Bean/Burrows Sentenced To 6/8 Years In Prison
[Updated] The sentencing of Kyril Burrows and his wife Delcina Bean-Burrows started at 9:50am this morning [July 25] in Supreme Court before Justice Charles-Etta Simmons.
Following a lengthy trial that ended in May 2012, the pair was convicted of stealing over $500,000 from the Government. Mr Burrows — an architect — used his Government position within the Ministry of Works and Engineering to steal money for his own purposes, using a large portion to build their St George’s home.
Mr Burrows, 48, faces sentencing on over 30 charges for which he had been found guilty, while his wife, Delcina Bean-Burrows, 49, also faces sentencing on numerous charges.
At today’s sentencing hearing, Susan Mulligan represented the Director of Public Prosecution and Saul Froomkin QC appeared on behalf of the couple. The Crown’s recommendation was for total sentences of ten years for Mr Burrows and six years for Mrs Bean-Burrows.
The pair had agreed a pre-sentencing order to surrender their assets valued at just over $500,000, and Justice Charles-Etta Simmons indicated that she would make a confiscation order to that effect.
Before the Crown made its sentencing submission, Mr Froomkin called five character witnesses to testify on behalf of the couple: Lt.Col David Burch, Rev Arnold Hollis, Mr O’Brien Roberts, Ms Patricia Fields, and Dr Barbara Holder.
Lt Col Burch — an ex-Government Minister — said he had known Kyril Burrow since the early 1980s and always found him to be of good character. He said that after the conviction he was in a “state of shock and disbelief”. When asked by the prosecutor if he respected the jury’s verdict he said he “believed in the rule of law.”
The Crown completed its submission at 12:30pm and the Court then adjourned for lunch. It is expected the sentencing hearing will resume this afternoon.
Update 4.48pm: The sentencing hearing is still ongoing, with Mr Froomkin arguing for a sentence lighter than the Crown’s recommendation of ten and six years.
Mr Froomkin suggested that the 34 separate counts could have been reduced to six or seven counts because for many counts, it was the same period of time, the same victim, the same offence, and often the same amount.
He said that instead of just 6 or 7 charges there are 34. He said it seems wrong to punish people for 34 offences when only 6 or 7 really occurred.
Mr Froomkin said that his clients maintained their innocence and that they should not be penalized because they do not appear remorseful. He said that they accept that they must be punished, even though they maintain their innocence.
The QC said that the Social Inquiry Report had indicated that they were unlikely to re-offend, and he argued that there was no rehabilitation in prison and that both defendants were highly qualified Bermudians who had skills to offer to the community. He suggested that it did not make sense to incarcerate someone at $80,000 a year when they could be directed to give back to the community.
Mr Froomkin closed by pointing out that the punishment should fit the crime and that the Burrows have already lost everything including their reputations.
Given the opportunity to speak Kyril Burrows said he had nothing to say, however his wife Delcina Bean-Burrows did address the Court. Ms Bean-Burrows said she recognized that she was been found guilty of an offence, and said that apart from personal pain and heartache she was very sorry for the bad light that she brought on Civil Servants.
Update 6.04pm: Mr Burrows received 8 years, and Bean-Burrows received 6 years, with both defendants showing no emotion when they were sentenced. They must repay the money [$526,000] within two years, or must serve another two years in prison.
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no jail time necessary ….. so many ppl doin the same thing
Mash the knuckles of everyone who has seen this being done throughtout government but has not reported because of fear of losing their job or other reasons. The Premier/Finance minister has not done a good job in tightening things up on her watch(‘s) and has nerve to tell us “they expect to spend THEIR MONEY” well, we can;t but everybody else feels our taxes are for their spend as they see fit – PLP should change their name to “Free Will Spending Club”
Vote them out of office!!!
You really think this started ONLY after the PLP were voted in? Really!
If the plp had A?NY evidence of others doing it under the old ubp, you can bet it would have been brought forward.
They do, matter of fact, every Bermudian does. The evidence is the same with the PLP. Only thing is proving it and the lengths one chooses to go too to get it. Additionally, PLP now has more enemies than the UBP so obtaining the evidence is a bit easier.
If it WAS so – we still had jobs, food on the table, roof over the head, seniors were well looked after, transportation was abundant, taxi fare was affordable, we could travel every other week, education was top notch and our streets, hotels, stores were full of tourists and the UBP money was well invested, thus the surplus which was shared with consultants and otherwise spent willy-nilly by the PLP – now they are borrowing from BNTB – as if they have keys to the place.
