Former Registrar of the High Court, Vanessa Tamara Gibson-Marks was on Tuesday fined EC$10,500 in connection with the theft and abuse of authority charges to which she pleaded guilty one week earlier.
Gibson-Marks last week pleaded guilty to a charge of theft of EC$21,925 and abuse of her authority as Registrar of the High Court.
Director of Public Prosecutions, Colin Williams took over and discontinued the third charge — that “on May 7th, 2014 in Kingstown St. Vincent and the Grenadines being a person employed in the public service who being authorized to give a certificate touching any matter by virtue whereof the rights of any person may be prejudicially affected did give a certificate which was to your knowledge false in a material particular to wit an order claim 96/1980”.
District 1 Magistrate, Carla James on Tuesday morning fined Gibson-Marks EC$4,500 to be paid in one month or three months imprisonment on the theft charge.
On the abuse of authority charge, Gibson-Marks was ordered to pay EC$6,000 in three months or spend six months in jail.
Gibson-Marks had pleaded not guilty to all three charges and was granted bail with one surety when she appeared in court on Aug. 21, three months after Attorney-General Judith Jones-Morgan asked her to resign.
She had appeared in court less than 24 hours after returning to St. Vincent for the first time since she left about 90 minutes after her resignation.
There have been reports that some EC$300,000 from an account that Gibson-Marks held in trust was unaccounted for.
Reports say that some EC$130,000 was deposited into the account after Gibson-Marks’ resignation.
Gibson-Marks is a St. Lucia born lawyer, who is married to former Unity Labour Party senator, lawyer Ronald “Ronnie” Marks.
The court is expected to hear soon an application by Attorney General Judith Jones-Morgan to have Gibson-Marks disbarred from practicing law in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Gibson-Marks was represented in court by St. Lucian lawyer, Alberton Richelieu.
MURDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WATCH WICKEDNESS. This is real sick stuff we are dealing with in SVG. There are people in SVG who break people’s houses looking for food to eat and they are in jail, but we have this lady here who makes a good living and stole money to fuel her life of excess (As we say in vincy BIG LIFE), and she walks away?
Way the tail I seeing hear? Hundreds of thousands of dollars has been stolen and this is all she get? a $10,000 dollar fine? that’s nonsense, she is going to use some of the same money that was stolen to pay that fine. what kind of justice is done in SVG? To much corruption man.
You all have gone too damn far with corruption in SVG and i will make it my business to make sure that some of you all face the inside of a prison cell when you leave office. Maybe it’s because she is on the gravy train, that’s why she good a slap on the wrist eh?
I would like to know who is the driver and conductor of this “gravy train” in svg. I hope the PM enlightens us, he said that we want to “Come” on the train, so that means he is already on it. Tell us who else is on the gravy train DOC. Tell us.
Below is a recording of DR Ralph saying that there is a gravy train in SVG
https://soundcloud.com/tags/thiefing%20down%20svg
Welcome to the SVG justice system……!!! Is anyone shocked by this sentence? Not me fo sure. That’s a slap on the wrist; a carb on the buttocks of a child- go sit and behave yo-self; yo tiefing lil gal and don’t do it agen…..
Did anyone ever expect a more severe penalty than this? If so, they are living in a parallel universe in which all Vincentians regardless of race, colour, gender, education, class position, or political affiliation are treated equally.
Please remember this is St. Vincent and the Grenadines, not the United States of America, not Canada, not Great Britain.
No amount of slavery reparations will ever change the beliefs and values of our elite class.
May Almighty God have mercy on us all.
C.ben-David. if svg is waiting to get slavery reparations, then i have a bridge to sell to them. The notion of reparations is to get vote and the country will be tricked into giving them a 4th term, and then the reality of being lied to, will sink in. If the U.S did not give descendants of slaves reparations, then what makes us think that the broken europeans union will give out billions to us and further ruin their economy. Wake up people….they want justice for us and look at what they did to bigger biggs…hypocrisy at the highest level.
