After months of delay, on July 8 former Haitian death-squad leader Emmanuel "Toto" Constant is finally going on trial in Brooklyn for bank fraud, grand larceny and falsifying business records. At least, that is what the court docket says.
The trial was supposed to start two months ago. But when lawyers and demonstrators turned out at the New York State Supreme Court Building in Brooklyn on May 6, they were told that the trial was being postponed (see Haiti Libert?, Vol. 1, No. 42, 05/07/08).
Sam Karliner, Constant's attorney, denies that the trial was to start on May 6, saying that the date was just a "conference date."
"I hope the trial does start on July 8 because this case is getting old," Karliner told Haiti Libert?.
The charges against Constant stem from his role in a mortgage fraud ring busted by New York State authorities in July 2006. Constant faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in jail if found guilty; if acquitted, he will be deported immediately back to Haiti.
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the International Support Haiti Network (ISHN) and other groups plan to again hold a picket in front of the courthouse at 320 Jay Street in Brooklyn from 8 to 9 a.m. to let the public know about the trial and Constant's past.
During the 1991-94 coup d'?tat against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Constant founded and headed the CIA-supported death-squad known as the Revolutionary Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH). The group carried out murder, rape, arson and violent demonstrations to terrorize the Haitian people.
After Aristide's return to Haiti in 1994, Constant fled the country when a Haitian court issued a warrant to arrest him for murder and torture. Despite international outcry and Haiti's extradition requests for his crimes against humanity, in 1996 Constant was given de facto political asylum in the US, where he worked as a real estate and mortgage broker in Queens and Long Island.
In 2000, a Haitian court convicted Constant in absentia for having command responsibility over the perpetrators of the infamous 1994 "Raboteau massacre" in Gonaives. In 2004, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) filed a civil suit against Constant in New York on behalf of three women who survived FRAPH's campaign of violence against women, including torture and rape. In 2006, the court found Constant liable and imposed $19 million in damages, which he is currently trying to get out of paying.
"We want people to be aware of the trial," said ISHN's Ray Laforest. "Even though they are just prosecuting Toto today for grand larceny, we hope that one day this will lead to his being judged for his crimes against humanity in Haiti."
Constant faces one count of scheming to defraud in the first degree, four counts of grand larceny in the second and third degree, and three counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. In the indictment, he is charged with theft and making fraudulent deals on properties at 153 Hull St., 87 Monroe St., 118 Bainbridge St., and 1559 Pacific St. in Brooklyn.
In 2007, Constant accepted a plea bargain of one to three years on similar charges brought against him in Suffolk County on Long Island. He was offered a similar deal by Judge Abraham Gerges for the charges brought in Kings County, but surprisingly, even to his lawyer, rejected the deal in January (see Haiti Libert?, Vol. 1, No. 26, 01/16/08). He would have received only three to nine years under the deal, being eligible for parole and deportation back to Haiti in July.
Constant has been held in various New York state prisons since his arrest in July 2006, never posting the $50,000 cash bail set for his release at that time.
Human rights and Haitian community groups have been countering U.S. Department of Homeland Security pressure to deport Constant since they fear he will escape justice in Haiti under the current government.
For more information about the rally, call CCR's Lauren Melodia at 212-614-6481 or ISHN's Ray Laforest at 646-352-1705. All articles copyrighted Haiti Liberte. REPRINTS ENCOURAGED. Please credit Haiti Liberte.
