{"id":19632,"date":"2021-12-02T21:43:42","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T02:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev?p=19632"},"modified":"2021-12-03T16:12:08","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T21:12:08","slug":"vindicated-former-nswma-manager-wins-appeal-against-corruption-conviction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/vindicated-former-nswma-manager-wins-appeal-against-corruption-conviction\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Vindicated\u2019\u2026 former NSWMA manager wins appeal against corruption conviction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jamaica<\/p>\n

Justice was delayed but not denied is how Mark Rodney, former Special Projects Manager at the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), described his nine-year wait which ended on Thursday in his acquittal by the Court of Appeal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He said he was happy to be vindicated but was going to pursue legal actions against the State.<\/p>\n

\u201cA travesty of justice, a most egregious wrong,\u201d said Rodney as he outlined the challenges he faced while waiting to get justice.<\/p>\n

One of his regrets is that his mother who came from the United States to give him moral support did not live to see him being freed of\u00a0the convictions.<\/p>\n

She died of\u00a0a heart attack in 2017.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, Rodney, who was convicted in 2016 of breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act and breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act, was successful in his appeal against his convictions.<\/p>\n

The sentence, which amounted to fines totalling $5.6 million, was set aside.<\/p>\n

The Crown, which was represented by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Maxine Jackson, conceded that there was nothing in the evidence which supported the allegations or subsequent convictions by the parish judge.<\/p>\n

The Court of Appeal then ruled that the appeal was allowed, conviction quashed\u00a0and sentences set aside.<\/p>\n

Disbelief<\/h3>\n

Rodney said he cannot come to terms as to how charges were brought against him when he did nothing wrong.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that the case against him dragged on for four years in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court before\u00a0he was convicted.<\/p>\n

While employed to the NSWMA, Rodney was accused of approving and awarding contracts totalling just over $12 million to a company of which he was a shareholder.<\/p>\n

It was alleged that he bypassed the tender process and failed to disclose his interest in the company.<\/p>\n

However, it was disclosed in the parish court that the contracts all went through a tender process prior to approval by a procurement committee,\u00a0of which he was not a member.<\/p>\n

He said he had also disclosed in writing to the committee that he had an interest in the company\u00a0and fulfilled all requirements under the law.<\/p>\n

The letter was in the hand\u00a0of the prosecution before his trial, he disclosed.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, the decision of the prosecution to prosecute and the further guilty verdict by the parish court is very curious and quite perplexing,\u201d said Rodney.<\/p>\n

Struggle<\/h3>\n

Rodney, in outlining the challenges he faced, said the company of which he was a shareholder folded because of the charges brought against him.<\/p>\n

The Assets Recovery Agency got court orders freezing his assets.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0had young children at the time and his family was also affected, he added.<\/p>\n

He bemoaned the fact that although he was on bail prior to his conviction,\u00a0the parish judge would not give him bail for even 24 hours to access money to pay the fine.<\/p>\n

He is grateful to family and friends who assisted to pay the fine so he could be on bail pending his appeal.<\/p>\n

Two years after his conviction, the transcript of his trial was not available and Rodney had to write to Chief Justice Bryan Sykes in September 2018 about the issue.<\/p>\n

Two months later, the transcript was ready and Rodney said he is grateful for Sykes\u2019 intervention.<\/p>\n

He also had praises for\u00a0Queen\u2019s Counsel Walter Scott who handled his appeal and Queen\u2019s Counsel Peter Champagnie who represented him at his trial.<\/p>\n

He said the two lawyers always encouraged and assured him that he had a good case on appeal.<\/p>\n

He said he admired prosecutor Jackson for the stance she took.<\/p>\n

Asked what will be his next move, Rodney said he is going to sue the State for wrongful prosecution, for the suffering he endured as well as for the handling of the issue by the Assets Recovery Agency.<\/p>\n

more<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

image: pexels-pixabay<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jamaica Justice was delayed but not denied is how Mark Rodney, former Special Projects Manager at the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), described his nine-year wait which ended on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1091,"featured_media":19633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[250],"tags":[157,121,124],"class_list":["post-19632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-articles","tag-anti-corruption","tag-caribbean","tag-jamaica"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pexels-pixabay-159832-scaled-e1649276337193.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6u9Qa-56E","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30145,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/businesswoman-loses-bid-to-operate-maritime-waste-disposal-company\/","url_meta":{"origin":19632,"position":0},"title":"Businesswoman loses bid to operate maritime waste disposal company","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"September 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Jamaica St Andrew businesswoman who hauled the Ministry of Health before the courts to seek a judicial review of its designation of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) as the only contractor authorised to collect ship or vessel waste, has been sent packing by the Supreme Court. 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