Court hearing for MMC fraud convicts postponed

MANDEVILLE, Manchester:

Convicts in the Manchester Municipal Corporation (MMC) fraud saga who are before the court, after a forfeiture order to seize their assets was made, had their matter postponed yet again to facilitate proper arrangements for legal representation.

The matter involves former superintendent of roads and works at the MMC, Sanja Elliott, former secretary/manager and director of finance, David Harris, and temporary works overseer Kendale Roberts, along with their co-convicts Dwayne Sibbles and Tasha-Gaye Goulbourne-Elliott.

All but Goulbourne-Elliott are serving a custodial sentence and have not yet appeared in court.

It was made clear yesterday that Elliott, his wife and Sibbles are being represented by attorney Norman Godfrey.

But at the last court hearing, Harris and Roberts had no legal representation, and the directive was given by Judge Evan Brown for that to be addressed.

Roberts has since retained the services of attorney Samoi Campbell from Peter Champagnie’s chambers.

Harris’ wife, who was instructed to make the necessary arrangements at the last hearing, returned this morning with no legal representation.

She told the court that she was able to get assistance from the Legal Aid Council, but the representative was in quarantine.

It was at this juncture that Godfrey sought information on whether a legal aid could be used for the matter.

Judge Brown said he was unsure if that was possible.

Harris’ wife later revealed that she paid a fee to secure legal representation.

They are expected to return to court on November 6.

editorial@gleanerjm.com