Search Results for 'jack tempura'

AG to review SPIT spending

(CNS): The auditor general has initiated a value for money review of Operation Tempura and the Special Police investigation Team (SPIT). Following the governor’s announcement on Rooster’s Crosstalk on Friday morning, Dan Duguay (left) told CNS that his office had decided that persistent questions surrounding this investigation relating to how much has been spent and on what deserve some answers.

“While we may not be able to comment on what Operation Tempura is doing, we can comment on how much is being spent,” said Duguay, who noted that the review was in its very early stages as the decision to undertake a value for money report by his office was only made on Thursday 8 January when he informed Governor Stuart Jack.

“This has only just begun and I know nothing more about Operation Tempura than what has already been revealed in the media. I have no evidence of any specific allegations of wrongdoing over the expenditure on the investigation. I believe the people need to know whether or not the expenditure so far is legitimate. I had my first chat with Martin Bridger at 5:00 pm yesterday afternoon, so I do not yet have any details of the terms of reference except we will be examining the entire costs of this operation.”

Duguay explained that the decision was based on the fact that the cost of the investigation is being questioned extensively and he wanted to bring about some transparency regarding that issue. He added that his office would not be looking at what Operation Tempura was investigating, merely what they were spending, and he would then report on that. He said he would look at everything, including what was spent defending Justice Alex Henderson’s application for a judicial review, as well as the day to day running cost of the investigation.

“My goal is to provide people with a clear understanding on what has been spent and where,” he said. “And while I appreciate this is a moving target and one would normally like to do these things after it is over, given the speculation regarding the potential costs, we believe it would be wise to get a better understanding now,” said Duguay.

As well as announcing that Duguay was going to conduct the review, the governor also told the Rooster audience that mistakes had been made regarding Operation Tempura but he did not elaborate. He did, however, say that he still had confidence in the local judiciary in the wake of its direct criticisms of him at the Grand Court opening on Wednesday, and he also indicted that ‘Netnewsgate’ would also be cleared up by the end of this month.  

The governor also wrote to the Caymanian Compass on Wednesday in response to editorials in that publication stating that he was committed to good governance, to high standards in the public service, and that he would not shy away from tackling inappropriate behaviour wherever it occurs, although he did not elaborate on that point or indicate what behaviour he was talking about. He said the intense interest in the investigation didn’t surprise him and was a healthy sign of the media doing their job: questioning government policy.

“But some of the discussions in the media can obscure the basic principles that are at stake," the governor said in the letter. “Once serious and credible accusations have been made – not just gossip – I cannot simply ignore them. Feedback from the public leads me to believe that many people in the Cayman Islands don’t want me to sweep complaints and allegations under the carpet. To do so would be the most damaging action I could possibly take for Cayman’s reputation. Once these investigations are over, the world will think more of Cayman, because we have had the courage to insist on the highest levels of probity in our police service. If allegations are disproved that is as good an outcome – indeed maybe a more reassuring one – than sackings or prosecutions.”

He said he has listened very closely to the public debate on the cost of the investigations and the length of time they are taking.

“We will continue to look very closely at the costs. It is not easy to put active investigations on a definite timetable anywhere in the world. The police cannot simply ignore any new allegations because they arise at an inconvenient time,” he added.

Again, he did not elaborate on the allegations or indicate if other officers or members of the judiciary were in question, saying he cannotand should not interfere in the operational decisions of the team.

“We should leave those decisions to the police under the capable interim leadership of Acting Commissioner Smith and to the Legal Department,” he said.

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Minister questions Bridger’s continued presence

(CNS): The continued presence of the Senior Investigating Officer of Operation Tempura, Martin Bridger, is causing growing concern among the country’s elected government ministers who say the former Scotland Yard officer has lost all credibility and  Governor Stuart Jack should have removed him from the current RCIPS investigation some time ago. “We continue to be gravely concerned over the stubborn refusal of the governor to remove Bridger,” Alden McLaughlin told CNS this week.

