Sleigh of hand and the white-collar criminal

THE EDITOR: Prestidigitation is what magicians use to perform some of their most elaborate tricks. Also known as sleight of hand, it employs the clever ruse of having one hand distract the eye with flashy but empty actions while the real business is being conducted, with the other hand, away from sight.

Bad-guys are much like magicians. Their ability to escape consequences depends on them keeping the true nature and full extent of their evil deeds away from the public's eye. In fact, the most crafty, powerful and monied offenders come to be especially adept at prestidigitation, by dint of necessity.

As soon as a high-end wrongdoer is found out, the magic tricks begin. Delay is his absolutely essential ally. That's why cases in TT take forever. Every detail is appealed to the Privy Council. Every constitutional motion is explored.

Throughout the process our eyes are riveted to the alleged mistakes or missteps the State has made in its attempts to present its case for an accounting in the exactly correct form, which no one is quite sure of unless it is tested in court. Meantime, money continues to be spent, witnesses are wilting, and the public is getting fed up of waiting for justice.

What we are not seeing, what our eyes are being carefully drawn away from, are the facts of the case, the evidence that has been uncovered, and the substance of the elaborate and egregious sins of one of the vilest, most shameless of creatures – the white-collar criminal.

JOANNE JOSEPH

San Fernando