By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribumedia.net

FORMER Labour and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson was arraigned in the Supreme Court Friday morning before Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson.

Mr Gibson, a former member of Parliament faces 15 counts of bribery, 15 counts of extortion and one count of misconduct while in public office.

The allegation is that between Monday, January 2, 2017 and Sunday, April 30, 2017, Mr Gibson demanded $250,000 from contractor Jonathan Ash.

Last month, he was given 21 days to provide an alibi for the time frame in which the alleged demand for money was made.

Wayne Munroe, QC, Mr Gibson’s attorney echoed his previous argument that it was nearly impossible to come up with an alibi for the 118 days in which the prosecution claims the incident took place.

In this regard, Justice Grant-Thompson, who sat in for Justice Bernard Turner, suspended the notice of alibi until the prosecution is able to give more specific dates.

Mr Gibson will reappear in court on November 3 before Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs.

He was accompanied by his wife and other supporters.