In the wake of Sir Peter Cresswell’s second ruling regarding the unlawful arrest of Justice Alex Henderson, which will result in the Caymanian tax payer not only covering Henderson’s legal cost but an estimated $2.5 million of damages as well, the Minister for Educationand a former practicing attorney who has consistently voiced his doubts about the credibility of the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT), has stated that given the results of both judicial reviews it is absurd that Bridger is still here in the Cayman Islands .

“Considering what this man has done — the immense damage he has caused to this country as a result of his mismanagement of this investigation and his total lack of regard for the rule of law in the Cayman Islands — for anyone to now think he could have any credibility in prosecuting anything in a court of law here after what has happened is clearly deluded,” McLaughlin added.

Since the arrest of Justice Alex Henderson in September 2008 by officers from SPIT and the subsequent unlawful search of his office and home, all of which have been proved to be entirely unlawful, the elected administration has begun citing its concerns regarding the integrity of Operation Tempura.

In the last few months Minister McLaughlin, in particular, has been steadfast in his call for the closure of the investigation and the removal of Bridger. However, most of the Cabinet elected members have said they would be reluctant to vote for any further appropriation of funding regarding the investigation and would be prepared to force the governor to use his reserve powers to appropriate the necessary cash.

Given the extensive legal costs awarded to Henderson, on top of the expected damages and SPIT’s own legal bill, which included an expert UK team of various briefs and advisors, the Cayman tax payer will be footing a bill which could reach as much as $3 million dollars just for the Henderson arrest alone. Any other legal action coming from former Commissioner Stuart Kernohan, suspended Chief Superintendent John Jones and others could also add to the bill.

Costs for the investigation itself are already, according to some government sources, exceeding $4 million for a project that is now more than 16 months old and has yet to reveal any serious corruption or crime among either the police or the judiciary. The only charges so far brought by SPIT include two counts of falsely accusing a police officer, down from an original tally of 17 charges against Lyndon Martin, a former employee of Cayman Net News and 2 non-criminal charges against Deputy Commissioner Rudolph Dixon for misconduct, which involve the senior officer’s decision to release two men on two separate occasions in 2003 and 2004 from custody. These are unrelated to the original investigation, which focuses on accusations that are now said to be false that Cayman Net News publisher Desmond Seales and Deputy Commissioner Anthony Ennis were in a corrupt relationship.

However, Bridger has not only remained in post but, as noted by McLaughlin, despite his shortcomings, he has even been promoted by the governor and given a place on the latest so-called ‘oversight committee’. “This is how this seems to be working — you mess up and you get promoted,” added McLaughlin in frustration.

McLaughlin also noted that Henderson’s cost will be discussed among elected Cabinet officials over the coming days as this was an issue seen in isolation from the actual running costs of SPIT, which McLaughlin reiterated the elected government would not be prepared to sanction.

“There is no way that we can countenance the continuation of this investigation given the evident failures of Bridger, and as the elected government we will make a decision on how we can deal with this,” added McLaughlin.

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Minister questions Governor’s judgment

(CNS): Facing more questions from the press regarding the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT), Minister Alden McLaughlin made it clear yesterday that he believed Governor Stuart Jack had made some poor decisions regarding Operation Tempura. The Minister called his judgment into questioned and said he did not see how it was possible for the Governor to  continue to support Bridger and his investigation given the things that had happened so far.

Speaking at the post Cabinet Media Briefing on Thursday morning (20 November) McLaughlin said that he thought the Governor had been ill-advised and had exercised poor judgment with regard to the investigation. He added that it was ironic that the Governor had always championed the issue of good governance but was also championing Martin Bridger the head of SPIT, who it was now clear could not hope to prevail in any kind of tribunal or legal hearing.

