Big Pappies press the panic button

Part Three:  Randolph Burroughs, the legendary Police Commissioner (1978-1984) in his own words, explains that in 1984 amidst “overbearing politics in the Police Service” he travelled to the US  to take files to the FBI, ATF and the even the Drug Enforcement Agency DEA. At home in Trinidad, the white-collar criminals panicked. ( Read Below)

Part Two: Outlines how VIPs created his downfall as he investigated the Foreign Currency racket and traces how businessmen and drug dealers became entwined and also crippled his effectiveness and by extension, the TT Police Service.

Part One: Burroughs established that the Narcotics Squad was involved in the Cocaine Trade, worked with police in Tucupita to bust an arms smuggling ring in the Chatham -Erin-Cedros area and suggested an amalgamation of police, customs, immigration,  Coast Guard and Army to deal with the problem.

The excerpt is from his unpublished biography which explains, in detail, how he was framed to be removed from office and which also, through the cases he worked and solved as a detective, chronicles TT’s crime history.

A Criminal Intelligence Unit that was sabotaged.

During the early part of 1984, I spent a lot of time establishing new units to fight crime. Harking back to the cocaine explosion and EC-O crackdown, a Piarco Police Post was set up with members of the Police Flying Squad and the Narcotics Unit, as well as Customs officers.

 The Narcotics Unit was also revitalized by some members of the Flying Squad who had done work in that particular field.
Assistant Superintendent David Jack, who had formerly headed the Flying Squad was put in charge of a Special Robbery Squad and the Criminal Intelligence Unit was created at the old Flying Squad office and was headed by Assistant Superintendent Cecil Carrington, a founding member of the Flying Squad.
And then, to back them all up, a Support Services Unit comprising 56 men was established at the St James Barracks.
In reality, the Flying Squad was not disbanded as rumor had it at the time.
 The rearrangement was done in such a way that, at a moment’s notice, the units could all be merged to effect the same operations as before.
If anything, the squad had been decentralized in order to provide an easy opportunity for its personnel to perform under immediate supervision from the police hierarchy.
I knew I would not always be there to lead them.
In fact, I had decided to apply for accumulated leave-167 days- from June 1984.
It was a chance for me to see about my wife Sheila’s health and to get away from the overbearing politics in the Police Service.
 I would give those who felt they could run the Service and undermine me a chance to perform.
Let them have a go at it.
The leave was subsequently approved on condition that I could be contacted, on short notice, to resume duties.
I travelled to Ocala, Florida where Sheila had an appointment to do some tests, with the possibility of surgery at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital.
But while I was there I became very ill with pneumonia and had to be hospitalized.
During that time, however, I kept in contact with Trinidad and found out about the many changes that had taken place in the short time I had been away.
For example, all the units that I had recently launched to deal with the escalating crime situation, had been disbanded by Clive Sealy, who was acting as Commissioner. Persons who had been transferred during my time, for whatever reasons, were also brought back to the CID.
Among them was Ulric Sanoir, whom I had transferred for an act of indiscipline after an investigation by Cyracius Liverpool.
As time went by the news from home became more disturbing.
By then, they were working feverishly on the Garvin Scott Drug Report, which had been commissioned in February of that year, and my information was that several of the persons who had crossed my path- and many of whom had been transferred- were called in to testify before the Commission of Inquiry headed by Scott, a former Court of Appeal  judge.
For example, they got Superintendent Owen Quintin- whom I had reported to the Police Service Commission (PSC) for trying to seek his individual claim for promotion ( which was a serious breach) to give a statement.
So that by the time I returned home in October I was ready to start preparing a dossier to present to the probers.
But, I waited and I hoped for a call to testify, but it never came.
In January 1985, I decided to take my wife back to Miami for medical treatment.
Before leaving, however, I spoke to Lance Selman, who as Head of the Special Branch at the time was in liaison with various Embassies.
I asked him to inform the US Embassy that I would be in Miami and that I had information which I would like to pass on to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
Those instructions were obviously obeyed, as while I was staying at the Tides Hotel on Miami Beach, I received a call from Gerry Forrester, the Caribbean Liaison Officer for the FBI, and we arranged a meeting the following morning.
Forrester took me to the FBI Director in Miami and I was eventually turned over to the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) Branch, whom I presented with a file on persons involved in gun running in and out of Trinidad and Tobago.
Even though I was on vacation and had not resumed duties, I was acting officially and collecting a lot of information from the US Authorities.
When I finally returned to Trinidad on March 1st I wanted to show them that I was ready and running.
For the first time, that year, I missed being at home for Carnival.
It fell on February 18th and 19th but the Miami police asked me to stay on, and the investigations were not yet completed.
So that while Sheila returned home on Carnival Saturday, two days before the mas parade, I did not get home until late Ash Wednesday (February 20th).
It was only later that I would remember a telephone call that came to me while I was at the ATF office.
It was from a Special Branch Officer who was an inspector at our foreign office in New York, Lloyd Joseph.
How did he know I was there?
He said he had simply called to get some information and they told him his boss was there.
Little did I know that some big shots in Trinidad had become scared knowing I was talking to the FBI, ATF and the even possible the Drug Enforcement Agency DEA.
 It seemed as if people were trying to track my every movement in the USA.
Even the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) had started to press the panic button because they didn’t know what to expect.. and I was about to return home and resume duties.
Knowlson Gift who was then a local diplomat in Jamaica travelled home on the same flight with me, and I later dropped him off at the Trinidad Hilton Hotel before I went home.

