Emmanuel Constant

Emmanuel Constant (nicknamed "Toto", born on October 27, 1956) is the founder of FRAPH, a Haitian death squad organized in mid-1993 to terrorize supporters of exiled president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. After the 1994 U.S. and UN-led multinational occupation restored Aristide to power, Constant managed to escape to the U.S. He was later detained by INS officials in 1995 and prepared to be deported to Haïti to stand trial for involvement in the Raboteau Massacre. However, in a December 1995 interview with Ed Bradley on "60 Minutes", Constant threatened to divulge secrets about his relationship with the CIA during the early '90s. After this threat, as well as receiving intelligence that there was a plot to assassinate Constant should he return to Haïti, the Clinton administration ordered the INS to release Constant in May 1996.

More Trouble

On July 7, 2006 Emmanuel Constant appeared in a Long Island, New York county court to face charges that he participated in a mortgage scheme that defrauded Sun Trust Mortgage Bank and Fremont Investment and Loan of more than $1 million US. The purported fraud took place while Constant was employed at Melville Brokerage.

Robert Clifford, spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney's office gave specifics as to the charges Constant faces. Those charges are as follows: Grand larceny, forgery and falsifying business records.* [http://www.hardbeatnews.com/editor/RTE/my_documents/my_files/details.asp?newsid=10129 ]

Notwithstanding pending rape charges, state Supreme Court Justice Michael Mullen at arraignment set bail for Constant at $50,000 cash, despite the protest of prosecutors and human rights groups. He remains jailed in the Suffolk County Jail.

In October 2006, a Federal Court in New York awarded Constant to pay three women raped by FRAPH a total of $19 million in damages [http://www.cja.org/cases/Constant%20Press/constantorderpr.pdf] , in a case brought by the Center for Justice & Accountability [http://www.cja.org] . The court declared that "Constant’s conduct was clearly malicious. As commander of FRAPH, Constant founded and oversaw an organization that was dedicated principally towards terrorizing and torturing political opponents of the military regime. His direction – or at a minimum, approval – of FRAPH’s state-backed campaign of violence constitutes an inexcusable violation of international law and merits a stiff punishment [http://www.ijdh.org/pdf/ConstantOrder10-06.pdf?sid=06/08/31/144239] .

On July 25, 2008, after hearing two weeks of testimony, a Brooklyn jury convicted Constant of several mortgage fraud felonies, including Scheme to Defraud and Grand Larceny. The convictions came within hours of a vigorous confrontation between Constant, who testified in his own defense, and Assistant Attorney General Thomas Schellhammer, who cross-examined him. [5] http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=22084. [6] http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/07/25/2008-07-25_haitian_paramilitary_leader_emmanuel_con.html

Citations

*Grann, David. "Giving 'The Devil' His Due." "The Atlantic Monthly", June 2001

*Shifrel, Scott, "Haitian Paramilitary Leader Emmanuel Constant Convicted of Fraud," NY Daily News, 25 July, 2008

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/07/25/2008-07-25_haitian_paramilitary_leader_emmanuel_con.html

External links

* [http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2006/07/20 Underreported: Emmanuel "Toto" Constant] "The Leonard Lopate Show WNYC"
* [http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/07/11/nyregion/11constant.html?n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fI%2fImmigration%20and%20Refugees To His Compatriots’ Relief, Haitian Exile Is Arrested]
* [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A10FD3E5D0C718EDDAF0894DE494D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fI%2fImmigration%20and%20Refugees A Haitian Set for Deportation Is Instead Set Free by the U.S.]
* [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F3061FFF355D0C708CDDAB0994DD494D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fI%2fImmigration%20and%20Refugees Haitian Ex-Paramilitary Leader Confirms C.I.A. Relationship]
* [http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200106/grann Giving "The Devil" His Due]
* [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/13/1421206 Haitian Death Squad Leader Arrested in US - For Mortgage Fraud]
* [http://www.ijdh.org/articles/article_recent_news_7-10-06menu.html Emmanuel Constant section on HaitiJustice.org]
* [http://narconews.com/Issue45/article2666.html The Posada of Haiti ]