And while there might not be anything new to say about Castro, it was new today when Burgess named two other ministers she was allegedly doing immigration business with. They are Anthony “Bootsâ€￾ Martinez and Erwin Contreras.

Here’s that part of the Senate Hearings, starting from her explanation that she was allegedly able to get these recommendations from these other Ministers because there was a monthly visa quota system:

Alvarine Burgess - Witness, Senate Hearing
“My understanding of quota systems from Mr. Castro is that the ministers who are procuring visas have a certain amount that they can do for the month.â€￾

Hon. Mark Lizarraga - Business Senator
“And Minister Castro told you thing personally?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“He did.â€￾

Hon. Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
“Why did you have the need to go to another minister for recommendation?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Because at that time Minister Castro was not here, he was not in the country.â€￾

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
“You’re going to the other ministers, was that also through Mr. Chan? How did that start?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“I only went to Mr. Martinez twice and Mr. Contreras once which would be 2 or 3 days the most.â€￾

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
“Why would you choose these 2 ministers?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Because I was acquainted with them; my husband use to play football and stay in Benque at Mr. Contreras’ house and I knew Mr. Martinez due to a family.â€￾

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
“And you went personally to them?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Yes.â€￾

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
“Twice to Mr. Martinez and once to Mr. Contreras?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Yes.â€￾

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
“And in terms of payment of money, what was the arrangement?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Well they got the same payment, the same 2,000 but they didn’t do a lot.â€￾

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
“And this you told to the United States Embassy you said?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“I had to because when they gave me that recording, I knew that they know everything and I felt that if I didn’t mention everything it would have been a problem.â€￾

Hon. Aldo Salazar
“This is the first time you’re ever mentioning any other ministers right?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Yes.â€￾

Hon. Aldo Salazar
“You never said that on Channel 5?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“I said 2 more but I never said who they were.â€￾

Hon. Aldo Salazar
“You said 2 more ministers on Channel 5?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Yes I said that when I was talking to Dicky Bradley but I never mentioned their names.â€￾

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
“Going through the visa application process with a minister’s recommendation guaranteed approval?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Yes.â€￾

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
“Why do you say this?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Because when Mr. Chan explained it to me, he was already in that business. So he knew that ministers were doing that visa project and having that letter head from the ministers desk is a sure guarantee that because it bared weight.â€￾

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
“And in your actual experience, did any of the visa application that you were involved with, was any of those ever denied?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“None.â€￾

So, what were her dealings with Erwin Contreras? Well, she told the Senate that she went to him once when Edmond Castro was out of the country, and she needed a group of Asians recommended for their visas to be approved. Here’s how she put it:

Alvarine Burgess - Witness, Senate Hearing
“I went to Mr. Contreras first up at the office at the back upstairs of the Chinese restaurant.â€￾

Hon. Mark Lizarraga - Business Senator
“What was his response and what did you ask him, what did you say to him?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Well I went there on that friends basis that he knew my husband and we were well acquainted and then I mentioned it to him that this is my situation that I was dealing with Minister Castro, he’s out of the country, my husband is ill and being an agent this way assist me a lot in getting my husband’s medication and that was how it was done. I never paid Mr. Contreras the 2,000 because he and my husband are very good friends.â€￾

Hon. Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
“Wait I need - I really believed that you said that you paid them.â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“I never paid Erwin.â€￾

Hon. Aldo Salazar
“I believe that you said you did.â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“I never paid Erwin.â€￾

Hon. Aldo Salazar
“So if you said you paid him earlier, your recanting that?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“Yes if I said I paid him, I’m recanting but I never paid Erwin but I did pay the other two Edmund and Boots.â€￾

Late this evening, Contreras sent 7News a statement saying quote, “I know Mrs. Burgess though her husband Orville Burgess who used to play football along with me with the Verdes FC.â€￾ He continues, quote, “I can recall that she in fact came to see me in my office in Belmopan asking assistance for some visa applications.  I immediately told her that I cannot help and that she should go to the Immigration Department.â€￾ End quote.  

So, while Contreras rejects her story, she claimed that when she did immigration business with Boots Martinez on two occasions she paid him. Here’s how she explained it in the hearings today:

Alvarine Burgess - Witness, Senate Hearing
“On one of my payments to Minister Boots, I had to go and meet him in Belize City because he was not in his office that day and I had to call him on his cell phone and he told me where to meet him in Belize City by Brodies on the Northern Highway in a white car; he use to assist my mother.â€￾

Hon. Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
“Did you got to him and offer him 2,000 dollars?â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“I went to him to talk to him and he wasn’t there the first time I went there and I got his number from his secretary and then I came back the next day and then we talked about it and I asked me if he could assist me because Edmund isn’t here and that is what Edmund was charging to that Edmund charged me 2,000 and he asked me if I had the money to pay him as well and I did for the first 5 because it was 2 occasions, 5 and 5.â€￾

Hon. Aldo Salazar
“So you never offered him the money, he just...â€￾

Alvarine Burgess
“He told me if I have the money, I told him yes and he did the letter as well.â€￾