Archive for November, 2010
Cayman mansion owner gets six years jail time
(CNS): Following his guilty plea in a New York court this week, millionaire and Cayman resident Myron Gushlak has received a six year prison sentence for his part in a stock fraud. US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis handed down the sentence on Thursday before Gushlak was taken into custody. The Canadian banker had been charged with manipulating the share price of a communications company where he was a director. He has also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Gushlak’s $19 milllion Cayman home in Old Prospect Rd was recently set for auction with no reserve price but the sale was cancelled at the last minute.
According to media reports in the US, most of the details of the case against Gushlak had remained under seal while the Cayman resident had been cooperating with US authorities who were in pursuit of others reportedly involved in the scheme. However, this week the judge revealed that Gushlak’s cooperation had been “inconsistent” and had used the secrecy of the case “as a license to continue to deceive those with whom he conducted business.” Prosecutors have accused Gushlak of breaching his cooperation agreement.
Gushlak will face another sentencing hearing in December in relation to other conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering charges.
According to Gushlak’s websites, he relocated from Canada to the Cayman Islands in 2000 and is the managing director of Bluewater Partners, a small Cayman based merchant bank.
Man guilty of GBH after stabbing victim in neck
(CNS): A man who was due to face a grand court jury trial Thursday morning for attempted murder has now pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of GBH and will be sentenced next month. Twenty-six year old O’Neil Robinson was charged with stabbing a woman in the neck at her home in George Town earlier this year. Following his guilty plea Justice Smith dismissed the jury and adjourned the case until 17 December in order to allow for a social enquiry report to be submitted before sentencing. O’Neil was remanded in custody to Northward by the judge.
According to police reports issued at the time Robinson was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the home of the woman who sustained serious neck injuries after she called the emergency services.
The judge was lenient on missing jurors today when twelve failed to show up for the selection. Justice Smith said he would give them a chance this time but issued a warning that if they do not return for the nextrequired appearance he would be issuing fines, which is prescribed in law as $500.
Crews called to house fire in Prospect
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Fire Service was out in force this morning (Thursday 18 November) as crews were called out to extinguish a fire that was burning inside what appeared to be an unoccupied building in George Town. The property where the fire caught was behind a house on Marina Drive, in Prospect. A rescue unit and two fire trucks responded to the 911 call made this morning and officials have confirmed that an investigation is now underway. It is understood that no one was hurt and the CIFS described it as a minor fire. Although CUC trucks were seen close by officials have not confirmed if it was an electrical fire. (Photos by Dennie Warren Jr)
Check back for more on this story later.
Cops charge teen burglar for bar break-in
(CNS): Police have charged a teenager with burglary following a break-in at a West Bay bar. The nineteen year old was arrested in the early hours of Monday morning near Kelly’s Bar in Birch Tree Hill buy officers responding to a report of the break-in. The teen suspect burglar was due to appear in court Thursday morning but police say they are still looking for a second man in connection with the incident. When police arrived at the bar at around 2:50am they saw two suspects fleeing from the bar. Officers gave chase and managed to apprehend and arrested the one of the men but the second man escaped.
A police spokesperson confirmed that the other man, suspected to be involved in the break in, remains at large.
Sister Islands World Diabetes Day Lighting Ceremony
(CNS): A short walk around the Stake Bay Loop at 4.15pm on 14 November kicked off the World Diabetes Day event on Cayman Brac. This was followed by the blue lighting of the Cayman Brac Museum to create awareness that an increasing number of people are being affected by diabetes. In her welcome address, Thelma Galbraith of the Cayman Islands Diabetes Association-Sisters Islands quoted President Jean Claude Mbanya of the International DiabetesFederation,, who said, “World Diabetes Day is about mobilizing the global community to produce a powerful voice for diabetes awareness. We want all concerned to take the necessary action to control an epidemic that affects the lives of over 300 million people in the world today.”
Galbraith said, “All concerned means the patients, care givers, relatives and friends, nurses, doctors and pharmacist, the government. Everybody. We are proud to say we have one of the best health care system in the Caribbean and a government that cares for its people.”
