FORMER BVI PREMIER PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO NEW RACKETEERING CHARGE; A BIG MISTAKE?

ANDREW FAHIE, the former Premier of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), who is under house arrest in Miami whilst the money laundering and drug teafficking corruption case against him moves forward in District Court here, has entered a plea of not guilty this week to the new Racketeering charge that appeared in a Superseding Indictment filed recently against him.

Most court observers have assumed that Fahie would be changing his plea to the first two charges to guilty, and executing a plea agreement, after it became widely known that he was reportedly interested in mitigating his exposure by cooperating against other East Caribbean leaders who also engaged in facilitating northbound narcotics shipments through their territory, bound for the United States, but no new arrests have been made, to confirm that theory. Now, with the addition of a Racketeering charge, which not only raises the stakes against the defendant and his co-defendants, but could have a negative impact upon any jury hearing Fahie's case, his situation seems to have further deteriorated.

 Was the additional charge filed to convince him to begin to cooperate in earnest, and to be realistic about the end result ? Fahie may have demanded that any Substantial Assistance that he rendered was to be in exchange for zero person time, but such a position is not a reasonable expectation, given the seriousness of his crimes, which involve public corruption Are the rumours of his arrogance true?

It appears that this case is going to trial; Andrew Fahie may later wish he had accepted the plea deal originally offered to him.