The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AS Adrian Gibson’s criminal trial resumed yesterday, a Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) manager claimed she was “terminated” after refusing to pay companies awarded landscaping contracts because she lacked necessary documentation.

Mynez Cargill-Sherman, who is on secondment to the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, told jurors she was “terminated” twice between 2018 and 2021 when Adrian Gibson was WSC’s executive chairman.

The WSC employee, the corporation’s human resources manager at the time, claimed she was removed from her post in 2018 and reassigned elsewhere after refusing to follow the instructions of the boss and former WSC manager, Elwood Donaldson, Jr.

Mr Donaldson is one of six people on trial in the case.

Mrs Cargill-Sherman said Mr Donaldson presented her with an email in July 2018 from then-executive chairman Mr Gibson, who directed the corporation to end existing landscaping contracts with vendors.

Mrs Cargill-Sherman said Mr Gibson requested to have the contracts awarded to companies named in the email, including Elite Maintenance, Adams Landscaping and Spectacular.

She said Mr Donaldson allegedly told her to triple the first payment of each contract and to reflect the amendments on the corporation’s payment spreadsheet.

Acting Director of Public Prosecutions and Crown prosecutor Cordell Frazier asked her if she was given a reason why the payments had to be tripled. She said she was not.

Nonetheless, Mrs Cargill-Sherman testified that she “reluctantly” followed Mr Donaldson’s instructions.

She told the court that annual payments to Elite Maintenance jumped from $14k to $60.9k.

Concerning Adams Landscaping, she said the annual costing was initially $10,950, but jumped to $27,600 after three adjustments.

She also recalled when Mr Donaldson asked her to pay the vendors immediately back in November 2018. Mrs Cargill-Sherman said she didn’t have the documentation to prove the work was done and informed Mr Donaldson of her concerns.

She said normally, one would get an invoice from the contractor and an inspector to confirm the work was satisfactorily done.

She said she refused to pay without getting the documents.

 She said she was relieved from overseeing landscaping contracts shortly afterwards.

 She said she remained at the corporation, but was reassigned.

 She said her second reassignment happened in late January 2021 when Mr Donaldson told her he wanted her to leave WSC’s safety department, where she served as safety manager.

 She said no one explained the change.

 Discussing events that led to that event, she recalled receiving an email from Mr Donaldson who allegedly directed that the contract awarded to Elite Maintenance be terminated and transferred to Baha Maintenance.

 She said she contacted contractors to sign the necessary documents and to go on a tour as per WSC’s policy.

 However, she claimed Mr Donaldson said this was unnecessary “because it was the same employees”.

Under cross-examination, Gibson’s attorney, Damian Gomez, KC, admonished the witness for saying she was terminated, which he called “dramatic” since she was still employed at the corporation.

 Mrs Cargill-Sherman will return for continued cross-examination at a later hearing.

 Mr Gibson is charged with Mr Donaldson, Jr, Ms 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.

 Mr Gomez, KC, Murrio Ducille, KC, Bryan Bastian, Mr Raphael Moxey, Christina Galanos, Ian Cargill and Donald Saunders represent the defendants.

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