Acting Premier Juliana O’Connor Connolly applauded the small learning group for their contribution to our islands and was extremely pleased that it continues to make a significant impact on the global battle against this disease.
World Diabetes Day was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the alarming rise in diabetes around the world. In 2007, the United Nations marked the Day for the first time with the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, which made the existing World Diabetes Day an official United Nations World Health Day. The theme for 2009-2013 is Education and Prevention. The slogan for 2010 is: “Let’s take control of diabetes. Now”.
The Sister Islands group meets every second and last Thursday at the Faith Hospital Conference Room at 7.00pm.
Cayman is ideal location says Dr Shetty
(CNS): Cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty has said the Cayman Islands is the perfect jurisdiction to launch a medical tourism product. The doctor, who has proposed to build a 2000 bed health city somewhere on Grand Cayman, says medical tourism will work here because of its proximity to the US, which has an expensive and badly managed health system. Cayman, Devi says, offers the perfect alternative place for Americans looking for inexpensive quality treatment as it is a secure, well-developed country known to the US public. He also said the Cayman government’s willingness to both facilitate the movement of international healthcare workers and amend the necessary legislation will open the doors to this lucrative industry.
Speaking at the country’s first national healthcare conference at the Ritz last week, Shetty said that the health care business is the second biggest industry in the world and still growing. The Cayman Islands is well positioned to capitalise on business from the entire United States, the doctor stated. With $2.5 million of the world spend of $4.trillion on healthcare spent in the country, Cayman would only need to attract a fraction of the patients to sustain a medical tourism sector, the doctor said.
He pointed to the likely changes in the United States to a more socialised form of medicine, and with an ageing population this would lead to waiting lists for treatment that would see US residents looking elsewhere for healthcare, and Cayman was the perfect place. Dr Shetty also indicated that, as the population in the US grew older, those elderly people would be looking for affordable assisted living where they would have access to healthcare at home that could offer the same environment to what they were used to in the States
He described Cayman as the world’s best kept secret, and because government was willing to be flexible over medical workers, he would be able to charge up to 60% less for care here in Cayman than the patients would pay in the US.
Dr Shetty also said that because Cayman is attractive the world’s leading doctors and surgeons would want to live and work here. He said this was not just about Indian doctors, as he said they were well paid and well looked after in their own country, but it applied to those from the US as well.
Shetty said he had no plans to flood Cayman with Indian workers as had been suggested, as that would be short sighted. He said the priority would be to give work to Caymanians in the first instance in every sector but thousands of jobs will eventually be created by medical tourism.
In his presentation about the possibilities for a medical industry for Cayman, Shetty also pointed to the idea of the jurisdiction becoming a hub for biotech-research. He said if Cayman were to give status to a few Nobel laureates working in the field then they would come and do their research here. The doctor said that here were numerous scientists and researchers looking for places to work where there were no archaic laws holding them back. Shetty said, however, that he would not be conducting any stem cell research at his facility once it was built.
In a question and answer session after his presentation at the Ritz Carlton on Friday afternoon local doctor Steve Tomlinson questioned Shetty’s figures and said he did not think his model would work and that the Indian doctor’s assumptions about the situation in the US were incorrect.
Others also queried why elderly people would come to Cayman for treatment when the cost of living here was so high and considerably cheaper in Florida.
Shetty pointed to the issue of care in the home, which he said was unaffordable in the US. He acknowledged that the cost of living in Cayman was similar to the US but he said the patients would make savings on the treatmentand care which they simply could not get in America.
Cayman resident in fraud case
(CNS):The owner of the house in Old Prospect Rd which was due to be auctioned without a reserve price has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. According to the New York Post, prosecutors say Cayman resident Myron Gushlak was involved a $90 million fraud linked to a financier and television show host considered to be Germany’s Jim Cramer. The judge said the men ripped off investors in a “pump and dump scheme” but many details of the case still remain secret. The auction of Gushlak’s home, set for 3 November, attracted considerable media attention. However it was cancelled at the last minute reportedly because of low interest but the agents have not officially given a reason.
