By Jolly Green

In an open letter in 2014 Camillo Gonsalves said, “I have lived in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; attended primary and secondary school in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.”

But he left all the following out.

His early schooling was in Jamaica, where he attended the Priory School and the Wolmers High School. [both upper and middle class fee paying schools for the privileged child]

1995 Temple University Philidelphia, entered college on civil engineering course. I suspect he and his professors soon found he could not cope with the mathematics required. Changed course to Journalism.

1995 March to August 1996, [aged 23 to 24 years] He was practising part time journalism at an African-American local newspaper ‘The Philadelphia Tribune, who had a circulation of about 200,000, ultra tiny by American standards.’

[ Slightly different information fed to the UN where they described him in a UN Press Release as art director, writer and copy editor (March 1995 to August 1996) of The Philadelphia Tribune. Ref: UN Press Release]

1998 [age 26 yrs] Temple University Philadelphia, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism after an early change from a Civil Engineering course.

1999 May to May 2001, [aged 27 to 29 yrs] He worked as an intern for Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider PC who are a Washington, DC law firm with a national practice specializing in compliance, regulatory, transactional and litigation matters related to real estate and mortgage finance, as well as transportation concerns

[ According to a UN Press release, Camillo worked as a lawyer at Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider PC. Ref: UN Press Release. [Slightly different job description than being an intern] ]

George Washington University Law School, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree

[A Juris Doctor degree is a first degree, like a Bachelors degree, it’s not a terminal degree, like a PhD which happens to be the highest degree one can hope to attain in his field, even his father has an inferior law degree to most leading Vincentian lawyers, his PhD is not even in law but Psychology]

Master of Science Msc degree in Global Affairs from New York University (New York, NY, USA)

2001. The George Washington University Law School (J.D.) [age 29 yrs]

[The US Dept of Education has stated JD and other “professional doctorates” are not research doctorates and not equivalent to the PhD. JD is therefore inferior in status, actually equivalent to a BA]

2001 Maryland, USA: Admitted to bar at Maryland State Bar Association.

When Camillo became a US attorney in Maryland he swore allegiance to the USA

MARYLAND LAWYERS ACT➤

§ 10-212 Oath or affirmation required for admission to Bar.

Part II. Admissions.

On admission to the Bar, a lawyer shall take the following oath or affirmation in open court:

“I do solemnly (swear) (affirm) that I will at all times demean myself fairly and honorably as an attorney and practitioner at law; that I will bear true allegiance to the State of Maryland, and support the laws and Constitution thereof, and that I will bear true allegiance to the United States, and that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution, laws and government thereof as the supreme law of the land; any law, or ordinance of this or any state to the contrary notwithstanding.”

Remember the USA is a foreign State as far as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is concerned. So by swearing that oath it excluded constitutionally Camillo from being a member of SVGs parliament and legislature. This is the real reason he gave up his US citizenship [subject to evidence of the same]. But he remains a US attorney and he swore allegiance to the US because of that. Should he therefore have given up his US attorney license as well as his citizenship because he remains pledged to the United States of America as a licensed attorney? Further more should he have specifically renounced his Maryland Lawyers Act oath and/or affirmation to the United States.

2001, September to September 2003, [aged 29 to 31 yrs] Camillo worked at Weiner Brodsky Kider as a fresh attorney [fresh out of law school] in the district of Maryland.

[PC. Ref: UN Press Release, worked as an attorney at this firm]

In the United Sates there is never less than 30,000 non US citizens enlisted in the military, they are pledged to the USA constitution and flag, yet they are not citizens. It is possible to be a non citizen and yet be pledged to the US.

Camillo Michael Gonsalves, Attorney Reg No. 0112110292. 2016 Belvedere Boulevard, Silver Spring, MD 20902. December 11 2001.

When Camillo Gonsalves pledged to the US it was in Maryland in 2001 when he was admitted to the bar at Maryland State Bar Association. Giving up citizenship in 2007 did not affect his pledge to the US constitution he remains pledged. To rescind his pledge he will probably have to give up his membership/registration of the Bar Association and publicly state and notify the US state department that he recinds all and each pledge he has ever made to the US constitution and flag. Until he does that he remains contactorly pledged to the US and bound by his pledge. Probably the US State Deprtment will have to agree to him recinding his pledge. Some people hols state secrets and cannot be released from there pledge. You cannot just break a contract because it no longer suits you to be pledged. So the first step will be to ask the State Department permission to unpledge or depledge and in doing so recind the pledge which is a two sided contract with the US however it came to be made.

