Ebola News : Monrovia - US Air Force Major who embezzled $269,000 in Liberia could return with US troops. In what could be a major twist to the scandal at the Liberia Airport Authority, Ellen Corkrum, the fugitive former head of the airport regulatory agency, could be poised for a dramatic return to Liberia amid reports that the U.S. Air Force Major could be joining the 3000 troops arriving in Liberia to help the Ebola-hit nation wiggle its way out of a crisis which has so far infected more than 5,000 people in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, FrontPageAfrica has learned. The Obama administration last week pledged to, among other things, send 3,000 troops to combat the epidemic and build 17 treatment centers that have over 1700 beds. The troops have already begun arriving in Liberia. C-17 jets have already made two trips, bringing in supply troops, the latest arrival was on Saturday. No Conscience Corkrum Committed to Liberia Corkrum, a Liberian by birth and a naturalized U.S. citizen, did not rule out the reports when FPA contacted her recently, stating in an email that plans for her return are being discussed. Discussion and plans for my return to Liberia are in the works. My efforts continue to be sought and I remain committed to fighting to help our people through this Ebola crises, whether on the Liberian soil or in the US, Corkrum explained. Corkrum along with her fiance Judge Melvin Johnson were charged in 2013 with the commission of the crimes, economic sabotage, theft of property, criminal conspiracy and misapplication of entrusted property. They are alleged to have defrauded the country of US$269,000. Their legal team unsuccessfully sought in June to have the charges dismissed. Judge Yussif Kaba of the Criminal Court C at the Temple of Justice, on June 2, 2014, declared that the Court could not try a criminal defendant in absentia of the courts jurisdiction. The acquisition of jurisdiction by the Court over a Criminal defendant gives the said defendant standing before the Court. The judge added that without standing, a party cannot apply to the court for relief. The voluntary absence of the defendants from the bailiwick of the Republic of Liberia, in spite of knowledge of an indictment against them, certainly deprives them to qualify and seek relief at the hands of our court. The Liberian government has been trying unsuccessfully to win extradition of Corkrum and her fiancé Melvin Johnson. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf appeared to lose all hope of an extradition recently when she told UNMIL Radio that Corkrum will face a bigger judge: Ms. Corkrum will face a bigger judge, the judge of God because she has no conscience for rendering evil for good. Everybody in this country tried to help her and be good to her, but we didnt know that she was here with a scheme to defraud this government and because she did not, she is mounting this campaign personally against me, when all I did was to help her, in my house; she has been to my house several times. The Liberian leader who was one of several government officials that interacted with Corkrum during her stay in Liberia, where several other high ranking officials were recorded by Corkrum, admitted that she might have also been recorded but fears nothing. She may have, but she will not have anything that will indict me, in fact, shes scare to call because if she was to play all the recordings that she made on me, it will expose her, she cant do it. Maybe she will play those little ones where she was begging me, please do this but anyway, I dont want to talk about that because it is in the law. Like I say, she will be judged by God and the day God deals with her, she will know. What She Did Was Illegal, EJS Says Said Sirleaf: What she did was illegal; you cannot go to something like a friend and start asking them questions and you have something on your body to record them. That person is a wicked person, wicked. All those people were trying to help her and if they say things to her like ooh this government is doing this, it is because you know shes a nice pretty, girl, they want to talk to her, all want to laugh with her. She looks small, she looks nice; all of them want to be friends with her - and so they were saying all these things, not knowing she is wicked girl, plotting on them. But despite the governments quest to have the pair extradited, both Corkrum and her fiancé have not backed down, insisting that they did nothing wrong. In June, the pair told a gathering of Diaspora Liberians in Philadelphia that in spite of the litany of allegations against them, they have not been served no papers by the American government. Ellen Corkrum is back on her job in the military, so where is the so-called indictment?, Judge Melvin Johnson told the Diaspora audience, insisting that the government cannot prove its case. The Liberian government reportedly paid a U.S. lawyer, Cllr. Steven Schneebaum US$200,000 to pursue the extradition in the United States and ensure that the extradition request is factually accurate and consistent with the laws of the United States, including the 1939 treaty between the two countries. Scheneebaum said in June: Assuming that the U.S. Justice Department decides to proceed with the extradition, I will work with the Department to expedite the proceedings, and to represent the interests of the Government of Liberia with the appropriate United States Attorneys and federal courts
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 16:23:41 +0000
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