The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

LONG Island MP Adrian Gibson, currently on trial with others amid allegations that he failed to disclose personal interests in Water and Sewerage Corporation contracts, heard testimony yesterday from his cousin, Rashae Gibson, regarding the handling of a company account linked to him.

Ms Gibson testified that she opened Edwileno Holdings at his request and that both she and Lanado Gibson were listed as owners, with Adrian Gibson as the main contact. She said she did not authorise him to access the account, yet thousands of dollars were deposited into it by him.

According to her testimony, these funds were used to purchase property, including a $46,050 manager’s cheque dated September 27, 2021, for Lot 89 on Farrington and Warren Street. She said she never approved the purchase or visited the property.

Ms Gibson further claimed that her signature was forged on several documents and that she had no knowledge of a purported Edwileno Holdings board meeting in December 2017 or the use of her home address as the company’s address.

As director of Elite Maintenance, she said she never authorised payments to the Silver Lining Company. She also discussed a previous property transaction, originally involving an entity called Blue Bliss, in which Edwileno Holdings ultimately became the buyer after Blue Bliss withdrew.

Defence attorneys objected to the introduction of certain bank documents, arguing that a Scotiabank representative should have verified them. The court allowed the documents after prosecutors noted that Ms Gibson, as a listed owner, could identify them.

Ms Gibson’s earlier charges were dropped after she agreed to cooperate with the prosecution. She was recalled for further cross-examination following a previous adjournment over legal issues.

Adrian Gibson stands trial alongside Elwood Donaldson Jr, Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson, and Jerome Missick. The defense team includes Damian Gomez KC, Murrio Ducille KC, Geoffrey Farquharson, Ian Cargill, Bryan Bastian, Ryan Eve, and Raphael Moxey. The prosecution is led by Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier, with Karine MacVean and others.