MIAMI, Florida – United States District Judge Jose E. Martinez has imposed a nine-year jail term on Jean Rene Duperval, a former senior executive at Haiti's state-run telecommunications company.

Duperval, 45, was jailed last month after he was found guilty on money laundering charges linked to nearly $500,000 in bribes he accepted from U.S.-based
companies. Duperval, who served as international relations director for eight months at Telecommunications D'Haiti, better known as Haiti Teleco, was found guilty of money laundering offenses by a jury here in March. He is one of eight people convicted so far in a massive case brought by the Justice Department under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

DAWN A. DAVIS

Caribbean nationals who have stashed large financial wealth abroad while residing in the United States are attracting the attention of a U.S. government eager to collect unpaid taxes by enforcing a relatively new law. The 2010 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requires foreign banks, financial and
investment companies to declare to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) income and assets of American citizens held in overseas accounts.

Earnings held in off-shore banks, such as those in the Caribbean, may be subject to U.S. taxation. According to the IRS website, the law states:
“FATCA requires certain U.S. taxpayers holding foreign financial assets with an aggregate value exceeding $50,000 to report certain information about those assets on a new form (Form 8938) that must be attached to the taxpayer’s annual tax return. Reporting applies for assets held in taxable
years beginning after Mar. 18, 2010.

Christopher M. Coke, the Jamaican drug lord whose extradition to the United States in 2010 followed a furious manhunt in his homeland that led to the deaths of more than 70 people, was sentenced on Friday in Manhattan to 23 years in prison, the maximum he faced.

Christopher Coke had admitted to leading a drug trafficking organization that had dozens of members.

National Caribbean-America Heritage Month2012
By The President of Untied States of America a Proclamation

Individuals and families from Caribbean countries have journeyed to America's shores for centuries. Some were brought here against their will in the bonds of slavery. Some immigrated to America as children, clutching a parent's hand. Others came as adults, leaving behind everything they knew in pursuit of a better life in a new world.