By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterTHERE WAS high drama at the St. Andrew Criminal Court yesterday, where the seven persons charged for defrauding the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC) of over $450 million, had their first day in court.
Well-known People's National Party (PNP) activist, Danhai Williams, held the centre stage.
Dapperly dressed in a brown suit and dark glasses, the 46-year-old Williams, along with Dwight Dawkins, Warren Sibbles, Donovan Hill, Eugenia Porter, Wayne Nash and Karl Kirkland, were whisked away from the Fraud Squad office, downtown Kingston, to the Corporate Area Criminal Court under wailing sirens.
Followed by a fleet of luxury vehicles - including Escalades and Pajeros - travelling bumper to bumper behind the police vehicles, running red lights and stop signs, Williams and company were transported by Fraud Squad detectives to face Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle.
The drama began as early as 7:45 a.m. when reporters and photographers who showed up at the Fraud Squad headquarters on Duke Street, were physically blocked by persons trying to prevent them from taking photos of the seven accused.
During the processing at the Fraud Squad office, Williams was kept busy answering his cellular phone. Neatly dressed in a dark coloured suit, the bespectacled Kirkland, the accountant for Danwills Construction, also seemed unperturbed.
Porter, Sibbles and Dawkins sat on a long bench, with hands clasped and resting on their legs. At one stage, Mr. Sibbles looked up and saw the number of journalists waiting outside, and flashed a warm smile.
