Archive for April, 2013
Local con man gets 4 years
(CNS): A local small business man was given a four and a half year prison sentence Tuesday following his admission that he conned at least four customers out of almost $100,000 and wrote two bad cheques for his newspaper advertising bills. Derrick Thomas was described by Justice Charles Quin as the “consummate con man” and found few mitigating circumstances in the case against him for four counts of theft and one of obtaining services by deception. With a list of previous convictions for dishonesty and an eleventh hour guilty plea after two trial dates came and went, the judge offered only a small cut in the sentence for the defendant’s eventual admission to his crimes.
Thomas had started a geothermal air-conditioning company in 2008. However, according to his attorney, while he had started the business with good intentions, he soon realized that he was not able to manage the business nor did he have the skills required to install the units he was selling. As a result, he got in over his head and ended up conning several customers between April 2009 and January 2010.
His lawyer said his client had many “bright ideas, but when it came to the actual nuts and bolts of running a company, he is absolutely appalling”. In addition, the court heard that Thomas had trained as a chef after leaving ICCI with a diploma in restaurant management.
Thomas took more than $99,600 from customers but did not fit the air conditioning units as promised because, his defence attorney said, he did not have the skills and local sub-contractors were also untrained in the specialist equipment. Thomas also gave the Caymanian Compass two cheques for almost $3,000 for advertising, which bounced as he became increasingly indebted.
Despite his poor business skills, the judge raised his concerns that, according to the social enquiry report, Thomas was hoping to dig himself out of his problems and finance his family through more entrepreneurial schemes rather than taking a job for which he was qualified and earning a wage. He also expressed concern about his long history of offending, which included at least three separate dishonesty cases going back to 1998.
The judge said the social enquiry report also found that Thomas was an alcoholic, though the defendant denied the point and said he was a social drinker. However, Justice Quin said he believed Thomas hid from his criminal activity through the drink.
The judge was not convinced by the defendant’s alleged remorse and said the details of the crimes revealed that, despite being aware that he could not fulfill his business promises and obligations, he continued to take cash from more customers.
“What makes this case more serious is that the defendant cheated four separate customers and showed no regard for the loss of the significant sums of money they incurred. The court takes into account the fact that the jobs the defendant promised to do and was paid to do were never done. Therefore the customers not only lost the money they had handed to the defendant but they had to pay other companies to do the job that they hired and paid the defendant to do.”
He pointed out that the defendant was in no position to pay anyone back. “The defendant has shown a callous disregard for these unsuspecting victims,” the judge stated in his sentencing ruling. “He made false representations, knowing that the jobs would never be completed. He is the consummate con man. There are few, if any, mitigating factors in this case and many aggravating features.”
Justice Quin handed down a five year sentence for each of the four cases of theft. He gave only a 20% discount for each as a result of the very late pleas but ordered the prison terms to be served concurrently. However, in the case of the bad cheques given to the local newspaper, he imposed a further six months to run consecutively.
Civil service boss plans training for new politicians
(CNS): Deputy Governor Franz Manderson is preparing an orientation programme for new members returned to the Legislative Assembly after the May General Election. According to the minutes released by his office for last month's meeting of chief officers, Manderson has expressed his desire for a smooth transition for the new government and appears to be expecting a few novices to be returned. He told senior civil servants that an orientation programme for new MLAs and ministers is being developed by his office and the cabinet secretary. He said the briefs would be prepared to educate the new ministers on the subjects that they will be overseeing.
Plans for the political training programme were listed in the minutes from 18 March, which records only brief details of the top level senior management meeting.
See full document attached.
Bullying cop faces law suit
(CNS): A young police constable has taken legal action against a senior police officer as a result of more than two years of bullying and two direct assaults. Due to the failure of Police Commissioner David Baines, the internal police complaints procedures and the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to take action, despite finding that an assault had occurred, PC Cardiff Robinson is suing Chief Inspector Frank Owens (left) as well as Baines for financial damages and a declaration that the police complaints procedure is bias. The suit states that the accusations of assaults and bullying by Owens are substantiated by witnesses as well as the DPP’s findings and supported by other complaints made about the senior officer.
In his legal claim Robinson states that he has been bullied by Owens for over two years and also records two specific assaults that took place in front of witnesses, including one where the senior officer threw a large log book at the young PC’s head, as well as a verbal and very intimidating attack on the streets of George Town.
Although the junior officer filed complaints with the deputy commissioner and the Police Complaints Unit, nothing has been done about the issues. DPP Cheryll Richards found that there was evidence that Owens had committed common assault on Robinson, which is a criminal charge, but said it was not in the public interest to prosecute and advised the commissioner to deal with the incident internally. Following this ruling the young officer started on the road of civil action, resulting in the writ filed on 10 April.