2002, Maryland: Camillo Gonsalves admitted to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

[not admitted in DC].[did he pledge again here?]

2002-2005: According to the online news media ‘The Washington Diplomat’, Gonsalves served his government [St Vincent and the Grenadines] as a legal adviser from December 2002 to August 2005.

[How could that be? He was working elsewhere at Weiner Brodsky Kider 2001-3, Mehri & Skalet 2004, both firms in the US, he also worked at a law firm called Dunn Cox in Kingston Jamaica 2004-5. How could such a junior inexperienced person advise a government? Besides being published in the Washington Diplomat, this was information submitted to the UN when taking the appointment of ambassador in 2007].

May 2004 – September 2004 [aged 32 yrs] he worked as an attorney with [US Law firm] Mehri & Skalet, action plaintiff lawyers litigating cases on employment discrimination, consumer protection, product liability, whistleblower, qui tam, housing and mortgage.

Ref: UN Press Release, This was information he submitted to the UN when taking the appointment of ambassador in 2007.

Was Camillo Gonsalves ever a big time executive attorney in the US or Jamaica? Most obviously not.

2004 to April 2005, October: [aged 32 to 33 yrs] Camillo worked at a law firm called Dunn Cox in Kingston Jamaica, where he assisted with legal research and the drafting of pleadings before the Resident Magistrates Court and Supreme Court. Ref: UN Press release 2007.

[It would appear that because during most of this time employed Camillo was not licensed to practice as a Caribbean attorney, he worked as a researcher]

2004, December, Jamaica: Article in the Jamaica Gleaner News:

31-year-old Camillo Gonsalves is a ‘Jamerican’, a former newspaper journalist and attorney qualified to practice in the United States and soon to be qualified to practice in Jamaica.

Apart from hopping between the US, Jamaica and St Vincent, where his father is from, he uses precious spare time to run a website and magazine dedicated to dancehall music. Gonsalves, known outside of the courtroom as Milo, is the publisher of Reggaematic, a glossy dossier of the fast-paced happenings inside the world of dancehall music.

[If he was working for several employers and also advising [unlicensed] the government of SVG, how did he find time for his DJ work and his online magazine Reggaematic?]

2004, December 23, Kingstown: The Searchlight News Paper SVG

https://searchlight.vc/searchlight/features/2004/12/23/camillo-gonsalves-making-his-own-mark/

Camillo, born to a Jamaican mother, attended the Priory and Wolmer’s Boys High Schools in Jamaica and the St. Vincent Grammar School, before migrating to the United States where he attended Temple University in Philadelphia, and the George Washington University Law School. Qualified to practice in the United States as an attorney, Camillo now attends the Norman Manley Law School at the Mona Campus, University of the West Indies, which will qualify him to practice in the Caribbean.

[What is interesting is the statement “before migrating to the United States” Does that mean he was Jamaican born and not US born?]

Norman Manley Law School Camillo Gonsalves received his Legal Education Certificate from the Norman Manley Law School of the University of the Caribbean Campus in Jamaica.

In the Commonwealth Caribbean, a Legal Education Certificate [LEC] is a professional certification awarded to a person who has completed a course of study and training at a law school established by the Council of Legal Education. It was created by Articles 4 and 5 of the 1970 Agreement Establishing the Council of Legal Education. An LEC allows its holder to be admitted to practise law in any country or territory which is a signature to the agreement. In general, no person who does not hold an LEC may be so admitted. Therefore until Camillo was awarded with this certification he could not have practiced law in SVG 2002/2004.

2005, August, Kingstown SVG: Camillo [aged 34 yrs] was appointed Senior Crown Counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers.

Ref: UN Press release [This was information he submitted to the UN when taking the appointment of ambassador, the dates don’t match, how could he have such a job when he was not called to the Kingstown Bar until October 2005? This means also that he had been a US licensed attorney for four years prior to this appointment, and only certified to practice law in the Caribbean for a few months]

[Senior Crown Counsels job is generally to advise the Attorney General on points of law and help direct her/him. In the this case it was a her Judith Jones=Morgan who was at this time Attorney General. A mature and well informed lawyer probably having many times more knowledge on the British style laws of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines than Camillo Gonsalves. So why was a person so junior such as Camillo Gonsalves employed in the job of Senior Crown Counsel? Remember not just Crown Counsel, but Senior Crown Counsel. Some say nepotism, it’s pointless asking the prime minister because he is his father and the man pointed at as the alleged nepotist]

2005 A sudden transformation, from disc jockey and online dance writer and online magazine owner, a humble junior attorney in Jamaica to a senior appointment [Senior Crown Counsel SCC] in the Saint and the Grenadines Government, where his father Ralph Gonsalves is Prime Minister.