“Bridger must be disqualified from this situation for two good reasons,” McLaughlin said. “Not only did Justice Cresswell determine that he acted in bad faith but he has breached every rule of law. To add insult to injury he has said that the Chief Justice can’t be trusted.” The minister said that the Governor has been intent in his pursuit of good governance and therefore McLaughlin questioned how he could then allow Bridger to continue given he was now the one in breach of the rules.

“What tribunal is going to convict anyone based on evidence given by Bridger now?” asked McLaughlin. The minister based his arguments on the findings of Sir Peter Cresswell who presided over the Judicial Review which quashed, as unlawful, the search warrants obtained by Bridger and SPIT to search Justice Alex Henderson’s home and office. (See http://centos6-httpd22-php56-mysql55.installer.magneticone.com/o_belozerov/31115drupal622/2008/10/29/bridger-abused-process).

McLaughlin illustrated again the problem with the current constitutional arrangement that allowed the Governor to make decisions in isolation and without consultation with the elected officials and that this was the best possible illustration of the need for more people to be involved in police matters so the risk of one person exercising poor judgment could be mitigated

The minister said the investigation, which was already running at over $4 million and would certainly be far more before it was over, was simply throwing good money after bad and while it was unfair it was the constitution that was allowing it to happen and in the end the elected officials could only hope the Governor would listen to their position. “Hopefully the Governor will hear our recommendations,” added McLaughlin, “We are not going to support Bridger.”

Even though the elected government has effectively been frozen out of the investigation regarding the senior officers within the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service and members of the judiciary, the people’s representatives have recently began to speak out vociferously against it, particularly in the wake of Cresswell’s ruling.

Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts, commonly more reticent about revealing the divide between the elected officials and the Governor more often noted by his colleague McLaughlin, has said that he also hopes the Governor will start to take heed of what is clearly a significant disagreement on continuing the investigation and that the elected government would not vote for any more money to support it. “We hope that logic will prevail and the Governor will not use his reserve powers given the level of the divide between us now,” Tibbetts said.  

Although the elected ministers said they were not promoting the idea of stopping an investigation where it was required, they said that given the circumstances surrounding what the LoGB termed the Henderson fiasco Bridger had to be disassociated.

He also said that Henderson was back at work on the bench and that it was lucky that the Cresswell ruling had prevented that situation from going even further than it did, despite the fact that it was obvious the Henderson situation would cost the Cayman Island money to put right. He noted too that now Kernohan had been dismissed he hoped the rest of that matter could be quickly put to bed and he trusted that the Governor had made that decisions based on proper advise and that there would be no adverse consequences.

Tibbetts said he expected the Governor would make a statement shortly on the circumstances surrounding the investigation going forward but that all in all given Cresswell’s findings it simply was not in the best interest of Cayman for Bridger to remain here.

Although Bridger has refused to speak with the media, he said to be speaking regularly with Desmond Seales, editor of Cayman Net News, and he was reported in that publication saying that his investigation was not over.

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New Top Cop quits after less than 2 days

(CNS): In a turn of events that makes the Cayman Islands law enforcement issues look increasingly bizarre by the day, the newly appointed Acting Police Commissioner has already resigned. According to a statement released by the Governor’s office on Thursday afternoon, Royce Hipgrave who arrived in Cayman on Tuesday has said that there is an unacceptable aspect to the role and he no longer wants the job.

H.E the Governor Stuart Jack said in his statement that Hipgrave who had been selected to assume the position of Acting Commissioner of Police for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Force informed the Governor that he had decided to withdraw from the position after being on island for one day.  “There was an aspect of the job that was not acceptable to Mr. Hipgrave,” the Governor said but did not say what that ‘aspect’ was.

The Governor went on to state that after further discussions whatever it was it could not be resolved. “This is a setback for the RCIPS,” the Governor noted without irony, given the rather long list of setbacks to the RCIPS over the last 8 months. He went on to say that steps have already been taken to identify an interim replacement as Acting Commissioner until such time as a permanent Commissioner of Police is hired.

CNS was unable to confirm the speculation that the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) lead by SIO Martin Bridger and Operation Tempura were the “aspect” in question but a number of people close to the situation seemed to believe that was the case.

