Mayor David Fonseca is at the center of a scandal at City Hall, and today he defended himself in media interviews. And, make no mistake about it, he has a lot to explain. Between September of 2002 and February of 2006 Fonseca received $218,000 in salary advances and personal loans; he has paid back only $15,000. More than that, between October of 2005 and February 28, 2006, his very last day in office, Fonseca cashed 12 bounced checks at the City Council amounting to $30,000 and still has not paid back even one of them. And tonight there is another large figure to add to that swirl of apparent wrongdoing. Between July of 2000 and November of 2005 Fonseca received $155,000 for what was listed as a social assistance program - and has given no accounting for that.
Today Fonseca defended himself against those accusations of wrongdoing. Jules Vasquez went to Independence Hall to speak with the scandalized former Mayor, and the first thing he had to say was that he received personal loans, not salary advances.
David Fonseca, Former Mayor of Belize City
"First of I have gotten nothing that they refer to as salary as advances. What happened is that I had gotten loans in my name for a specific purpose.
We would do as much as possible to assist socially in all aspects and that is where we started off from, this whole thing. Over the period time, I would think starting all the way back in the latter part of 2000, we started this program by making available funds through the social assistance to help people that would come and have dire need with their daily living and also things like with medical, people that are seriously ill; they are indigent, they have no means of making any funds to see the doctor, to buy necessary medication, kids in school, kids coming out of school because they are not able to meet the tuition or get the books or that type of thing and daily living costs - that is where we started to pump monies into. That was given to me as the mayor as a mandate to carry it out. The councilors would also be approached by these people and they will then send them forward to me as the mayor to try to do my best to assist them which I did all the time.
So we started off with a social assistance program and there was a line item, an account, opened specifically for that and over a period of time, after a period time I saw that it was not sufficient to deal with the demand that was coming my from the general public so I started to take loans in name, not salary advances, loans, because my salary was paid as it should have been paid. I took out loans in my name to make funds available to meet these demands and to assist the general populace as I refer to earlier and this is where all these monies accumulated to.
On the matter with the checks, it's similar, it's assisting the same program. But at a point, particularly over the last 18 months where we have seen a dramatic decline in our revenues, for whatever the reasons may be, it was difficult for us to keep up with what we were doing under the social assistance program and I went in further to start and try to springboard it through my personal account with the intention that I would have gotten back from the social, through these loans, to be able to accommodate the checks being put forward. But at certain times that was not there, the funds were not there to get it through that loan program so hence the reason for these checks coming back. So it's a part of the same program."
Jules Vasquez,
That's $405,000 that the city council, the place you were in charge of has no accounting of; there is no receipt, all they have are checks and vouchers. There is $405,000 not accounted for under your watch. Are you saying that this was just given away as slush fund money or as personal spending money for people or as charitable assistance?
David Fonseca,
"Well definitely there is accounting for it, it's there, hence the reason for them having the proof that it was used."
Jules Vasquez,
There is proof that it was paid out, that's the checks, but there's no proof that you used it for what you claim you used it.
David Fonseca,
"But that's what it was, I am telling you that that was where it was spent. We have had a high number of people coming through my office on a daily basis, not only on a Wednesday as most politicians use to see people, on a Wednesday or a Thursday. On a daily basis people would come to me, I am all over the city, in cases even from outside the city, to be assisted and this is where it was done."
Jules Vasquez,
You realize that while I understand you're saying there is no proof that I gave Jules Vasquez $15 and made him sign something... there is no proof, there is no accounting for $405,000. Do you accept that your word, in a world of proof, your word is not sufficient?
David Fonseca,
"Well, you might want to say so but anybody can attest to the amount of people coming there that got assisted. There are many people we can call to attest to that, that these people got assisted."
Jules Vasquez,
There is a heading for social assistance under which $155,000 between July of 2000 and 22 November 2005; $155,000 was spent on social assistance. But you're saying social assistance became insufficient so you so you took on personal liability, because the voucher said 'paid to Mayor David Fonseca as instructed by David Fonseca,' so you took on personal liability. Why could these not just simply have been issued as social assistance, it's coming from the same revenue pool?
David Fonseca,
"My reason for it is that, and probably I would have done it differently now, that I saw under the social assistances fund that that number was getting high, that number going high so that's when I decided to move to another area so it can be run parallel, both of them run parallel together in order for us to be able sustain the program we were doing."
