…sentenced in New York to time served
Ex-soldier David Clarke who was set to be a key witness against Roger Khan is now a free man in the United States.
He appeared in a Brooklyn Federal Court in New York today and was sentenced by Judge John Gleeson to time served. Clarke had been in supervised custody for about three years in the US ever since he was indicted by the US on drug charges. He was not needed to testify against Khan as the latter pleaded guilty.
In court yesterday, Clarke thanked the US government for saving him and his family from the “jaws of death”. He also apologized for the crimes he committed. He did not elaborate and left the court shortly after without speaking to reporters.
Judge Gleeson declared that the case was a remarkable one and Clarke would have a gripping memoir to write.
The US prosecutor in the case Shannon Jones also told the judge that Clarke would not be deported to Guyana and would only have to stay in routine contact with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department.
The sentencing at about 1 pm today was a dramatic end to a case which had been hushed up here but which was deeply linked to the drug trafficking and phantom operations that Khan had been involved in.
Khan and his former lawyer Robert Simels, who is also due for sentencing today, had been charged with attempting to tamper with witnesses in Khan’s drug case. It was believed that they had hatched a plot to silence Clarke as he was believed to be a potent witness. A US informant Selwyn Vaughn however testified against Simels leading to his conviction in that case while Khan had earlier thrown in the towel and settled for a 15-year jail term.
Today’s outcome leaves a host of questions about Khan’s and Clarke’s operations and linkages with the security forces and the Guyana government. At the time that Clarke was ensnared in the activities that led to the US charges he was also the army man in charge of Operation Tourniquet in Buxton. This operation had been aimed at quelling the crime wave but was not successful. Instead, it had been alleged that Clarke was actively working with the criminals and also with Khan to traffic in cocaine.
Clarke had handed himself over to the US authorities after he was indicted in New York.
According to the first charge, between October 2003 and April 5, 2005, Clarke, his brother Hubert Clarke called ‘Dun Dun’ and Hubert’s girlfriend, Shelly Mcqune, together with others, did knowingly and intentionally, conspire to import more than five kilogrammes of cocaine into the US. On the second charge, between the same dates, they also conspired to distribute the cocaine in the US.
Clarke’s case is of great interest on the local shores because not only was he a major in the army, but he has been publicly accused by President Bharrat Jagdeo of being in cahoots with the Buxton criminals while he was stationed there as head of an operation set up to stem the criminal upsurge in that village several years ago. This accusation also came from convicted drug trafficker Khan.
Following publication in this newspaper about Clarke being in a US jail on drug trafficking charges, Jagdeo revealed that he had received “confidential information” from Buxtonians that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officer was working with criminals. At the time Jagdeo, who said he was “vindicated” in blocking Clarke’s promotion for a year and ordering that he return home from an overseas training stint he had been halfway through, said he could not order a court-martial as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces since he wanted to protect the identities of the informers. He had also said, just a few months ago, that he was still not willing to reveal the persons’ identities.
“I have made it clear about my position on Clarke because… I knew about Clarke …the information on Clarke came from people whom I know in Buxton. And I would never ever, ever betray their confidence because they told me this in confidence. And I had it. It was clear. I shared it but you had a cabal that was pushing it but of course he didn’t get to move forward. …this happens routinely, people share information,” Jagdeo said at a recent press conference.
In 2003, the President had created a stir when he had refused Clarke’s promotion; the only one he denied from a long list of recommended officers. The then captain was recommended by a promotions panel chaired by the then army Chief of Staff, Brigadier Michael Atherly, based on the recommendation of his battalion commander.
The commander’s recommendation was said to be based on Clarke’s attitude and performance in his substantive rank, his suitability for promotion to higher rank and authority as well as his suitability for retention in the army.
That assessment was reached based on the recommendation of a promotion panel at the battalion level, which reviewed the ex-officer’s annual confidential reports and assessed his suitability.
Clarke was subsequently promoted.
He was charged shortly after Khan was described as a drug trafficker in the 2006 US drug report. When the report was published, Khan had made “assorted accusations” against Clarke and others at a meeting in March 2006 with US officials at the Ocean View Hotel. He had sought to provide “evidence” that Clarke had worked in concert with Shawn Brown, one of the five February 23, 2002 prison escapees. He had alleged that during Clarke’s tenure as head of ‘Operation Tourniquet’, he was in league with Brown, who was responsible for kidnapping former US diplomat Stephen Lesniak in April 2003.
