DFC Seeks Tony Novelo’s Imprisonment for Unpaid Debt

Antonio Novelo

The Novelo family has been a political pincushion for more than a decade, and the saga continues. Today, attorneys for the Development Finance Corporation are set to jail Antonio Novelo for a long unpaid multi-million dollar debt to that institution. The Novelo family got the eighteen million dollar loan sometime in 2003, and since then has been on the “malpago” list. There was to be an application for Novelo’s committal this morning, but nobody can find him to serve him, so the matter was adjourned. This morning, we found out that at one point the defendant was given the option to pay one hundred dollars a month towards the loan which is now close to thirty million with interest…but even that hasn’t worked out.

Nazira Miles

Nazira Miles, Attorney for Development Finance Corporation

“Judgment was entered initially in 2008 for a little over eighteen million dollars. Since 2008 until 2012 when action was taken for them to start paying something towards the debt, nothing was paid. In 2012 we had appeared before Madam Justice Arana asking for them to be examined as to their means so that something can be paid. The only one of the brothers that was present was Antonio Novelo. He was examined, and the court determined that he can only pay one hundred dollars monthly. That was a small amount given the debt but we took it. He only made three payments and then he stopped paying. Thereafter we took the next step in law which we can take which is to make a committal application for breach of a court order. We did so and on several occasion there was a no show in their behalf. They were represented by Mr. Hubert Elrington, Senior Counsel who later brought them to Court, and Mr. Antonio Novelo was once again examined on the stand as to his means, and the Court made a subsequent order in March of 2013. In that order Mr. Antonio Novelo was made to pay fifteen hundred dollars monthly.”