Knowlson Gift

On the following day, Thursday, I stayed home to rest and prepare for an after carnival function I was hosting on Friday, for all my relatives who had come home for the festivities. Among the officials I invited were the Minister of National Security John Donaldson and his wife, Eustace Bernard, David Busby and Max Awon among others. And on Saturday night, the same night which they later claimed I had been at Carli Bay offloading cocaine with Dole Chadee and the Ramlochan Brothers, Mohan and Sham, I attended the Champs in Concert show to get a taste of what I had missed during the Carnival season.
The next day, Sunday, I left for Tobago to complete my vacation, taking with me all the documents I needed to prepare to resume duties the following week.
I still had no idea whatsoever of the catastrophe and bacchanal that lay ahead.
Stay tuned for Part  Four.

Rag Storm Drama Continues....

WTH! Fake News?
Nope, it’s true.
So you thought that the Panorama Drama ended on February 22nd  when Justice Kevin Ramcharan granted an injunction that cleared the way for Exodus to change their tune of choice for the Finals of the 2019 Panorama competition, from Rag Storm to Savannah Grass?
Clearly, it was more than simply a change of song or a challenge of the rules.
Fact: Exodus Steelband and Ainsworth Mohammed, by choice, are now seeking more money from Pan Trinbago. And that’s beyond paying the cost of attorneys as the steelband body was instructed to do by the judge.

Band manager  Mohammed is not owning up to that.  He insisted it’s “attorneys’ business.”  And what he said in a telephone conversation (see transcript below) does not line up with the court action that was filed on March 26th, in his name and in the name of the Exodus Steelband.
 “I am surprised that it has come up, again,” Mohammed said. One is therefore left to wonder if the attorneys acted without his consent.
 That was one day after the March 25th deadline when, if it intended to appeal the decision of  Justice Ramcharan,  Pan Trinbago could have filed a defence.
Accepting the judge’s decision and with a promise that the rules of Panorama- which was at the heart of the High Court matter- would be settled by the membership before the next competition, Pan Trinbago bowed out hoping that it would die a natural death.
 Now the plain truth is that Exodus and Ainsworth, in black and white and in print will be seeking  “further reliefs deemed just and expedient in the circumstances,” as instructing attorney Antonya Pierre stated in her affidavit, also dated March 26th because Pan Trinbago failed to file a defence.
And,  on May 17th, 2019, in Courtroom POS 20 @ 10 45 AM at the High Court of Justice in Port of Spain, the application for a default judgment will be heard before  Madame Justice Margaret Mohammed.
 That’s when we will know what “damages”  were suffered by the band (which placed last in the Panorama finals)  and what, in terms of compensation it will be asking for.
 And that, folks, is the makings of a landmark, unprecedented, court matter involving a steel band. Read on to get a better understanding of how it has reached to this stage.  If you can figure what they're fighting for.

Ainsworth's Contradictions

For starters, Exodus Steelband and Ainsworth Mohammed were represented in court by a high powered team of attorneys: Mr. Elton Prescott SC, Mr. Farai Hove Massasai, Mr. Issa Jones instructed by Ms. Antonya Pierre.  That would chalk up a high bill.   Justice Ramcharan was, however, merciful and ordered Pan Trinbago to pay the costs for one Senior and one Junior attorney.

Pan Trinbago’s newly elected executive, having barely crossed 90 days in office after inheriting a bankrupt organization, could only muster a pro bono effort.

 President Beverley Ramsey Moore went after her cousin attorney  Christlyn Moore for help.

 Come hell or high water,  Exodus Steelband and Ainsworth Mohammed  (Claimants) would have to pay the costs of  the remaining two of the four attorneys listed in the action.

 

At  6 01PM on April 9th, after publishing a teaser on Facebook, only,  that Exodus Takes Pan Trinbago to Court again,  I received a call from  Mr Mohammed. This is what he said.

“The steel band has nothing to do with it, love. That is the attorneys' business.

 "The Judge has handed down a judgment that they made the cost of it and the cost he has reduced it for them. and that is it. That’s it, the steel band has nothing to do with it.

 “I don't have the details between the attorneys. “I  just don't want a post as though that we are being antagonistic- that’s all that I want to make sure that does not come across.

 “That thing between the attorneys has been decided already. I am surprised that this came up again.

  “It was decided for senior and a junior and that is the final decision.

 “None of the attorneys can go against that, you with me. That has already been agreed.”

 “None of the attorneys can go against that, you with me. That has already been agreed.”

