Archive for August, 2008
Price of white collar crime
(CNS): Author of Stolen Without a Gun Walter Pavlo who now lectures on corruption in the business world was convicted of embezzling $6 million from his employer, which he sent to the Cayman Islands. He was sentenced two years in prison and recently that said his decline into crime came from poor decision making. “I started bending the rules and it became easier and easier,” he said.
"It seemed like I was getting away with it and it seemed like other people approved, so I lost my bearing. It doesn’t mean that everyone does it; it just means that I did.”
Appearing as the guest speaker at The Collins College of Business at the University of Tulsa’s annual business ethics seminar, Pavlo explained how easily it happened, according to the Journal Record. Pavlo said the speaking engagements allow him to share his experience in an upfront, candid matter.
“I think it’s important people know I was punished,” he said. “I think too often people think white-collar felons just get a slap on the wrist. I paid a significant price for what I did. It ruined me financially and it impacted my family and my children.”
In the mid-1990s, Pavlo was a senior manager at MCI, where he was responsible for the billing and collecting of nearly $1 billion in monthly revenue for the company’s career finance division.
Pavlo said during that time a large number of customers were not paying their bills, and he was finding a considerable amount of fraud. When a customer wasn’t paying, employees of MCI were supposed to report it, but Pavlo said they didn’t.
“We didn’t disclose anybody for a number of reasons, but the main thing is we didn’t think we were doing anything wrong, or it would last very long,” he said. “There is subjectivity that comes with pronouncing something as uncollectable and bad debt, we just chose not to do it, and after awhile it really did become a problem and we were hiding things.”
Pavlo said the events started to snowball once he became jaded and tainted by customers that he saw defrauding MCI and he wanted to find a way to strike back. Starting in March 1996, Pavlo, a member of his staff and a business associate outside of MCI began to commit fraud involving several MCI customers. Over a six-month period, seven MCI customers were defrauded, resulting in $6 million in payments to a bank in the Cayman Islands.
“So I was doing stuff for the company and doing something for me,” he said. “In the end I wasn’t a very good criminal. I was nervous and was very scared of getting caught, and knew this wouldn’t end well.”
Pavlo pleaded guilty in 2001 to wire fraud and money laundering and in prison he wrote a book as a personal confession. Since getting out he has turned his crime to profit with speaking engagements and promotion of his book. “There are a lot of things that happen in business and there are a lot of reasons why people cross the line,” he said, adding that people need to know why.
Drugs seized at ports of entry
(CNS): Customs officers have seized over a kilo (2.2lb) of cocaine with a street value of around $75,000 and 2000lb of ganja with a potential street value of as much as $3 million. Officers also assisted in the arrest of eight people in drug related incidents at both Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) and the George Town Port.
On 9 June the suspicious activity of a returning work permit holder at the airport led to customs officials calling the K-9 Unit, which resulted in the search of the Honduran national after the dog handler was alerted to potential drugs by the dog. A considerable amount of powered cocaine was found on him and he was subsequently charged with importation and possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
As a result of his arrest, further investigations were carried out with the assistance of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) Drugs Task Force (DTF), which led to the detention of a Caymanian man for the involvement in the importation of cocaine. “The cocaine is in powder form and the unofficial weight is half a kilo,” Assistant Collector and Head of Customs Narcotic Enforcement Team/Intelligence Unit Trevor Williams said.
Several days later, a young Caymanian man returning from Honduras was also arrested and charged with importation and possession of cocaine with intent to supply at the airport after a search yielded approximately half a kilo of cocaine in powder on his person. Customs officials did not indicate whether the incidents were related but said investigations were continuing in both cases.
Two Caymanians were arrested on 8 August and charged with importation and possession of cocaine with intent to supply after suspicions were aroused and a search revealed cocaine in powder form on each man. The drugs weighed some 120 grams (4.2 oz).
A juvenile wasalso apprehended at the airport for the importation of a pellet gun on his arrival from Miami. “The pellet gun is a restricted item that requires a permit to import,” explained Williams. An x-ray search of the juvenile’s baggage led to the discovery of the firearm. He was interviewed in his mother’s presence and subsequently taken to Summary Court where he was fined $400 and the gun forfeited.