As well as detailing the experiences of Robinson at the hands of what the suit implies is a very aggressive senior officer, the claim also details a catalogue of issues relating to the Professional Standards Unit, the internal department within the RCIPS that investigates complaints about the police, both from the public and RCIPS officers and staff. The unit has received considerable criticism from a number of quarters and Robinson points to findings by the Police Association.
“The Police Association, which represents the interests of serving officers up to the rank of Superintendent, has publicly criticized the PSU, pointing out that, regardless of the fact that an investigation has commenced by the PSU, which is often not independently conducted, the commissioner alone gets to decide whether an officer, especially a senior officer, is properly and independently investigated by the PSU, let alone punished for wrongdoing,” the statement of claim notes.
The document records that a number of complaints have been logged from officers as a result of incidents involving Owens and what is alleged to be his aggressive approach with younger or junior officers. Regardless of the complaints, including that of PC Robinson, as well as the findings of the DPP, no action has ever been taken against the senior officer. In addition, Robinson’s request to see the file relating to the findings of the DPP in connection with the assault has also been denied.
According to the suit, the most recent incident which Robinson complains about was the second assault on him at the hands of Owen, in addition to the general bullying, threats of dismissal and aggressive approach. The assault occurred in central George Town on 15 February last year, when Owens was on patrol in the capital during a high visibility policing operation in the face of rising crime.
Owens and Robinson got into a dispute about the Edward Street branch of Cayman National Bank, which Owens denied existed but was the branch where Robinson, as per his duties, had been making checks. When Owens, who is in charge of the capital’s police force, was faced with his error he became extremely angry and in “one swift movement, turned and quickly made two aggressive steps towards [PC Robinson] with his head pushed in towards his face an inch away from his nose with his finger also pointing into his face”, as he screamed at the officer, “Don’t try me, don’t try me Cardiff!” forcing the young PC to move his head to avoid spit from the senior cop's mouth hitting him in the face, " the claim states.
The incident was observed by several witnesses, all of whom say they are willing to testify at trial.
Although Robinson complained to the deputy commissioner and to the PSU more than eight months ago, nothing has happened. The DPP determined several months after the incident that it amounted to common assault but said it was not in the public interest to prosecute Owens and recommended an internal disciplinary process which, if it has taken place, has resulted in no disciplinary action.
The commissioner also publicly denied that the incident was an assault during a committee hearing at the Legislative Assembly and, as such, Robinson believes that his complaint has already been prejudiced. With no independent police complaints commission, despite local law makingprovision for it, Robinson claims there is no way he can get a fair hearing and, as a result of the breach of his human rights, he has taken direct legal action in the Grand Court.
Robinson states that he is afraid to be alone with Owens for fear he will trump up some charge to get him in trouble and has suffered severe anxiety as a result of the altercations with the senior officer. Robinson has sought counselling and was forced to take some leave because of the mounting trauma, the culmination of bullying inflicted on the young officer, who is understood to have an unblemished record and has been commended by the commissioner himself.
The suit comes at a time when there are a number of internal issues in the RCIPS, including allegations about serving officers, other disputes and alleged assaults between the ranks and a number of question marks about morale. It was also filed at the same time as an application for judicial review by an officer who had served for 26 years and was dismissed without explanation four years before his mandatory retirement.
Related articles on CNS:
Senior cop under investigation
Two hurt in violent burglary
(CNS): Police from Bodden Town are on the hunt for a group of young burglars who invaded a remote home in Frank Sound last night and made off with cash and valuables after kicking and punching the residents. At about 11:45pm on Tuesday, 16 April, two men were at their home, which is situated off Frank Sound Road, when they were confronted by four intruders who had entered through an insecure downstairs window. The suspects grabbed the men and punched and kicked them before stealing a quantity of cash, some watches and a camera. The men raised the alarm with a neighbour and alerted police.
Both men went to the hospital and were released following treatment for the injuries they sustained at the hands of the burglars.
Detectives have now launched an investigation following the aggravated burglary. The four suspects all wore dark clothing and had their faces covered. They were described as being young people, all between 5’6” and 5’9” in height and of slim build.
Police are particularly keen to speak with anyone who may have seen vehicle activity in the Frank Sound Road or North Side area between 11:30 and 1:30am with four occupants on board. Anyone with information is asked to contact Bodden Town CID on 9472220 or 6492220, the RCIPS tip-line on 949-7777, or Crime Stoppers 800- 8477(TIPS).