I really cannot believe Vincentian sit back and accept this. Why are we allowing Ralph and his regime to cook up story and undermined the whole justice system in this country. I am calling all Vincentian for mass protest over this. We all know she would have got off with a brush from day one.
I would describe this as a local, national, regional and international disgrace. It make a complete mockery of our judicial system. Starting with Gonsalves, Colin Williams, and this new lady magistrate Carla James, they should all bow their heads in shame.
What a start for you Carla, such a shame.
This is shocking, she really get convicted by a Court court?. I used to think that if someone stole $20 000 they would be charged a minimum $21 000 or more to ensure that they don’t benefit from or repeat the dishonest action, i didn’t know you could keep some and pay with the balance if caught. Wach a govament.
Face it she did something illegal. She was innocent until she pleaded guilty. The magistrate did nothing wrong in sentencing. Many of us may feel that the punishment did not fit the crime and this may not be a deterrent for those who may be considering similar acts. Let’s face it, the magistrate could have given the maximum penalty, could have reprimanded or don’t record a conviction. While we are tempted to continue to negatively speak about our Blessed St, Vincent and the leadership because of some individuals did not live up to our expectations. It is good to know that we still have a legal system that works. I’m convinced that the ‘who you know’ culture would have produce similar results in many countries other than SVG. In some countries she would not even have been brought to trial. Who was the damaged party in this issue? Was the fines sufficient to cover the costs to the damaged party? May be, looking at this issue from a legal viewpoint instead of a personal one may cause us to draw other conclusions. My questions now are what did the magistrate do that was illegal? Is there evidence that the government influenced the courts? What is there for our peaceful citizens to interrupt their business to demonstrate about?
It is the abuse of the authority more than the money where the justice has not been served…..”With great power comes great responsibility.”
If those in senior legal positions cannot be held truly to account, what hope is there that this country will ever be taken seriously.
It’s turning into a joke of a failed Marxist state, unable to fend for itself with a privileged 15% holding the money, & the executive & judicial power.
On 27 October, we should hang our heads in shame.
This out come was predetermined before she step foot back into SVG….own the courts!…I wonder if Colin Williams is going to appeal this out come..haha…what a joke of a country.
This is the last straw. I predict on this one alone, s Massive defeat for the ULP gov. Two seats for ULP…POSSIBLY ONE. There is no doubt in my mind that status power money corruption influence and directives were involved here. To be sure Civil society should every march at the court to vigorously protest the magistrate ridicously strange decision. Not that I ever expected anything different. Gross incompetence and fear is the order of the day in SVG.
It is ironical that the junior court of the victim was the Supreme Court
Would the EC Supreme court be satisfied. Would the chief justice and the judicial and legal services commission move swiftly with disbarment like with Sillo. The other import thing we should consider Wawas the handed down sentence appropriate and in accordance with normal sentencing policy for theft/embezzlement by such high ranking public official of the high court st that.In any part of the civilised world it would have been s certain jail. Just search the internet for sentencing policies for theft by high public officials. It is always prison, fines restitution( of stolen funds) an an order not to ever hold public office again.. It would appear that the presiging magistrate is not ready yet. Of course they may be other …,criteria applied.
We had a very similar case in the mid seventies with a vincentian young female registrar whose case was discovered by the audit
She was immediately arrested an taken to the prison s
at Fort Charlotte where she spent lil time. She is still around pampersetting on the NDP’s behalf.she Sherrif Fees that she messed with paled in comparison to this Moron…and she walks
The public should call for the immediate resignation of all those involved in the obvious manoeuvres to let this convicted high class thief walk straight to the bank to collect the pocket fine money.
Luzette &Bigger Biggs plus the Opposition should thake the lead in petitioning the Chief Justice for the removal of the made for this infuriatingly bad and unacceptable decision.
Important point. Why was this case not referred to the high court for sentencing?
