By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE criminal trial of Long Island MP Adrian Gibson and others resumed in court yesterday, with defence attorneys grilling a previous witness about an audit she conducted on vendors under the Minnis administration.

Dian Saunders-Adderley, assistant general manager at the Water and Sewerage Corporation, returned to the witness stand and faced questions from attorney Damian Gomez, KC, and Raphael Moxey about the audit’s contents as proceedings continued following a two-month break.

Mrs Saunders-Adderley had previously testified that her audit of vendor contracts revealed potential conflicts of interest concerning contracts awarded by WSC.

She cited one example involving former general manager Elwood Donaldson, who, she said, collected a cheque for $2,300 on behalf of Adams Landscaping for ground maintenance work.

She said Mr Donaldson’s signature appeared on WSC’s document controls and other records required for the company’s payment.

When asked what she relied on to support her findings yesterday, Ms Saunders-Adderley said she used various internal documents and records.

She also acknowledged relying on estimates from RL Pools and Gunite Pools, among other sources.

Under cross-examination by Mr Gomez, Ms Adderley confirmed that the audit was submitted to the then chairman of the audit committee.

While she did not recall the exact submission date, she said it was documented and sent via email.

Mr Gomez pointed out that the audit was dated April 13 and questioned why there appeared to be a two-month delay before it was sent to Mr Hanna.

The attorney asked if she had authored the audit, and she confirmed that she had. He then inquired whether there was a distinction between the audit note and the vendor’s audit she had completed.

She responded that the audit note summarised the findings, while the vendor’s audit was the full, comprehensive report.

She is due to return to court for continued cross-examination.

Mr Gibson has been on trial since November 2023 alongside Elwood Donaldson Jr, former WSC general manager Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson, and Jerome Missick.

The charges stem from contracts awarded by the corporation while he served as WSC executive chairman.

Mr Gomez, Mr Moxey, Geoffrey Farquharson, Murrio Ducille KC, Ian Cargill, Bryan Bastian, Ryan Eve and Raphael Moxey represent the defendants.

Meanwhile, the Crown’s lawyers include Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier, Cashena Thompson, Karine MacVean and Rashied Edgecombe.