A five-year old sealed criminal investigation into how a box containing confidential Supreme Court documents ended up at the office of an attorney has been re-opened by the acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams.
Williams’ decision follows claims by attorney Mark Seepersad that police investigating the case allegedly fabricated his statement. Williams yesterday appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police Simon Lendor to reopen and review the case file.
The investigation, which was closed in February 2011, will now take investigators into some of the highest offices in the country as they seek to find the truth.
Lendor, a seasoned detective now in charge of the Homicide Bureau, who previously headed the Organised Crime, Firearms and Narcotics Bureau, has also been directed “to interview Mr Seepersad and any other person who may be deemed relevant to the investigations.”
The top cop’s decision follows a series of newspaper stories about the credibility of the original police investigation done by Ag Insp Guevarro, who was then attached to the Special Branch, the unit of the Police Service which gathers intelligence and also serves as bodyguards for the nation’s highest office holders, including the President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice.
It also follows the disappearance of the Guevarro’s original report from the Office of the Commissioner of Police, at Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain, and subsequent recovery of it after the story broke.
The report compiled by Guevarro was submitted to his then boss, Snr Supt Surajdeen Persad, the T&T Guardian was reliably informed.
Case background
On February 23, Seepersad met with Chief Justice Ivor Archie at the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain, after the Judiciary issued two statements on February 13 and February 19.
In the first, the Judiciary stated that a police investigation into the discovery of court documents at the Port-of-Spain office of an attorney almost five years ago unearthed no criminal wrongdoing.
“The matter was referred to the (TTPS) for investigation in November 2010. A report from the TTPS said the investigation was submitted to the Judiciary in May 2011. The report indicated that, after the interview of various individuals, no further police action in the matter was found to be warranted.”
It further stated that “no disciplinary action was taken by the Judiciary against the officer involved in the incident and she has since left the organisation.”
But six days after that statement was made, the Judiciary issued a second statement saying: “The Judiciary notes recent comments in the media which assert that Mr Mark Seepersad, attorney-at-law, alleges that he was never interviewed in relation to a matter involving court files found in the office of an attorney at law.
“The Judiciary is puzzled by these reports as it can confirm that it is in possession of a TTPS report dated 10th February, 2011 which states that Mr Seepersad was indeed interviewed and which gives details of his responses.”
Seepersad subsequently wrote to Williams on February 27, pointing out that what purports to be his statement in Guevarro’s file was a “cut and paste” of sentences of a letter he had written to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, Evelyn Ann Petersen, on November 15, 2010, giving details about the discovery of the confidential documents.
He also sent letters to the acting Commissioner of Police that same day and subsequently wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard SC, on March 2.
Similar claims to Prisongate
In the course of Lendor’s investigation, among the people he may have to interview are Seepersad’s former chamber partner, attorney Gerald Ramdeen, former Judicial Support Officer Asha Harripaul and former Registrar of the Supreme Court Evelyn Ann Petersen.
Ramdeen is also the subject of a separate criminal investigation, Prisongate, where it is alleged that concocted civil claims of assault and battery were being filed against the State and settled for significant sums of money.
Ramdeen did not return messages seeking comment yesterday, but previously said the investigation had been closed and the documents found were not confidential.
In August 2013, former Solicitor General Eleanor Joye Donaldson-Honeywell had complained directly to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar about the allegations, but the PM referred the matter back to her boss, then attorney general Anand Ramlogan, for investigation. Donaldson-Honeywell subsequently resigned and is currently in private practice.
Harripaul, a close friend of Ramdeen, had been working in the chambers of then Justice Lennox Deyalsingh in 2010, when she claimed she did not have any desk space to keep her work-related documents, and left them at Ramdeen’s chambers at Stone Street, Port-of-Spain. She previously worked in the Registrar’s Chambers where sensitive court records are kept, the Guardian learned.
In his initial letter to Petersen, on November 15, 2010, Seepersad said his partnership with Ramdeen ended in October 2010, with Ramdeen moving out. Seepersad said Ramdeen left behind a number of boxes, files and furniture. While clearing the stuff, Seepersad said he found “a cardboard box” which contained a number of documents which “to my mind, appeared to be documents of the High Court and, in particular, the Registrar’s Chambers. I also found a hard covered note books which was labelled ‘File Movement Book” of Justice Deyalsingh. I formed the view that these documents were the property of the High Court and as such should be in the custody of the Registrar of the Supreme Court.” He subsequently turned them over to Petersen.
Seepersad’s response
On Thursday, Seepersad told the Guardian he was “relying on Gaspard to do something.” He said the DPP was the only person who had shown him he was willing to do anything in the matter. Gaspard did not respond to phone calls or text messages yesterday.
In an immediate response to Williams’ decision yesterday, Seepersad, who has maintained he was never interviewed by Guevarro during the investigation, said, “I am naturally pleased by the decision of the acting Commissioner of Police. That was the only appropriate and responsible thing to do. I expected the investigation to be re-opened.”
In a subsequent, e-mailed response, Seepersad said, “I received a letter from the Commissioner of Police in which he informed me that he had appointed an Assistant Commissioner to deal with the issues raised relative to the conduct of the investigation into the circumstances in which I discovered documents belonging to the High Court.
“I expect that any investigation at this time will also encompass the fabrication of the interview and the responses falsely attributed to me. My sole interest remains the outcome of an investigation into the fabrication of an interview with me which found its way into a police report. Notwithstanding this, I stand ready to assist the TTPS with any investigation.”
E-mail to CoP
On Thursday, a series of questions were posed to acting Commissioner of Police Williams on the matter through communications manager of the TTPS Ellen Lewis.
On the political platform on Wednesday night, the Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, made a call for the TTPS to re-open its investigation into allegations that sensitive documents were removed from Hall of Justice and left at the chambers of a private attorney given the public statements made attorney Mark Seepersad.
Seepersad claims that he was never interviewed by police during the probe and alleged that what purports to be his statement was a concocted document which bore similar statements from his letter to the Registrar of the Supreme Court.
I understand that Mr Seepersad has written to the acting Commissioner of Police asking him to satisfy himself on the contentious issue of whether he was in fact interviewed or not.
Can you say, if the acting Commissioner has responded to Mr Seepersad's correspondence and does he intend to re-open the case?
Response from CoP
The Commissioner of Police (Ag), Stephen Williams, confirms receipt of a correspondence from attorney-at-law, Mark Seepersad, in which issues were raised relative to the conduct of the investigation, into the circumstances surrounding the discovery of Supreme Court of Judicature documents at Unit 1, Stone Street, Port-of-Spain.
A report of that investigation was submitted by the investigator 13364 Sgt Guevarro, in February 2011, which was referred to the then Commissioner, Dwayne Gibbs.
Mr Gibbs thereafter formally notified Court Executive Administrator, Ms Michelle Austin, of the outcome by letter dated February 18, 2011.
The Commissioner of Police today, March 6, 2015, appointed ACP Simon Lendor to review the case file and he has been directed to interview Mr Seepersad and any other person who may be deemed relevant to the investigation.