Sacked cop seeks court help to get his job back
(CNS): A former member of the RCIPS who served for 26 years as a police officer has filed a legal action in the Grand Court seeking a judicial review of a decision by the police commissioner to sack him just four years ahead of his retirement, without any explanation or giving the officer a chance to defend his job. Senior Constable Osbert Smith claims he was an exceptional officer who was commended by his superiors and had an unblemished record. Yet without any discussion or notice, the top cop booted the veteran officer off the force under a section of the police law that refers to the removal of officers in the “public interest” and “to improve the efficiency of the service”.
As a result, the former officer is asking the courts to intervene and examine the case as he claims, in the legal document filed last week, that “the rules of natural justice required” Police Commissioner David Baines, the defendant in the action, to give Smith notice that he was considering retiring him early. In addition, Baines should have given the reasons why he felt retiring Smith early was in the public interest and why doingso would improve the efficiency of the service, and given him a proper opportunity to respond to the reasons and consider his response in a fair and unbiased manner.
According to the action filed by local attorney Charles Clifford, who is a former police officer, on behalf of Smith, it is a settled common law principle that a failure of procedural fairness is considered unlawful. The commissioner’s decision to retire Smith four years prior to when he would have otherwise been subjected to mandatory retirement, the suit claims, falls below the standard by which the lawfulness of the decisions of public authorities are judged.
“The Defendant's decision to retire the Applicant without providing reasons as to why he felt it was in the public interest" to do so and why he felt doing so would "improve the efficiency of the organization" was a decision that "no reasonable authority could ever have come to,” the legal document states.
The lawyer argued that if Smith had been a mediocre officer it would be difficult to challenge the decision, but the commissioner would still have had to provide the reasons why mediocrity led to the decision. However, in this case the officer was far from mediocre.
“The service the applicant tirelessly provided to the RCIPS for twenty-six years could not in any way be described as mediocre,” the document states. “Exceptional would seem to be a suitable description. The Applicant received various commendations over the years for the exceptional contribution he provided to the service, in one such commendation written to the Applicant, the Deputy Commissioner opines ‘You are a fine example of what RCIP represents and expects of its members.’ In another commendation letter a former Commissioner of Police expresses his gratitude to the Applicant for providing service over and beyond his assigned duties.”
Clifford lists more examples of the applicant's achievements during more than a quarter of a century of service with the police, including Smith being the first ever police constable selected to be the Driving Examiner, commendations from Chief Superintendent David Gooding for what he described as his sterling service to the district of North Side, successful convictions while serving in CID for murder and attempted murder, being the first PC to be assigned to the Internal Complaints Unit, as well as a commendation from former Magistrate Peter Jackson for his investigative skills in in relation to a fatal accident on the Airport Road.
Clifford also points to the fact that Smith’s employment contract was renewed biennially thirteen times since his employment commenced in September 1983, which, he writes, is an objective acknowledgment of the satisfaction of the standard of service he gave during his tenure.
“It is on this basis that it is respectfully submitted that no reasonable authority could have reached the conclusion that it would be in the public interest and would improve the efficiency of the organization to retire such a Police Officer early, particularly when there is no evidence whatsoever which suggests that the Applicant in any way lowered the high professional standard which he has held himself to since he commenced his tenure of service with the RCIPS,” Clifford argues on behalf of his client.
Smith claims the decision is unreasonable and should be quashed. He believes that he had a legitimate expectation that his contract would be renewed in September 2011 and there are no apparent rational grounds for retiring him early, so he should be immediately reinstated
While Smith does now have another job, he “remains ready, willing and indeed desires to return to the job which he clearly loves doing and has done exceptionally well for over a quarter of a century,” Clifford states in the application.
Cops search for missing fishermen aboard canoe
(CNS): Updated Wednesday 9:30am — Three local men who had been missing for nine days after taking off on a fishing trip have been found safe and well and the international search effort has been called off. Police said the men and their canoe was spotted about a mile and a half off Kaibo earlier this morning (Wednesday) by the crew of a private fishing vessel. The Joint Marine Unit was deployed just before 8:00am and transported the men back to shore. They were met by an ambulance crew and will undergo medical checks. The RCIPS have been liaising with law enforcement and search and rescue personnel in the United States and in Jamaica following the report of the missing men, which was made to local police at the weekend.
James Michael Ebanks (above), Alton Phillips (below left) and Lyndon Banks (below right) left the West Bay area in a 32-foot canoe on Monday 8 April. According to family members, the men often stay out fishing for three to four days but when they had neither returned nor been in contact with family or friends by Saturday 13 April, a family member contacted the police.