Meanwhile at the George Town Port, a search of what was supposedly an empty US-bound container on 3 July resulted in the discovery of 2,000 lbs of ganja when customs officers discovered a false compartment at the back of the 40-foot container.“The concealment was discovered during a random inspection by Customs of outbound containers,” Williams explained, adding that incident is still under investigation.
In another incident three cruise ship passengers from the US were arrested at the cruise terminal on 30 June after they were seen acting suspiciously when they arrived to re-board their ship. One was subsequently released without charge, while the other two were charged with possession of cocaine and ganja after being searched and found with a small amount of the drugs. They appeared in court on 1 July, resulting in a fine of $400 for Ronald Emanuel (30) for possession of cocaine, and Matthew Marmaros (21) was fined $350 for possession of ganja. In both instances, the drugs were deemed for personal use. All three men have since left the islands.
Williams said that the arrests were all a result of the vigilance of customs officers. “I am delighted that the admirable efforts of our officers have taken a substantial quantity of illegal drugs and a firearm off our streets. The arrests clearly demonstrate our zero tolerance to illegal substances and firearms. We take these cases very seriously and will continue to pursue them vigorously,” he added.
NRA admits using illegal fill
(CNS): As the Mahogany Estates residents continue their campaign to stop Whiterock Investments from turning their backyard from an unofficial quarry into an official one, the National Roads Authority (NRA) has admitted that it did inadvertently use fill excavated from the quarry in question, but has since ceased to do business with the company.
In a response to enquiries made by CNS, Brian Tomlinson, Director of the NRA, explained that the Authority purchased 814.30 cubic yards of shot rock from Whiterock Investment Ltd in July of 2007 under one order. “When the dubious disposition of the business came to light, all business transactions with that company were stopped and we have not done any business with them since nor do we intend to do anymore business with them,” he said.
The issue of the NRS’s use of the fill had come to public attention earlier this week when the residents of Mahogany Estates held a press conference (Tuesday 19 August) to tell the wider Caymanian public about their dilemma. Reverend Nicholas Sykes, the spokesperson for the group explained that residents had followed trucks leaving Whiterock’s illegal quarrying operation in Beach Bay and discovered that apart from ending up at one major private sector development site, the fill had also gone to the NRA and in particular in to the east-west arterial by pass.
The residents have also received a stay of execution this week as a result of the Department of Planning’s decision to postpone the original hearing planned for 27 August, allowing them a little more time to prepare their objections to the application made by Lorenzo Berry of Whiterock Investments to make his quarrying operation official. However, without legal representation and given the history of the situation residents say they are not confident that they will be able to prevent the inevitable granting of planning permission to turn their neighbourhood into a commercial quarry.
Berry has, according to residents and the evidence of a 17-foot deep crater on his land, been excavating and blasting in a low-density residential zone for a decade, on and off, contrary to planning permission (see Residents appeal for help in quarry dispute).
CNS contacted the Director of Planning Kenneth Ebanks for his thoughts on the subject but he explained that because the situation was in dispute he could not offer a contribution. "The subject matter is to be heard by the CPA in the near future and as such I will not make any comments as it may be prejudicial to the process.” He did however say he would be willing to discuss the issue once the application had been through the legal process.
Berry currently has an application pending to excavate and entirely level 44 acres of ocean front bluff and natural forest containing endangered, indigenous flora and fauna, which is currently as high as 30 feet in some parts. There is no doubt that this action will cause serious flooding to a number of Beach Bay communities should a storm occur and will cause untold damage to the environment as well as make some property owners’ land inaccessible.
The introduction of a commercial quarrying operation will also further disrupt the lives of the residents in the Beach Bay area and in particular the residents of Mahogany Estates who have already suffered enormously over the last ten years as a result of the blasting, excavation and removal of fill from the de facto quarry on their doorstep.