When did this become a PLP issue?? People will steal and lie regardless. Because if you think they didn’t do so when the UBP was in power, you are sorely mistaken. They were just better at the stealing! Concerned……..pick up any foreign newspaper – they have the same issues as us with NO change in who was running government!! Last time I checked this was a worldwide issue.
This is going on as we speak with many other cases that have not gone before the courts. These people are the bottom of the barrell and it is pure unadulterated THEFT. As for the Col. as a character witness all I can say is “Birds of a Feather!”
Very, very, very sad. Now we’ll more Bermudian children having to visit their parents in prison.
These two crooks should have thought about their children before robbing the tax payers of this Island !!!!!!!!!! and else for the Col, as a character witness like you said about the birds of a feather they #$%^ together.
You must be crazy…..these people committed crimes……so justly so spend time in prison
Maybe the Bermudian parents should have thought about before stealing from taxpayers.
You’re right. It’s sad for the children, sad that their parents made poor life choices that will affect them.
These children, were not raised by decent parents…they need someone else to show them right from wrong !!!
Pepper don’t act like you some dam Angel. The only man who’s never committed a sin in the (Great book) is the Lord above. I read your &^@% on this website all the time and it’s worst then bile! No I’m not a relative of the family above, but I am a concerned Bermudian male. They did the crime now their doing the time.
Read back some of the comments you have posted on here, you need help and you’re full of hate!
Your Lord made the criminal.
The time served in no way makes up for the damage done by the crime.
Killers cannot give back the life they took by ‘doing time’ just as damage done to the public trust and to their children cannot be mitigated by ‘doing the time’.
The anger you see here by so many is from a society fed up with spending everything they make to only just keep up with the bills, then watch their Govt and Civil service blow millions recklessly and in this case criminally, leading to the backslide of all you ever worked to achieve. Your outrage against Pepper is misplaced, sir.
There is no ‘Lord above’ and the only ‘great book’ is the Thunderbirds Annual. Just because you believe in an imaginary magic man in the sky does not give you the right to judge. The children of these thieves were robbed of a decent upbringing by their thieving parents.
Lavern!!!!! I think Bermuda has had enough of your crap…..
Everyone with children should have a get out of jail pass so they can commit crimes and still be around to raise their children. Is that PLP’s latest initiative, laverne?
LaVerne, however true your statement is about the children visiting there parents in jail. They committed a crime and now they have to face the laws of the land. In this case the punishment should have doubled as the crimes were against the Public Purse, the same people that pay for everything on this island.
LaVerne Furbert…whatever! When the Burrows did the crime, they knew full well that they had kids and it didnt bother them one bit. But I am curious, what do you think would have been an apporpriate sentence?
She’d let them off. Because they’re ‘Bermudian’. And you know what she’s really driving at when she says ‘Bermudian’.
Mad Dawg: In this case ‘Bermudian’ really means ‘bleck’. And its all ‘whitey’s’ fault. Arrything is whitey’s fault.
$1,450,000,000 minus 500,000 ..only $1,449,500,00 to now account for.
How many Government consultants at the end of the day have not given value for the money they have received…is that not a rip off of the peoples purse. Keep digging Heather Jacobs-Matthews, you will more than likely stumble upon one or two more along with the Civil Servant that engaged their services.
PS. Jacobs-Matthews check every Ministry and Department that has had a consultant(some who were not even knowledgeable in the field they were contracted for). Dont stop, you will find them and you will also trace back some old friendships that springboarded these opportunities.
YO yo any relation- Heathers tracing
They’ll be out in no time, probably get their old jobs back too. That’s how we do it in the “New Bermuda”
Dude should have taken the rap . That woman too damn pretty for prison . What a selfish studbast .
I don’t know what you’re looking at-you must have really low standards. Also, she came across as totally daft in court-her defence was really laughable.
They clearly thought they would get away with this. I wonder if they think it was worth it now? They’ve lost everything-what they earned legitimately as well as what was stolen. When they get out, they’ll have to start again from scratch and it won’t be easy after their stints in jail. They really screwed over their kids with their greed. They’ve removed their kids’ sense of safety and security, a decent home life, structure, guidance-you name it. Their greed has ruined all their lives.
Fat man.
