MOZART THOMAS: WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION

Well, it’s been weeks since we’ve been putting up with State Media Guyana Chronicle, lamenting at its lethargy, how it never breaks news, only offers us a clumsy mop up after competing news organs would have stolen their thunder by trumpeting headlines well ahead of them; how they give us retrospective coverage of pertinent issues; not understanding the difference between breaking news and just being a part of the news feed; relegating the President’s speeches to post occurring features.

And now, they’re breaking news; carrying as ‘TOP STORY’ ‘Ramotar, other PPP leaders face $2.5 billion lawsuit’.

Good move, we’re thinking. Tell us when these men who ruled with unconscionable conduct, who systemically strangled a nation to promote an ideology of ethno politics with built in rip off benefits are getting in to ANY kind of trouble. We want to know, because these forensic investigations that are taking FOREVER to get done are making us anxious; leading us to believe that they are going to get away with plundering the Treasury; an act that was disguised by running parallel entities, like the vault at the Public Service Ministry to which, apparently, only Jennifer Westford had a key to access billions upon billions to add to her penchant for real estate and long vehicles.

So, we’re prepared to accept justice in any form; even if it’s vicariously through a law suit for libel and slander by Dr. Philip Mozart, a name that has surfaced on the political/para political front for a couple years and if this man is suing them, well…

But first let’s be sure. We seem to recall that this Phillip Mozart had an extension to his name, Thomas, maybe, so why is the Guyana Chronicle leaving this name out? Did they make an error or is Dr. Mozart filing this suit under Mozart and not Thomas? We want no errors here. We want justice by any means necessary so let’s be sure that this thing is right.

Those of us who follow these things may recall that there was a brochure out there that named this Mozart, maybe Thomas, as a man with lots of letters after his name which has both biblical and musical parts to it… Phillip Handel Mozart Thomas, professing academic qualifications of PhD, JD, MBA, BSBA, BPS, CSSD; suggesting inordinate academic pursuit and apparent parallel success.

There is an elevated inquisitiveness about this man, who reads more like a curio in the halls of academia and we want to be impressed by this effusion of abbreviations but don’t know what some of them really stand for. We sort of think that BPS stands for Bachelors in Professional Studies, but what is a CSSD?

At least, two reporters have rhapsodized over this man, citing his “arms length long list of qualifications”, supplementing it with a “anyone can check Thomas’s verifiable credentials world-wide.”

Maybe we will, but right now we’re preoccupied with his attendance at the Inter American Defense College and the National Defense University and the National War College…all institutions not known for admitting civilians but are reputed for educating military and civilian personnel from countries that select their trainees….

…which begs the question which country selected Mozart, maybe, Thomas and for what purpose? Was it the Guyana government? Wouldn’t these reporters, have asked these questions so that we, the public, could enjoy the celebration of the acumen of our bother, even ask about the CSSD?

And the part of the encomium that says he went back to Guyana to establish a “different” NGO (Non Government Organization), Think Tank, one he feels will be more effective if it gets more funding,he was “here to assist in correcting that”…. piqued our interest, mostly because we were thinking that this graduate of three war colleges soliciting funds for a cause that sold national interest to a people who were already down trodden and defeated, had too great a propensity to prey on the vulnerabilities of the demoralized.

Then, we saw his brochure for the convention planned for September 17th thru 19th of 2014. We noted the images of the Coordinating Committee, and suspected that there was something amiss when we saw a predated picture of Major General Michael Atherly who is not known to be predisposed to these types of organizations.

And then, there was the list of luminaries who were expected to attend, including Retired General Colin Powell, US Joint Chiefs of Staff and Baroness Valerie Ann Amos, Under Secretary General of the United Nations and we wondered if this graduate of three war colleges realized that this list of celebrated functionaries would have needed to be protected by a force that was better equipped than the Guyana Police Force, whose integrity had been badly maligned by the frequent complaints of police participation in illegal activities. Guyana’s reputation for gun trafficking and being a transport point for jackals of all types was no secret, so the safety of these high level officers would have had to be part of Mozart’s plans, we were thinking.

And there was this vigorous outreach for financial support, a mashing of patriotism with donation and copious mention of this ‘historic venture’, encouraging donors to aim for mineral levels ranging from Platinum to Copper, $5000 USD to $250.0 USD; and several, apparently, did.

This Mozart, maybe Thomas, was not short on persuasive skills, especially in an environment that he knew was impatient for a new day; suffering heart burn from a forced diet of structured oppression. Disgruntlement and despotism had merged at the apex of control and tolerance. This was the point of critical mass for a Mozart/Thomas and he soothed his way in, reassuring Guyanese at home and abroad that Civil Society input was the panacea, the cure- for- all, massaging emotions with words like bright and new and future.

But through it all, we were cautious, apprehensive of this man whose resume all but oozed qualifications so we tried to cross check this stellar list of accomplishments using our layman’s conduit to basic information. We looked at Linked In, noted that Mozart, maybe Thomas, had two profiles and felt a surge of trepidation when we saw that this man of so many accomplishments had studied DEPLOMECY instead of DIPLOMACY at Mercer University, Stetson School of Business. We took a screen shot, lest the spelling changes after this article. Small detail, perhaps but not for one who is the poster boy of academic accomplishments.

So, we went a step further and called his office in Long Island 360 A W. Merrick Rd, Valley Stream NY,11580, at listed phone number (516) 263 1051 to verify that it was in fact his business. A woman answered, heavy Spanish accent, angry and said she had no knowledge of Deltta Holdings Inc. that she was the owner of that phone number for several years and had said repeatedly that there was no Deltta there, before hanging up. Then we noticed there was another nuance, Deltta  spelt with two T’s and the second office was listed at address, ‘Washington DC Metro Area’. We found no business listed under Deltta anywhere in the DC metro area which is as big as Guyana.

