Will Statute of Limitations save Bousquet?

On Wednesday March 9 2011, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding admitted he had been aware that members of his party were ineligible to sit in the House of Representatives, but asking them to resign en bloc could have caused a collapse of his Government.

Golding made the disclosure to pressmen after the Member of Parliament for South West St Catherine (Everald Warmington) resigned because he had offended the Constitution by his dual-citizenship at the time of his nomination for the 2007 general election.

We may be in even hotter waters in St. Lucia. At the moment, we have a disqualified MP sitting in our Parliament. Rufus Bousquet ran for parliament in 1992 under a false identity and with impunity. His legal name in the US was and still is Bruce Dwayne Tucker.

Originally, Bruce Tucker’s actual name was Rufus Cenac; but when he returned to St. Lucia in the 80’s after his convictions in the US, he changed his name to JMD Bousquet 2^nd. He was registered under that name until 2000.

He therefore ran the 1992 Elections in Choiseul/Saltibus under a false identity - Rufus Bousquet - and may still be poised to do the same again in the upcoming General Elections. He should have been legally disqualified, with he and his co-conspirators being jailed for the egregious offence of failing to observe the laws of St. Lucia. His co-conspirators representing the Electoral Office should be held seriously accountable in a court of Law for their failure to exercise due diligence as the law dictates.

There is no Statute of Limitations for major felonies such as murder and other major crimes against the state. Felony fraud or theft and arson should be 5-6 years; and other crimes (such as defrauding the treasurer) carry a statute of limitation of 3 years.

Hence, if the alleged murder alluded by the Star Newspaper is still unsolved, then the jury is still out for Bruce Tucker. Electoral fraud is a major crime against the state and we expect legal action to commence when the offended party – namely the constituents of Choiseul - initiates action. In the matter of the defrauding of the treasury, we would expect an arm of the state apparatus to initiate action. We expect Dr Anthony and a team of lawyers representing the national interest to lead the charge in that regard.

Because some of funds are/were deposited in Village Council Accounts at the credit Union, the process of the procurement of evidence will be easily facilitated.

Working backwards forensically after the reconciliation and auditing processes and with the assistance of the donors, the whereabouts of the unaccounted sums should also be easily identifiable.

We will keep our readers abreast of all developments as they unfold; but at the moment, it is beginning to look like Tucker can be disqualified from running the elections; or if he is permitted to run – win or lose- he will have to face the Courts for electoral fraud, among other felonies.

In the meantime, we remain curious about what name will he put on the ballot paper? Will it be Bruce Tucker, Rufus Bousquet, Rufus Cenac or JMD 2^nd?