Following his arrest in Trinidad in June 2006 and his subsequent indictment on drug charges, Khan had sought to deny that he and Clarke could have been co-conspirators in exporting drugs, arguing that he had exposed the former officer’s criminal links.
And in a motion filed through his lawyers prior to him throwing in the towel and pleading guilty to drug trafficking, Khan had alleged that the then officer was so involved in criminal activities in Buxton that he delayed finding Lesniak, even though information about the location of the kidnapped man was provided.
The US had sought to disallow any evidence about Clarke’s alleged criminal activities from the trial as they saw it as “self serving” for Khan.
When President Jagdeo had refused to promote Clarke, senior army sources at that time had told Stabroek News that nothing in the man’s record indicated that he had behaved in an inappropriate manner either during his assignment in Buxton or in the other locations at which he was stationed.
However, this was not the picture the President had subsequently painted.
He also apologized for the crimes he committed.He is free now so why apologize for anything or to anyone?
Clarke and Clarke alone will be the one to live with what he had done.
Sorry Leroy, I have to disagree. Many people have to live with what the Major (Ret.), has done.
You see, the man has helped (as Marley sang) turn night to day.
Won’t be surprised if a lot of people want to scurry away…
Clarke apologized to the US Court for the crimes committed against the United States, vis a vis, drug importation and distribution. It has to strike us as odd that Khan accused Clarke of being in cahoots witn Brown, who was also accused of kidnapping the US diplomat, yet Clarke still walked early even though kidnapping is a serious felony by US standards. Is it that the US did not believe Khan’s claims that the US diplomat was kidnapped by Brown?
Two very important things we should note, thereafter: 1) Despite Jagdeo blocking Clarke’s promotion, “Clarke was subsequently promoted.” And 2) That Clarke was sentenced to time served and this means both he and Khan have likely given up valuable information to the US authorities on government officials activities relative to drugs. I believe Khan will be sprung early and given asylum just like Clarke!
That the US believes Khan and Clarke’s life will be in jeopardy if they are deported to Guyana testifies to the rather dim view the US has of the Guyana government. The PPP has given us a disgraceful government that makes Burnham’s own look like a church choir. This is what happens when you have leaders who have no vision and are full of arrogance.
Oh…we is so ha…Only the US is allowed double standard. If RK was set free in Guyana and Clarke convicted, all hell would have broke loose.
Well, it was widely reported that Clarke was facilitating the Buxton gang(s). The US didn’t take this into consideration. How does the US justify this? This is a slap in the face of the people that suffered as a result of Clarke’s actions. What a shame!
Mr. Khan is down for the count. He accepted 15 years for whatever tangible info he can give the authorities. I hope they drop him off at Marion, Illinois or Terre Haute, Indiana. Bye, bye.
The US as a country doesn’t care about civilians in other countries. They only look after their own interests -US Gov’t interests-
L.Leroy,
The cocaine King Pin, Roger Khan did the same after he was sentence in Brooklyn NY the other day my friend.
Re: “The US prosecutor in the case Shannon Jones also told the judge that Clarke would not be deported to Guyana and would only have to stay in routine contact with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department…”
Well, welly, well how is he going to support himself in these harsh economic time in the US of A without a J-O-B; and, on whose tax-paying dollars!!!!
Also, “The commander’s recommendation was said to be based on Clarke’s attitude and performance in his substantive rank, his suitability for promotion to higher rank and authority as well as his suitability for retention in the army.
That assessment was reached based on the recommendation of a promotion panel at the battalion level, which reviewed the ex-officer’s annual confidential reports and assessed his suitability.
Clarke was subsequently promoted….”
Based on his military training and experience…. how about rushing this dude to the front lines in Afghanistan to help “watch the backs” of U. S. Servicemen and Servicewomen (or, help to serve them with some nice “Pork Pepper-Pot” in that it is nearly Christmas Time) as a form of civic pay-back to the U. S. Society he was accused of helping to poison.
Dude
“Well, it was widely reported that Clarke was facilitating the Buxton gang(s). The US didn’t take this into consideration. How does the US justify this?
Because while it was “widely reported” it wasn’t PROVEN.
Well! Well! I am convinced the US knows what they are about here. Please go after the others now. Expose them all.
Right on the money! The US knows what it knows and who was who and where, and Clarke knew what he knew too. You can almost hear that voice say…NEXT!
