Philipsburg:--- The Public Prosecutor's Office has taken a decision to charge the appointed coordinator of the Brook Tower Accord (BTA 2) Evelyn Hodge with fraud and human smuggling, confirmed Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos. Hodge has been summoned to appear in the Court of First Instance on May 23, 2012. Mos said at least four of the suspects that were arrested last year in the BTA 2 scandal have been charged.
Evelyn Hodge and several other persons who were hired to execute the BTA 2 project were arrested in January 2011 after an immigration stamp went missing and was used for inappropriate purposes. Investigators seized a number of forged documents and monies at one of the suspect's home. However, the missing stamp was never recovered. Hodge spent 14 days at the Pointe Blanche prison as investigators pieced their case together.
Former Lt. Governor Denis Richardson and former Island Secretary Joan Dovale Meit were commissioned by the Prosecutor's Office to compile a report from the documents seized during the raid at the BTA office on A.T. Illidge Road. Reporters also had access to the statements taken from each of the suspects.
SMN News managed to obtain a copy of the report which was submitted to the Prosecutor's Office in February 2012. The report states that one of the main problems the team encountered was the lack of a Ministerial decree from the Minister of Justice. Furthermore, the entire operation could have been considered as "chaotic" since there were no written orders for the BTA workers to follow. It was ill-conceived, badly executed, and poorly supervised. The report further states that there was no Ministerial Decree authorizing the BTA2 procedure and because of that there were no checks and balances thus there was no way to verify if decisions were made in a correct manner. These factors created a situation in which irregularities could flourish. The report states that when those incharge realized a stamp was missing there were no attempts being made to relocate the stamp neither was an alarm raised. They further said that no stringent measures were taken to tighten the irregularities.
Eveyn Hodge worked for at least six Lt. Governors on St. Maarten as their secretary. She has worked for over 26 years with the Government of St. Maarten. Ever since her arrest and the investigation into the BTA 2 scandal, Hodge was placed on inactive duty pending the outcome of the investigations.
