Defence responds to property challenge report

May 09, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I was truly shocked and appalled at the report in Kaieteur News of May 5, under the caption, “Dead millionaire’s assets spark court battle” with the sub-heading “daughter accuse helpers of trying to steal racing service property.”
The story consists of accusations made by Sherene Mongroo, who in the US goes by her married name of Sherene Parisi, in relation to a case pending in court.
The report in your newspaper seeks to determine the issues in favour of Ms. Mongroo by public trial and by parading her alleged “evidence” in a highly prejudicial manner without either reviewing the court documents or seeking the views of the other parties and their lawyers as you did with Ms. Mongroo and her lawyer, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan.
Mr. Edward Luckhoo S.C. and I represent Sasedai Persaud. Both our office and home telephone numbers are in the telephone directory. My mobile telephone number is known to Kaieteur News journalists.
The failure to seek my client’s side of the issue was therefore deliberate and reveals a clear attempt to prejudice the court before the hearing of this matter. On the basis of our instructions, we have a strong defence and credible answers to every allegation made by Ms. Mongroo/Parisi.
In preparing the report your newspaper took the book on journalism’s practices and shredded it. The obvious objective was to unlawfully and unethically promote the case of Ms. Mongroo when in fact the other parties have credible answers to her wild and unfounded allegations.
Had you examined the court material you would have learnt that one of the parties is asserting that Ms. Mongroo is seeking to overturn her father’s will to get her hands on his assets to assist to pay off the US$1.7 million judgment against her husband in the US for fraud.
What is even more disgraceful and offensive is the grossly defamatory remarks made by Mr. Ramjattan, a senior lawyer and public figure, against distinguished members of the medical profession and against Mr. Vish Persaud, one of Guyana’s most distinguished lawyers and of recognised integrity. Mr. Ramjattan, Mr. Adam Harris, who must take responsibility as editor although he assures me that he was not involved in the compiling of the story, and Mr. Glenn Lall, who I understand was instrumental in having this story published, have nothing to shout about as regards their own integrity in relation to the manner in which this matter was handled.
Mr. Harris’s subsequent telephone conversation with me after my protest to him on the story, and the publication of a second story on May 8, which misquotes much of what I said to him and which seeks to twist the matter further in favour of Ms. Mongroo by a tendentious headline of “Lawyer made one will but doctors sign two the same day,” are no substitute for the adoption of basic standards of journalism, such as talking to the other side before publication, reading the documents and not trying a pending court case in the press, which is a brazen contempt of court, of which Kaieteur News is guilty.
Incidentally I had told Mr. Harris in my complaint about the $US1.7 million. When we spoke on the telephone he said that he had confirmed it on the internet. I notice that he studiously refrained from mentioning it even though it forms part of the court record and is privileged for accusations of defamation.
Kaieteur News seeks to parade to the public its quest for integrity in public life. It should start at home.
Ralph Ramkarran

Editor’s Note:
I regret that Mr Ramkarran could claim that I misquoted him when in fact, everything that was reported in the May 8 issue of the Kaieteur News and attributed to him formed part of the conversation we had on May 7. My interview to produce the May 8 article was far reaching with me speaking to a number of the parties involved in the matter, including the lawyer who prepared one of the wills.
To suggest that journalistic ethics went through the window is grossly unfair and inaccurate. I spoke to both sides in the matter. I acceded to a request by Mr Ramkarran that I do not publish a mistake he made when he suggested that the lawyer who prepared the will prepared both.
Had there been a desire to slant the story then I would have quoted him as saying that the same lawyer prepared both wills including the one for the assets in Barbados. I corrected Mr Ramkarran having spoken to the lawyer before I spoke with him.
Mr Glenn Lall had nothing to do with the publication of the story except perhaps to question whether there were breaches of legal procedures that could impact the company.
It is true that I made no mention of the US$1.7 million issue against Richard Parisi. Mr Ramkarran suggested that the claim included judgement against Sherene Mongroo-Parisi and for accuracy I ignored it.
Further investigation revealed that the Court ruling on the US$1.7 million levied against Richard Parisi, the husband of Sherene, was overturned on appeal in a Florida court.
I stand by the report of May 8 and refute all charges of journalistic impropriety. The standards of proper investigative reporting were followed to the letter.
The doctors named signed both wills and this was acknowledged. I had no reason to talk with them except to question their action but that is a matter for the court.

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