By ALEXANDER BRUZUAL Friday, March 5 2010

LESS THAN 24 hours after arriving in the country, American Ronald Birk was before a Port-of-Spain magistrate facing a charge of defrauding the State sometime between January 1, 1995, and March 27, 1997. The charge was read by Magistrate Melvin Daniel in the First Court.

It was alleged during the above period, Birk conspired with several persons and companies to defraud the State.

The persons include Steve Ferguson, Ishwar Galbaransingh, Amrith Maharaj, former government ministers Brian Kuei Tung and Sadiq Baksh, Ameer Edoo and Eduardo Hillman (aka Eduardo Hillman-Waller). The companies are Birk Hillman Consultants Inc, Maritime Life Caribbean Ltd, Maritime General Insurance Company Ltd and Fidelity Finance and Leasing Company Ltd.

The charge alleges Birk, with a view to gain for Northern Construction Ltd, dishonestly arranged for a contract dated March 26, 1997, to be awarded by the State (through the Airports Authority) to NYC Consortium for the construction of the New Terminal Development project at Piarco.

This was reportedly done through 14 mediums which included, among other things, the appointment of Birk Hillman Consultants Inc as Design and Project Management consultants for the “Airport Project”; requiring excessive performance and payments for contractors; manipulating the grant of performance, payments and advance payment bonds in favour of the Consortium; manipulating the tendering process so that the grant to the contract to the Consortium was pre-determined; and arranging for the said contract to be negotiated and signed without the approval of the Attorney General and Solicitor General of TT.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Maurice Piggott is the complainant in the matter. The State was represented by attorney Gilbert Peterson SC. Birk was represented by attorney John Heath. However, Birk’s private attorney Arthur Koski, was also present in court. Shortly after the charge was read, the matter was adjourned and is expected to resume on April 20.

Birk was then taken to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions where he remained for close to two hours. He was then whisked away by SAUTT officials, reportedly to an undisclosed location where he is being kept in protective custody.

By Monday, when the Piarco II inquiry is scheduled to resume, charges against Birk are expected to be discontinued by the State, paving the way for him to turn State’s witness and testify against the seven men.