I hope that one day the people of Guyana will benefit from what ex-soldier David Clarke knows.
Pim Pim.Nobody knows who he dave up.
Major Clarke cooperated , fully , with the US Justice Dept and for that he was sentences to time served and will not be deported . President Jagdeo will not lose any sleep over Clarke’s release , eventhough , he is not saying who in Buxton gave him the “info” on Clarke – maybe it was a phantom . The PPP sycophants should advised those with authority in Guyana not to travel to countries where they can be extradited . The Justice Dept did not believe what Roger Khan said about Major Clarke and they certainly don’t believe what Jagdeo is saying about him , either . Let Jagdeo take the “confidential information” and give it to the US Ambassador .
Major Clarke used his position in the GDF in an unprofessional manner. President Jagdeo directly implicated the Major as a plotter working in cahoots with the Buxton criminals. These statements were later verified by the wicked drug trafficking Khan.
If the disgraced Clarke were ever to write his memoirs, it would surely be a severely edited and curtailed version.
I would like to read Raja’s memoirs. Unedited and un-curtailed.
Mr/Ms. Moderator, if yuh gun edit my post so very harshly, please doan publish it as it now makes no sense.
Stay tuned Satish.
Satish, I’ll wager you ten pounds you’ve latched on to the least significant “implication” in this story…
As Max says, ’stay tuned.’
What you call ‘least significant’, Peace would be a FIRING-SQUAD offence in some armies, but maybe NOT the GDF.
All I hear is ’static’ from you at this time.
Satish, I’ll take that as a “no” on the ten pounds. I knew you were nobody’s fool.
Satish, what you have failed to understand about this issue is: that Clarke was all along working for the US; that Khan found out, and told his control personnel, who later told xxxxx1; that xxxxx1 believed Khan; that after Clarke was “outed”, he was given sanctuary in the US under the pretex that he was involved in drug running; that Clarke was in protective custody in the US. Now that Clarke has info on all of the operators (Govrnment and non-Government) look out for fire works. There was once a street urchin in Guyana whose mantra was “Who know, know, who nah know nah know”. ISNM
Ulric,ya gaddit right there my man.Was that street urchin law an ardor?
Satish ‘rites.
“Major Clarke used his position in the GDF in an unprofessional manner.” — Given that Major (ret’d) Clarke pled been convicted i’ll give you this one.
“President Jagdeo directly implicated the Major as a plotter working in cahoots with the Buxton criminals.” — Unless one of the many privileges of the presidency is that all of one’s blatherings are automatically true, then these are nothing more than unproven allegations.
“These statements were later verified by the wicked drug trafficking Khan.” — This should read “The wicked drug trafficking Khan also made these allegations.”
Alternatively, you can write “Mr Jagdeo and and the wicked drug trafficking Khan both alleged that Major (ret’d) Clarke was in cahoots with the Buxton criminals.”
Satish ‘rites
” President Jagdeo DIRECTLY IMPLICATED the Major as a plotter working in cahoots with the Buxton criminals.”
Moderator, Given this blogger’s self professed facility with the english language, this is a serious statement that can open you to a libel suit by Mr. Jagdeo.
I am curious, who feels vindicated NOW?
Mr. Clark, the evil that men do lives after them.
It is now obvious that Clarke did a deal with US authorities.
send him to guyana
Too late.
ah the PPP slowly but surely will be exposed and boy I gotta say its already stinking to the high heavens.
Exposed with what. A man cannot run from himself, the evil will always live with him, this is how the US laws goes, they are now protecting the two most Notorous Criminals , Vaughn and Clarke,,,Jagdeo is the right President for Guyana, the people of Guyana will one day get justice under his watch…
“Jagdeo is the right President for Guyana, the people of Guyana will one day get justice under his watch…”
YEAH RIGHT, soldier! And when you wake up………..?
soldier you mean just us, and not justice, that word is not in the guyana constitution, neither the courts in guyana, guyana’s judical system is a failure that is why roger khann was allowed to run freely in guyana peddling his poison.
Soldier…..’ they are now protecting the two most Notorous Criminals ‘…..like you can’t count……ya missing two more…….Morgan and Khan……
the us protecting vaughn and clarke. i have to wonder, who is jagdeo protecting ? only time will tell soldier.
Soldier, you beginning to sound like Reddy. Scary.