At the top of the newscast, we showed you former DFC Chairman Glen Godfrey explaining away the Novelo's loan and its single day disbursement of $30 million - a move that he supported. But Godfrey said he knew nothing about legal fees that were paid on that transaction, the commission alleged, to his firm.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
Of course, they never collected the loan anyway, but who did collect was the lawyer for the transaction., a total of $1.74 million in fees.
Herbert Lord,
"Huge (fees) because I have a letter in which is signed by Mr. Christopher Coye in which he estimated the total amount to be one million seven hundred six thousand seven hundred and eighty dollars. That is a huge commission."
Glen Godfrey,
"The amount of what?"
Herbert Lord,
"He wrote a letter to Mr. Bautista about the Novelo's Limited loan and he gave them the estimated total, supplementary mortgage, recording fees, recording fees, other office expenses, and he gave an estimated total of a million seven hundred and forty-six thousand, four hundred and eighty dollars."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"Did your law firm provide services for Novelo's Limited with respect to this?"
Glen Godfrey,
"No."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"Was your law firm paid money with respect to this loan?"
Glen Godfrey,
"My law firm was never engaged by either Novelo's or by the DFC to do anything with this loan."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"The Glen D. Godfrey law firm."
Glen Godfrey,
"Absolutely."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"So if we have documentation to the contrary you are saying that that is incorrect?"
Glen Godfrey,
"I am saying it is so."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"Did your law firm receive financial compensation in relation to this Novelo's loan?"
Glen Godfrey,
"A member of my law firm assisted Mr. Norman Neal."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"Did your law firm receive financial compensation?"
Glen Godfrey,
"I do not know if they were paid because I was not a member, an active member, I was on leave of absence from the law firm at that time."
Merlene Bailey Martinez
"The point of the fact is that Mr. Godfrey's law firm benefited financially from this transaction and that is the point of it."
Glenn Godfrey
"The transaction had nothing to do with D.F.C. directly, it had to do with the transaction between one member of my law firm and another attorney."
Godfrey's attorney kept complaining about undisclosed documents - leading to a surprising outburst form Godfrey.
Elson Kaseke,
"Madam Chair, please it is either one or the other, it can't be both things. If you are saying it is part of the."
[Glen Godfrey audible on microphone saying "asshole" in an underbreath]
You heard it right, Glen Godfrey used a bad word referring, apparently, to Lois Young Barrow, and Merlene Bailey Martinez pounced on it.
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"I just need to respond to that obscenity that Mr. Godfrey used just now to my counsel."
Elson Kaseke,
"I am making my submission here...."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"So Mr. Godfrey should not use obscenities in reference to my counsel and it will not be tolerated. I heard what you said Mr. Godfrey, you have a mic in front of you. It will not be tolerated."
And while Bailey-Martinez drew that line, Godfrey drew the line at the famous discharge of charge letter. It indemnifies Social Security against losses resulting to non performing mortgages that DFC securitized for Godfrey companies. Though Bailey-Martinez had the original, Godfrey said it was a forgery.
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"This letter is saying that this is an undertaking by the DFC to release and discharge the Belize Social Security Board with relation to the companies that you had financial interest in and it is signed Glen D. Godfrey, Chairman of the DFC."
Glen Godfrey,
"There is a signature that says it is signed by me. That letter was never signed by me. I made that clear during the Social Security hearings and I am even more convinced now because after that I occasioned to speak to Mr. Eberto Mai. Mr. Eberto Mai says he came to my home three times to try to get me to sign that letter. Two of the times he came along with Vildo Marin and all three occasions I refused to sign the letter. I asked him what he did with the letter afterwards, he said he took it back to Social Security and gave it to the Chairmen, he took it back. He took it back, it was never signed. That is from Mr. Beto Mai and you can call him if you confirmation. To that, I did not sign that letter."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"Okay because this is the original, this is not a copy."
Glen Godfrey,
"I don't care what it is, I am telling you I did not sign that letter and if you produce somebody who saw me sign that letter, I'll be happy to talk them."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"You're purporting."
Glen Godfrey,
"No, no. Please man, I am purporting? I've told you I did not sign that letter, period."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"This letter Mr. Godfrey purports…"
Glen Godfrey,
"I have no comment on that letter, period."
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"But I do and I am allowed to."
Glen Godfrey,
"Well keep your comments to yourself."
But Merlene Bailey-Martinez will have her say in the report - which will be finalized now that public hearings have been finished.
Merlene Bailey-Martinez,
"We want to praise the Lord for that we can get through at least public hearings without any, without any undue incidents and we want to thank the media houses for providing this service at no cost to the government or the Commission of Inquiry. It has been an educational process and we want to just say that we appreciate this partnership very much, particularly to the media. It hasn't always been all good but as far as I know, it has always been all true."
Today's 6 hours were scheduled to be the final of the public hearing sessions, and barring some other sensational development, they will be. The Commissioners will now conclude their deliberations behind closed doors. No one can quite say when the final report will be published. The hearings started on August first 2006 led at the time by the now deceased chair David Price.