Jules Vasquez,
You realize that you are personally liable for this, even if you claim you spent it…
David Fonseca,
"Well that's where I spent it and I am personally liable for it yes because it's in my name. If they want me repay this money then I will have to deal with it."
Jules Vasquez,
There are about ten checks which bounced and the last one was paid out the day before the elections, February 28th. You sent your driver to the Traffic Department and he cashed it there. Explain to me, you know you wouldn't be in office March 1st no matter who wins, what are you thinking right there when you did that?
David Fonseca,
"Well, it's not a matter of not thinking, it's a matter of getting the funds in there the following day but with all the things with elections and so it just went past me and I couldn't do anything about it after that."
Jules Vasquez.
You are the head, the former head of the largest municipality in the country, do you realize how reckless this all sounds, that you are taking personal loans, you are cashing checks, all of this to facilitate some social program for which you have no proof that you spent even one cent on? Are you cognizant of the fact that this sounds really reckless?
David Fonseca,
"It might sound that way but there is a lot that happens during the course of the day for a mayor, really there's a lot and there are a number of people that talk about the indigent living in mud and living on the ground and what have you. They talk about it, I live it everyday in dealing with these people, meeting these people, hearing their stories, seeing what they are going through, and having to deal with it physically in front of you and that is what I have been doing."
Jules Vasquez,
$400,000 why didn't you put into a program? If did as you say you did, in terms of you gave it out individually, how does that address the issue? If you are going to spend $400,000 why don't you just say, "we have a program, and we're going to do something with the money." Why didn't you do that?
David Fonseca,
"Well thinking about it now maybe that's the way I should have done it but being myself, the way I am, that's the way I operate to get it done. I do it on my level, a personal level, and get it done."
Jules Vasquez,
Do you realize that this $400,000 is public money, it's not your money to not account for. Its public money and it has to be accounted for and you are accountable. So what will you say to those residents of the city who might have a different view and say we don't believe you, you don't have any proof and it's $400,000?
David Fonseca,
"Just like I just said a while ago, this is where the funds went. I don't have anything, its not there, if I was trying to get the money for myself why would I have signed these things for myself. "
Jules Vasquez,
Because that was the only way to do it, you can't go into the cash draw and take out money but because of the system at the city council you can just authorize personal loans for yourself until the kitty is empty, so to speak.
David Fonseca,
"Well then where it is? I don't have it, I never did have it. It wasn't used for me, it was used for the individuals that I assisted and it's quite a number of them."
Jules Vasquez,
Did you feel concerned about leaving office while owing over $200,000?
David Fonseca,
"I felt a concern about the whole way it was developing and I was discussing it with one of my colleagues yes."
Jules Vasquez,
But in January you collected another $31,000 and in the first week of February another $8,000; loans in your name. It kept increasing, it wasn't slowing down so…
David Fonseca,
"The demands became greater."
Jules Vasquez,
Do you realize that it sounds preposterous to say that you took personal loans and put it in the social assistance program when you could have just kept it under social assistance, because it's the same revenue pool feeding it. You could have just said "increase the social assistance, I need the money." Do you realize that sounds preposterous?
David Fonseca,
"Yes if you care to say so. That is the way I decided to do it."
Jules Vasquez,
Do you regret that decision?
David Fonseca,
"The way it's turned out, yeah. I probably should have done it differently, yes."
Jules Vasquez,
Mayor Moya has said that it is a criminal act, in her opinion, particularly the cashing of a bounced check, the day before elections when they had been nine other bounced checks before. What's your response to that?
David Fonseca,
"Probably it is, probably it is a criminal act yeah."
Jules Vasquez,
And you are responsible for that?
David Fonseca,
"Yeah it's me."
Jules Vasquez,
So you are guilty of a criminal charge?
David Fonseca,
"I am not saying so, I said probably."
Jules Vasquez,
Well either you are or you aren't.
David Fonseca,
"Well like I said because the funds were used for a particular purpose, not for me, I don't consider anything that I have done criminal. My only crime that I have committed, as far as I am concerned, is trying to help too many people. That is the only crime that I've committed, trying to help too many people."
Fonseca works at Independence Hall as the secretary general of the PUP. He said he signed a two year contract on March third and intends to be there until the general election in 2008. He says he has no plans to go to BWSL as has been widely rumored.
