Headlines:
| J’can in NY charged with money laundering |
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| Thursday, 17 April 2008 | |
A Jamaican-born former Chief of Staff of a New York City councilman
was on Wednesday indicted by the United States (US) District Attorney's Office.
Asquith Reid, the former top staffer to Councilman Kendall Stewart is accused with another of Mr. Stewart's employee Joycinth `Sue` Anderson of embezzling thousands in city money from a Brooklyn charity over the last three years. The indictment charges that Reid who was in charge of discretionary city funds allocated about US$356,000 to the Donna Reid Fund which he established in honour of his daughter who died from cancer at a young age. An additional US$14,000 was transferred to the organization from other fictitious charities. The indictment alleges that about US$145,000 of those funds was embezzled to provide cash and personal benefits to the defendant and Anderson. Thirty one thousand dollars of the money was allegedly sent by wire transfer to friends and family in Jamaica while US$21,000 was used to pay for events in Brooklyn and campaign material. In total, Reid faces a maximum of 80 years in prison if found guilty on all charges. Together, Reid and Anderson face charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and witness tampering. Councilman Stewart who was not named in the indictment denied that the alleged embezzlement had anything to do with him or his office. |