News of Gushlak’s, guilty plea to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to launder money charges emerged Wednesday during a hearing in Brooklyn federal court. Because he has been cooperating with federal and state investigators, along with regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission, information about his guilty pleas had been kept under seal by judicial order and much of the case is still secret.
According to Gushlak’s websites he relocated from Canada to the Cayman Islands in 2000 and is the managing director of Bluewater Partners, a small Cayman based merchant bank.
Ritz prices out local captain
(CNS): A local captain is speaking out about what he considers unfair treatment by Grand Cayman’s leading resort. Although Captain Dexter Ebanks, one of the most popular local operators, has been working with the Ritz–Carlton Grand Cayman since it opened, taking guests on excursions to Stingray City and other snorkelling adventures, he says he is now being priced out by the hotel. Ebanks told CNS that the Ritz has asked him and other tour operators to increase insurance liability to as much as $25 million. At such a high level with no guarantee of business Ebanks said he can no longer work with the hotel. Meanwhile, the Ritz told CNS that the request for increased cover reflects its experience in the Caribbean.
Explaining that he had already met one request by the Ritz to increase his liability cover for tours through his company Fantasea Tours, Ebanks said that this time he could not meet the unrealistic demands. “About two years ago, I previously complied with the Ritz Carlton request by increasing my liability insurance from $1million to $2 million as a requirement to carry on doing business with the hotel,” Ebanks told CNS. “In July I received their new request for more liability insurance.”
This time the Ritz said it was looking for as much as $25 million in cover if the tour operator was carrying 12 or more passengers and asked for a certificate of insurance, in 15 days, evidencing the new rates. It asked for $1 million in general liability coverage for each occurrence and for protection and indemnity for 5 or less passengers of $5 million, 6-12 passengers $10 million, over 12 passengers $25 million and liquor liability insurance $1 million. It also asked that if the operators offer transportation the auto liability requirement for 5 or less passengers was $3 million, 6-12 passengers $5 million and 13-25 passengers $10 million.
Even if he had gone ahead with a policy, providing he could find a willing insurer, Ebanks said the hotel was not prepared to give him any assurance about the level of business it was prepared to do with him to justify his investment. The captain pointed out that by pricing local operators out of business with such over inflated rates it would create resentment. He also questioned why the Ritz seemed to be pushing him out when he had offered top class service to the hotel for so long.
“The Cayman Island government has given away millions of dollars in concession to these companies to encourage development so that Caymanians can get work,” the captain said. “I know there has been many a disappointment with some Caymanians’ performance and attitude, but I challenge any of them to question mine. All anyone has to do is to go on Trip Adviser and see for themselves what Fantasea Tours is all about.”
While Ebanks said it certainly affected him directly, he felt it was a slap in the face of all Caymanians and he is not alone. Although, they have asked not to be named, there are other operators who say they too are facing the same request for high insurance coverage that they simply cannot justify purchasing, especially when the hotel gives no guarantees of business.
A number of operators have said, however, that they believe the real reason for the unrealistic liability cover demand is so the hotel can justify creating its own water sports tour operator, completely cutting out opportunities for local businesses.
When CNS contacted the hotel regarding the increase and the operators’ concerns, the vice president and general manager, Franz Ferschke, issued a statement in response: “The safety and security of our hotel guests is one of our highest priorities. We therefore require insurance coverage from vendors. The coverage required reflects our experience in the Caribbean and worldwide. In our experience, guest safety is a critical component of a successful program of tourism,” he said via email.
CNS asked about the issue of pricing all the local operators out of the market and what that would do to the relationship between them and the hotel. We also asked if speculation that the hotel was going toestablish its own water sports operator was true but the manager did not respond to either of those issues.
Drinking and driving
Recently an acquaintance of mine pled guilty to DUI after driving into somebody. I do not know the details regarding what happened or whether the victim survived but what I do know is that she was over the legal alcohol limit while in control of her vehicle and that she hit an innocent pedestrian.
