By PAVEL BAILEY
TWO Americans were accused of making false declarations to US officers at Lynden Pindling International Airport.
Travis James Janovich, 48, of North Carolina appeared before Senior Magistrate Samuel McKinney yesterday on charges of making false declarations to a US officer in the pre-clearance section of LPIA on February 15.
The court was told that Janovich falsely told the officer that he was carrying $45,000 on him when he was in fact in possession of $51,830 in US currency.
In court, Janovich pleaded guilty to the charges against him.
His lawyer pointed out that his client had no prior accusations against him and gave further explanation as to his client’s actions.
He informed the magistrate that Janovich had come to The Bahamas to attend a Super Bowl Party at Baha Mar over the weekend. It was there that the he won a jackpot at the casino which accounted for the cash found in his possession.
He also explained that at the airport, after Janovich had been very generous with his winnings to his taxi driver and entourage, that his client freely admitted to airport officers that he had an excess of over $10,000 cash in his possession. He said it was because Janovich had won so much money recently and wasn’t allowed to count it before he was detained that he wrongly declared that he had $45,000 in his possession instead.
Considering these circumstances and the fact that Janovich is a millionaire that invested heavily in The Bahamas with property in Abaco, as well as his early plea of guilt, Janovich’s lawyer asked the court to be lenient in sentencing.
Magistrate McKinney took these factors into consideration and sentenced Janovich to a fine of $500 or three months in prison.
Janovich’s lawyer asked for an absolute discharge so the charges would not affect his client’s financial interests, but the request was denied, thus the charge will still appear on Janovich’s record.
In a separate matter, Anne-Marie Macchione, 40, of New Jersey, also appeared before Magistrate McKinney on charges of making false declarations and failing to declare money to US officers at LPIA.
The court heard that while at US pre-clearance at LPIA, Macchione falsely stated to US officers that she only had $5,000 in her possession when she had $28,593 in US currency.
This led to her secondary charge of failing to declare money in excess of $10,000 to a US officer.
In court, Macchione pleaded guilty to both charges.
Magistrate McKinney sentenced her to a fine of $500 or three months in prison for the first count of making false declarations, but granted her a discharge for the second count of failing to declare.
Upon payment of her fine, Macchione was allowed to freely leave the Bahamas.
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