Despite the illegality of the operation and the residents’ persistent complaints to everyone, including Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts and Governor Stuart Jack, not to mention their attempts to enlist the support of various agencies and organisations, residents have had little support for their cause and have now gone public in the hope that someone will help them. The residents are also appealing for pro bono legal support to help them present their case and fight what they believe is both illegal and immoral.
Former MLA opts for Grand Court
(CNS): Most of the charges against former UDP Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Sister Islands, Lyndon Martin will be heard in the Grand Court. The charges all relate to accusations of corruption and an alleged break-in at the Cayman Net News premises on North Sound Road, George Town, in 2007, where Martin was working as a senior reporter at the time.
Martin appeared in Summary Court yesterday morning, 21 August, for a preliminary investigation and will next appear in the Grand Court in October.
Aside from charges relating to the break-in, Martin faces charges of making false accusations and doing an act to pervert the course of public justice, which are supposedly connected to allegations made against the publisher of Net News, Desmond Seales and Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Ennis . The allegations triggered an independent internal police investigation, which has been carried out by SIO Martin Bridger formerly of the Metropolitan Police in London, now employed by the Governor’s office. Bridger has been in Cayman with a team of UK detectives since September of last year investigating issues of alleged corruption within the RCIPS.
Bridger first came to the Cayman Islands to begin an undercover operation allegedly as a result of Martin’s accusations that suggested Seales and Ennis were in a corrupt relationship. Bridger however said that he and his detectives soon discovered that those allegations were completely false, but as a result of the investigations there were other concerns which came to light regarding potential corruption within the Police Service.
In the wake of Bridger’s enquiries, which are ongoing, Commissioner of Police Stuart Kernohan, Chief Inspector John Jones and Deputy Commissioner Rudolph Dixon were suspended from duty in March of this year. Dixon was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of misconduct in a public office and two counts of doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice. Details of the charges were made public by Dixon’s lawyer Michael Alberga at the beginning of this month and relate to two separate incidents, one of which includes the release of two of Martin’s relatives who had been arrested on charges relating to illegal gambling.
Can Jamaica’s Sprinters Fight Crime?
(Time Magazine): The secret of Usain Bolt’s sprinting prowess, at least according to his Aunt Lilly, lies in a substance the precocious Olympic champion has consumed for years: the mouth-watering yellow yams she still cooks for him at Miss Lilly’s Bar and Shop in Trelawny parish, deep in the hilly heartland of Jamaica known as Cockpit Country. "You can count on that," Lilly Bolt, 56, told TIME by telephone from the patio of her restaurant, where Usain also likes to dance to roots reggae music. Go to article
What do hurricanes and kangaroos have in common?
(Times Online): The hurricane season is well under way, and the storms are coming thick and fast. Over the past week, Tropical Storm Fay swept though the Caribbean, leading to 14 deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, before landing a fair-sized punch on Florida, even though it did not reach hurricane power. Go to article
No medal but first for the CI
(CNS): Cydonie Mothersill, the first athlete from the Cayman Islands to reach the finals in an Olympic event, ran a good race in the finals of the Women’s 200-meter sprint in Beijing Thursday, finishing in 22.68 seconds, almost repeating her season’s best time of 22.61 in the semifinals, but there was little chance of a medal running against the powerful Jamaican and US teams.
"I just didn’t have it tonight," Mothersill told Cayman Islands Olympic Committee Journalist Shurna Robbins after the race. "I should be happy, because I have had a rough season, so I should be grateful, but I’m a competitor and I wanted to do better. But I’m thankful that I got in the finals. Only positive things can come out of this. We had a finalist from the Cayman Islands in the 200. I just wish I could have put on a better show."
Mothersill said she really gave it her best but thought that a sore hip that may have impacted her speed. "When you are at this stage – you just have to forget about whatever your body is telling you and try and get your mind strong and that is what I did," she said. "I would have liked to have got a medal and I would have liked to at least come out with a PB (personal best), but like I said – I had a rough season. No one thought I would be in this final – so I am happy."