Until an another acting commissioner is found to replace the newly resigned acting commissioner, Hipgrave who was supposed to replace the out going acting commissioner David George, who had stepped in for the suspended but now sacked commissioner Stuart Kernoahn, the Governor confirmed that Deputy Commissioner, Anthony Ennis will assume the role of Acting Commissioner.

Ennis said on Thursday afternoon in the wake of the government’s statement that he would not however, be applying for the vacant post of Commissioner of Police,  but remained steadfastly loyal to the RCIPS, its members and the Cayman Islands. “I will do everything to ensure that the RCIPS remains a fit and capable organisation to meet existing and emerging challenges and I look forward to the appointment of the next Commissioner of Police,” he said.

He explained he was happy to serve in the role until an interim Acting Commissioner was found and accepted it as his duty and professional obligation to the RCIPS provided that the process progresses in an efficient and timely manner.

“I, like many of my colleagues, have invested a lifetime of service into the RCIPS and we are committed to consistently striving to enhance its services to the law enforcement and criminal justice communities. To achieve the efficacious outcomes, we shall need the support and goodwill of all law abiding citizens that share the common goal of ensuring that our beloved Cayman Islands remain a safe place to live, work and visit,” he added.

He said that he was confident that George had been effective together with the Gold Command Team in establishing clear strategic frameworks, including a service-wide policing plan. “I wish to publicly thank Mr George for his personal sacrifice that took him away from his family and for his outstanding contributions to the RCIPS and the Cayman Islands and offer him best wishes for the future.”

David George said he had worked with, and been supported by, some extremely professional and conscientious officers and staff who have continued to work very hard under trying circumstances. “I will miss them all,” he said. “It is unfortunate that Mr Royce Hipgrave will not be taking over the post. This is undoubtedly an unsettling and uncertain time for the RCIPS, and for the community as a whole. What is certain, however, is the commitment of the management team to ensure that business carries on as normal. Mr Ennis will be Acting Commissioner until a temporary replacement can be found and he will be supported by the wider Senior Management Team.”

He said he was confident Ennis would fulfill the role in a highly professional and competent manner. “The management team which supports him is strong and I do not doubt that the service will continue to go from strength to strength,” he said. “It is with regret that I must leave the RCIPS under these circumstances. When I agreed to take over the post it was for a temporary period of up to six months. I informed the Governor in August that I would be leaving in November and unfortunately, I have plans in place that I cannot change.”

He said he was leaving with very positive thoughts of the Cayman Islands and the RCIPS.

“The service is a contemporary one which is made up of many dedicated and hard working individuals who are committed to keeping the Cayman Islands as safe as they are. The service is undoubtedly one of the best in the region and should be cherished by those living in these Islands. Residents should not become distracted by other events and should remain proud of the men and women of the RCIPS. The men and woman who make up this fine organsation deserve all the support and assistance you can give them,” George said.

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Former top cop to fight on

(CNS):  Despite the announcement by the Governor on Tuesday accusing the Police Commissioner Stuart Kernohan of severing his own contract and ultimately sacking him, on Wednesday afternoon the top cop made it clear he would fight on and intended to pursue damages over the entire affair which has seen him placed on required leave for 8 months as a result of a mystery investigation.

David Legge, spokesman for Stuart Kernohan, said on Wednesday 19 November that the former Commissioner had confirmed receipt of a letter of dismissal on Tuesday afternoon from  Governor Stuart Jack, which came through his attorneys. “Mr Kernohan rejects in their totality theassertions made in Mr Jack’s correspondence and will pursue all claims and entitlements, including damages, through the proper legal channels,” Legge said on Kernohan’s behalf.

The formal announcement that Kernohan had been dismissed came in the wake of the release of a letter which had been sent to the Governor in early October asserting that Kernohan had committed no crime and that the Governor’s actions in keeping him on “required leave” were for no good reason.

