Which Barbados Politicians Received “Campaign Donations” From VECO?
“If you’ve got a crooked politician, run his fanny down the road. Get rid of him. If they take money from the oil industry, it’s tainted money. That money comes with a price tag associated with it. I’ve seen it. If you took money from the oil industry or from VECO or from contractors who work for the oil industry, it’s clear, they expect you to respond to their requests for favorable legislation,”
… Longtime critic of the oil industry, former legislator Jim Whitaker, who heads up the Alaska Gasline Port Authority. (Alaska KTUU TV2 News Link Here)
How About It Mr. Arthur, Mr. Thompson?
Please declare publicly if either of you or members of your families have ever directly or indirectly received any monies or benefits from VECO – no matter what they were called at the time. Whether a “campaign donation” or a “fact finding trip” to Alaska, the citizens of Barbados have a moral right to know what was given and what was received by those who hold public office.
We realise that we have no legal right to ask this – because the two of you and your parties have deliberately failed to enact such laws in Barbados for decades.
Oink Oink.
26 Comments
June 9, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I just get a good laff. A girl I know just call me and say she recognize the botsy of one a dem feeding pigs and it ain’t a politician.
June 9, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Anchorage Daily News
12 May 2007
‘Prison in Valley shrinks’
‘For years, many legislative leaders pushed for a large-scale private prison, with proposals nearly passing for Delta, Kenal and Whittier. Pushing the private prison, admid heavy politicking and accusations of backroom deals, was a consortium led by Cornell Companies and VECO Corp.’
Associated Press – 14 May 2007
‘In 2004, the prison operator (Cornell Companies) was named in indictments of 2 associates of then-Texas Congressman Tom DeLay. Cornell wasn’t charged but it was listed among companies making political donations that prosecutors said DeLay’s associaties illegally laundered for use in Texas campaigns’.
I believe the question that we should all be asking is:
WHY would the Government of Barbados award not one, but two huge contracts to a company (VECO USA Inc) and its wholly owned subsidiary (Commonwealth Construction) that the FBI has been investigating on serious criminal charges for at least seven years?
So far, at least seven senior politicians, lobbyists, company directors and legislators have been charged with offences that include bribery, corruption,extortion and conspiracy involving VECO.
Isn’t it time the Attorney general made a public statement on this issue?
June 9, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Adrian L
I can see Dale waking up this morning, reading what you want him to do and saying with a bleary eyed start “Who Me…… “?
He must be cussing Owen and Mia for putting him in the fall guy position, particularly if the sweets got shared already.
June 9, 2007 at 3:13 pm
“If you’ve got a crooked politician, run his fanny down the road. Get rid of him.”
Wonder if O$A knows there are people eyeing up his fanny to run it down the road!!!
All the same he might have guessed by now.
June 9, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Mr Loveridge, you are hoping in Vain for the Attorney general to make a public statement on this issue.
Have we not learnt that this gang of crooks are above being questioned??
This gang have perfected the art of robbing from us the taxpayers and treating was with contempt if we dare attempt to question their wayward ways.
When the PM of this island can openly deposit a cheque for $ 750,000.00 or maybe cheques to his personal bank account what does that indicate to you nothing other than gross arrogrance towards us the public, he is above being questioned by anyone.
That is why he has done and continues to do the back hand deals that he is doing, with the help of Nicholls, Shorey, and Bannister they all need to be investigated.
There is a page on the FBI website that allows you to submit details of things that maybe considered illegal and in the drop down country menu Barbados is listed.
I wonder if we were to submit information regarding the VECO and Nicholls and Owing Jail and Oil storage facility deals if it would activate an inquiry from the FBI or will Owing prevent that from being done as well??
June 9, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Wishing In Vain: Weren’t the FBI investigating some shady goings-on in Barbados, allegedly involving the Comptroller of Customs and a BLP politician or politicians a few years ago? And what happened? Mia, who was the AG at the time said that those persons were not being investigated and were not involved in any wrong-doing. Am I right? These people have their tracks well covered.
June 9, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Thistle you are most certainly correct in your suggestion of dishonesty, I assume that the FBI would have done their investigative work and handed it over to the loacl authorites and await their handling of matters but in this case the local involved had ties to Owing and held secrets so that Owing could dare not touch him so it was left to idle, what an island we live in!!!
I still think that we ought to submit a form on the FBI website to see if it draws and action!!
June 9, 2007 at 3:44 pm
“These people have their tracks well covered.”
Not well enough.