“I think it was a fantastic performance. I know she had a rough season and she was hurt most of the time,” said Cayman Islands Coach Kenrick Williams. “To be in the finals in the Olympics and to be the first person from the Cayman Islands to make the finals is really a tremendous effort on her part. And I know all Caymanians will be supporting her.”
Noting that Mothersill is now ranked number eight in the world in the 200 metre, he said, "We were hoping for her to get a PR (personal record), but last night she said to me she was having a hip problem," says Coach Williams. "But she was going to put that out of her mind and just go into the race and compete and that is what she did."
This was Mothersill’s first time in the finals in her fourth Olympic bid, and she noted that having five competitors from the Caribbean in the finals was historic in itself.
At 30, Mothersill has not decided yet whether she will have enough left to give the Olympics another go. "Maybe in 2012 I will be there in my heels. I am not sure," she said.
Winning the gold medal was Veronica Campbell-Brown, who successfully defended her Olympic title in a time of 21.74 seconds. It was the fastest time of the year and the seventh fastest of all time, as well as a personal best. In a repeat of the first and second positions in the Athens Games, American Allyson Felix finished in 21.93 for her second consecutive silver medal.
Kerron Stewart captured the bronze with a time of 22.00 seconds. Americans Muna Lee (22.01) and Marshevet Hooker (22.34) took fourth and fifth place, followed by Jamaican Sherone Simpson (22.36). Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie of the Bahamas (left with Mothersill), the Bronze medallist at Athens finished in 22.61, slightly ahead of Mothersill.
It was the fourth career medal for Campbell-Brown, 26, who also won gold inJamaica’s 4×100 relay in Athens and silver in the relay in Sydney.
It could happen to you….
The plight of the residents at Mahogany Estates has certainly garnered a little more sympathy this week now their story has been told. After all, who would not feel for those who have worked hard to buy their own land, build their dream home in the peace, quiet and safety of the countryside only to find that dream turned nightmare with the opening of a commercial quarry in their back yard.
One of the important issues that this whole sorry affair raises however is the point that this could happen to anyone. Most of the residents of Mahogany Estates are regular working people; they are not rich and many of the homes on the estate are relatively modest. What they have in common is that they purchased land there because of its peaceful natural wooded aspect, its high and dry location and the protection offered by the bluff from storms and hurricanes.
But every reason for their investment has been threatened, and for some ten years there has been little the residents could do. Whether or not this particular developer is right or wrong, from a moral or legal standpoint, seems less important at the moment than the fact he has been able to severely disrupt the lives of these people to a very severe extent with impunity. This raises the question of where else this could all happen and to whom.
Although the developer seems to have been asked to stop his excavation activity by the Planning Department on various occasions, it is apparent by the gaping 17 foot deep crater in the middle of his land that while he has ceased on occasions there have been plenty more when his operation has been full swing.
The issue of enforcement for many government entities seems to be a difficult one, whether it is the Water Authority and the Turtle Farm or the Planning Department and rogue property owners, laws supposedly designed to protect both the island and its people are rarely enforced. There seems to be an underlying default position in favour of large landowners and their rights to do as they please with their property.
Indeed the sanctity of landownership is very important to Cayman. The fact that overseas investors can buy land and have absolute rights and protection has been an important contributor to our economic success. However, there must be some limits that are clearly defined by planning laws. But as many people would be willing to testify, the rules and regulations concerning planning are far from clear. This case further illustrates the mixed messages emanating from the Central Planning Authority and the Department.
In this particular case an industrial quarrying operation has been taking place in a low-density residential zone. This, according to the history of documentation held by the residents, is contrary to the developer’s original planning permission, which was simply to level some of his land to make roads for another residential sub-division. Whether the developer ever intended to open a quarry operation right from the start or whether he just stumbled across the lucrative benefits of such a venture after he had been granted planning permission for roads remains to be seen, but for ten years on and off he has been able to do what he has done with no penalty. He has even admitted in writing on occasion that he has stepped outside the boundaries of his permission but as far as can be ascertained there has been no resulting sanction.
