Save the Bays welcomes FBI probe

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

AN environmental group accused of plotting to “destabilise” the Christie administration yesterday welcomed the government’s invite to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct an independent probe into its actions in relation to an ongoing feud between two Lyford Cay residents.

On Thursday, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald accused Save the Bays (STB) of working towards the government’s downfall, using money from billionaire Lyford Cay resident Louis Bacon, while masquerading as an environmental watchdog group.

However, STB dismissed these accusations as “totally untrue” and “an attempt to distract the public from the substance of recent court filings.” In a statement yesterday, STB officials said “nothing could please us more” than an investigation being done by the FBI.

Last week Mr Fitzgerald told the House of Assembly that Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson would request the FBI, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Department of State to investigate whether a US entity was working with STB to topple the Christie administration.

He also accused STB of being involved in a “hustle” to entrap Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard in a criminal plot.

“Save The Bays has done absolutely nothing wrong and would welcome independent scrutiny of this matter as we continue to seek justice and relief,” STB’s statement said.

“We hereby invite, challenge and call upon the government to bring in the FBI. Over the course of our investigation, STB has gathered a great deal of evidence, which we believe will prove very useful to law enforcement agencies. If the local authorities are not interested in investigating this evidence fully, we are happy to turn it over to their US counterparts in the interests of truth, transparency, justice and the rule of law.”

Meanwhile, the group maintained that central questions raised in an affidavit its directors recently filed in the Supreme Court “were conveniently unanswered.”

“Who instigated a two-and-a-half year campaign of harassment, intimidation and violence which allegedly included a murder plot against several individuals? “Who organised the KKK-themed hate rallies which terrorised our members and put them in fear for their safety? Who supplied the Ku Klux Klan costumes seen on display during the 2015 New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade? Who paid for the ‘burning cross’ t-shirts?

“Surely, given the abundance of pertinent evidence filed with the courts, these ministers must know the answer. Yet rather than speak to this, they decided to launch their own savage, unwarranted attack on Save The Bays. We wonder – who could they be protecting?

“Needless to say, the harebrained suggestion that STB is involved in some plot to overthrow the government is totally untrue, beyond ridiculous and clearly nothing more than an attempt to change the story.

“The PLP will have to try harder – no one, aside from the party’s most rabid supporters - is buying it,” STB said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell has also questioned if STB is a legitimate environmental group or an “attempt to subvert” certain parliamentarians.

Last week in Parliament, he suggested that some $8.25m has been filtered through various organisations connected with STB - locally and internationally - from 2013 to 2015.

The claims by both PLP parliamentarians come amidst a controversy stemming from an ongoing feud between Mr Nygard and Mr Bacon concerning STB’s opposition to ongoing development of Nygard Cay. Mr Bacon is one of STB’s directors.

Mr Mitchell, in Parliament, sought to connect the dots as to how STB obtains its funding, claiming that the Moore Charitable Trust, of which Mr Bacon is president, allegedly funds international environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance, which in turn funds Waterkeeper Bahamas, which in turn funds STB.

However, STB stressed yesterday that it is a “cover for no one.”

“We are a social and environmental advocacy group that campaigns for: the adoption of an Environmental Protection Act and a Freedom of Information Act; an end to industrial pollution and unregulated development; and the upholding of due process and the rule of law in The Bahamas. We campaign in defense of these ideals aggressively, and without apology, because we believe the wellbeing of future generations of Bahamians depends upon it.”

On March 9, four STB directors - Joseph Darville, Romauld Ferreira, Fred Smith and Mr Bacon - and Reverend CB Moss, who is not a STB member, filed an affidavit by Florida investigator John Joseph DiPaolo to probe Mr Nygard’s connection to Livingston “Toggie” Bullard and Wisler “Bobo” Davilma.

The affidavit alleges Mr Nygard hired the two “gang members” to carry out crimes against those who opposed further development at Nygard Cay.

Comments

ThisIsOurs says...

What would truly make this whole saga Robert Ludlum book worthy is if in chapter 12 we learn that Frod Mitchum is correct, STC is more than an environmental group, they're actually positioned here **on behalf of the FBI**. LOL LOL LOL. The corrupt Bahadian government **invited** the FBI, to investigate the FBI and gave the FBI carte Blanche to do in the open what they'd been doing covertly all along. This book juicy eh? Who could have seen that coming when Perces Chisto made his contribution?

Posted 21 March 2016, 2:45 p.m. Suggest removal

sheeprunner12 says...

Bring on the FBI, CIA, MI5, Interpol etc ..................... anyone who expose the dirt in our politics once and for all before the next election .......... so we can find some fairly decent MPs

Posted 21 March 2016, 3:08 p.m. Suggest removal

John says...

Kick Bacon and Nygard out! and ikalik

Posted 21 March 2016, 3:35 p.m. Suggest removal

Emac says...

The two of you gat beef!:-)

Posted 21 March 2016, 3:41 p.m. Suggest removal

killemwitdakno says...

They done the FBI on their damn self. Wouldn't they need to investigate motive for what Fitzgerald is claiming meaning rivals?

Posted 21 March 2016, 4:24 p.m. Suggest removal

MonkeeDoo says...

***WE MUST HAVE A COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY AND AN FNM CONVENTION FOLLOWED BY A PLP FUNERAL*** Time ain't long as it was and bullfrog ain't got no wing !

Posted 21 March 2016, 4:45 p.m. Suggest removal

Chucky says...

Perhaps ,even the US Government is behind trying to destabilize and remove the PLP from power.

