The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A SENIOR employee at the Water and Sewerage Corporation denied a defence attorney’s suggestion yesterday that she was coerced into giving evidence against Adrian Gibson and his co-accused to avoid being charged in the case.

As Ian Cargill cross-examined her yesterday, Dedrie Taylor told jurors she co-operated with police because she was a law-abiding citizen.

She admitted earlier this week that police questioned her for suspected fraud last year.

“I’m going to suggest to you that you had one choice –– either do what the police wanted you to do or you were going to be charged just like all of these innocent people in here,” Mr Cargill said.

Mrs Taylor responded: “The only thing I did is answer the question police asked of me.”

Mr Cargill, who represents Elwood Donaldson, also asked the witness about her testimony concerning WSC water tanks that were painted.

Recalling Mrs Taylor’s testimony that work was unnecessary on the tanks, Mr Cargill asked if she had ever seen the condition of the tanks, to which she said no.

“I didn’t know what condition those tanks were in. I just got quotes for the general painting,” she said.

Asked how she concluded the tanks didn’t need painting without seeing the units, Mrs Taylor said there was no PL99 form.

“You are an engineer. You are a supervisor in the department,” Mr Cargill said, interrupting the witness. “You came to the conclusion that the work was not necessary. You never saw the tanks. You never saw the condition of those tanks. You never saw the pictures of those tanks, so you could therefore not say the work was not necessary.”

Mrs Taylor said she didn’t know the answer.

Mr Cargill had the witness shown photos of the water tanks.

Mrs Taylor admitted that she saw corrosion at the top of the tanks.

When asked if her initial position remained the same, the senior employee said yes, adding only urgent work was needed.

She said painting the tanks wasn’t urgent because they were not leaking.

Mr Cargill recalled Mrs Taylor’s testimony about Mr Donaldson and Mr Gibson not being pleased with the work done by Top Notch, one of the companies given a contract.

“As a result of him not being pleased and you not being pleased, they then terminated that contract and hired someone else. Am I not correct?” Mr Cargill asked.

Mrs Taylor said that as Baha Maintenance had subcontracted Top Notch, they would’ve had to terminate the contract.

Mrs Taylor agreed that a satisfactory job was done on the tanks.

Mr Cargill then suggested that Baha Maintenance did more work for less than what they were paid.

Crown Prosecutor Cordell Frazier asked Mrs Taylor if she had received information that the painting was a government project.

She said she did not.

Ms Frazier asked her if Top Notch was fired initially.

Mrs Taylor said they were not and could not say why.

Mr Gibson is on trial for allegedly failing to declare his interest in contracts awarded to various companies.

He is charged with Mr Donaldson Jr, Peaches Farquharson, Rashae Gibson, Joan Knowles and Jerome Missick.

Together, the group face 98 charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, fraud, receiving and money laundering. They have denied all of the allegations.

Damian Gomez, KC, Murrio Ducille, KC, Bryan Bastian, Ryan Eve, Raphael Moxey, Christina Galanos, Cargill and Donald Saunders represent the defendants.

Meanwhile, Ms Frazier, Cashena Thompson, Karine MacVean and Rashied Edgecombe are the Crown’s prosecutors.