By Vina Frederick
Opposition forces have been lobbying for the dismissal or resignation of Senator Ausbert d’Auvergne from the Cabinet of Ministers because of his business connections with two people facing criminal charges in a mortgage scheme to defraud millions of unsuspected buyers in the US.
d’Auvergne was first fingered by Leader of the Opposition Kenny Anthony, who at a Market Steps meeting of the St Lucia Labour Party on July 24, revealed evidence that d’Auvergne had testified on behalf of one of the men on trial in the US. The SLP had at that time given the minister a fifteen-day deadline to resign.
d’Auvergne has largely ignored the issue except to say that he felt an obligation to one of the men, Marcus Alcindor who was his cousin. Alcindor is facing up to 135 years in a US prison and will be sentenced on September 26.
No surprise that d’Auvergne had no plans to resign over the issue and the deadline given by the opposition came and went with no action from the SLP.
Asked what was the Labour Party’s next move, Philip J Pierre said there might be protests. “We may consider a demonstration and ask social partners to make their voices heard,” said Pierre, “or we may inform the international and regional bodies and communities of the state of St Lucia. These actions will vary. “It may be one or all of them but the St Lucia Labour Party can assure you we will not be silent. No amount of intimidation or victimization will silence us. While the country continues to rot, while the politics of the country remains contaminated, we will make our voices heard. It is our right and it is our duty to make our voices heard in these circumstances.”
The issue of d’Auvergne and alleged business dealings with now convicted criminals was quieted partly due to the death of Prime Minister Sir John Compton. Now that the official mourning period has passed it appears that d’Auvergne is again in the spotlight.
Needless to say, d’Auvergne feels he has nothing to explain and told RCI news he has no knowledge of any allegations being leveled at him.
“I am not aware of any allegations being made against me,” said d’Auvergne. “If there are allegations made against me then I can respond but there are no allegations being made against me because an allegation is a specific accusation and I have heard none. I have heard innuendo and conjecture but I have heard absolutely no allegations.”
NewsSpin’s Timothy Poleon on his RCI program on Friday said: “Clearly this is a lead story which is proving that it will not go away in a hurry. I am not in the business of giving advice to individuals but clearly I am sure the government will see the necessity to make some clear pronouncements on this particular issue which has implications for St Lucia’s reputation.”
Poleon agreed that there are no allegations being leveled against Senator d’Auvergne but if one were to read the federal grand jury report “he (d’Auvergne) have some explaining to do as far as the St Lucian public is concerned—not in terms of facing a court, lawyers or judges because clearly persons in St Lucia from what they have been hearing would want to hear from d’Auvergne.”
“One cannot and should not suggest that d’Auvergne engaged in any illegal activity,” said Poleon. “We are not in a position to say so. But the fact that Riley Graham is now serving time for fraudulent activities and Graham was the business associate of d’Auvergne, is not a case of guilty by association but I think it is a case for d’Auvergne to explain to the St Lucian public as to the nature of his business relationship with Graham and whether he knew at all that Graham was a shady character.”
Once again, commenting on the d’Auvergne dilemma yesterday, Dr Kenny Anthony said: “Prime Minister Stephenson King must understand that the St Lucia Labour Party will not rest on the d’Auvergne matter. It is an indisputable fact that d’Auvergne was an associate of Riley Graham, a convicted money launderer and drug trafficker. It is indisputable that Graham established a company, Paragon Construction Limited, to undertake the construction of a hotel in St Lucia. It is indisputable that a grand jury in the US indicated that money from the proceeds of the illegal activities of Graham was sent to an individual in St Lucia. It is indisputable that d’Auvergne introduced Marcus Alcindor to Graham, and now Alcindor is awaiting sentencing in the US. It is indisputable that d’Auvergne has been at the centre of two major commissions of inquiry in St Lucia, both of which heavily criticized his behavior. It is also indisputable that d’Auvergne has several judgments against him for his failure to meet his financial commitments.”
Dr Anthony continued by asking: “By what stretch of the imagination is d’Auvergne fit for pubic office in this country? Where in the world would any country tolerate a situation in which a member of a Cabinet of ministers has the record that d’Auvergne currently possesses? No attempt by PM King to sanitize d’Auvergne will succeed. King will ultimately be held responsible for having d’Auvergne in his Cabinet because he too can go on the internet and obtain the information that every St Lucian has access to.”
Meanwhile, a letter yesterday from the offices of the National Development Movement, indicated that Prime Minister King has invited political leader of the NDM, Ausbert d’Auvergne to become a member of the United Workers Party.