When 18 thousand dollars was discovered missing from the Christian Workers Union – news of the
misappropriation almost split the executive. But tonight, the case has been solved – even if the executive discontent hasn’t been quite settled.
This is the man police say forged three signatures on 40 First Caribbean Bank checks, cashed them to a total value of 18,450 dollars, all between March 9 and June 24 of 2007.
He is 19 year old Alex Reid, a former office assistant at the Union office. Today magistrate Sharon Frazer took over an hour to read 160 charges to him. He is charged with 40 counts of Uttering a False Document, 40 counts of Claiming Upon a Forged Document, 40 counts of Possession of a False Document, and 40 counts of Forgery. No plea was taken because the DPP will decide whether the offences will be tried on indictment.
Throughout, union president and general secretary Antonio Gonzalez and James Mcfoy have maintained their innocence, and indeed they are vindicated. They are also trying to get First Caribbean to refund the money as they claim it was a lack of diligence on their part that allowed the checks to be issued.
But union Vice President, Emerson Burke maintains that a lack of internal controls attributed to the mass forgery and misappropriation.
In a related matter, burke told us that the audited financials for 2006 that were offered to the executive by Gonzalez contained what he felt to be substantial errors and omissions.