The police said it was not clear where the three fishermen had gone to fish but the RCIPS Air Operations and Marine Units carried out air and sea searches looking for the men or their blue and white canoe. James Ebanks was previously reported missing last year when he and two other men left Grand Cayman in a canoe heading for Jamaica on 19 August. The men and their canoe were eventually traced on 31 August off Frank Sound.
Anyone who may have any information which could assist the police is asked to contact George Town police station on 949-4222 or the RCIPS tip-line 949-7777.
Opposition to launch national campaign in GT
(CNS): Although the opposition party has been hard at work on the streets of Cayman over the last few months, the People’s Progressive Movement (PPM), or the Progressives as they are now calling themselves since the party re-brand, will be launching their national election campaign tonight in Grand Harbour. With exactly five weeks to go before Cayman goes to the polls to elect its next government, the opposition is hoping that the people of Cayman will see that it is not party politics that is at fault but the United Democratic Party. With fifteen candidates on its platform, the Progressives will need to return just ten to secure a majority government.
However, even a poor showing for the party of just 8 candidates being returned is likely to give them the reins of power, provided their former member, Arden McLean (EE), and more recent ally, Ezzard Miller (NS), in the eastern districts stick with them. If all goes well, the party has a very good chance at taking most of the seats it is contesting outside of West Bay, where the outcome remainsanyone’s guess. However, it appears likely that, despite the criminal charges laid against him and the public split with his former district colleagues, McKeeva Bush will carry all four seats for the UDP.
Despite the criticisms that the PPM has received for over spending and indecision during its 2005-2009 administration, the party leadership is able to point very clearly to where the money was spent and why. During the next five weeks the campaign is likely to concentrate on honesty and transparency in government, which the PPM says was the hallmark of its administration.
Launching on a platform promise of bringing good jobs to Cayman, building better communities and restoring Caymanian pride in the government and the country, the party will be hoping for an impressive turnout. Party leader Alden McLaughlin said he would be calling on all voters tonight to help make Cayman a Progressive country on 22 May.
“These upcoming elections are, without a doubt, the most crucial the Cayman Islands have ever faced,” he said. “The past four years of failed UDP control, not leadership, have been a period of grave concern and uncertainty for Cayman. The UDP administration has overseen a period in Cayman history like none we have ever known and one that we all wish fervently to bring to an end.”
Moses Kirkconnell, the party’s deputy leader, said it was time to look towards the future. “The Progressives have put together a strong group of candidates, who bring a wealth of experience from business to tourism and hospitality and education and government – because that is what is going to form the best Legislative Assembly for Cayman,” he added.
Anyone interested in volunteering to help the Progressives elected next month is asked to contact the PPM headquarters on 945-1776 or at 488 Crewe Road, George Town.
Cayman health officials eye new Chinese bird flu
(
CNS): Local health officials said this week that they are on alert and monitoring an outbreak of a new type of bird flu in China. The A (H7N9) has caused severe disease there with the WHO reporting 63 cases laboratory-confirmed including 14 deaths. More than a thousand close contacts of the confirmed cases are also being closely monitored. The source and mode of transmission are still unknown and until these are identified further human cases of infection are expected in China. Officials said the risk of international disease spread is considered to be low and as yet no human to human transmissions have occurred but investigations into a possible family cluster are on-going.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that there is no need for any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the current information or any need for special screening at points of entry. Nevertheless the local Public Health Department is in touch with PAHO/WHO and the Public Health England while health care workers are on alert.
Something Rotten in the State of Cayman…
“May you live in interesting times” is a Chinese curse, bestowed in the most inscrutable and understated manner in which the Chinese excel. In the case of the Cayman Islands, and for that matter the wider world, we are indeed living in interesting times. Here in Cayman, the former premier McKeeva Bush is most certainly living in interesting times, and one suspects that others may well be keeping a wary eye over their shoulder, lest their times become equally as interesting.
Many may be applauding the work done by RCIPS and, if rumour be believed, others in bringing about this state of affairs, but what of the Custodians themselves? Are their affairs in order, or are they also about to find themselves “Living in interesting times”?
This question begs asking because of the growing number of issues being highlighted by media, public and the Custodians themselves. As has already been highlighted in recent media publications, there is the ever rumbling issues surrounding Operation Tempura, the more recent case of the demoted inspector, and the as yet unresolved case of the junior officer alleging an assault against himself by a more senior officer. These three issues alone would suffice to bring about immense scrutiny of the Custodians in any other democratic society, but they are in effect only the tip of a very large iceberg.