                                

War declared.. via WhatsApp

 With the documents in hand, I still wondered why Mohammed's attorneys are seeking relief, or damages as we know it?    Even if he did not know about it.

And then a flood of WhatsApp messages was sent to me, the thread showed the support which Ainsworth sought from his colleagues in what is loosely described as the Large Band Caucus back in February when he took Pan Trinbago to court. 

It was a chat group that included the members of the seven finalists in the 2019 Panorama who all agreed that Exodus had the right to change its tune of choice 10 days before the finals. 

They included  Massey All-Stars, Champions  Bp Renegades, Desperadoes, Skiffle, Supernovas Fonclaire and Birdsong. 

Only five of the seven were actually in the Finals.   Not Foncliare nor Birdsong.

However, the two bands, Silver Stars and Tropical Angel Harps, that were also playing Rag Storm, the original tune of Choice which Exodus wanted to change, did not engage in the WhatsApp conversation, based on the messages that popped into my inbox.

 ..” the fact that I am going legal now, I shall embrace the opportunity to sue for monies owed to XO and maybe put them into bankruptcy as their audited accounts have shown that Pan Trinbago is insolvent,” the message shows Ainsworth as saying back then.

  Was it a threat? A joke?

  Naturally, you would want to ask whether he is, in the matter that comes up on May 17th in which he and the band are seeking relief, following up on those stated intentions?

 The large band caucus, by and large, was engaged, as Ainsworth updated them on the  matter and also left it up to them to “determine whether you collectively wish to make representation.”

    WhatsApp messages made their way into the court and helped in the final determination by the judges who noted that the “majority of the bands in the finals have no objections to the First Claimant (Exodus Steelband) being allowed to change their tune.”

     But the tone of the messages quoted above and the follow-up action, filed on March 26th, fly in the face of Ainsworth’s most recent comments which I have transcribed and written above.  Almost as if the highly respected Manager of the Exodus Steelband will turn a Rag Storm into a Desert Storm.

        The large band caucus having the best real estate and resources at its disposal has not generated a single idea for a movement forward. 

    

 Even in the darkest days of  Pan Trinbago, immediately preceding the October 2018 elections for a new executive, Mohammed did not stir as much as when he activated the caucus to come to his defence in February 2019.

Numerous groundbreaking ideas have been floated in the caucus.  And with the execution of the Big Five concerts, few seem to have borne fruit.

     Breakdown of the bacchanal..

                              ..for a panist  to understand

         

  Taking into consideration the legal action pending, a local attorney, who wished to remain anonymous broke it down into layman’s terms to show that indeed, Exodus and Mohammed are going after the money. 

 ‘It’s simple. They have asked for a date for their damages to be assessed which means they are claiming that they suffered some damages and they want the court to quantify that. 

"Ordinarily, when you start an action you start an action by Claim Form and Statements of Case and it progresses normally.

   “When you have an urgent release, for example, I want my band to play tonight or  I want you to stop breaking down my house, an urgent release, you go by Claim Form and Statement of Claim but you file a third thing which is your Injunction.

 "In the case of I want my band to play or I want to stop the band from playing when the Injunction is heard you have gotten what you want.

 “It’s a straight case of whether your band can play or your band can’t play.

 “Normally, while it doesn’t technically end the matter, because the person has gotten what he’s wanted, that is it.

 "It’s not like, for example, somebody broke down your fence and they threatened to break down the rest of the fence. When you get an injunction you cause them to be stopped  but still, you got a broken fence that needs to be mended.,

 "Somebody has to pay for that. So, of course, you will continue with the matter because there are other issues to be dealt with.

 "This is not that type of matter. There are no other issues to be dealt with.

 "Although there is technically a matter in the background.

 "These people have applied for final judgment.

 "This is about getting damages. Getting money.

 "They have already been awarded cost certified fit for Senior Counsel and a Junior.

 "Ordinarily when you start your Claim form and Statement of Claim, your normal action. If you win, costs are awarded.

 "Given the value of the matter, you can compute cost.

 "In this case, this matter had no value it is deemed to be a TT$50,000 matter and if you win this matter your costs are TT$14, 500.

" But this matter was finished before. So your costs are substantially less than TT$14,500. 

 “You cannot tell me they are doing this because they want a fraction of TT$14, 500. 

  “The second thing is that on the injunction they got cost certified fit for senior counsel. 

  “They still have to tax a bill to get that. They are not going to court to tax a bill. What they are going to do is, from the documents, it seems they want the court to assess damages.

 “It is not simply about cost. 

 ‘The cost of the injunction is manifestly less than TT$14 500 which they will get anyway.

 "This is about them asking for damages.

“The only fee that can be worked out on their application- because they have an application coming up- they only fees that can be worked out is the proportion of the TT$14,500 and that is not done by agreement. 

“An attorney just has to look in the book, find the page, read down format and will see what it is.

“You don't need to work that out.

 “They could have taken their money for the senior counsel and ended it,”

 the attorney explained, adding," they want more."