More Revelations from Utah Case on John Saldivar
At news time tonight, the government and the new leader of the U.D.P., John Saldivar have remained mum about the incriminating revelations coming out from a court in Utah in a trial that has captivated the nation. A press conference announced for this Wednesday by the U.D.P. has been called off as Saldivar comes under fire and the political fortunes spirals downward. The P.U.P., however, will have its say on Wednesday. In the court today, the jury heard more salacious and damning testimony and was provided with text messages from Jacob Kingston about Lev Dermen and the cash given to Saldivar. Here is a report.
Duane Moody, Reporting
In the Salt Lake City court, there were further revelations in respect of John Saldivar, the freshly minted leader of the U.D.P. Still on the witness stand is Jacob Kingston. Kingston has already testified that he knew Saldivar was getting bundles of cash from accused fraudster Lev Dermen. Today, he proffered specific details. Kingston testified that he had contact with John Saldivar at the end of 2014 and early 2015. He said, “I met with John and Lev in 2014 and we discussed some of his campaign. He told us that he had three to four individuals as part of his party, and their intent to be re-elected, and the conversation led to cash/money that was needed for the re-election campaign.”
Kingston told the jury that on February eleventh, 2014, Saldivar texted him to ask for money. These text messages were presented in court. At first, Kingston didn’t know who it was, but Saldivar identified himself. Kingston testified that Saldivar said he was nervous that Dermen would not make good on his promises to him because he had not heard back from him and was not paying the twenty-five thousand dollar payment a month which he said he would. One of the text messages from Saldivar read, “Really need the February tranche.” Kingston said that he offered to wire him the money, but Saldivar refused, saying that he thought a wire was a bad idea. Kingston then offered to send fifty thousand dollars with an associate to Miami if Saldivar could meet him there. Saldivar agreed to this; writing back, “Ok, I will head to Miami Thursday.”
Kingston told the court that he was under the impression that Saldivar had an arrangement in which he was to receive monthly contributions of twenty-five thousand dollars to support his campaign.
The prosecutor then changed his line of questioning to the details of the investigation. Kingston later testified that he traveled to Belize in April 2015 to meet with Dermen and discuss their plan to transfer millions of dollars they received from a U.S. tax return to Turkish bank accounts. Upon his return from this trip, he testified that border agents seized his phone in San Diego and scanned them, which is how the U.S. government gained possession of the text messages presented in the case. Kingston testified that afterward, he had his old phone destroyed and acquired a new one so he could continue to communicate with Dermen.
This afternoon, Kingston told the jury that he gave his interests to a warehouse in Belize to Dermen as collateral for a lawsuit that was filed to make it appear as though the two were enemies. Before wrapping up for the day, both sides were fighting over the use of more text messages and photos as evidence.
As recent as Sunday after his election, Saldivar continued to deflect the allegations of any wrongdoing. The trial continues.