All the while, Mozart, maybe Thomas, was working the crowd, endearing himself to media men, who gushed about meeting him. They swooned when they spoke of his multiple degrees and all but gave him a lap dance as reward for snagging an interview with this man of uncommonly illustrious acumen.

And the one journalist who felt suspicious of the Mozart/Thomas portmanteau , voiced his unease then got lost in the politics by drawing parallels to Mozart and members of the PPP whose bona fides were neither bona nor fide. Indeed, these PPP politicians brandished dubious qualifications when challenged but using this juxtaposition -the Mozart/Thomas with PPP members of equally questionable portfolio –made him judge and jury and not journalist; sentencing his otherwise informative piece to bias death as he made Rohee’s unverified bilinguality comparison, gold standard.

Really, to even repeat that Rohee is fluent in French is to classify profanity as a foreign language.

The reporter lost the import of the story and the opportunity to unclad this man and call to scrutiny, the dozens of qualifications that he probably trundles around in a wheel barrow.

Crisis averted.

Mozart, maybe Thomas, continued to languish under his silver linings.

Then all hell broke loose.

The silver linings became thunderclouds and the much publicized event was shifted from September 17th thru 19th, 2014 to December 17th thru 19th 2014, causing several donors due anxiety, sustained angst and discomposure, extreme embarrassment that they had allowed themselves to be wooed by this man whose drawl, dawdling delivery of words, now seemed more practiced than normal, more calculated than characteristic and now they were recalling that his attempt at elocution was constantly interrupted by poor grammatical construct.

Then, crisis times two.

This fine man of multiple professions, purporting to be a lawyer, a global financier and an accountant of no mean repute, wrote a bounced check to the tune of GYD four million to pay for the event. Bank of Nova Scotia froze his account.

Now, questions were being posed to Mozart, maybe Thomas; is Colin Powell really invited, does this renowned German, Pofessor Helmut K. Anheier, Phd, know that his name is on this invitation and, bringing it closer to home, does Major General Atherly know he is one of the conference coordinators?

And why do you have President Ramotar as one of your feature speakers when he has not agreed to speak? Why were Rashleigh Jackson and Rudy Collins listed as speakers when you know that you had never received such a commitment? And the 400 Guyanese national and international Civil Society Organizations and Non-Government Organizations(“CSOs” and “NGOs”) that you speak of so profusely, can we get a list of who they are?

And the sponsors, Sir, on the page with the badly photo shopped logos; what is ‘Caring for Others Inc.’ and ‘International Center for Transitional Justice’? Are they real organizations affiliated with Civil Society ventures? How much have you collected from these organizations in the name of our country and how are these donations being accounted for, Mozart maybe Thomas, lawyer and accountant, as well?

And the heads of state that you claim to have such ease with, heads of financial agencies and global financiers, Christine La Garde the first woman to head the G8 economy, Former US President Jimmy Carter, Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, former President Hugh Desmond Hoyte and an assortment of other luminaries, maybe even a Pope or two. Can we get them to give us some written assurance that they even know you, that you have with them the working relationship you advertise?

And last question. Promise. Why, during the conference that showed pockets of attendees over sparsely occupied areas, did you proceed to call speakers to the podium, roll call style, to deliver their address, knowing that you had never received a commitment from them to attend your conference and that they were nowhere near Liliendaal? Wasn’t this a deliberate act of deception, chicanery at its height, fraud, craftiness, crookery?

As of the time of writing, Mozart/Thomas, still owed on the bounced check, and has still not provided answers to the deluge of questions about the advertised guest speaker list, how much money he collected in the name of the civil society, why many sponsors supposedly advertised on his brochure had no knowledge of his event, what agency was going to provide security for his high profile guest list, for starters.

Instead, he has sued former President Ramotar whose government had threatened to sue him for, essentially, perpetrating a fraud. They challenged his purported qualifications, have called to question his veracity, have asked for him to demonstrate the mechanics of the Civil Society, which was billed ostensibly as being of benefit to Guyana.

And of all of the stories that the State Paper, Guyana Chronicle, could have lead with, provided information on, they chose this one because it gave them the opportunity to cast bad light on the Opposition; more politics than journalism

Mozart, maybe Thomas, has sued for slander, and libel.
Slander, by definition, is spoken defamation while libel is its written kin.

Our sense is that Ramotar’s lawyers will be seeking transcripts and other evidence of qualifications from the multiplicity of institutions that Mozart/Thomas calls his Alma Mater(s).

With Mozart/Thomas’ track record, we are standing with Ramotar on this one.

And, yes, we’re waiting on our subpoenas for slander and libel as well, Phillip.

This is one time we don’t mind sharing the stage with the Opposition.

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2012/features/frankly-speaking/06/08/the-gncpp-a-torchbearer-for-civil-society/
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2014/12/20/dr-phillip-mozart-thomas-and-civil-society/
www.loopnet.com/listing/18863914360A-w-Merrick-Road-Vally-Stream-NY/
http://www.guyanatimesgy.com/2015/01/08/govt-to-sue-civil-society-sham-leader/
http://guyanachronicle.com/ramotar-other-ppp-leaders-face-2-5-billion-libel-and-slander-lawsuit/
http://www.caribnewsdesk.com/news/9203-controversy-over-phillip-mozart-thomas-debt-to-guyana-int-l-conference-centre
http://guyanachronicle.com/farcical-civil-society-summit-organisers-default-on-4m-debt-for-venue-rentals-food/
http://www.guyanatimesgy.com/2015/01/01/bank-freezes-account-of-civil-society-wannabe-leader/
http://guyanachronicle.com/ramotar-other-pp-leaders-face-2-5-billion-lawsuit/