Rolle granted $150k bail
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Former Youth, Sports, and Culture Minister Lanisha Rolle was charged with one count of bribery and 14 counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretenses related to contracts awarded by that 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 enter a plea as they were arraigned before Justice Carolyn Vogt-Evans today.
The former minister was charged with bribery, and with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretenses in connection with the procurement of a contract valued at $48,303.74 for the Grand Bahama Sporting Complex Project. The contract was issued to G&C Landscaping and Maintenance by the NSA.
She was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretenses for another contract at the Grand Bahama Sporting Complex Project valued at $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 Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture at the South Beach Pools.
Contracts at the South Beach Pools Project were issued 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 Enterprises, $16,00 and $28,560; and Creative Designs by Munroe’s Landscaping, $49,560.
The former minister was accused of conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretenses in connection with a contract at the National Tennis Center Grounds and Baseball Stadium Grounds valued at $228,000 to Restoration Maintenance and Landscaping.
Rolle and her husband Vontenken Rolle were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretenses in connection with a contract at the Kendal G L Isaacs Gymnasium valued at $168,000 to Julia Johnson.
Mortimer was charged with bribery in procuring 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 pretenses in connection with a contract at the South Beach Pools issued by the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture to Miller’s Masonry, Carpentry and Maintenance, valued at $34,690.
Burrows and Wilfred Rolle Jr were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretenses in connection with the contract at the South Beach Pools to Miller’s Masonry, Carpentry and Maintenance.
The timeline of all the charges span between 2019 and 2021.
Rolle was granted $150,000 bail with two to five suretors, and is required to sign in at the Western Police Station on the last Monday of each month before 7pm. Her husband has similar bail conditions but was granted $50,000 bail. Mortimer, Burrows, and Rolle were granted $10,000 bail and are also required to sign in at the police station nearest them every month.
The matter was adjourned to May 31, 2023 for the service of a voluntary bill of indictment.
Rolle resigned from her Cabinet post in February 2021. Her resignation followed a lockdown of the Ministry of Youth, Sport, and Culture ordered by former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis amid an ongoing audit of the National Sports Authority.
Rolle is now the second Member of Parliament under the Minnis administration to face criminal charges in the past year.
Long Island MP Adrian Gibson was charged last June with bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, receiving, and money laundering connected to contracts Elite Maintenance and Baha Maintenance and Restoration received during his tenure as chairman of the Water & Sewerage Corporation.
