Mayor Zenaida Moya was back in Magistrate's Court today for her ongoing criminal trial. She is accused of multiple counts of uttering upon a false document. The matter is being heard in court number one before the chief magistrate and Moya's attorney Michael Peyrefitte made some submissions about videotaped evidence, specifically a news clipping from 7news - which is being utilized as key evidence in the case.
Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney
"Well the key piece of evidence in this case, Jules, was a piece of evidence submitted and exhibited by one Jules Vasquez. I am not sure if you are familiar with the fellow. But what happens is that the crown is saying that on Channel 7 Zenaida Moya uttered these 22 fake receipts and at the time she used and displayed these 22 receipts she knew they were fake. That's the case. There has to be prima facie evidence that they were fake that she used them and that she used them knowing they were fake. Now on the DVD presented to us I don't see the 22 receipts that were submitted in evidence today. The matter falls flat right there if you ask me and there is no evidence to indicate to me that the mayor knew they were
fake even if she has used them or the crown has shown that she had used them. That's just my submission however and the crown will get a chance to respond to October 13th. The evidence is simply not there, the DVD that I am assuming you provided for the crown simply does not show what the crown is saying in court the mayor did."
Jules Vasquez
"So you all reviewed video tape evidence?"
Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney
"It's my job Jules. It was disclosed to us. We got your 2 statements and your DVD and they are piss-poor."
Jules Vasquez
"In so far as the overall case, is this the first trial that you know relies so heavily on what would be called, I guess, news footage?"
Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney
"That is correct. It is simply a trail by media, by press conference and it is for all intent and purposes a political trial."
Jules Vasquez
"But the lynchpin in all this is a press conference."
Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney
"The lynchpin in all this is a press conference and the critical piece of evidence was provided by a member of the press."
And while the defence counsel's blustery remarks do entertain, for context we note that Peyrefitte refers to our newscast of July 13, 2009 in which we covered a press conference held by the Mayor. That's where the term under-deposits was introduced and explained, by former financial controller Dwain Davis. After the press conference, as we showed on the news, the mayor displayed a number of receipts which were supposed to have accounted for some of the under-deposits. Based on the coverage, the Director of Public Prosecutions and police asked 7news for the videotape of that event to use as evidence because, allegedly, the receipts we were shown were bogus.
The case is adjourned until October.