There is the matter of the Police Law, gazetted in 2010, which makes requirements of the Custodians to put in place ‘rules of practice and conduct’ which would govern how they interact with the public they serve. These ‘rules’ have yet to make an appearance over two years down the line. As a result, cases will come before the Grand Court under the Bill of Rights questioning the treatment that persons have had from the Custodians. One can only wonder how this correlates with the UK, who coincidentally are signatories to a European Code of Police Ethics, and are required to abide by a very strict set of rules under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.
Could it be that these are merely unfortunate coincidences? Events that conspire to happen within a fairly short time period. Or is there something more insidious lurking beneath the smart uniformed exterior?
If one takes the time to speak to some of the many officers who take on the mantle of Custodian of the Peace, one rapidly realises that there are three distinctcultures thriving and striving within the service. There are the local Caymanian officers, many of whom feel let down and neglected by a service that sees them as a necessity, occasionally promoting one or two into positions of prominence to appear supportive and egalitarian. There are the officers from the other Caribbean jurisdictions, mainly Jamaica, who seem to suffer the brunt of the ‘strangers in a strange land' jibes from both Caymanian and British expat officers.
Finally, there are the British ex-pat officers, who themselves are a bit of a mixed bunch. There are those who have come to work hard and make a life for themselves (many of whom also suffer the same jibes as the Jamaican officers), those who view the job as an extended holiday in the sun with the added bonus of ticking that box in the CV, and those that have come to build their own little empires in the sun. The common trait amongst these is the general arrogance unique to the British of “Knowing what is best”.
This ‘three cultured nightmare’ is at the heart of what ails our Custodians. A continuous clash of culture and political brinkmanship played out within an organisation that should work as a team.
The most insidious and dangerous of these groups are the ‘Empire Builders’. Many of whom have come with a policing attitude born out of the 1970’s and 80’s in the United Kingdom; hierarchical, authoritarian and motivated to build their empire into their own image, with scant regard to the vibrant local culture and traditions because, after all, they “know what’s best”. These are the people who seem to be pulling strings and manipulating people and events to suit their own ends, and in so doing, are spreading disenfranchisement and disenchantment amongst our Custodians.
With election fever about to break out large here in Cayman, and with the very real prospect of new faces in the Legislative Assembly, perhaps the one question that should be being asked by all and sundry is “Quis custodiet ipsos custodies?" Or, as the English might say, “Who watches the watchmen?”
Mac used CIG card in casinos
(CNS): Despite claims by McKeeva Bush since he was arrested that the case against him was about dry cleaning bills and books he bought on a government credit card, court documents reveal that the former premier is accused of using that credit card to withdraw thousands of dollars in cash from casinos. According to the charges now filed with the courts, the UDP leader is accused of making cash withdrawals from casinos in the United States on several occasions during his first year in office. The charge sheet states that Bush withdrew more than $50,000 on at least four occasions between July 2009 and April 2010.
The charge sheets suggest that Bush abused his office, breached the people's trust and stole thousands of dollars on a Royal Bank of Canada government credit card, which had been issued to him to use in his role as the country’s leader on government business. The documents do not state where the casinos were other than being in the United States and indicate that Bush made cash withdrawals presumably from ATMs.
The charges against Bush were transmitted into the Grand Court on Friday after the former premier and leader of the UDP, who is fighting the forthcoming election and hoping to be returned for an eighth time for the district of West Bay, appeared in court for the first time.
The man who was the first premier of the Cayman Islands and elected to office as the country's leader in May 2009 is now due to appear in Grand Court on Friday 26 April for a mention in the higher court and begin the case management of the process towards trial. It is not clear when Bush will enter what are expected to be not guilty pleas to the charges against him but he has vigorously denied all of the allegations since his arrest last December.
The first charge against Bush is for misconduct in public office when he made an unauthorized cash withdrawal on the government credit card in casino establishments in the United States of US$8,467.26 sometime between July 2009 and September 2009, just weeks after he was returned to office.
The second charge of misconduct in public office alleges he made another cash withdrawal on the government card between 12 September 2009 and 4 December 2009, again in an American casino of US$6,980.80. The third count against the former premier is a charge of theft based on the first withdrawal of US$8,467.26 and thefourth count is the theft of the second sum.
Meanwhile, the fifth count and a third theft charge refers to US$17,478.43, which was stolen between 18 January and 1 April 2010 via the government-issued card. The sixth count and the fourth charge of theft is for US$17,074.66, again on the government credit card sometime between 17 March and 21 April 2010.
Another theft of US$1,026.08 on the credit card on or about 23 April 2010 makes the seventh count. The remaining four charges against the premier relate to breach of trust by a member of the Legislative Assembly in relation to several of the theft charges, which were also cash withdrawals from American casinos.