A lawyer for former prime minister Andrew Fahie argued final week that he was accused of appearing solely as a “figurehead” within the cocaine-trafficking scheme that led to his conviction and may due to this fact obtain the minimal sentence of 10 years in jail.
Mr Fahie, who was convicted of all 4 counts in opposition to him after a two-week trial in Miami in February, faces a possible most sentence of life in jail and a $10 million positive when he returns to court docket on 5 of August
Nonetheless, he plans to attraction his conviction, his lawyer mentioned in a 13-page movement he filed on June 7.
“For the needs of those arguments, Mr. Fahie acknowledges the jury's verdict and notes that he’ll attraction his conviction on this case and that nothing herein needs to be construed as an request for forgiveness or a waiver of any appealable difficulty “, protection lawyer Theresa Van Vliet. he wrote within the movement, which additionally opposes sure elements of a pre-sentence report introduced by prosecutors, however not made public.
Within the movement, Ms Van Vliet downplayed Mr Fahie's position within the conspiracy and described him as “a person of conscience who cares for others above himself” and who had devoted his life in public service.
She additionally sought to assign the majority of the blame to her co-conspirators — former BVI Ports Authority CEO Oleanvine Maynard and her son Kadeem Maynard — who have been accused of collaborating in a “ extra facet settlement” that didn’t contain mr. . Fahie
“At finest, the federal government's proof confirmed that Mr. Fahie was extra of a figurehead than an lively participant, and though he was going to earn a big sum of money, he didn’t stand to earn that a lot.” and members who will probably be extra everlasting and extra concerned within the “facet enterprise,” wrote the lawyer.
Responsible plea
In contrast to Mr Fahie, the Maynards all pleaded responsible to collaborating within the drug-trafficking scheme. They and Mr. Fahie at the moment are incarcerated on the Federal Detention Middle, Miami, an enormous downtown facility that homes greater than 900 inmates.
Mr. Maynard is at present serving a 57-month jail sentence, and is scheduled to be launched on Might 15, 2026, in keeping with United States Bureau of Prisons data.
Ms. Maynard, who testified in opposition to Mr. Fahie in his trial, was sentenced at 10 a.m. on June 20. Her sentencing was delayed six instances for causes not disclosed in court docket data.
Mr Fahie's sentencing earlier than Choose Kathleen Williams – which was final set for June 25 earlier than it was adjourned at 2pm on August 5 – has been postponed twice previously weeks on the behest of Ms. Van Vliet, who cited scheduling conflicts.
The purpose
The trio was arrested in 2022 after an elaborate sting operation devised by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
As a part of the sting, undercover operatives pose as members of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel asking Mr. Fahie and Ms. Maynard for a “free move” to maneuver cocaine throughout the waters of the Virgin Islands.
Throughout Mr. Fahie's trial, jurors heard clandestine recordings of a person identified to the defendants as cartel member Roberto Quintero — truly a confidential DEA supply — explaining that the cartel's cocaine could be disguised as waterproof constructing supplies.
The medication would keep within the VI for a window of 24 to 48 hours, be transported to Puerto Rico, be ready on the market, and be moved to the US continent for distribution, Mr. Quintero mentioned.
In alternate, Mr. Fahie anticipated to obtain an preliminary $500,000 in money and a minimize of the proceeds from future drug gross sales, prosecutors mentioned throughout his trial.
Protection arguments
Nonetheless, Mr Fahie's lawyer burdened that no medication or cash modified palms, though pretend foreign money was proven to the previous prime minister on a aircraft parked at Miami-Opa Government Airport Locka shortly earlier than his arrest on April 28, 2022. Repeating an argument. unsuccessfully on the February trial, Ms Van Vliet argued in Friday's movement that probably the most critical cost her shopper confronted – conspiracy to import greater than 5 kilograms of cocaine – shouldn’t be utilized within the case of Mr. Fahie.
That's as a result of, in keeping with the DEA's personal situation, the alleged cocaine to be trafficked via the VI wouldn’t be detectable as medication till it was additional processed in Puerto Rico, and due to this fact no cocaine would have been imported in america, mentioned the lawyer. .
Mrs. Van Vliet additionally argued that the Maynards – who took the preliminary conferences with Mr. Quintero and facilitated his introduction to Mr. Fahie – had a better participation within the smuggling scheme.
In help of this argument, the lawyer contrasted the participation of Mr. Fahie with that of Mr. Maynard, who allegedly meant to take possession of cocaine and promote it.
Pre-sentence report
Friday's movement additionally requested corrections to the pre-sentence report that the choose will use to assist decide Mr. Fahie's sentence. Ms. Van Vliet, for instance, requested the report back to state that her shopper had no information of a proposed “facet deal” that might see Mr. Maynard work with the cartel to smuggle batches of cocaine into the VI for the sale
The lawyer additionally needed the report back to be stripped of any point out – made within the 2022 grievance in opposition to Mr Fahie and repeated within the pre-sentence report – that the conspiracy concerned brokers of “Lebanese Hezbollah”, a obvious reference to a US-designated terrorist group by the federal government.
“The crimes of which Mr. Fahie is convicted didn’t contain the Lebanese people the confidential supply recognized as Hezbollah operatives,” the movement mentioned. “The federal government didn’t dispute that Mr. Fahie was not concerned with the Lebanese people.”
Fahie's character
Ms Van Vliet additionally used the movement to explain Mr Fahie as a person of character.
“Exterior of his official political duties within the BVI, Mr. Fahie has volunteered his time to make schooling accessible to all, together with the deprived, within the BVI,” he wrote. “He additionally confirmed his compassion by providing counseling companies to individuals who misplaced infants at beginning.”
As well as, he wrote, he operated a “non-profit group” referred to as Bembella, which “efficiently relied on phrase of mouth” to hold out its mission. The movement doesn’t clarify that mission.
“Additionally, in his circle of relatives, he and his spouse have offered a college schooling for his or her two daughters in addition to postgraduate research, which one daughter has accomplished and the opposite intends to embark on after her college research,” mentioned the lawyer. .
Appellate counsel
As Ms. Van Vliet handles sentencing arguments, Mr. Fahie has additionally retained one other Florida-based lawyer who makes a speciality of appeals. On March 29, Richard Della Fera, who the agency's eponymous web site lists as an “appellate legislation specialist,” was added as lawyer of file on the case of Mr. Fahie
The web site describes the lawyer as having greater than three a long time of expertise in felony appeals.
His successes embrace a 2003 case the place he overturned his shopper's conviction for promoting candle wax handed off as crack cocaine to an undercover police officer.
In one other case, the lawyer efficiently argued {that a} USVI authorities licensing inspector mustn’t have been convicted of bribery. The general public servant advised a lady that she wouldn’t be deported if she offered sexual favors, however the appeals court docket discovered that the case didn’t meet the definition of bribery as a result of the accused had no management over the legal guidelines federal immigration.
Mr. Fahie's court docket file additionally exhibits no formal discover of attraction.
Supply: https://www.bvibeacon.com/eyeing-minimum-fahie-asks-for-10-years/
