TTFF, Camps one-man company.
By: Week-end Investigation (Sunday Mirror).
Shocker: The Trinidad and Tobago Footbal Federation (TTFF) of which Jack Warner is Special Adviser and which has received over $45 million of taxpayers fundsis, in fact a sole trader company owned by it's President Oliver Camps and not a normal sports organization as the public has been led to believe.
Anther eye-opener is that Warner has paid sacked Dutch Coach Wim Rijsbergen twice out of his secret personal Cayman Islands account.
These 'bombshells" are contained in the afidavit of a writ Rijsbergen filed against Camps in the High Court on Wednesday.
Government paid out some $45 milion to the TTFF with Camps, himself, receiving the cheques for expenses incurred in preparing the Soca Warrios for the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany - possibly, unaware that the TTFF is a one-man company.
Rijsbergen, who was dismissed in December following a verbal altercation with Technical Director Lincoln Phillips, is seeking some US$90,000 in arrears of salary damages for breach of contract, exemplary damages, costs and other relief.
Rijsbergen, who was Leo Beenhakker's assistant, succeeded him 18 months ago when Beenhaker quit the job after the World Cup to coach Poland.
He was hired at a tax-free monthly salary of US$60,000 plus other perks for a four-year period. However, he was short-paid by some US$10,000 monthly during the period August 2006 to July 2007 and received the sum of US$9,905 from Warner which represented his August Salary.
He claimed that he was further short-paid by US$10,000 for the months of September, October and November 207 and received no salary for December.
Things went sour following an alleged confrontation between himsef and former national goal-keeper Lincoln Philips last year.
He contended that he was treated unfairly by Camps "in the handling of the alleged incident" and the purported convening of a tribunal which he claimed "broke every tenet of the rules of national justice,fairness transparency".
The four-member tribunal or disciplinary committee, which gave him short notice about its deliberations , comprised Lennox Watson, Ewing Davis, Elvis Charles and Sushilla Jadoonanan.
They found that Rijsbergen's language constituted "acts of intimidation" against Phillips and "was unneccessary, unprofessional and unfounded and would, therefore, bring the TTFF into disrepute".
The committee also found that while there was an assault against Phillips, "it was not a physical one". He was found guilty of misconduct on December 6th by the Tribunal and suspended for a six month period from December 4.
The Dutch coach is contending that he was not given the opportunity to cross-examine his accuser, to have witnesses, to address the disciplinary comittee in his defence or to have legal counsel.
He was also not advised of his rights to appeal and on December 17, a letter by courier service arrived at his home in Holland advising him that he had "failed to file an appeal of the said decision and the date for filing such an appeal has expired".
On January 3, Camps told a press conference that an interim national coach, Francisco Manturana, had ben appointed. Neither Camps nor Warner could be contacted on the matter since both are out of the country.
Mirror Weekend wanted to quiz Camps about the true status of TTFF. Pursuant to the said contract Oliver Camps and TTFF has been credited by the Chairman with certain payments particulars whereof and the corresponding source of funds (where available) are set forth in he chart below.
TAKEN FROM THE SUNDAY MIRROR MARCH 2ND PG 3