Dear Editor,
I quote a press release that appeared Monday afternoon 10/31/22:
“‘OM discontinues investigation ‘Aquamarine’ against lawyer due to (formal) errors.’
“Philipsburg--The Aquamarine investigation was launched in September 2016 and runs under the responsibility of the Central Team of the Prosecutor's Office of Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba. The investigation was conducted by the Recherche Samenwerkings Team [Kingdom Detective Cooperation Team – Ed.] (RST). …
“The prosecution believes that the mistakes made by the Prosecutor’s Office, the RC cabinet and RST are so serious that the Prosecutor’s Office considers itself inadmissible in the further prosecution of (P.A.)B. The criminal case against B. has therefore been dismissed,” stated a press release from the OM/TBO on Monday. Unquote.
So in other words, has another one possibly gotten away with a big grin (and who knows how fat a bank account) because of failure and/or incompetence on the part of those we are asked to trust to make a difference in the level of integrity in St. Maarten? And, have we gotten the bill for this 6-year-long RST investigation? If the answer to both is “yes,” all I can say is: What a shame and what a waste!
Michael J. Ferrier