June 9, 2007 at 5:08 pm
What is known locally, if anything about Peter DENN who was appointed a Senior Business Manager for ‘a VECO subsidary in Barbados’ in August 2005 and sadly died 19 November 2006 (according to his obituary, ‘he took his own life’) ?
June 9, 2007 at 7:33 pm
“There is a page on the FBI website that allows you to submit details of things that maybe considered illegal
and in the drop down country menu Barbados is listed.
I wonder if we were to submit information regarding the VECO and Nicholls and Owing Jail and Oil storage facility deals if it would activate an inquiry from the FBI
or will Owing prevent that from being done as well??”
Patrick Porter? Are you still there?
June 9, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Dare ya!
June 9th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Leave Patrick in peace.
It is time for some other people to step up to the plate and swing.
Supply the link and leave it to the individual to figure out what they want to do.
Let nature take its course.
Besides, it will drive some people crazy knowing that a procedure for redress is available and being discussed on the Net.
They will be forever wondering if and when a citizen will act and blow the whistle on them.
June 9, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Adrian Loveridge,
You asked ” WHY would the Government of Barbados award not one, but two huge contracts to a company (VECO USA Inc) and its wholly owned subsidiary (Commonwealth Construction) that the FBI has been investigating on serious criminal charges for at least seven years?”
The answer is probably the same reason why the Barbados Gov’t would award a contract to Karimath from Trinidad knowing full well that he is a criminal …that he was accused of bribery in relation to the awarding of the desal contract and also he was arrested in relation to the airport scandal. This is the man that COW and Mia and the now Attorney General is in bed with.
This is not by accident…they all have the same goal!!!
June 10, 2007 at 12:03 am
This firm, VECO, could not even win the contract to build prisons in their home state, even though the legislature was stuffed by VECO corrupted representatives.
As AL says, their partners, who knew how to build prisons, were as corrupt as they were. Or nearly!
How did Barbados get in bed with these crooks?
What gave Ms Mottley the idea that this discredited outfit, already under investigation by the FBI, was preferable to a Bajan bid?
How come VECO after “winning” the contract then sub-contracts the majority of the work to the losing tenderers?
And finally, the cruncher, why invest $300.000,000 of precious foreign currency, in an inexperienced US company who uses the same local sub-contractors who had quoted at less than half the price?
There is no logic to this contract except….
June 10, 2007 at 4:22 am
Straight talk
There is no logic to this contract except….
Stealing stealing and more stealing, it is an absolute disgrace that things like this are allowed to take place and we have no where to seek action other than from the same corrupt politicians that are already robbing us blindly.
Funnily enough I was on most of these websites today the DLP, BLP Underground Barbados and all but the BLP site are commenting on the corruption and stealing taking place on this island, whereas on the BLP site all is fine and dandy until you visit their pages in Thompson Born Loser and Guarantee for Cruise Ship No longer Necesssary they are actually people who are willing to go onto the site and be very straight and deliver the truth sometimes very harshly as well, what a slap in the face for these pompus idiots and crooks.
June 10, 2007 at 4:26 am
https://tips.fbi.gov/
June 10, 2007 at 3:38 pm
BFP, a question: Why would you post Thompson’s pix up there re Veco, contracts, bribes/donations? He is not in government, and his party certainly has no say at present. Why would Veco wish to give Thompson or any member of his party money. That kite is one that really did not fly. If you wish to deal with Arthur, deal with him. In addition, since the contract was negotiated with Mia and Dale is executing it, why were their pixes not displayed? Show the pixes of those who had the most to gain, not those who were not involved. It taints your credibility when you fly wet kites.
June 10, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Obvious, Cat Eyes, they don’t like anything about that man, that was obvious from the getgo. They always trying to implicate him in something. If the DLP form next govt and he do something wrong then let them run him to the ground and I would agree.
June 10, 2007 at 4:29 pm
In defense of BFP, It is not that they don’t like Thompson.
It is that BFP has been consistently asking both parties to enact Integrity legislation.
I would have preferred if other BLP Operatives were in the picture but at least we are still focussed on the real issue and that is…
Why is this BLP Government signing contracts with Companies like VECO.
June 10, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Cat Eyes said…
“BFP, a question: Why would you post Thompson’s pix up there re Veco, contracts, bribes/donations? He is not in government, and his party certainly has no say at present. Why would Veco wish to give Thompson or any member of his party money.”