[A cry of nepotism rang through the island and flooded the internet. Crown Counsel is one thing for a fairly inexperienced lawyer, but the position of Senior Crown Counsel requires a person of exceptional legal skills, qualities and training, Camillo did not qualify under any of those headings, further more he is not even a Barrister [not that it’s a requirement but most SCCs are both lawyers and barristers it shows they have the training and experience. A SCC if a barrister does not have to get opinions from outside his office every time a barristers opinion is required, having both qualifications is a sign of seniority]

2005, October 20, Kingstown SVG: Camillo admitted to the local bar in SVG at the High Court in Kingstown, where his father said he thought he would make a fine lawyer.

[At least his father did not describe him as a fine lawyer. He said “he would make a fine lawyer” somewhat different to being one.]

[seeing as Camillo was appointed Senior Crown Counsel in August 2005, was he working in that paid position before being qualified to do so? He was not called to the Bar until October 2005]

2006, November, Washington: Here is what he told the UN who passed it on to the online ‘Washington Diplomat’

http://www.washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2765:his-excellency-camillo-gonsalves&catid=196&Itemid=229

Gonsalves served as Senior Crown Counsel in the Attorney Generals Chambers from August 2005 until his current appointment. In that position, he participated in an advisory capacity on behalf of his Government in the PetroCaribe energy contract negotiations in Venezuela, in September 2005, and he served as a member of his Government’s delegation to Ethiopia in October of that year to participate in meetings addressing issues of governmental cooperation, including visa waivers and trade assistance. He also represented his Government in, among other endeavours, discussions with the Libyan Government in December 2005, aimed at establishing diplomatic relations with that country.

Also in the diplomatic sphere, Gonsalves was a member of multiple delegations of his Government to Cuba to discuss a variety of matters, including airport development, a medical diagnostic centre, and a myriad of other forms of social and technical cooperation. He served as a member of the delegation to the Republic of Korea, which conducted discussions relating to diplomatic, economic and technical cooperation. He also represented his Government in several high-level bodies of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), including at the Heads of Government Conference, the Subcommittee on the Harmonisation of Laws, the Legal Affairs Committee, and the Council for Finance and Planning.

How did he do all those things and still find time to run and administer Reggaematic, a glossy dossier of the fast-paced happenings inside the world of dancehall music, was he still DJ-ing.

2007, August 4: Louis Straker confirmed that “the eldest son of Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves is to become the island’s next Ambassador to the United Nations”– Foreign Affairs Minister Sir Louis Straker.

“Camillo Gonsalves, 35, an attorney by profession, is set to replace Margaret Hughes Ferrari, who has been the island’s representative since 2001”.

His appointment has not been officially announced, but Sir Louis confirmed his appointment in advance to the Caribbean Media Corporation.

A reluctant Sir Louis said that he had rather make a formal announcement first but could not deny that Camillo Gonsalves had been selected to the post.

Ref: Jamaica Gleaner.

[The admission by Straker that Camillo had been selected for the post means this. He was selected without an interview and without directly competing with applicants because there were no applicants there was just a selection from a list or from someone’s mind and given the job]

2007, November, USA: Camillo Gonsalves became Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations, replacing Ambassador the Honourable Margaret Hughes-Ferrari.

Prime Minister Gonsalves said at the time that his son’s diplomatic appointment was all the decision of his then deputy, former prime minister and minister of Foreign Affairs, Sir Louis Straker.

[So daddy denied the appointment was anything to do with him]

2007 to 2013, Camillo Michael Gonsalves, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

2013, September 13, New York: UN Ambassador Camillo Michael Gonsalves is out and the Ralph Gonsalves handpicked replacement is in, Rhonda King, who presented her credentials to the Secretary General on September 13, 2013, is the head of Mission and the official spokesperson for the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the United Nations.

2013, September, Kingstown: Camillo was appointed as a parliamentary ULP senator; he also became Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Ref: http://rulers.org/2013-09.html

2014, March 3, Kingstown: I-Witness News Publication, SEN. GONSALVES SAYS HE RENOUNCED HIS AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP AHEAD OF APPOINTMENT TO SVG PARLIAMENT

https://www.iwnsvg.com/2014/03/06/sen-gonsalves-says-he-renounced-his-american-citizenship-ahead-of-appointment-to-svg-parliament/

I was always a citizen of SVG he said.