More importantly as the CPA moves to hear his application to officially make the land a quarry, he seems to be about to be rewarded for his wrong doing, because it is easier for planning to let him go ahead with their blessing than trying to stop him – so what point then in zoning?
Once granted, we will see the entire 44-acre bluff and all of the natural woodland destroyed and levelled to a mere five feet, which will likely ensure the flooding of most of the residential areas of Beach Bay in the event of a storm. What life is left for the people of Mahogany Estates will be completely ruined. It will be nigh on impossible for them to ever sell their properties and some will never be able to access their land. The residents have no legal counsel as they can’t afford it, and their 60 or so polled objections seem to be falling on deaf ears.
The land may well belong to the developer but where as a community are we all prepared to draw the line at what people do with their land? Moreover, it appears that the rights of the Mahogany Estate landowners are being railroaded. There is absolutely no doubt that had the developer chosen to turn this bluff into an all-inclusive holiday resort exclusively for gay holidaymakers he would have been stopped in a heartbeat. Sadly, however, his current operation appears only to be of concern to the 40 or so families backing on to his quarry, who have not gathered anywhere near enough community-wide support to put a stop to the venture once and for all.
While it’s easy to dismiss the troubles of others when we all have problems of our own, it’s worth considering that next time it could be you……
CUC: No capacity problem
(CNS): Even though Cayman has suffered three major power outages over the last week, affecting most parts of the island, Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) has said that this is not a capacity problem and that each of the outages were unrelated. “These were all entirely coincidental,” Doug Murry CUC’s Corporate Secretary told CNS. “We deal with unpredictable equipment and sometimes things go wrong.”
CUC’s electrical and mechanical equipment, like all machinery, is subject to unpredictable failure, despite what the firm described as high specification and maintenance standards. CUC stressed that the failures did not indicate any underlying reliability issues and, regardless of the recent development on island, CUC was more than able to cope with the increasing demand for power.
Violent robbers still at large
(CNS): The unknown number of perpetrators responsible for the recent violent robberies have not been apprehended and police are still seeking witnesses to the incident that occurred at Pet Pros in Crewe Road, where the robbers are said to have assisted some customers who came into the shop while the robbery was underway. “We continue to investigate the robberies but there are no obvious links between them,” said David George.
The Police Commissioner was speaking to the media at an informal briefing on Tuesday 19 August when he said that the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) was analysing why these crimes had occurred. George said that while there were not any clear links the police were not ruling the possibility out. The Commissioner noted, however, that it would be unusual for a perpetrator to use a firearm in one incident and then in a short period of time commit another offence using a machete.
“We are not closing our eyes to any possibilities but there doesn’t seem to be a thread with regards these crimes,” George added. “We are also still looking for witnesses and there are a couple of people who the perpetrators assisted in one of the crimes that haven’t come forward yet that could help the investigation.”
In the last three weeks there have been four violent robberies on Grand Cayman in the George Town area. The first was on Thursday, 31 July when a man was robbed at gun point while sitting in his car on School Road. Then on Friday 1 August two men entered Pet Pro’s on Crewe Road, armed with handguns and stole an undisclosed amount of cash. During that incident customers came into the store to purchase goods and the robbers pretended to be staff and assisted the shoppers.
A week later on 8 August, McRuss Grocery Store on Party Lane was robbed by a man armed with a machete, and then on Sunday 11 August a lone security guard was robbed by two men outside of the Hard Rock Café in down town George Town, one of which was armed with a handgun. While police note that the MO has been slightly different in each of these incidents, a weapon was used to threaten the victims.
Speaking after the last robbery, Chief Inspector Peter Kennett of the Criminal Investigation Department said that, while it was too early to say for sure if police were looking for the same men or different men in each case, he was concerned that the robbers were apprehended before anyone was hurt and he advised people and businesses to take extra precautions to protect themselves against becoming victims.
Anyone with information about crime taking place in the Cayman Islands should contact their local policestation or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS). All persons calling Crime Stoppers remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward of up to $1000 should their information lead to an arrest or recovery of property/drugs.