A lawyer who owns a hotel dubbed “the worst in Britain” has been jailed.
John Washington, who owns the Fiorenzo Cazari hotel - formerly the Morville - in Rhyl , had asked a member of staff to take a woman out for a drink and try to persuade her to drop a sex charge against his brother.
But the woman recorded the conversation with the staff member using a mobile phone hidden in her bra, and Washington was arrested for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The recording was not very clear, but at Mold Crown Court today Washington was convicted and sentenced to eight months.
Judge Niclas Parry jailed the dad-of-four for eight months, describing his crimes as “very serious”.
He added: “It strikes at the very heart of our system of justice.
“You sought to influence the main witness, the complainant, by using a person over whom you had influence, a person whose job depended on you.”
The court heard that his actions did not in fact pervert the course of justice because the prosecution had decided not to proceed with the case.
He had no previous convictions and the judge said that he accepted that he had acted entirely out of character.
Prosecuting barrister Simon Rogers said that the victim told how her confidence had been affected and she had been put under a great deal of stress and pressure.
The jury was told that the offence took place in June of last year.
A member of staff at The Fiorenzo Cazari hotel had been called into the office and asked to take the complainant out for a drink and to try and get her to drop the charges.
Washington denied the claim.
Defending barrister Ashitey Ollennu told how the defendant was a married man with four children aged between two and six.
He came from Afghanistan as a refugee, was granted asylum and was now a British citizen who had lived in the UK for 20 years.
His client was an industrious man who had done taxi work and at the same time studied for a law degree and became a lawyer.
He was also a businessman who had a Subway franchise and he had purchased the hotel in Rhyl and worked to make it profitable and to provide local jobs.
Mr Ollennu stressed that his client’s actions had not actually perverted the course of justice.
The prosecution had not proceeded with the case against his client’s brother because they took the view there was no realistic prospect of a conviction.
It was accepted that as a qualified solicitor he should have known better.
“He is not a villain,” said Mr Ollennu.
“This is a one off serious mistake, a stupid act.”
Washington’s hotel, on Rhyl’s East Parade, has 69 reviews on Trip Advisor - 58 of them with a “terrible” rating. People who have left reviews described it variously as “beyond my worst nightmare”, “worst place I’ve ever seen”, “disgusting beyond belief” and “the worst hotel in Britain”.
Two reviewers described it as "excellent" and four as "very good". Five others rated it "poor".
see-http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/washington-fiorenzo-rhyl-hotel-jailed-11830572
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