Citing Section 92 of the Constitution of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sen. Gonsalves said that while he was born in Philadelphia on June 12, 1972 to his Vincentian father, and Jamaican mother, Sonia Gonsalves, “I became a Vincentian citizen — automatically — from the moment of my birth.”

Section 72 of the Vincentian Constitution, which speaks to persons born outside St. Vincent on or after 27th October 1979, says:

“ A person born outside Saint Vincent after the commencement of this Constitution shall become a citizen at the date of his birth if, at that date, his father or mother is a citizen otherwise than by virtue of this section or section 90(3) of this Constitution.”

Camillo said “It is important to note that persons born anywhere in the world to a Vincentian parent become citizens automatically and as of right. There is no registration process or application for such citizenship. I became a citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ‘at the date of [my] birth,” Sen. Gonsalves said.

He further said that he lived in SVG, attended primary and secondary school in SVG, worked and paid taxes in SVG, and purchased property in SVG. “My Vincentian citizenship cannot be questioned.”

His own supplied dates show something different to what he claimed because if he was born June 12, 1972 and the constitution to which he refers is dated 27th October 1979 [to persons born outside St. Vincent on or after 27th October 1979]. That excludes him from automatic citizenship; it certainly does not confirm the right of citizenship on him.

I have just read what Wikipedia says and much of what’s there is repetitious of this matter and I am unsure of the truthfulness of what appears there even.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camillo_Gonsalves

My problem with all this, much of it is contradictory and some of it untrue even misleading. Camillo and his father have had at least 10 years to correct some of what has been written but have not done so. Was the truth and nothing but the whole truth told to the United Nations when Camillo became Ambassador?

2014, August 16, Kingstown: The Vincentian News Paper;

excerpt

Current moves by SVG s Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves might suggest that he desires to impose his son Camillo as head of his party, the ULP, which has been running the affairs of SVG since virtually the start of the twenty-first century. Absolutely nothing is wrong if Camillo had worked himself up through the ranks of the party and/or Government.

2015, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 9 December 2015. Camillo Gonsalves was elected member of parliament for East Saint George.

Posters of him and his father together, side by side, appeared all over the constituency. The poster’s had been photo-shopped to make Ralph Gonsalves the same dark colour as Camillo and even the facial features had been made more negroid with a larger flared nose.

2017, November, Kingstown: Camillo Gonsalves took on the responsibility of the finance ministry [a most senior executive cabinet post], a portfolio his father had held since 2001.

Ref: “St Vincent PM promotes son to finance minister”. WIC News. 14 November 2017.

[Finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. After Prime Minister is among the most senior of post’s]

Unfortunately Dr Ralph E Gonsalves, father of Camillo Gonsalves is known as a self confessed liar, and I believe that if any part of these written details are untrue and remain uncorrected by either Ralph or Camillo that is another mode of telling lies. Telling lies is a form of deception and may therefore be classed as misbehaviour in political office, perhaps by both of them! This is a very serious matter.

It may also prove to be that Camillo Gonsalves is unconstitutionally a member of SVG’s parliament and should be excluded or removed from such a position. He remains with pledged allegiance to the USA.

To some it would appear that Camillo leapfrogged over perhaps many young island born Vincentians to get to where he is today, first in-line to the ULP leadership, first in-line to being prime minister [if the ULP are ever re-elected]. Was he given a chance and opportunity that was not open to others who may have been more capable than him at the time? We can be sure if Camillo’s father was not prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines at the appropriate time, Camillo would not be where he is today. He quite simply received a pecuniary advantage which was not available to others.

I have purposely left out such matters as the diplomatic farce with the NYPD police and also the more recent Yugee Farrel matter, simply no room to write about such large space consuming matters. Look them up they were all over the internet.

IMAGE:

Camillo Gonsalves Saint Vincents budding top attorney looking his usual dishevelled self 2004 [since then with a good hair stylist and tailored cloths he has transformed] pictured with his daddy PM Dr Ralph E Gonsalves. We can just imagine daddy saying don’t worry, wait and see the transformation, he will scrub up good, nothing a good wash and a change of clothes won’t fix.

Jolly Green. June 2018

END

DISCLAMER: The opinion, belief and viewpoint expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinion, belief and viewpoint of iNews Cayman/ieyenews.com or official policies of iNews Cayman/ieyenews.com