I gorn
I made a few typing errors. Pulp should be ULP gov.There are other typos due to small phone keypad.but u will understand.
It is very shameful that SVG allow ms.marks to walk free with no prison time to serve. I know that if she had committed such crrrme here in the US,she will be spending some time in prison. I hope that SVG only have one law for it’s rich and poor citizins.
Watch a shame and disgrace to our Caribbean civilization of justice. What is going on in this blessed nation of ours are people above the law? Where is righteous judgment in our nation? Please somebody answer me and tell me what else? Calling on the righteous men and women to petition the courts of the heaven for justice for poor people money, please Christians and prayer warriors let us seek God for His judgment on behalf of the nation.
Slap on the wrist? You got to be joking. There were high-fives and champagne in the party (as in fete) Headquarters threw for the immoral and corrupt elite. Part of the balance of the spoils that will never be accounted for, like the UD$1 million crocus bag money, footed the bill for the party … and the bling that don’t have to get returned. The balance would go to a war chest to purchase purchasable votes.
Yes readers, crime does pay.
Anyone remembers the Mark Williams case?…The most egregious piece of miscarriage of justice ever undertaken in the history of our legal system in SVG…so lets put up our discourse on this issue of the registrar.
This is a simple case of the legal fraternity protecting one of their own, just like in the Mark Williams case, Ralph Gonsalves rape allegations…the many lawyers who stole their clients money…the only exception to this, would be Ms Fredericks, the DPP will do everything in his power to put a bulwood on her…
By the way, I always thought this woman was too pretty to go to jail…I am just saying…lol…
The Mark Williams case was completely different:
1. Williams was charged with premeditated murder by the Crown.
2. Williams was tried by a jury of his peers.
3. Williams’ gifted legal team and their hired psychiatrist were able to convince the (semi-literate) jury to find him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
4. Williams served some five years in Her Majesty’s prison.
5. I understand that the DPP, Colin Williams, decided to try Gibson-Marks for a non-indictable (i.e., minor) offence, hence the minor penalty. The buck has to stop with him and his masters, not the judge who may have simply followed the law.
At any rate, I hope that some of the posters with legal training will comment on this site.
A young female vincentian registrar of the high court did the same thing with high court funds She was promptly arrested and taken to Fort Charlotte. Question is ..has the courts sentencing policy changed?
This is another example how the system in SVG is so corrupted. Vincentians just full a mouth and who suffer the most, poor people.
The public must be aware that the criminal justice system in any part of the world do not consider public emotions, when deciding a sentence in a particular case. The Judge or magistrate is trained to look at the facts presented, consider any aggravating or mitigating features of the offense and offender. The charge will ordinarly have a starting point and it is the consideration of the aggravating and mitigating features that eventually leads to an appropriate sentence.
The public will always have a view, predicated on emotions, supported by which angle the press decide to adopt, by way of the information it shares with the public.
My observation of this case without full view of the facts is that there are significant aggravating features, particularly that of breach of trust.
This is but glaring evidence of ‘our’ “new Caribbean civiilization” as envisaged by the utterly corrupt, shameless, lawless Ralph Gonsalves’ “Unity Labour Party” regime.
By the way, where is our erstwhile ‘columnist’ sometimes “blogger” Jomo sanga Thomas, the Youlimo cadres turn imperialist US-trained lawyer? Could you deign to grace us with your erudite comments here on this pressing politico-socio-economic issue, brother? Time to fly back to your own ‘party’ or “pressure group” – – – wats yur may call it …. MDC ….???
Hold you nose Jomo, the ideological goodies just around the corner.
And, that particular “Camillo” – – – is he going to write another piece here telling us that ‘im tarking ’bout marijuana – – – but that “this is not about marijuana”?
Bro, is this, also, “not about political corruption” and ideological charlatancy?
Hello, SVG, welcome to Papa doc duvalier and baby doc the undiplomatic diplomat.
Shame and disgrace neber don’.