Bahamas resident Yank Barry hopeful 'butchered' court transcripts and appeal delay will lead 'at minimum' to mistrial
By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
A Canadian businessman who is resident in the Bahamas last night told The Tribune he was optimistic that a guilty verdict against him on charges of bribery would be overturned because US court transcripts of his trial had been "butchered" through numerous omissions, misreportings and other inaccuracies that damaged his defence.
Yank Barry, a personal friend of Muhammad Ali, the legendary heavyweight boxer, and major donor to the Bahamas Red Cross, insisted that the guilty verdict returned against him by a Texas jury on August 20, 2001, was "the furthest thing from the truth" and is continuing with his life in the Bahamas "hoping this is going away".
Mr. Barry, who lives at Old Fort Bay, has always strenuously denied the charges against him. But despite a "not guilty" plea at his trial, a Texas jury took just one hour to convict him on charges of bribery, money laundering and conspiracy.
He was alleged to have paid James A. Collins, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, "at least" $20,000 in bribes to ensure his company VitaPro, which supplies soy food products to be used as meat substitutes, won a "five-year, multi-million dollar contract" with the criminal justice department just before Collins retired from his post.
The jury rejected Mr. Barry's defense that the payments to Collins were advances for consulting work the latter planned to do for VitaPro after retiring from the correctional department, but his sentencing has been delayed as the trial outcome descended into controversy.
Immediately following the verdict, Mr. Barry's attorneys filed an appeal. However, the appeal has been unable to proceed because US District Judge Lynn Hughes agreed with the defense's submission that court transcripts of the trial were flawed, containing 393 misreportings, 334 omissions and many other inaccuracies.
Mr. Barry told The Tribune that it took 10 months for his legal team to obtain a copy of the transcripts, which a Texas newspaper has since described as "the worst case of butchered transcripts" it had seen.
The problems with the transcripts mean Mr. Barry's appeal has been unable to proceed, and forced sentencing to be delayed for 15 months.
CARING DONOR - Yank Barry (right) is sat next to Bernadette Christie, wife of Prime Minister Perry Christie, at a Red Cross function.
Mr. Barry said at the "minimum" he was hoping for a "mistrial, but probably an acquittal". "At this point, the worst case scenario is a mistrial - there's no way it can go forward to sentencing, as we're nowhere near accurate transcripts," he added.
The best outcome, according to Mr. Barry, would be an acquittal. |
FRIENDS OF THE FAMOUS - Yank Barry (right) is seen with FNM leader Tommy Turnquest, former attorney-general Carl Bethel and Muhhamad Ali at a 2000 party he threw for the legendary boxer at his Old Fort Bay residence in the Bahamas
Mr. Barry told The Tribune that his legal battle with the state of Texas began when it cancelled the food supply contract VitaPro had with the corrections department.
He said the contract had originally been signed when Anne Richards, a Democrat, was governor of Texas, but it was withdrawn after current US president, George W Bush, defeated her in the state elections. He alleged that powerful cattle-producing interests lobbied the new state administration to end his agreement, and he filed a lawsuit to recoup the lost contract.
Mr. Barry was then hit with the alleged bribery lawsuit. He said he had spent "mega millions" on hiring attorneys and private investigators to uncover evidence on his behalf, and said of the trial: "There's so many things going on behind the scenes."
He said the prosecution did not appear to be pressing the judge for a sentencing date, and alleged that the key witness against him at the trial, Pat Graham, appeared in an orange prison jumpsuit and chains even though he had not spent any time in prison.
"This [the trial] is the furthest thing from the truth. I'm just sifting here and have told the lawyers to call me when it's over," Mr. Barry told The Tribune. "I'm here in the Bahamas - happy, and hoping it will all go away. I'm confident, not cocky.
"I'm just sitting back. Time is a great healer, and Muhammad and I have been best friends for 37 years."
He added that there were no travel restrictions upon him, and said his attorneys had advised him to "stay quiet", despite offers to appear on Oprah Winfrey's television show and the fact that Ali had been calling him for two months to persuade him to go on the programme.
Mr. Barry said he had been "hurt" by some journalists who had been "beating up on him" over the trial, and pointed to his humanitarian efforts in feeding sick children in the Bahamas and elsewhere, plus his work in the music industry.
Through Global Village Champions, a self-sponsored project, Mr. Barry plans for himself and Ali to carry on their work to combat world hunger, having fed more than' 200 million people since 1993.
Mr. Barry added that he was currently negotiating VitaPro's sale, and said: "VitaPro is for sale and right now we're in negotiations. We're pretty dose with a large public company, and one of their many divisions is a food business."
"Part of the deal which we have with the offer on the table right now is for us to maintain the work of Global Village Champions."
He explained that the potential buyer also had interests in soy products and feeding starving people, meaning his business, was "a good fit" and that he and Ali could further promote their charity efforts. |
