PHILIPSBURG:--- The cries of the people of St. Maarten and the Dutch may soon come to an end if the Court of Appeals decides to grant the prosecution's request which was presented to them on Tuesday afternoon. The prosecution is seeking permission from the Court of Appeals to arrest Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge as they continue the Bada Bing Investigation.
The Court of Appeals session held at 4pm on Tuesday was a closed door session since the prosecution does not want the information they presented to the court to be made public. However, based on the constitution of St. Maarten the prosecutor has to approach the Court of Appeals for permission to arrest a Member of Parliament if he or she is suspected of any crime. SMN News learnt that some of the charges against MP Illidge are possession of an illegal firearm, money laundering, bribery, and being part of a criminal organization. This could not be confirmed by the Attorney General or the Prosecutor's Office.
Attorney General of St. Maarten Taco Stein presented some evidence and reasons to the Court of Appeals on Tuesday while asking them for permission to arrest Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge, the main suspect in the Bada Bing Investigation which started in March 2013 when a surveillance video was released showing MP Illidge taking what appears to be bribe from the owner of Bada Bing Strip club Jaap van den Heuvel.
The way this investigation is moving it's likely that Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge will be arrested just before the Christmas holidays and released on Christmas Eve like former Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto who was arrested last year in the Piranha investigation which is still not completed. So far none of the suspects in the Piranha investigation have gone before the court. While this might be the way the prosecution wants to go, the decision for the MP's arrest has to be given by the Court of Appeals.
The video tape which has circulated worldwide via the internet caught the attention of the Dutch Members of Parliament while MP Illidge was in the Netherlands. The Dutch MPs even asked MP Illidge to leave the Parliamentary meetings that were being held in the Netherlands at the time.
Detectives on St. Maarten, including those from the Landsrecherche searched the home of MP Illidge and his office at the House of Parliament before he returned to St. Maarten in March 2013 when they launched an investigation against him for corruption. During that house search the investigators found a firearm in the MP's house.
Upon his return to St. Maarten, MP Illidge told SMN News in an exclusive interview that the monies he was seen taking from the strip club owner was monies the businessman owed him and was paying back in parts. MP Illidge said he loaned the businessman monies when he was going through his divorce and the businessman was paying him back in parts.
MP Illidge also provided SMN News with email correspondence between him and van den Heuvel who claimed that the leader of the United People's Party Theodore Heyliger asked him to tape Illidge in an effort to blackmail him since the leader of the UP wanted to get back into government. According to MP Illidge in that interview supported by the email correspondence between Illidge and van den Heuvel, the UP leader Theodore Heyliger asked Jaap van den Heuvel to trap and tape Patrick Illidge while giving him the monies and ask him questions as if he wanted Illidge to secure a business license for him. Illidge said he knew van den Heuvel and Heyliger were friends but he and the businessman are also friends and he never thought the businessman would ever do that to him because he helped him at a time when he was in need.
Investigators arrested Jaap van den Heuvel on September 30th, 2013 when he returned to St. Maarten on their request. He was charged with forgery, tax fraud, and money laundering. The businessman spent eight days in pre-trial detention but was released by the judge of instruction even though the prosecution added another charge on the list in order to keep him behind bars.
Shortly after the release of the video with Patrick Illidge, the National Alliance, Democratic Party, and I-3 Government fell as Member of Parliament Romaine Laville pulled his support from the government. It is questionable for many people on St. Maarten that MP Illidge who said he was "set up" by the leader of the UP is currently supporting the Wescot Williams III Cabinet to which Heyliger has the most seats in Parliament.
Attorney General Taco Stein could not be reached on Tuesday afternoon for a comment on Tuesday's hearing.