Let’s see if there assets are seized and the proceeds are paid back to the Public Purse.
Good luck with that one..
They stole $500,000 from the public purse. And now we, the taxpayer, take care of them for the next couple of years to the tune off $1,120,000.00. Who is winning here? Why is the sentencing all over the place in this island? Child molesters get house arrest; drug dealers get 4 to 6 years and gunslingers walk free. And where are the other buffoons who signed off on these payments ? And what exactly are the roles of these permanent secretaries and head of departments? None of this makes any sense.
This couple’s conviction is only a minute portion of the total tax payers purse,that has been thieved.
People convicted of this type of crime,should be sent to prison abroad to serve hard core time,it would be cheaper on the tax payer.
Chee Kums Bi you guys go way off the end with your comments, and somehow you manage to drag the present govenment into it lol, its called crime, for a reason and its called stealing, for a reason, and inorder to steal the fat man and his lover had to be really sneaky to decieve people(maybe he wanted a bigger kitchen with a bigger fridge to have more pork idk). If government supported this in any fashion or form do you thing they would be arrested in the first place ??? or even sent to jail??
Fat man an his wife made a stealthy encroachment, but greed caught up with them and we as tax payers had our law catch them. And for the fat mans encroachment a big FAT letter E is placed on his grey sweater.
The Government hired this man to work in the civil service even after being caught in a $30,000
credit card ‘mismanagement’.
When the Auditor General can’t account for hundreds of millions spent by THIS Government and you keep seeing examples such as this, it might be time to hold the people who oversee the spending of YOUR TAXES accountable also.
Fact is they could have stolen more than twice what they were convicted for.
They will enjoy the proceeds of over $700,000 they were NOT prosecuted for and will NOT be seized. Add to that time off for “good behaviour” and yes, this is a travesty. They will be out in 5 to 6 years to enjoy more than half of the proceeds of YEARS of criminal acts on a massive scale.
That with such a mountain of evidence, a preposterous defense in the face of self incriminating activity (who would be so dumb as to create a file on their computer with faked emails authorizing personal use of govt property and call the file “fraudulent emails”), yet these two still show no remorse.
Not likely to re-offend my foot. Give them half a chance and I predict they will.
And this is not to mention the Berkeley project….
Feeding at the trough…..the Govt is too fat to monitor every purchase order, every 1 that is transposed into a 7 on a cheque, every forged or missing signature, every item that happened to fall of the back of a govt truck…and every ‘upgrade’ to first class at the tax payer’s expense. Can anybody verify if those credit card purchases are legit?
A character reference from Col. Burch.
lol hahahahaha
That’s classic. hahahahahhaha
America:
7 trillion dollars over 300 million people equals $23,333 per person debt.
Debt started in the year 1776, meaning 236 years of debt growth
= rate of $98/person/year
Bermuda:
5 billion dollars over 60,000 people equals $83,333 per person debt.
Debt started in the year 2000, meaning only 12 years of debt growth
= rate of $6,944/person/year
YOU DO THE MATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!! STAND UP AGAINST INJUSTICE!!!!!!!!!!
Somebody has to be the Fall guy and these two are it!!
They will not stay in long Andrey Curtis is out already saw himm running along middle road devonshire the other day ,so not to worry they willbe out by christmas i guest. as they have to make room for the others who will get caught soon casue remember there are still more in gov job doing the same thing.
Funny that none of them will talk….Curtis, Tee Street, and now Boris and Natasha….not a word said on who their cohorts are, who else benefited from their scheme, why they are sent to C0-ed instead of WEst Gate….and how they seem to land on their feet financially after being released.
Mr. Froomkin seems to be grasping at straws… how can people who still maintain their innocence be trusted!!!They obviously felt because of the road they travelled they are above the law and entitled to abuse the public purse for personal gain??that happens to be my money that I am forced to pay to assist their bloated paycheques they receive because of the jobs they decided to hold.. it seems for them THE WORLD IS NEVER ENOUGH!!! Greed comes in many forms and unfortunately for this pair they are the epitome of it today.. Well done Puise Justice Charlesetta, we need more people to realize their position does not exempt them from the law but rather they need to be held in a higher accountability because of their position and rate of pay! If a drug dealer deals within the school zones he is penalized even more.. this corruption was undeniable and the pair put others in a very comprimising position… more heads need to roll because this entitlement that certain people feel needs to be addressed!!!Hopefully Mrs Burrows will have time to consider therapy regarding her previous occupation and why it is wrong to treat the public purse as personal property!!!it also sheds light on the fact that No One is to be trusted every job must be fulfilled fully check those cheques no matter who says what!! double check invoices these are not your ace boys you work with civil servants!!!you work for the entire public and your pay is largely sponsored by the private sector!!!Having more doesn’t make you better, most criminals are well mannered and are able to conceal the dark side when you meet them. We don’t know what is going through a persons mind no matter how well we think we know them!! No one is to be trusted in any Government Position!!!everything needs to be proven through checks and balances ONLY!!!!!Obviously this pair now knows that they should not mess with the system and think they are to above anyone to be judged!!
