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| Rae Roberts |
Grenada's ruling New National Party (NNP) government is said to be considering what reprisal action to take against senior civil servant Rae Roberts over a letter sent on the controversial "Briefcase issue" to Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Elvin Nimrod.
Informed sources told GRENADA TODAY that the hierarchy of the administration is not happy with Roberts for sending the letter in his capacity of General Secretary of the Grenada Trades Union Council (GTUC).
Roberts is presently employed with the Department of Human Resources within the Office of the Prime Minister.
He serves on the GTUC governing council due to his association with the Public Workers Union (PWU) where he is also the General Secretary.
The letter urged Minister Nimrod to use his office to try and obtain the video-tape showing the island's Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell receiving an alleged bribe of US$500, 000.00 in June 2000 in St. Moritz, Switzerland from imprisoned international con-man, Eric Resteiner.
"TUC urges you (Nimrod) to use your good offices to immediately access the tape recording from the USA and thus put this "briefcase" issue to rest once and for all", Roberts wrote in his letter to Nimrod.
Nimrod is said to have turned down a request that was made to him by Barbadian jurist, Dr. Richard Cheltenham to make a formal request to the U.S government to assist in obtaining the controversial video-tape from Resteiner who is awaiting sentencing in a U.S jail on multiple fraud charges.
Dr. Mitchell has admitted receiving "approximately US$15, 000" from Resteiner not in the form of a bribe but to cover the expenses of an investment mission that he was undertaking to several European cites and Kuwait.
Last month, the Grenadian leader told parliament that if any such tape existed showing him accepting money in a briefcase from Resteiner it must have been "doctored".
According to the source, one senior member of the Mitchell administration is questioning the authority of Roberts to sign such a letter on behalf of TUC to Minister Nimrod.
"What I understand is that (the government member) wanted to know why only Roberts name appeared on the letter and not the other members of the TUC executive", said a source close to the trade union movement.
"What we want him to know is that when Clarice Charles (current Minister of Education & Labour) was the General Secretary of TUC that she alone used to sign letters and no one used to question her signature", he added.
The source dropped hints that the Mitchell government might have to pay "a very high political price" if it took any reprisal action against Roberts in his capacity as a trade unionist on the island.
Apart from the trade union movement, Roberts is also a veteran Sports Broadcaster and Commentator and a member of the Disabled Community in the Spice Isle.