It certainly would be the first attempt (lets hope it's accomplished and not just an attempt anyhow) by the USA at removing or forcing a government to be replaced.

Posted 21 March 2016, 5:07 p.m. Suggest removal

birdiestrachan says...

One thing for sure those of STB can spin a tale. if they do not fear the FBI why did they go to the courts to stop the press from any comments on their e mails.

Posted 21 March 2016, 5:34 p.m. Suggest removal

asiseeit says...

So Birdie, you have no problem if they where to print YOUR PRIVATE INFORMATION in the press? You O.K. with your bank statements being public, your e-mails? That private information has been put in public is a very dangerous and slippery slope, not to mention who is putting it out there. What do you think investors think of this breach of confidential information, is every person in the Bahamas under the same threat?

Posted 21 March 2016, 6:02 p.m. Suggest removal

Space says...

This is the most ridiculous attempt at spin of them all - They went to the court because someone had obviously gained unauthorized access to private emails. What were they supposed to do, just shrug and smile whilst someone breaks the law and rifled through their private information distributing at will?

Posted 22 March 2016, 1:50 p.m. Suggest removal

birdiestrachan says...

Investors know full well that there are persons who are able to do this. have you noticed how often the daily news papers print stories and they say information obtained by this paper. who ever knows where they get their information from and it is all fine, some call them leaks it is just
fine until it involves them. Pintard and his leader were deep in this mess. but it has blown up in their faces. and now they seek to place blame. they forgot to dig their own ditch.,

Posted 21 March 2016, 9:07 p.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

And when they call them "leaks", if the information is private or confidential and the source unknown, the court is free to ask "how did you get that info?".

Posted 22 March 2016, 2:32 a.m. Suggest removal

VS says...

You're missing the point here. Yes, investors may know that it is possible to have one's private information leaked - virtually anything in life is possible. The issue, however, is whether such breach in confidentiality is both ethical and, of course, LEGAL. It's also far-reaching, in the sense that if this sort of activity is allowed, who's to say that the individuals performing these acts of piracy will not do the same to you or me? How far will persons be allowed to go? Truthfully, NO FORM of breach in privacy by ANYONE should be allowed, regardless of whether or not information has been "leaked" to expose any act of alleged indecency or presumed unscrupulous behavior. There are proper protocols that SHOULD be followed in order to uncover or shed light on various issues. The bottom line is that we should all have our private information protected. Today, it may be this...tomorrow it'll be your banking information, your medical records, your emails or messages between you and a loved one!

Posted 22 March 2016, 9:50 a.m. Suggest removal

TalRussell says...

Comrade VS point me to any such evidence you are privy to that any individual/government are responsible for performing acts of piracy in the Nygardgate caper?
If you post/send/communicate via the internet - you give up any hope that it will be kept private, or once it is posted - deleted or not - any novice with a can walk out of a Radio Shack with a $30 device/program that is capable of recovering what you thought was your best kept secret darling - directly from your computer or cell phone.
Major corporations, governments, banks, utilities, Apple, Best Buy, Visa and thousands more with millions spent on protecting their confidential info - have been penetrated by some novice technology nerd.

Posted 22 March 2016, 11:06 a.m. Suggest removal

Space says...

You still missing the point... the point isn't that it was easy for someone to get it... just because it's easy to do doesn't make it legal. I could walk into my neighbours house and steal their TV, it would be pretty easy... but it's still ILLEGAL

Posted 22 March 2016, 1:54 p.m. Suggest removal

VS says...

Where in my retort did I make mention of the Nygard debacle? This matter is beyond Mr. Nygard, the PLP, the FNM, the DNA, et al. Again, the issue is not whether or not accessing information via the Internet or with the use of other technological devices is possible - we're all quite aware of the possibility. The issue here is PRIVACY and the entitlement thereof. Your personal business is YOUR personal business, regardless of what genius is capable of hacking into a server and obtaining your bank statements or any other confidential information. This is not a "free for all" society that we are living in "Comrade" TalRussell, even if it often seems as though it is. Try to put your partisan views aside for a brief moment to assess this matter from ALL aspects of the spectrum! Invasion of privacy on any level affects us all!

Posted 22 March 2016, 2 p.m. Suggest removal

GrassRoot says...

The problem this Government is creating is that they are pissing of straight foreign investors that actually leave money on the island and create jobs (Baha Mar, Atlantis etc.) by not applying the rule and letting the thugs loose and threatening the investors (Residency revocation etc.) and on the other side invite exactly the kind of investors that thrive in a environment of corruption and lawlessness (Blackbeard's, what is happening in Bimini, the scams in Rum Cay with people going to jail in the US but not the Bahamas). If you sleep with dogs, you will wake up with fleas.

Posted 22 March 2016, 10:58 a.m. Suggest removal

jus2cents says...

Just read this http://www.savethebays.bs/2016/03/22/st…
It is long!
But it's obvious the man cares deeply about the Bahamas Environment ...more than most so-called 'patriotic Bahamians'.
He isn't all talk, he has walked the walk, he has spent his Time and his Money ...doing more than most Bahamians.
I think it's so sad that the very people who love respect and DO things to help the country are the ones being accused of undermining the Gov. and they're being treated like the enemy; when the truth is 'the environmentalists' are the ones protecting 'all of our Rights' ...you got it....again, more than most Bahamians and our own Government.
This is a very dangerous situation, who will be the brave ones that advocate for our rights in future?

If our Government treats people like this?!? The rich foreigners won't want to help us anymore that's for sure!

Posted 22 March 2016, 1:07 p.m. Suggest removal

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