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Crooks resigns - Lucea mayor quits over Fiesta Hotel controversy - Local Gov't Minister orders probe, calls in auditors
published: Tuesday | January 16, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody xVlvo="true">
Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer
Mayor of Lucea, Councillor Lester Crooks, in a militant mood at the emergency meeting called to discuss the Fiesta Hotel development in Point, Lucea, in this August 17, 2006 photo. - File
Lucea, Hanover:
Following the resignation of Lester Crooks as mayor of Lucea and chairman of the Hanover Parish Council yesterday, <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 700; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Local </SPAN><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 700; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Government</SPAN> Minister Dean Peart says a thorough investigation will be launched into the former mayor's decision to discount building fees to the developers of the Fiesta Hotel at Point Estate in Lucea.
Auditors from the Local Government Ministry have also been called in to investigate the matter.
A teary-eyed Mr. Crooks, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Riverside</SPAN> Division in Hanover, resigned two days ahead of a scheduled meeting with Minister Peart to discuss his company's trucking contract with the developers of the 1,600-room Fiesta <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">hotel</SPAN> in Lucea.
Involvement
In a letter to Crooks last Thursday, Mr. Peart told the former mayor that his involvement with the hotel posed a conflict of interest, as the council was the Local Planning and Building Authority for the parish, and that his involvement with the Fiesta Hotel Group was "contrary to the principles of transparency and good governance which the council is expected to uphold."
But Peart hinted yesterday that there could be other factors behind Crooks' resignation that required investigation.
"I know that there are other th
published: Tuesday | January 16, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody xVlvo="true">
Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer
Mayor of Lucea, Councillor Lester Crooks, in a militant mood at the emergency meeting called to discuss the Fiesta Hotel development in Point, Lucea, in this August 17, 2006 photo. - File
Lucea, Hanover:
Following the resignation of Lester Crooks as mayor of Lucea and chairman of the Hanover Parish Council yesterday, <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 700; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Local </SPAN><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 700; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Government</SPAN> Minister Dean Peart says a thorough investigation will be launched into the former mayor's decision to discount building fees to the developers of the Fiesta Hotel at Point Estate in Lucea.
Auditors from the Local Government Ministry have also been called in to investigate the matter.
A teary-eyed Mr. Crooks, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Riverside</SPAN> Division in Hanover, resigned two days ahead of a scheduled meeting with Minister Peart to discuss his company's trucking contract with the developers of the 1,600-room Fiesta <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">hotel</SPAN> in Lucea.
Involvement
In a letter to Crooks last Thursday, Mr. Peart told the former mayor that his involvement with the hotel posed a conflict of interest, as the council was the Local Planning and Building Authority for the parish, and that his involvement with the Fiesta Hotel Group was "contrary to the principles of transparency and good governance which the council is expected to uphold."
But Peart hinted yesterday that there could be other factors behind Crooks' resignation that required investigation.
"I know that there are other th
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