More legal challenges in Piarco cases

EVEN while the DPP insists the remaining Piarco prosecutions are still active, several legal challenges threaten to further prolong the decades-old cases.

On Monday, DPP Roger Gaspard, SC, told Newsday the other three inquiries were still active when asked if he had made a decision on them, since he decided to discontinue prosecuting in the Piarco 3 inquiry.

Speaking on Wednesday in the Morning Show on i95.5fm, Gaspard gave an update on the remaining three Piarco cases.

He said while they were separate, the three had common “factual origins,” but all facing legal challenges along the way over the years.

However, he maintained, “At this point, there has been no determination (on the cases) except we are proceeding.”

Gaspard spoke of a plea-agreement deal with a “potential witness who pleaded guilty in a foreign jurisdiction.”

In 2007, Raul Gutierrez, president of Calmaquip Engineering Corporation, as well as the principals of Birk Hillman – consultants in the airport project – Eduardo Hillman-Waller and Ronald Birk, all of Florida, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to six years, and ordered to pay restitution to Trinidad and Tobago.

Gaspard said both he and his predecessor received legal advice on how to proceed with the cases, and the advice was they should be tried together as far as possible.

He also said if the cases were “itemised” there was a likelihood the defence could raise legal objections, such as an abuse of process.

Newsday was told defendants in all four inquiries have issued pre-action protocol letters calling for all the matters to be struck out on the basis of abuse of process. Legal action is expected to be taken shortly in the form of judicial review and constitutional claims.

Now that the Piarco 3 prosecution has collapsed, former defendants Basdeo Panday, his wife Oma and former UNC government minister Carlos John will be excluded from the intended action.

Although there are conflicting views among the defendants on whether the Piarco 1 prosecution can be sustained in light of a Privy Council ruling in 2022, Gaspard said at this point, it can continue.

The Piarco 2 prosecution is being held up by an appeal of a judge’s ruling which would allow the DPP to file indictments directly in the High Court. Gaspard said he was awaiting the Appeal Court's decision.

In 2019, some of the Piarco defendants challenged a move by the DPP’s Office to file the indictments directly in the High Court, after senior magistrate Ejenny Espinet retired with the first inquiry still incomplete. Justice Devindra Rampersad upheld the lawsuit.

In 2021, another lawsuit was filed over the ability of the DPP to use another section of the legislation (Section 23 (8) (d)) to achieve the same goal.

In May 2022, Justice Rampersad ruled that his previous decision did not apply, as the other segment of the legislation being considered by the DPP’s Office, had not been considered previously. He also ruled that the move under the other section could not be precluded, based on the same grounds as the first.

There is also another challenge filed by one of the corporate entities in a malicious-prosecution claim for $218 million over the inquiry, after fraud charges against it were dismissed at the preliminary inquiry. This, too, is still before the court.

The Piarco 4 inquiry, which involves businesswoman Renee Pierre alone, was separated from the Piarco 1 and 2 corruption inquiries after charges against her were dropped and new charges laid. She was committed to stand trial in March 2020, but an indictment is yet to be filed in that case.