In an invited comment, Minister of Justice Roland Duncan admitted to meeting with the lawyers representing Francesco Corallo this past week. "The lawyers for Mr. Corallo asked for a courtesy meeting and I met with them with my department heads. I did not meet with the lawyers on two consecutive days as is rumored. I met them once and I made clear that I am not the prosecutor or Attorney General. Furthermore, no deals have been made with the lawyers for Mr. Francesco Corallo." Minister Duncan said he meets with anyone who asks to meet with him and the only persons he has refused to meet with thus far is the prison inmates association. Mr. Corallo is a Dutch citizen and his lawyers requested a courtesy meeting so I met with them. "I don't see anything wrong in meeting with them and listening to what they have to say."
On June 22, 2012, A.J.N. van Stigt expedited a letter to the Attorney General of St. Maarten Taco Stein demanding that certain conditions be made in advance should Italy issue an arrest warrant for Corallo, even though his name was not yet placed on Interpol's most wanted list and the arrest warrant was not yet published. However, prosecutors are not allowed to make arrangements or deals with persons that are wanted by any country. Furthermore, now that Corallo is wanted by Italy, St. Maarten's Interpol division has no choice but to arrest him whenever he is seen on St. Maarten since the Prosecutor in Italy already provided St. Maarten with the arrest warrant. However, since Corallo is a Dutch citizen and one that holds several other nationalities he has the right to contest the extradition. When that happens then Italy would have 18 days in which to submit the entire file on the crimes Corallo committed in Italy so that the extradition procedure can be handled by a judge locally.
St. Maarten's Attorney General Taco Stein said in an invited comment that he replied to the letter sent to him by the attorney representing Corallo and he made clear to them that only a judge on St. Maarten will decide if Corallo will be extradited to Italy. SMN News also learnt that the Attorney General for St. Maarten, Curacao, and the BES islands Dick Piar made clear that no deals will be made with the lawyers representing Corallo.
Several persons within the judicial system and government apparatus said they cannot understand why the Minister of Justice has chosen to meet with the lawyer representing Francesco Corallo because the Minister of Justice has no jurisdiction or say whatsoever on how the Attorney General Dick Piar and Taco Stein handles the case. "Francesco Corallo needs to surrender to the St. Maarten Police before trying to negotiate his extradition." A well known citizen and lawyer on St. Maarten told SMN News that the Minister of Justice thinks he can help Mr. Corallo because he (Corallo) pumped monies into the pockets of several politicians during the 2010 election campaign. Corallo is the man who formed the government of St. Maarten and Curacao and he is the one that was calling the shots here, but now that he is wanted internationally politicians cannot help him or make deals for him. The well known attorney said everyone is innocent until proven guilty and if Corallo is not guilty of the crimes he is suspected of committing in Italy then he should go and face the justice system there and clear his name.
