US revokes visa of `Dudus’ associate

(Jamaica Gleaner) The United States Embassy in Kingston has revoked the visitor’s visa of Justin O’Gilvie, the former business associate of alleged drug kingpin Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.

The Gleaner yesterday received a copy of correspondence from the embassy to several airlines which fly out of Jamaica to US ports.

“The Embassy of the United States in Kingston, Jamaica, is in the process of revoking the visas of the following citizen of Jamaica,” read the letter titled ‘Revocation of US visas’.

“The person mentioned here currently holds a US visa that we have not been able to physically cancel. Do not allow this passenger to board any flights bound for the United States in reliance of this visa,” added the letter addressed to the airlines and the Ministry of National Security.

As is protocol, the US Embassy gave no reasons for its decision to cancel the visa while it gave airlines an email address to contact if they had any questions.

A similar letter was issued when the US cancelled the visas for a number of Jamaican entertainers last year.

O’Gilvie, otherwise called ‘Stinga’, was Coke’s business partner with the promotional company Presidential Click. The two were listed as directors in Incomparable Enterprises Limited, a company which was given the green light for three government contracts valued at J$32 million in 2009, months before the US sent an extradition request for Coke.

The National Contracts Commission in June 2009 approved the contracts with Incomparable Enterprises Limited for repairs to buildings in Tivoli Gardens.

One of the contracts, valued at J$10.7 million, was for repairs and waterproofing to the slab roofs along the Bustamante Highway section within the Tivoli Gardens housing scheme.

The other contracts, which total J$21.3 million, are for repairs to roofs at Levy Path and Seaga Boulevard, also in the community. All three were given out by the Ministry of Water and Housing through open tender.

That was one of several times that Incomparable Enterprises did work for the Government under the current Jamaica Labour Party administration and the former People’s National Party government.

In the immediate aftermath of the May 2010 unsuccessful police-military operation to capture Coke, O’Gilvie was named by the police among 25 persons of interest.

He was subsequently arrested and released without charge.

In the meantime, yesterday’s hearing in a New York court – on a motion filed by lawyers representing Coke to throw out the wiretap evidence against him – lasted about one hour. Judge Robert Patterson reserved ruling at the closure.

Coke’s lawyers have argued that the wiretap information should not be used because they were acquired by US law enforcement agencies illegally, but this has been scoffed at by the prosecution, which is depending, in large part, on the taped conversations to secure Coke’s conviction on drug and gun charges.