Kernohan’s attorneys, who sent the letter, said that the Governor had lied to the public about the circumstances surrounding the Special Police Investigation led by Martin Bridger as it related to Kernohan, as well as breaching the Commissioner’s contract of employment, an unlawful and irrational exercise of the power of the Governor and depriving Kernohan of his job. The letter made it clear that the top cop was seeking reinstatement, a public apology and damages. (See  Kernohan accuses Governor)

Although the full details of Operation Tempura, the investigation led by Bridger, remain a mystery, a ruling by Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, which was leaked into the public domain several weeks ago, regarding an application made in February of this year by Bridger for warrants to search the homes of Kernohan and Chief Superintendent John Jones (who is also still on required leave on full pay) indicated that neither officer had committed a crime.

A judicial review granted in the wake of the arrest of Justice Alex Henderson in a matter linked to the investigation regarding search warrants obtained by Bridger, presided over by Sir Peter Cresswell, which he found to be unlawful, confirmed Smellie’s ruling and also inferred that none of the wrong doing alleged by Bridger had actually occurred.

So far Bridger’s Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) has spent more than $4million investigating an alleged unlawful entry into the offices of Cayman Net News by two of the paper’s employees, Lyndon Martin and John Evans, who as staff writers both had full and free access to the offices and would not need to break in.  The reporters were supposedly seeking evidence to support allegations that Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Ennis was in a corrupt relationship with Desmond Seales, the paper’s Editor in Chief.

Bridger’s accusations against Kernohan and Jones hang on the premise that Kernohan encouraged this entry, unlawful or otherwise, even though he knew Ennis was not corrupt. However, it has been revealed that the Governor, the Attorney General, Sam Bulgin and Larry Covington, who has oversight for police matters in Overseas Territories, were also all aware of the circumstances surrounding the alleged entry. Ultimately it was Kernohan who called in an external team to pursue the allegations against Ennis, which the former commissioner has asserted he had an obligation to investigate.

Although Operation Tempura has been labeled an investigation of corruption within the entire RCIPS, it appears to be limited in scope. Aside form the removal of Kernohan and Jones from office, Bridger has charged Deputy Police Commissioner Rudolph Dixon with two counts of misconduct which relate to incidences that took place in 2003 regarding two different arrests where Dixon instructed the arresting officers to free the prisoners.

Although Bridger and SPIT have been in Cayman since September 2007 it is believed this is as far as the investigation has reached. No other areas of the RCIPS has yet been revealed to be under investigation.

At the beginning of this month, the elected government made a public announcement requesting that Bridger wind up his investigation and leave Cayman as given the evidence of what Bridger had done so far, they were not convinced that his investigation had done anything more than bring the islands into disrepute.

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Kernohan sacked

(CNS): Police Commissioner Stuart Kernohan, who has been the subject of a mystery special police investigation for some nine months or more, has been terminated from his post by the Governor. “After reviewing all the circumstances, of Mr Kernohan’s conduct as it relates to the terms and conditions of his employment including his continuous unauthorised absence from the Islands, I am left with no option but to accept that he has unilaterally severed his contract,” Jack said in a written statement.

Following the release to the media on Monday 17 November of an open letter sent to the Governor in October from Kernohan’s legal representatives requesting his reinstatement, the Governor released a written statement  on Tuesday afternoon, 18 November, saying that he was personally disappointed that Kernohan had published what the Governor described as private correspondence sent when there was potential disciplinary acts against him. 

“Not only was this an inappropriate action but the letter also contains groundless allegations which I categorically refute,” Jack added in the written statement.

However, the letter from Campbells Attorneys was marked as an open letter and focused on the Chief Justice’s ruling suggesting no crime had been committed and indicated that there was no evidence that Kernohan had done anything wrong. (See CNS Kernohan accuses Governor)

The Governor said in his written statement, however, that having reviewed the circumstances, Kernohan’s behavior amounted to a severing of his employment with the Cayman Islands Government, and he therefore was treating that employment as at an end. He said that he was “advised that the termination of the contract does not in any way affect the ongoing police investigation against Mr Kernohan, whom I understand the police intend to interview shortly.”

