Former Haitian paramilitary leader takes witness stand at his NYC grand larceny trial

Civil rights groups say he was a killer in Haiti. But Emmanuel "Toto" Constant has taken the witness stand in Brooklyn to challenge a more mundane label: real estate swindler. The former Haitian paramilitary leader testified in his own defense Wednesday at his mortgage fraud trial. He denies charges he was a key player in schemes that cheated lenders out of $1.7 million. Constant emerged as the notorious leader of the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was toppled in 1991. Human rights groups allege that between 1991 and 1994, the group terrorized and slaughtered slum-dwellers loyal to Aristide. When Aristide returned to power in 1994, Constant slipped into the United... [read full story]