I was interested to see what comments she may have made relating to this incident on her Facebook page and was surprised to find a jolly and upbeat commentary ofher life including parties she has held recently and no mention of this terrible incident. There were also multiple messages from people telling her how wonderful she is and how they were all thinking of her. Now I know she must be going through a difficult time and be frightened for her future and hopefully remorseful of her actions. I understand that she may have been putting on a brave face – but I felt that some recognition of what happened – even a heartfelt apology to the victim would have been more appropriate. It is nice that her friends offer support; perhaps I am harsh but I cannot bring myself to muster much sympathy for anyone who has caused an accident because they drove a vehicle drunk.
I am tired of hearing every other week of single car accidents at night here in Cayman, where I have to assume the majority of them were caused by a driver unable to control their vehicle or react in a timely manner because they were under the influence of something. I shudder as I recall a dinner conversation with some girlfriends – 5 to be exact – and the subject got onto drink driving and every one of them laughed as they told stories about their narrow escapes from the law when they had been driving drunk or how “if you just try to stay between the lines you will be OK”. I was the only person at that table who not only doesn’t drive after drinking but views it totally unacceptable to risk other people’s lives by taking such frivolous risks.
I have been on the island for 7 years and am very aware that it is basically socially acceptable here to drive whilst over the limit. I have even spoken to people who say that when they lived in their home countries they never drove when drunk and have only started to here because everyone is so relaxed about it.
As far as I am concerned, no amount of alcohol when driving is safe. Those people who think that they can gauge their own sobriety as the night progresses should surely know that as they get increasingly drunk they will also believe that they are capable of anything and are less able to be a good judge of their own capabilities. How can anyone be such a fool as to think that alcohol does not affect them or that “it will never happen to them”? How can people, not even for one minute, imagine the consequences of an accident caused by their own inebriation or the devastating effect it would have on the lives of the innocent? I for one know that I could never forgive myself if I were to hurt another person or, worse, deprive a family of a loved one due to my own stupidity. The guilt would eat me alive.
I know I am at risk of sounding holier than thou – so be it. I simply want to put a message out there that driving under the influence is not acceptable. In fact it is utterly irresponsible. It is easy not to drink drive – set a limit on only one drink, or better still no alcohol … if you have more, take a cab. And no, getting into another car being driven by someone drunk does not make it any better. Please do not condone this behaviour – let people know that it is simply not OK. We cannot risk other people’s lives, for what? A quicker journey home and a few dollars saved. It simply isn’t worth it.
Prison to get non-lethal guns
(CNS): Government appears to have plans to arm local prison officers, according to a release from a Canadian firm which makes non-lethal weapons. Lamperd Less Lethal Inc has announced that the Cayman Islands will be buying the firm’s full line of ‘launchers’ and the less lethal AR/15 50 cal. with which to arm its prison officers. CNS has contacted the prison and the Portfolio of Internal Affairs to ask for more details on the plans to arm officers with these weapons and is awaiting a response. It is not known at this stage how many weapons have been purchased, who will use them and when. However, Lamperd said it had been working with Cayman for two years and officers have trained at the firm’s facility in the past.
The weapons manufacturer said it was pleased that Cayman had chosen its product line rather than the stun gun technology, which it said is associated with numerous deaths worldwide, while Lamperd’s products have caused zero deaths. The firm, which is based in Ontario, said it has 40 years experience in manufacturing police and military products and its patented Wasp round is composed of a specialized composite that allows the ammunition to maintain its properties over a wide range of temperatures, from 58 to 212 degrees F. It also dissipates energy, inflicting what the firm said was an adequate but not lethal trauma to the target, the firm claims.
Less lethal or non-lethal weapons are arms which fire rubber or wax bullets that are less likely to kill a victim, though they can still inflict serious harm. The firm said the weaponry is designed to ensure the safety of military and civil defence personnel by disabling an opponent rather than killing. It is used by military and police forces around the world for crowd control and peacekeeping activities. It is particularly well suited for situations where there would be a likelihood of harm to bystanders if conventional weapons were employed, the firm states on its website.
Lamperd said it has developed a line of exceptionally high quality launcher systems, which have gained widespread industry attention for their accuracy, ease of use and flexibility, and which the CIG has reportedly bought.