Jack stated that he had set things in motion to recruit a full time replacement. “In acknowledgement of the critical role of the Police Commissioner for these Islands and in particular the morale of serving officers in the RCIPS I have instructed the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs to immediately commence the recruitment process for a new full time Commissioner,” the Governor said, adding that he would continue to ensure that the public was kept up-to-date as developments take place.

A number of significant developments regarding Operation Tempura have taken place in recent weeks, however, to which the Governor or the SIO of the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) Martin Bridger have yet to respond. In particular, there has still been no response to the clearance of Justice Alex Henderson, the fact that the warrants acquired by Bridger were ruled unlawful or the acknowledgement by Sir Peter Cresswell, who presided over Henderson’s Judicial Review, of the legitimacy of the Chief Justice’s ruling in February of this year that no crime had been committed with regards the alleged entry into the offices of Cayman Net News, which was said to be the cause of Kernohan’s suspension.

Kernohan’s spokesperson David Legge said a statement will be issued by Stuart Kernohan shortly. Check back to CNS for that update. 

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Kernohan accuses Governor

(CNS): The legal representatives of suspended Police Commissioner Stuart Kernohan have released a copy of a letter they sent to the Governor Stuart Jack last month accusing him of lying, a breach of the Commissioner’s contract of employment, an unlawful and irrational exercise of his executive power as Governor and depriving Kernohan of his job for no good reason.

The content of the letter by Campbells, Kernohan’s attorney, focuses on the decisions of the Chief Justice, Anthony Smellie, In the matter of Operation Tempura handed down on 22 February 2008 and 4 April 2008, copies of which the lawyers say they received for the first time on 1 October 2008.

The letter makes it clear that the Governor must have been aware of Smellie’s judgment and therefore had deceived the public and Kernohan when it was stated at a press briefing in March 2008 that the Commissioner was placed on required leave but not under investigation, as clearly attempts to get a warrant to search the Commissioner’s house had been refused.

“You will recall that on 27 March 2008 you placed Mr. Kernohan on required leave and promised to review that required leave on an ongoing basis. On the same date, and in light of the Chief Justice’s decision, Mr. Bridger gave a press briefing at which you were present confirming, clearly falsely, that Mr. Kernohan was not under investigation,” the letter states.

As there appeared to the Chief Justice to be no evidence of a crime committed by Kernohan back in April, and no more indication of any brought forward since, the lawyers state that the continued decision to keep Kernohan on required leave is “not only a serious breach” by the Governor of the Commissioner’s contract of employment, but may also be an unlawful and irrational exercise of the executive power as Governor.

The letter adds that there can be no possible benign motive for Kernohan’s continued absence from duty, “… not least because you cannot be unaware of the damage which has been caused to his reputation by your actions and by your statements, and those of Mr. Bridger to the news media in these Islands.”

Campbells accuse the Governor of acting in bad faith and maliciously prolonging what they describe as an unnecessarily pointless and expensive police operation, not just to the disrepute of Kernohan but the jurisdiction and the people of Cayman. Campbells go on to request that the Governor respond within 7 days in writing stating that any investigation against Kernohan is at an end and to reinstate him with a full public apology and damages.

According to the Attorneys, the letter was sent on 9 October and as yet no response has been received from the Governor. Moreover, there have been no statements or comments regarding Operation Tempura from either the Governor or SIO Martin Bridger, the leader of the Special Police Investigation Team (SPIT) since Sir Peter Cresswell ruled the warrants to search Justice Alex Henderson’s office and home unlawful, nor since the elected government asked Bridger to go home, nor since Acting Commissioner David George and the Attorney General Sam Bulgin cleared Henderson of any investigation and arrest against him. (The complete letter is posted on TheLeggeReport)

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