Rolle granted $150,000 bond
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Former Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Lanisha Rolle has been charged with one count of bribery and 14 counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretences related to contracts awarded by this ministry and the National Sports Authority.
Rolle, her husband Vontenken Rolle and three others, Alfred Milton Mortimer, Godfrey Luke Burrows and Wilfred Rolle Jr were not required to plead guilty as they were brought before Judge Carolyn Vogt-Evans today.
The former minister has been charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit fraud under false pretences in connection with securing a contract worth $48,303.74 for the sports complex project in Grand Bahama. The contract was awarded to G&C Landscaping and Maintenance by the NSA.
She was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretense for another contract at the Grand Bahama Sporting Complex Project worth $9,500. The contract was issued by the NSA to Ayveon General Maintenance Company.
She was also charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretenses in connection with 10 contracts issued by the Department of Youth, Sports and Culture to South Beach Pools.
The contracts for the South Beach Pools project were awarded to Intercostal Development and Construction, valued at $36,255.82 and $6,775; Julia Johnson, $26,500 and $30,800; restoration maintenance and landscaping, $30,085; TCS Construction, $27,450 and $36,800; CAM companies, $16,000 and $28,560; and Creative Designs by Munroe’s Landscaping, $49,560.
The former minister was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretences in connection with a contract at the National Tennis Center Grounds and Baseball Stadium Grounds worth $228,000 to Restoration Maintenance and Landscaping.
Rolle and her husband Vontenken Rolle have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud under false pretences in connection with a contract at Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium worth $168,000 for Julia Johnson.
Mortimer was accused of bribery in obtaining a contract at the Grand Bahama Sporting Complex issued by the NSA to G&C Landscaping and Maintenance. No value was provided for the contract.
Burrows was charged with fraud by false pretences in connection with a contract at South Beach Pools issued by the Department of Youth, Sports and Culture to Miller’s Masonry, Carpentry and Maintenance, worth 34 $690.
Burrows and Wilfred Rolle Jr have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretences in connection with the South Beach Pools contract with Miller’s Masonry, Carpentry and Maintenance.
The timeline for all charges spans from 2019 to 2021.
Rolle was posted on $150,000 bond with two to five sureties and is required to report to West Police Station on the last Monday of each month by 7 p.m. Her husband has similar bail conditions, but got $50,000 bail. Mortimer, Burrows and Rolle were given $10,000 bail and must also report to the nearest police station each month.
The case was adjourned to May 31, 2023 for service of a voluntary indictment.
Rolle resigned from his Cabinet position in February 2021. His resignation follows a lockdown of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture ordered by former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis as part of a ongoing audit of the National Sports Authority.
Rolle is now the second MP under the Minnis administration to face criminal charges in the past year.
Long Island Congressman Adrian Gibson was indicted last June on charges of bribery, conspiracy to bribe, receiving stolen goods and money laundering related to contracts that Elite Maintenance and Baha Maintenance and Restoration received during his tenure as president of the Water & Sewerage Corporation.
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