The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

INCONSISTENCIES in the call-logs of Barbara Hanna took centre stage in the Frank Smith's extortion and bribery trial yesterday.

A former BTC auditor yesterday said more than 60 discrepancies between Hanna's call history and Mr Smith's phone bill between December 2016 and July 2017, could be due, but not limited to, changes made to the log prior to its submission to the court.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle - the officer-in-charge of the RBPF's Anti-Corruption Unit - was due to questioned under oath before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, but the cross examination of Marlon Gary Smith, BTC's internal auditor at the time of the alleged offences, became the case's focus yesterday.

During cross examination by Damien Gomez, attorney for the former PHA Chairman, the former BTC employee acknowledged there is a difference in the date on his written report into the phone records and the dates reflected on the logs he produced for investigators.

In his written statement presented to the court earlier this week, Mr Smith said he received an email from police, requesting he submitted call logs for two numbers.

He further indicated that on July 20 he logged into his desktop computer, uploaded the logs, saved them to his machine and downloaded them to a cd which he subsequently signed and submitted to the police.

However, in cross-examination, he suggested this process could have taken him more than the one day he highlighted in his written report and that it could have started on the 20 and ended on July 22.

Mr Smith further shocked the court when he disclosed that aspects of the phone company's billing system and data port were "not infallible," and could be, in many instances, billing customers for calls they haven't carried out.

Responding to questions raised by Mr Gomez, Mr Smith insisted the 64 discrepancies that exist between Mrs Hanna's log and Frank Smith's bill could be due to free calling features allowed to Mrs Hanna, the duration of the call between the two or even changes to the logs submitted to the court.

"Like I say, I can't explain why the calls were not captured. There could be a whole myriad of reasons why the calls aren't reflected on those billing statements," he told the court. "Why that is, I can't, I cannot say. No computerised database is infallible."

Even when cautioned and asked by Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt to clarify his claim, he added: "In technology there is always a chance that something may not be, something may break down.

"Like I said, it is not infallible. The system could have issues and that is not a secret. I am sure that many people in this court room has had discrepancies with their telephone bills, because the system has had issues.

"That is a known fact in this country. Now, if the company feels it important to correct it, that's a management decision. But they know, I mean they have known, that the system has issues," he told the court.

Mr Gomez, capitalising on the assertion, asked: "Is it your position that, with knowledge of these problems, BTC engages in charging for bills that could be fictitious?"

The former auditor responded: "Yes."

"I can only report and tell them this issue. Now if they correct it, that is not in my hands. That's a management decision if they are going to correct it or not."

Another revelation in the case came in a dispute over the calling party in various appearances on the call logs - Mr Gomez asked the Mr Smith to clarify what role two specific telephone numbers played in call logs of Mrs Hanna. As Mr Smith read the names associated with these numbers he spoke the name of a current cabinet minister but was cautioned by the prosecution to refrain from doing so.

The numbers, according to the defence, will play a role in the case moving forward.

Mr Gomez highlighted the numbers commenced a series of communications with Mrs Hanna for expanded periods of time from July 2017.

Smith is facing 15 criminal charges concerning his alleged solicitation of $65,000 in bribes from a woman he is said to have assisted in getting a contract. He is currently out on $50,000 bail.

It is alleged that Smith, between April 2016 and April 2017, in respect of his duties as a public officer, demanded and obtained $5,000 per month from Barbara Hanna, knowing he was not lawfully authorised to do so.

He is also alleged to have attempted to extort another $5,000 from Ms Hanna.

Concerning the bribery charge, it is alleged he solicited $5,000 a month from Ms Hanna for aiding her in getting a contract with the Public Hospitals Authority.

Smith pleaded not guilty to all the allegations during his arraignment.