Text Messages Reveal John Saldivar Received Monies from Lev Dermen
Tonight we revisit those text exchanges between John Saldivar and Jacob Kingston that were presented as exhibits in a Utah court on Tuesday. The texts that went viral and have become the butt of all jokes and memes establish a relationship between Saldivar and Jacob Kingston and Lev Dermen, the accused fraudster from whom Saldivar sought the usual twenty-five thousand dollars. Since their release on Thursday, News Five contacted Saldivar via WhatsApp for comment. We asked the Belmopan Area Representative if he still denies allegations of wrongdoing, but our message was left on “seen.” The Court documents from Salt Lake City show communications between Kingston and Saldivar on February eleventh 2014. The text messages reveal that he agreed to go to Miami to collect fifty thousand U.S. dollars on February twelfth to pick up the cash from an associate called Daryl. The documents show that Saldivar initiated the texting with Kingston, telling him that he is nervous because he had not heard from Dermen. Saldivar tells Kingston that four of his candidates have been successful in conventions and that he is out cash. This was on February eleventh 2014, and during that time there were no reported conventions. Saldivar tells Kingston that he needs the February tranche and that wiring the money would not be a good idea. Arrangements are made for Saldivar to receive the cash in Miami the following day. Saldivar tells Kingston that the “usual” is twenty five thousand dollars. What sticks out in that sentence is the word “usual.” One can interpret that “usual” would mean that this is not the first time that Dermen had provided cash to Saldivar. In fact, it would appear that Saldivar had received cash from Dermen on other occasions. In this case, it appears to have been twenty five thousand dollars US per month as he also collected the March tranche. Saldivar writes that four of his colleague also benefited from Dermen’s cash. The four remain unnamed. The unions and private sector have been calling for an investigation into Saldivar, the Belmopan mayor Khalid Belisle and others and want to know more about the campaign funds. Like Saldivar, the Prime Minister has not answered questions from the media, but we will keep insisting.