A legal battle seems to be in the making between Grenada's ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration and former Legal Advisor to Cabinet, controversial Jamaican attorney-at-law, Hugh Wildman.
According to a well-placed source, Wildman has sent several letters to Prime Minister and Minister of Legal Affairs, Tillman Thomas requesting payment of $148,000.00 that he said is owed to him in salaries and other benefits.
Wildman lost his job following the July 8 poll in which Congress defeated the then governing New National Party (NNP) of ex-Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell.
The former government official was given a two year contract by the NNP regime in January 2006 in which he was paid EC$19, 018.30 per month with other benefits.
The source said that the new rulers in St. George's after reviewing Wildman's contract concluded that he was only owed $45, 000 by the State in emoluments.
He pointed out that the government of Prime Minister Thomas has taken the position that if Wildman wants to demand more money from the State then he would have to seek redress in court.
Apart from his monthly salary, the Jamaican attorney was also entitled as part of his contract to EC$3000.00 in duty free allowances per month, as well as EC$412.00 per month in travelling allowance, a further $400.00 per month in Entertainment Allowance and another $105.00 in cellphone calls per month.
The Wildman contract also called for the State to pay him a further 10% gratuity payment on all accumulated salaries paid to him over the 2-year period. In addition, the attorney benefitted from a 50% concession on the purchase of a vehicle for use on the island.
Wildman is believed to have earned close to one million E.C dollars over the past 30 months from the Mitchell government including services rendered to some statutory bodies like the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
Wildman was considered in certain local quarters as the "legal hitman" for the Mitchell government given the amount of court action brought against known opponents of the regime.
The NDC government official also gave this newspaper details of another controversial contract which the Mitchell government had entered into with another Jamaican national, Everton Price for assistance in the July 8 poll.
Price was hired in November 2007 at a monthly salary of EC$13, 584.50 to serve as Advisor to the government of Grenada in the Office of the Prime Minister.
As part of the contract, the State was mandated to provide Price with a vehicle to help in the performance of his duties. Like Wildman, the contracted provided for a 10% gratuity payment to be given to Price at the expiration of the contract.
Government insiders confided to this newspaper that Price was hired on a six month contract to mainly help Mitchell's NNP plot strategies in a bid to seek a fourth consecutive term in office.
A Jamaican political scientist by profession, Price had earlier worked for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 1995 general elections which it lost to Mitchell's NNP. He is known to be closely associated to the opposition, People's National Party (PNP) in Jamaica.
