|
|
|
 |
|
|
Restaurateur questioned as Loor investigation continues
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Aug 8, 2007 15:28 UTC
|
PHILIPSBURG - Restaurateur M.R. was detained and questioned by federal detectives on Tuesday as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into allegations that Police Commissioner Marcel Loor committed fraud and accepted bribes for immigration documents.
Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein told The Daily Herald M.R. had been questioned because he was suspected of “some involvement some time ago in dealings with the suspect Loor.”
Stein said the Prosecutor’s Office was evaluating its evidence against M.R. “He is not a major player, but I can’t tell you the details of his involvement,” Stein explained. He also could not say whether more arrests were expected in connection with the Loor investigation.
Meanwhile, The Daily Herald was informed by reliable sources late Tuesday that M.R. had been released from the Philipsburg police station around 6:00pm Tuesday.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the restaurateur had sought Loor’s help in obtaining residence and work permits for his chef but, for the moment, authorities have declined to comment on the matter.
Stein noted that the allegations against Loor were complicated, as they spread over a long period, requiring investigators to track and interview people who might have had dealings with him over the years.
Loor was arrested at his St. John’s Estate home on June 19 on suspicion of having accepted bribes and having forged Immigration documents. He is represented by Attorney-at-Law Richard Gibson Jr.
Loor is still being held in the Pointe Blanche prison against the Prosecutor’s Office request that he be transferred to Bon Futuro Prison in Curaçao where, according to the prosecution, he would be safe. The judge in the Court of First Instance ruled that moving Loor to Curaçao would interfere with his right to counsel, because he would be too far from his attorney.
Federal Detectives are also probing allegations that Loor owned several properties on the island, but Stein said no property had been seized for the moment.
The items seized to date include a large sum of money found in Loor’s bank account, computers from his home and office, documents from both locations and from Standard Trust Company, which is believed to be linked to Loor’s offshore companies. Loor reportedly had some US $500,000 in an account there and authorities said money had been confiscated, but declined to give figures.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Content © The Daily Herald 2007 - All Rights Reserved.
You may bookmark this web page, print it or e-mail it to
a friend in accordance with the fair-use provisions of
copyright laws. The material is intended solely for the use
of the individual user.
Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this
material
on other terms, in any medium, requires the express
written permission of the author or publication and the
notification of the editors of Caribseek News. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
