DPP drops misbehaviour charge against ex-minister Marlene McDonald

DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC, has discontinued one of the charges against former government minister Marlene McDonald.

At a virtual hearing on Thursday, Gaspard told Chief Magistrate Maria Busby Earle-Caddle of this development.

The notice of discontinuance of the charge of misbehaviour in public office was dated March 25 and was made according to the DPP’s powers under section 90 of the Constitution, which allows him to discontinue any criminal proceedings undertaken by him or anyone else at any stage before judgment is delivered.

McDonald is still before the courts on six charges: three of conspiracy to defraud, two of misbehaving in public office and one of money laundering.

Four others – her long-time companion Michael Carew, contractors Wayne Anthony and Victor McEachrane and Edgar Zepherine, a former chairman of the National Commission for Self Help – are also still before the court on various charges of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

In 2019, when they were charged, the five faced a total of 49 charges of attempting to defraud the government by allegedly procuring funds for Carew’s Calabar Foundation, under the guise that it was a charity.

Newsday understands the misbehaviour charge discontinued against McDonald was in relation to the alleged approval of $2.3 million for a project at Marcano quarry in Laventille. She was the only one charged with that offence.

At a hearing in November 2020, the chief magistrate had been told the Office of the DPP intended to go straight to indictment for the matter, which should have been filed by January 2021.

However, Earle-Caddle set August 15 for a final status update and if indictments are not filed by then, she will set a date for the start of a preliminary inquiry.

At the November 2020 hearing, the court had been told statements had all been sworn to and there were some 22 witnesses, but that number was likely to rise before the eventual start of the case.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between 2008 and 2009, but the police investigation only began in 2016.

After she was charged, McDonald was removed as Public Administration Minister and a deputy political leader of the PNM. She was also Port of Spain South MP but was not screened for the constituency for the 2020 general election. McDonald and Carew are represented by Senior Counsel Pamela Elder and Russell Warner.

Ian Brooks is representing Zepherine. Anthony is being represented by Larry Williams and McEachrane by Kenya Murray.

Sgt Cornelius Samuel of the Fraud Squad was present at the virtual hearing.

When she was charged, McDonald was granted $2 million bail and Carew was previously granted $500,000 bail; Zephyrine $1 million; Anthony $100,00; and McEachrane $400,000.

McDonald missed her first court hearing because of illness and had to be hospitalised briefly at the St Clair Medical Centre.