Udecott boss Jearlean John is calling for the immediate resignation of Integrity Commission chairman, Eric St Cyr. John, in a legal letter to Registrar of the Integrity Commission Martin Farrell, complained that St Cyr's "actions no longer make him fit to hold public office, more so, the position of chairman of the commission." That action would be St Cyr's acknowledgment, via the media, that the commission is pursuing an investigation into her. To date, John said, she had not been officially informed of any such matter. In turn, she has complained about an agenda to discredit her.
A legal letter sent yesterday by John's lawyer Gerald Ramdeen stated: "It is a serious breach of the secrecy provisions of the commission for matters of this nature to be disclosed to members of the media by none other than the chairman of the commission." Ramdeen observed that the commission was required to act independently of any other organ of State in the performance of its duties. "The disclosure of the fact of an ongoing investigation by the commission into the affairs of my client to the media could only have been designed to subject my client to the court of public opinion before any decision is made by the commission. "One would have thought that the proper course for the chairman to have adopted in the circumstances would have been to simply offer no comment.
"The actions of the chairman of the commission in the circumstances of my client's case has had the effect of destroying the confidence my client has in any investigation by the commission into this matter and has compromised his involvement in any investigation by the commission into this matter," the letter stated. In outlining John's case, Ramdeen explained that on May 16, John wrote to the Integrity Commission advising them her daughter, Aisha Serette-Daisley, was in law chambers with Udecott's counsel, also Gerald Ramdeen. Ramdeen had been retained since December 2010 on behalf of Udecott in the matter of Turner Alpha Limited and Mid East Construction Limited vs Udecott.
The T&T Guardian obtained a letter written by John to Ramdeen, also on May 16, stating: "I wish to remind your goodself that you were retained by Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad & Tobago Limited as sole attorney-at-law to represent the corporation in respect of the captioned matter. Udecott has not given any instructions whatsoever and/or authorised you to retain and/or engage any Instructing attorney-st-law herein. "As you are fully aware, Mrs Aisha Serette-Daisley is my daughter and notwithstanding the fact that she joined your chambers after you had been retained herein and that she has maintained her independent legal practice in your chambers, I would never have authorised and/or retained her services on behalf of Udecott in any capacity whatsoever, and, as a consequence, she will not be paid by Udecott for any services rendered herein."
The letters to both Ramdeen and the Integrity Commission were dated May 16, 2011. The T&T Guardian obtained a legal letter written by Serette-Daisley, dated April 11, 2011 on behalf of Udecott in the matter of Turner Alpha Limited and Mid East Construction Limited vs Udecott. At the moment, Serette-Daisley is not in T&T. Ramdeen's letter to the Integrity Commission concluded: "The statements made by the chairman of the commission in this matter are unfortunate and have caused my client great concern. "The alleged complaint brought to the attention of the commission has already been the subject of a response by the commission and is one that is being pursued with the mischievous and frivolous intention to cause damage to my client's reputation."
Attempts to contact Farrell, St Cyr, or the Integrity Commission's communications manager Mervyn Crichlow were unsuccessful yesterday. It's not the first call for St Cyr to step down. UNC chairman Jack Warner had called for him to resign after he commented on the matter of the Prime Minister's stay at a private residence in Tunapuna. Two weeks ago, St Cyr confirmed to the media that former Finance Minister Karen Tesheira's file had been forwarded to the DPP for investigation. Tesheira maintained that she had not been officially informed of any such action.