After being persecuted for five years for alleged fraud and embezzlement and only after I demanded
closure of the preliminary investigation and/or the case, I was acquitted by the Court of First Instance of
all fraud charges. I was moreover acquitted for four (4) of the eight (8) embezzlement charges and
sentenced to one (1) day of jail time, conditional, with a probation term of also one (1) day for the
remaining four (4) charges of embezzlement. This, whilst the Court of First Instance explicitly cleared me
from having personally benefitted in any way, shape or form from the established embezzlement cases,
other than having partaken in an organized Christmas dinner for employees of the Tourist Department
and invited guests. The crime I committed was apparently that I ate and drank at said Christmas dinner.
I was thus solely sentenced according to the Court of First Instance for contributing to the usage of
funds destined for payments of general tourist expenses, for other government related expenses,
namely maintaining the Tourist Office in New York. The Court of First of Instance thereby considered
that for the charge of embezzlement to be legally proven, it is not required for someone to have
personally benefited by acquiring goods/properties.
The only reason why I was given a conditional sentence of one (1) day with an unusual probation term of
also one (1) day is that according to the Court of First Instance it is by law not possible to find me guilty,
without imposing some form of punishment.
The punishment imposed by the Court of First Instance is a clear indication of its assessment of the
culpability in this case. I have been taking through the wringer, made subject to the strong arm of the
judicial force for using funds from Government, but to pay for other government expenditures, whilst
the Sint Maarten Government structurally failed to timely fund the accounts for the New York Tourist
Office. It is not me who invented and sanctioned this payment form. This payment form found is birth in
the mere necessity to have the New York Tourist Office remain operational, an office that catered to the
backbone of the Sint Maarten tourism economy. I continued an established practice, sanctioned and
known by the Sint Maarten Government for years that structurally funded that office too late. In
essence, I am been investigated for five (5) years, prosecuted and now being punished for carrying out
my duties as a civil servant and acting for the benefit of the Sint Maarten Government and public.
I have mixed feelings about this verdict. On the one hand, I’m glad to be acquitted of all the severe
charges and feel vindicated by the fact that the Court of First Instance established that I did not profit in
any way from what is legally qualified as embezzlement. I understand that using funds for a different
purpose than intended, even if it’s used to pay for other tourist related government obligations, can in
the opinion of the Court of First Instance also be qualified as embezzlement. On the other hand, I am not
keen on having a criminal record, even one for a mere conditional one (1) day jail sentence, with a
probation term of one (1) day that in practice will cease to exist, one day after the verdict becomes
irrevocable, unless I’m found guilty of committing a crime that same first day after the verdict becomes
irrevocable. I fought hard to redeem my good name and honor and for principal reasons, I am
considering filing a partial appeal. The main question that remains that in my opinion has not been,
- Friday, April 19, 2024
