By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A LINK between organised crime and webshop operations in the Bahamas became a touchy subject in the House of Assembly yesterday when Free National Movement Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner called into question an admission by Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller that he bought numbers.

The Long Island MP had just raised concern over the message being conveyed to the public on the lowering of the minimum sentence for firearm possession when she shifted her contribution to comments supposedly made by Mr Miller concerning the controversial issue of webshop gaming while she was absent from parliament.

“The member for Tall Pines essentially sought to wave the magic wand over the illegal numbers trade and make it sound like it was all nice and dandy as the saying goes,” she said.

“What I found extraordinary is that we call ourselves honourable, we come here to make laws, we must be upholding the laws of this land.”

“And if the laws of the land say that the numbers business is illegal, then how is it, I don’t care if you went to Harvard Law School, if you break the law, then you’re a criminal. It’s a crime.”

Mrs Butler-Turner referred to the conviction of Jewish financier Bernie Madoff who was said to be “a wonderful person” by many, but “he was a criminal.”

“And so the reality is, Mr Speaker, the numbers business is in fact organized crime,” she said, before saying that the previous administration had only granted licences to cyber webshop operations and not gaming.

National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage, when allowed to speak by House Speaker Dr Kendal Major, retorted that the member of the previous administration should not attempt to make a distinction between then and now on the basis that the previous government had sought to determine how much to tax the webshops.

He was followed by Mr Miller himself who, when recognised by the Speaker, said: “What I don’t understand is, what does an American convict got to do with webshops in this country?”

Madoff, he said “was a criminal” before shifting his focus to the previous FNM administration.

“They were the ones who gave the webshop operators the licenses. That was given by them. They had five years to close them down. They close none down. They wanted the fellas’ money, that’s why they didn’t close them down. They wanted the guys’ money.”

Gaming Board Chairman and Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins, supported the points raised by the Tall Pines MP concerning Mrs Butler-Turner’s awareness of the numbers industry as she was a cabinet minister prior to the change in government.

“She is well aware, she sat around the cabinet table, Mr Speaker, when they were considering a computer wagering bill to govern the webshop industry in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.”

“Because of a fear of backlash from the Christian Community and others, they decided to put it off the table until after the general election.”

Adding that his next comments were not to be taken as an insult, he noted that the politicians on both sides of the political divide have said one thing while in opposition and the “exact opposite” when in government.

“The fact is, the FNM, the prior administration knew full well what was taking place in these webshops. They chose to stick their heads in the sands and act as though it was not in place.”

“This PLP government, myself and others, have been advocating to deal with the industry and regulate it,” he added, noting the concerns raised by the minister of state for legal affairs on trafficking and terrorism linked to the webshops in the absence of a “regulated industry.”

“So it is irresponsible and reckless for the member of Long Island to act as though this type of conversation was not taking place around the former cabinet table.

The Long Island MP responded that the current government, last November, called a referendum for January that rejected the regulation and taxation of webshop gaming industry, but the laws of the land were still not upheld.

She further argued that the proceeds of webshop gaming were not infiltrating new money but moving the little from those who had little, and would produce lasting effects for citizens later on.

Mr Miller in response said that numbers was “nothing new” as it has “been played in this country since 1948, that’s 65 years.”

“And it ain’t going nowhere,” he exclaimed.

Yesterday’s comments follow on the heels of comments made by Senator and Minister of State for National Security Keith Bell on a radio talk show that the industry was “here to stay.”

Bell explained that police efforts to crack down on number houses were challenged by a continuing legal battle, and an entrenched culture.

Mr Bell added that while the government has made good on electoral promises to put the issue to referendum, the Bahamian people have yet to make a “definitive” decision on whether or not to discontinue the practice.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Perry Christie admitted that he was surprised with the outcome of the referendum which sought to legalise the numbers racket.

The failed January 28 referendum was poorly supported at the polls and resulted in an unanimous no vote to both questions on the ballot.

The first question read: Do you support the regulation and taxation of Web Shop gaming? The second question read: Do you support the establishment of a National Lottery?

Prior to the vote, Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade admitted that he had been “far too tolerant” with number houses, adding that it was a “very difficult” issue for the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Following the poll, Mr Christie ordered that all the web shops throughout the country had to close down. 

Since then, police have not executed the promised crack down on web shops – despite repeated assurances from Mr Greenslade that officers were “mounting an operation.”

Web shop owners are seeking a declaration from the Supreme Court that their operations are not regulated by the Lotteries and Gaming Act.

If denied, then lawyers will move that the act is unconstitutional and that the owners had an agreement with the former FNM administration in exchange for confidential information on their businesses.

Wayne Munroe represents Island Luck, FML Group of Companies, Whatfall, Percy Web Caf, Asue Draw and Chances.

Mr Munroe and Alfred Sear’s clients, Paradise Games, were awarded a conservatory order on January 30.

However, it was lifted on April 9, giving authorities the ability to go into any establishment at any time to close it down if evidence of gaming is found.

Yesterday, Mrs Butler-Turner said that if “someone in here is actually claiming that they buying numbers, they are actually contravening the laws. So Tall Pines can buy all the numbers he wants, maybe he needs to be escorted out of here and asked why is he breaking the laws of the land.”

“This is the duplicity that we need to look at when you talk about duplicity. Legislators in here making laws for law abiding citizens and then they breaking the law? There’s got to be something wrong with that” she concluded on the matter before the House Speaker asked parliamentarians to stay on the subject of the crime bills.

The crime bills currently being debated are the Firearms Amendment Bill, the Prevention of Bribery Bill, the Evidence Amendment Bill, the Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill and the Penal Code Amendment Bill.