After days of anticipation and speculation as to how much money had been siphoned off from the Government of Belize Pension Fund, the primary suspect in the scam, Monica Escarpeta, was brought to the Magistrate’s Court this morning, where she was formally arraigned on a single count of theft for the sum of $291,022.36.
According to police, the money was stolen between September 1, 2007 and May 2009.
No plea was taken from Escarpeta because the offence for which she is charged will be tried on indictment, if a prima facie case is made out against her.
Escarpeta, a second class clerk who is employed at the Government Treasury Department but is now on interdiction, appeared composed as she stood in the #1 courtroom before Magistrate Harrison Hewlett for the arraignment.
Court prosecutor, Sergeant Carol Tucker, told the court that the prosecution was “objecting to bail.” The first reason cited was that Escarpeta was a flight risk. Tucker told the court that police had gone to Escarpeta’s residence on several occasions, but she could not be located. Eventually, police received information that she was staying at a hotel after she learnt that the police was looking for her.
Tucker also maintained that the prosecution was objecting to bail because the accused might tamper with the investigation.
Escarpeta, who was in court without her lawyer, appeared to breathe a sigh of relief when her attorney, Michael Peyrefitte, walked into the courtroom and caught the tail end of Tucker’s objection to bail submission.
Peyrefitte began his response at once: “I caught the end of Sergeant Tucker’s statement. I hope that she put to the court sufficient reason why she is objecting to bail.”
“Bail is a right, not a privilege and the Crown must show good reason why any accused person should not get bail,” Peyrefitte told the court.
He continued: “The Crown has to show good reason why Ms. Escarpeta will not show up for trial. You cannot just say that she may interfere with the investigation; you have to show evidence why she would interfere.”
Magistrate Hewlett upheld Peyrefitte’s submissions and told the court that he would offer bail, with conditions: (1) Escarpeta is to report to the Clerk of Courts Mondays and Fridays at 10:00 a.m. (2) She is to surrender her passport and all travel documents to the court. (3)She must not interfere with any material witness in the case. (4) She must not leave the country of Belize without the court’s permission.
Bail was then set at $50,000 plus one surety for the same amount. The case was then adjourned until September 23, 2009.
At the end of the court’s business day this evening, Escarpeta was unable to post bail and has remained in custody.
Yesterday, July 22, another woman, Rhea Pennill, 28, was charged with handling stolen goods in connection with the same case. She is accused of handling $151,967.33, knowing that it was illegally obtained.
Pennill was offered bail in the sum of $40,000 plus one surety in the same amount or two sureties of $20,000. But she has not been able to post bail and is still in custody.
While Escarpeta was being arraigned in court, her mother, who was waiting outside the court, was arrested by police and taken to the Crimes Investigation Branch on Queen’s Street.
Following Escarpeta’s arraignment, Peyrefitte told the media that he does not know why the police would arrest Ms. Escarpeta’s mother now.
When the story first broke last week Wednesday, July 15, the news was that a fairly sizable amount of money had been siphoned out of the pension fund at the Treasury Department. This was accomplished through the making out of bogus pension checks to fictitious persons or non-pensioners. The checks were then deposited into bank accounts and then cash was withdrawn from those accounts.
Police had detained another woman, but she was released without being charged.