Two former directors of First Choice Construction, which went into liquidation in the 1990s owing almost $500,000 in taxes and pension contributions, have denied claims they ?stole? from employees. Lawyers Tim and Georgia Marshall said they were directors of the company from 1994 until 1996 when they resigned.

At that time, in order ?to ensure that any company obligations were met prior to our disengagement?, they asked for a list of any debts the company had and were told the company owed Government taxes in the amount of $53,899.72.

The couple, along with fellow director Andre Curtis, made sure all obligations were either paid up in full, or suitable repayment plans were put into place, they said. First Choice and Mr. Curtis have come under fire after the construction company owner was appointed as chairman of the Tourism Board.

After his appointment, it was revealed that the company went into liquidation in the late 1990s owing Government almost half a million dollars in unpaid taxes.

Since then, Government has announced plans to hold directors criminally liable for unpaid pension and health insurance liabilities, even if a company is shut down. There was no mention of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall in stories until August 16 when Shadow Minister of Telecommunications Trevor Moniz called on Government to launch a formal criminal investigation into First Choice.

The article incorrectly stated that Mr. Curtis was the former director of First Choice Construction Ltd. with his partners and shareholders Georgia and Tim Marshall from 1994-1999.

In a letter to the Editor, Mr. Marshall last week wrote that he and his wife were off-Island on vacation in August when the newspaper ?decided? to involve them in whether or not Mr. Curtis should be appointed as chairman of the Tourism Board.

?The cowardly attack on my wife and I is that it is claimed that we were directors and shareholders with Mr. Curtis in First Choice Construction Limited at a time when the company racked up a tax debt of approximately $500,000 and the innuendo conveyed by some politicians and anonymous letters to the Editor, which you have indifferently decided to print, is that my wife and I are dishonest individuals,? he wrote. Mr. Marshall said while it was true that he and his wife were directors and shareholders in First Choice, their involvement was relatively short lived.

?The company was incorporated on February 2, 1994. By March 1996, my wife and I had transferred all of our shares in the company and resigned as directors,? he said.

Mr. Marshall added that Mr. Curtis wished to continue operating the company and he therefore had a new Board of Directors appointed, including the appointment of an account administrator, and changed the registered office of the company.

After the Marshall?s resignations, they had no further interest or involvement in the company. Mr. Marshall added that two years after he and his wife amicably parted ways with the company, it was wound up on June 23, 1998. ?Prior to resignation in March 1996, we asked Mr. Curtis to provide us with a current list of all outstanding company obligations as we wanted to ensure that any company obligations were met prior to our disengagement,? he wrote. Mr. Marshall said this list included outstanding Government taxes in the amount of $53,899.72. ?With the cooperation and assistance of Mr. Curtis, the company?s debts were either paid up in full, or suitably repayment plans were put into place.?

Adding that when he and his wife resigned, they believed the company had been put on a good footing, was meeting its obligations and had sufficient construction opportunities to meet any of its future, ongoing obligations. Mr. Marshall ended by saying that he had no obligation to educate the public on matters he considered to be private and the only reason he wrote the letter to the Editor was because the paper ?seems to have been momentarily hijacked by politicians and misguided people, who hide behind pseudonyms, to make or perpetuate false and extremely damaging claims?.