I wonder who paid Froomkin….QCs require a 10K deposit
also Mr. Burrows can now exercise his right to exercise!!!
so when govt. uses are (tax payer)money to buy their nice new bmw and first class trips or just simply lose are money thats cool but someone else take money from them to help build a house thats jail time
I think it a disgrace and outrage that former senior Cabinet minister and BDA Regiment Commanding Officer Col. Burch chose be a character witness. The message now is, “It’s OK to steal, lie and cheat as long as you support the PLP, but try not and get caught…”
Common Criminals and Thieves and esteemed in the eyes of the church and the state.
Black Authenticity Construct at its best!
They couldn’t commit these crimes without the assistance and cooperation of other W&E employees, both junior and senior.
Can we expect to see others placed before the courts?
The only people I feel for are the children and other family members who have to deal with this on a daily basis.
These two greedy and selfish individuals should hang their heads in shame and whilst they are incarcerated think about what they have done to their families.
I knew these two and actually thought they were decent people. If they’re con artists, they’re very very good at it, and I wouldn’t blame the Col.- as much as I don’t personally like him much at all. They presented themselves as being upstanding, God-fearing, family-oriented people, and it is shocking to have seen this verdict. Equally, I am sure there’s plenty that the investigators will never catch, and this is probably the tip of the iceberg.
And though I can’t ordinarily stomach Ms. Furbert’s comments, it’s more than inappropriate to make the leap that she would advocate for these two to have no jail time. There is no refuting that they got caught with their hands in our cookie jar. Ms. Furbert simply remarked on the fact that it is indeed sad that two more of our children will have to visit their parents in prison. It is sad that the Burrowses didn’t think of the repercussions of their actions and the impact on their kids. I think that’s certainly worth lamenting…and, let’s not hold these kids responsible for their parents’ crimes. We owe it to them to do all we can to keep them from following in their parents’ footsteps.
So yes. Lavern, I thought it would be a snowy day in August before I agreed with something that you said, but it is sad, very sad, for their kids. Who are, incidentally, two of the finest children you would ever want to meet. Humble, hard working kids. I hope they can hang onto those attributes in this community full of nasty people with nasty tongues.
It is all very sad. Losing faith in someone you trust and consider a friend- sad. Sad for their kids. But, crime is wrong, the evidence was overwhelming, the punishment is just, and because it’s the right outcome makes it no less sad.
Whats sad is that we tend to put certain people on a pedastal when this is where our equality shows.. there are a lot of nice, former upstanding citizens that have served jail time, how do we now justify calling them upstanding, trustworthy under the circumstances.. it is always sad when we as people don’t always think before we leap but goodness shows in what people do not who they think they are or who they portray themselves to be to the public,. most of us know how to conduct oursselves in the most nefarious situations!!!do not be deceived, as much as we love our friends and family the law should apply equally to all or abolished for all, we cannot have it both ways, it sends the wrong message to our younger people who will certainly take a cue from what they see, hear and read.. Yes the rubber meets the road when any situation hits home, many of us have been involved in very shocking situations even with our close family, boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses,.. we would never dream someone who loves us would act a certain way but we must accept the facts. Looks are deceiving and an education doesn’t make you any less likely to commit an offence.
This was not a momentary occurrence out of the blue.
It was going on for years.
They could have apologized to the country and admitted their wrongdoing right off the bat.
Instead they twisted and spun claimed victimization, published a booklet to deflect blame.
They cost hundreds of thousands in court procedure in a case that was saturated with evidence.
The amount stolen was not the sum total and all their friends are shocked!
Poor you, literally.
Give everyone who don’t rape the public purse a medal.