated by counsel to the Investigating Commissioner from Grenada. Apparently, no such official request was made, which logically springs from the fact that the Head of (Government) State, who would be incriminated by the evidence, was the party who would have to approve of such request.
"The defendant cooperated fully in this endeavor, doing everything that was requested of him. His cooperation became widely known, including by the target Head of State (Government).
“This cooperation should be factored into the sentencing decision, notwithstanding a political decision beyond the control of the defendant, not to utilize the information provided", it concluded.
The Marchant article made mention of the responses received from Cheltenham who was approached to corroborate Amabile’s assertion.
The Commissioner confirmed that Resteiner’s lawyer had offered assistance to the Inquiry and that he (Cheltenham) had asked Attorney-General, Elvin Nimrod to use his good offices “to obtain evidence in the U. S. for use in the Commission of Inquiry.
Said Cheltenham: "My instrument of Appointment does permit me to receive evidence abroad if the circumstances so warrant. And it was against that backdrop that I made strenuous efforts to contact Mr. Resteiner in Federal Prison in Massachusetts, U.S.A. through his counsel - Mr. John Amabile.
"I first spoke to Mr. John Amabile on the telephone and he said that he was not in a position to discuss the likelihood of Mr. Resteiner providing the Commission with a statement and that any approach to Mr. Resteiner should be made through official channels.
“He gave no assurance that such an approach may lead to positive results. I wrote him formally on July 19th, 2005. Mr. Amabile responded to me in a letter dated September 19th, 2005, which was unfortunately addressed to P.O. Box 1321, Grand Anse Street, St. George’s, Grenada.
“It stated that Mr. Resteiner "stands ready, willing and able to provide information including video tape evidence, if his cooperation is secured through proper channels in the United States".
"On the very said July 19th, 2005 I wrote the Hon. Attorney General and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Grenada (Elvin Nimrod) at the Carenage, St. George’s, Grenada and reminded him of the challenges facing the Commission resulting from the fact that three (3) persons who may be critical to the ability of the Commission to make findings in relation to allegations made against Prime Minister Mitchell were living outside of Grenada.
“I had earlier made that point to the Minister when I paid him a courtesy call in the presence of Commission Counsel, Dr. Fenton Ramsahoye, S.C. ...on June 14th, 2005.
"At paragraph 7 of my letter of July 19th, 2005 to the Minister, I wrote as follows: "Accordingly, I write to remind you of our request that you seek to take, without delay, any or all steps as may be necessary to secure the Commission's access to Messrs. Bass and Resteiner and that you keep the Commission informed of the response to your initiative(s).
“Relevant, too, to the Commission's work is securing access to the tape allegedly made by Bass and mentioned in the article of Offshore Alert already alluded to."
"In a note to the said Minister, dated July 20th, 2005, I strongly urged that he seek the assistance of the U. S. either as one friendly State to another or pursuant to the Mutual Assistance Agreement between the two countries.
"The Minister responded to me in a letter dated August 22nd, 2005 and wrote inter alia as follows: "I have found that I am not satisfied that if I accede to your request I would be acting lawfully", it said.
Cheltenham stated that Minister Nimrod noted in his response to him that neither Resteiner nor his counsel had followed the procedures set out by the Commission and filed a witness statement.
"I thought I would set out my initiatives in this matter fully so that you can see the extent to which I have gone to secure access to Mr. Resteiner and to the alleged tape", Cheltenham told Marchant.
The Commission of Inquiry began on June 13, 2005, and was adjourned on June 17, 2005 after hearing only a handful of local witnesses including three Permanent Secretaries and two of the bodyguards that accompanied P.M Mitchell to Switzerland.
Cheltenham told Marchant that the inquiry was adjourned due to the fact that Opposition Leader, Tillman Thomas, had taken court action seeking the right to be represented at the Inquiry in order to question witnesses.
He informed Marchant: "As you are aware, the work of the Commission has been interrupted because the Leader of the Opposition took me to Court and that matter is still occupying the attention of the Court.
"I should add that the life of the Commission has not been extended and it is believed that it will not be until the court processes are at an end.
"You have my assurance that I stand ready to continue the work of the Commission and to pursue the facts wherever they may be once I am permitted so to do....once potential witnesses are, as reflected in their witness statements, likely to be helpful to the Commission and are willing to testify."
The David Marchant article pointed to several questions that were faxed to the Office of the Prime Minister on the latest episode and that Dr. Mitchell did not respond to any of them.
Following are the questions:
(1). When were you made aware that Mr. Resteiner and/or his U. S. representatives was in possession of a video purportedly showing you receiving cash from Mr. Resteiner?
(2). What attempts, if any, have the Grenada authorities made to procure a copy of the video from Mr. Resteiner and/or his representatives? For example, has a letter rogatory request been made to the United States requesting their assistance in obtaining a copy of the video?
I am familiar with this procedure and it is virtually certain that such a request would be granted and the evidence obtained. If the Grenada authorities have not made any attempts to obtain a copy of this video, why haven't they done so?
(3). Will you authorize such a request for judicial assistance? If no, why not?
(4). If you genuinely believe that you have done nothing illegal, is it not in your interests for the Grenada authorities to obtain a copy of the video because it may exonerate you?; and
(5). If the Grenada authorities make no attempt to obtain a copy of the video, is it not compelling evidence of your guilt?
