US Consular Officer under probe in visa racket

Jul 04, 2013 News

More than a decade after the Thomas Carroll visa scandal was exposed, the Department of State of the United States of America is once again probing alleged improprieties involving one of its Consular Officers.
The investigations are reportedly centered on the sale of US visas at the US Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana by Consular Officer Ed Durante.
The embassy yesterday confirmed reports that a probe was underway, stating that “the Department of State is aware of allegations of improprieties relating to a Consular Officer formerly assigned to Georgetown, Guyana.”
“The Department takes all allegations of misconduct by employees seriously. We are reviewing the matter thoroughly. If the allegations are substantiated, we will work with the relevant authorities to hold anyone involved accountable,” the Embassy’s press release stated.
Kaieteur News understands that Durante is back in the United States of America, having ended his tour of duty at the Georgetown Embassy where he was reportedly dealing mainly dealing with marriage-related visas.
Reliable sources have informed that while he is not under arrest at present, his services have been terminated.
He arrived in Guyana in July 2011 and his tour of duty should have ended in September 2013. He is now in the US having left here just under three weeks ago. He is not at his native Mission, Texas but in Virginia.
A source told this reporter that the fact that Durante is in Virginia would suggest that he is in a lot of trouble.
An Embassy source said that he attended a job fair last week which suggested that he is seeking employment.
Shortly after his arrival in Guyana he began a scam to issue US visa to persons for a fee of about US$15,000 and to women for sexual favours.
The source informed that Durante was a frequent patron of a popular Middle Street restaurant where he would meet with brokers, some of whom were prominent local businessmen.
There, they would reportedly organize rendezvous with local females who wanted visas to the United States of America.
The scale of the alleged new visa racket scheme is not yet known, but this newspaper understands that it involved the sale of visas for as much as US$40,000.
According to a source, Durante demanded as much as US$10,000 for each new visa that he issued, while others managed to obtain visas in exchange for sexual favours.
It is reported that like Thomas Carroll, the jailed consular officer, Durante sold as many as five visas per day, in the scheme which began soon after he commenced his tour of duty in Guyana.
There are also reports that the persons whose visas were either revoked or cancelled were able to get them back for a fee.
The source said that the Consular Officer re-issued cancelled visas for a fee of US$30,000 and US$40,000 for those that were revoked.
“He makes the Thomas Carroll scheme look like a big joke,” the source said.
This newspaper was informed that US Federal Agents had travelled to Guyana to carry out the initial probe.
“The Feds are pressing him for names at the mission of who helped him and other businessmen,” the source said.
There are reports that Durante was a close associate of the late Georgetown businessman Intaz Roopnarine called ‘Bobby’, who was gunned down in the Cool Square hotel in West Ruimveldt in January of this year.
However, there is the view that Roopnarine was just a bit player in the scheme that could lead to senior local officials and prominent businessmen.
This new visa scandal comes on the heels of the official launching of a book that details the circumstances surrounding the Thomas Carroll visa racket that occurred way back in 2002.
In that scheme, Carroll, through a number of brokers, sold five visas per day at US$8,000 each.

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