Businessman Arun Hotchandani wants to evict the city council from the pound yard but City Mayor Zenaida Moya says they have nowhere to go. Moya contends that when the David Fonseca led City Council sold the prime piece of real estate to Antonio Novelo in 2002, only $139,000 of the $1.2 million purchase price was paid. Well today in their first public comment since the allegation, David Novelo says Zenaida Moya and her city council needs to do their homework. Novelo told Keith Swift that as far as he knows his brother paid the $1.2 million purchase price.
Keith Swift,
Mayor Moya says the City Council wants their money.
David Novelo,
"My brief comment on that matter, as you know the property is Antonio Novelo's name...I am a little bit saddened to see that the City Council chose not to do their proper due diligence and we feel that in terms of coming in and taking over from the previous city council, that they have not...they decided to put out information without actually speaking with us prior. This matter...Mr. Antonio has met with the Mayor and I am committing that he will settle this in terms that the issues at hand will resolved in terms that the proper due diligence and the proper information will be forthcoming to clarify the matter to the city council. I feel that after all the deliberations and the necessary information to support the transaction, it come out that it was done on a legitimate way, that the city council will come out to the media and clarify."
Keith Swift,
You're saying Tony, your brother, paid the $1.2 million?
David Novelo,
"As far as I have discussed with him, yes, it was done."
Keith Swift,
So where is Miss Moya coming from, she said the city council only got $139,000?
David Novelo,
"Well if we realize that city council has not done any proper auditing and upon just coming in I am sure that a lot of stuff has to be looked at in terms of paper trail, in terms of all of that so I think it was premature for the city council to have done that without meeting with the Novelo's family."
Hotchandani wants the city council out of the pound yard so he can build a mall. He bought the Pound Yard from the Belize Bank where Antonio Novelo had it mortgaged. Deputy Mayor Wayne Usher told us that the matter is in the hands of their lawyers.
