Trial of Ruel Reid and Co to resume October as judge puts parties on notice

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The often-delayed trial of former Education Minister Ruel Reid and his co-accused must continue in earnest come October 5, Senior Parish Court Judge Sanchia Burrell has ordered.

In making a case management pronouncement on Wednesday at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, Burrell said: “The parties are placed on clear notice that the matter will proceed on that date.”

She spoke in the presence of the accused, Reid, his wife and daughter Sharen and Sharelle Reid; Councillor Kim Brown Lawrence; and former head of the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), Fritz Pinnock.

Multiple defence and prosecution attorneys were missing from the room, having indicated they would not be available. Some were represented by juniors or other counsel, while others joined by zoom.

The October 5 date set for the trial to resume will be a day shy of one year since the proceedings began last year.The judge acknowledged that it has seen little progress in the nine months since the trial began, having been plagued by scheduling issues.

She stressed that on October 5, she expected all attorneys in the case to be present in the matter or have junior counsel or otherwise instructed counsel holding for them so the matter could proceed.

At least 90 witnesses are expected in the case in which the five defendants stand accused of participating in a scheme with others unknown, between March 2016 and October 2019, which defrauded the Ministry of Education and CMU of more than $25 million.

It is alleged that this money was funnelled through transfers to various accounts either owned or controlled by the accused or handed over in cash, with the recipients either knowing, or reasonably should have known, it was criminal property, resulting in charges of acquisition of criminal property.

Prosecutors allege that fraudulent payments had been made for work that was never done or services which were never provided to either the ministry or university, and that money from these payments was transferred from CMU and the education ministry to the accused through either third parties or to bank accounts held or controlled by the accused.

Pinnock and Reid are accused of using their roles as public servants to mastermind and effect a scheme in which individuals were being paid on a regular basis by CMU, without knowledge that they were being paid; and in which invoices for goods and services were generated, but not by the individuals being paid, who did not, at any time, provide the stated services or goods to CMU, resulting in charges of conspiracy to defraud.