by KRISTIAN GRAVENOR
The topsy-turvy case of a Montreal soy-powder tycoon and his feud with George W. Bush has undergone yet another unexpected twist. VitaPro CEO Yank Barry entered into a battle with the state of Texas after it cancelled a major contract he had with its correctional system to supply food for prisoners. Barry then organized a lawsuit to recoup the lost contract, only to have then-governor George Bush Jr. slam him with criminal charges for allegedly obtaining the contract through bribery. A jury found Barry guilty in August 2001, but it looks like he’ll be acquitted because the 950-page transcript resulted in 393 misreportings, 334 omissions and dozens of other inaccuracies he says weigh against him.
“I was convicted almost 15 months ago and I haven’t been sentenced,” says Barry from his home in Nassau, Bahamas. “There can’t be a sentencing because we can’t go to appeal, so it’s a mistrial or an acquittal.”
Barry also complains that the main prosecution witness, a convicted fraud artist named Pat Graham, testified wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and chains even though Graham hasn’t spent any time in prison. “They’ve swept everything under the carpet and now there’s a big lump there,” says Barry. Barry hopes to recoup millions he has spent on lawyers and plans to pursue the lost earnings from the cancelled prison contract if the charges get thrown out. Barry says he is mulling over an invitation to appear on Oprah alongside friend Muhammad Ali, and also plans to sell the Montreal-based VitaPro to a “big multi-national” within one year. : » |