Hello Cat Eyes,
I think you don’t know how these large multi-national corporations like VECO hedge their bets. Not only do they support the government, they support to a certain extent – the opposition. As Thompson’s chances to form a government improve, he will be approached by all sorts of corporations and people – maybe he already has.
A while ago, it was reported that Thompson met with Donald Trump in Florida over the issue of Casinos should the DLP form the next government. That was reported publicly here and was not denied by Thompson or the DLP.
(… and they had better not deny it if they want to retain any credibility at all)
Thompson and the DLP could have been hammering away at integrity legislation for years, but – smelling power and blood in the political waters – Thompson and the DLP have ignored integrity legislation and conflict of interest issues.
They want their time at the trough.
So, no, we neither like nor dislike Mr. Thompson on a personal level.
We merely consider him and the DLP to be only the next bunch of piggies waiting their turn at the trough because they have deliberately ignored integrity issues.
The evidence is quite clear on this point. There is little difference if any between the DLP and the BLP. Just different gangs with no plans to implement integrity legislation.
June 10, 2007 at 5:14 pm
BFP-
Have you read today’s Sunday Sun interview with Thompson regarding politicians declaring their assets? While integrity legislation really does diddly squat to prevent crooks from tiefing, declaring your assets before you enter public life puts you under scrutiny from day one.
If you were at the public meeting in Britton’s Hill you would also have heard him speak about integrity legislation. He also said that he comes with a team of persons who run the gamut from international business experts to professionals in other spheres and “… they all have their own money.” BFP, take some time to examine the profiles of the DLP candidates now, and the BLP candidates when they took office. You will find that the old peoples’ saying “You don’t put a hungry man to share the food” rings very true.
Traditionally, and any Bajan will tell you, the Dems leave office as poor as or poorer then they entered office. They are usually too busy cleaning up the BLP mess and putting measures in place to keep Barbados on an even financial keel (1986 and 1991 brilliant examples.) Check every Dems politician post power periods and you will see that not one of them, even the Branford Taitt whom they REFUSE to release the Commission of Enquiry info on do not possess the wealth these current guys in power show. They are shameless in their ostentation. Every one. Barney (plantation and land to subdivide on a Minister’s and a wife’s Marketing Manager’s salary); Owen with a house in West Terrace redeveloped with illegal Guyanese labour (his admission) and re-development of it on land bought illegally at $2.50 a sq ft; Liz, Mia and Cynthia (with second and third and in the case of Mia who knows) houses at Bakers Woods while the average Barbadian scrunts for property; you know Glyne’s story; Owen’s wife owns free property from an agency set up to deal with the underprivileged; Owen immediately relaxing fees re hired cars after his partner in profit and GEMS, Rodney Wilkinson acquired a massive fleet in time for CWC.. Ask previous ministers of Transport where the new Merc Benz’s come from when they order buses. I could go on, but the post would be too lengthy.
**********************
Comment by Cliverton running out to a family gathering…
1/ Haven’t seen that article yet.
2/ If you don’t criminalise the behaviour, you can do nothing when someone is caught.
3/ Without rules and standards imposed by law, you have nothing but more of the same. Nothing less than legally imposed standards will do.
Nothing.
June 10, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Cliverton
By now you should have read the Sunday Sun article at page 16A.
Awaiting your comment on the said article.
June 10, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Someone remind us: when was the last time that the DLP promised integrity legislation, full disclosure etc. etc. ?
Oh yes, now I remember. It was just before we last elected them and, as we all know, they quickly carried out their promise.
This latest fantasy promising disclosure of assets by public officials is titled ‘David in Wonderland, the sequel.’ It plays right after ‘ There is no Corruption in Barbados’ starring King Arthur and his jesters.
When is someone going to wake up and realize this double feature is destroying the future of Barbados?
June 11, 2007 at 11:24 am
Hey lads, now that we’re on the topic of “who took money from private organizations” lets try to keep our summary all balanced here ok. Maybe someone did take money from VECO in returns for favorable legislation in a widely anticipated oil industry…but on the other hand, who tool money for CLICO in returns for favorable legislation in the vacinity of insurance and property?No difference there (well perhaps in the figures)…the principle is the same. One took from an american company and the other from a trinidadian company. Indeed when we say A we must say B, and when we think VECO we must also think CLICO.
June 11, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Equilibrium
It is called the Social Contract, also referred to as the politics of inclusion.
Having these guys spend so much time together asks for problems.
There is too much mischief they can get up to together.
June 11, 2007 at 6:18 pm
so should i go to the pole n vote pogo then? if not one of them who?
July 30, 2008 at 11:38 am
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