What Happened To The Police Investigation Of Death Threats Against Adrian Loveridge?

Readers of Barbados Free Press will recall that as the election approached during the last half of 2007 and into 2008, numerous death threats were posted on the internet against various persons including local hotelier and citizen journalist Adrian Loveridge.

Also, within one 24-hour period, there were suspicious happenings at Loveridge’s home and business – a nighttime break-in, a fire and most chilling: a ladder left up against Adrian’s bedroom window in the small hours of the night as a none-to-subtle message.

Barbados Free Press and other blogs supplied Adrian Loveridge with the IP numbers of the person(s) who had posted the threats against Loveridge, his family and his business.

These IP numbers would allow the police and Cable & Wireless to immediately identify the physical address and internet account from which the threats were made – and if they really were interested in knowing the identity of the criminal – to monitor the criminal’s internet activities to catch them in the act as the threats were ongoing for months.

On December 29, 2007, Mr. Loveridge wrote a letter to then Prime Minister Owen Arthur that we published on December 31, 2007 in our article Barbados Death Threats: Copy Of Letter From Adrian Loveridge To Prime Minister Owen Arthur.

On January 2, 2008, Adrian Loveridge faxed a letter of complaint to Commissioner of Police Dottin – which included enough information for the police and Cable and Wireless to know the identity of the person making the death threats.

We have no doubt that Cable and Wireless and the Royal Barbados Police Force are now fully aware of the identity of the criminal(s).

So… what happened?

Nothing at all. That’s what.

Then Mr. Loveridge received a fax from the police, but only after we published criticism of the police in our January 9, 2008 article Barbados Police Ignore Death Threats Against Hotel Owner – How Will Other Offshore Investors React?

Here is what the letter from the police said as contained in a comment posted by Mr. Loveridge on January 11, 2008…

Yesterday (10th January 2008) I received a faxed letter dated 9th January 2008 from the Office of The Commissioner stating,

‘Subject Death Threats – I wish to inform you that the matter is being investigated and you will be informed of the progress in due course’.

Your faithfully

Jedder Robinson Supt.
Head of Special Branch
for Commission of Police.

I am grateful for the response and sincerely hope that with the assistance of Cable and Wireless, the Police will be able to identify and prosecute the sender (s) of the various threats.

Comment by Adrian Loveridge (original here)

Tell Us What Happened, Mr. Loveridge

Did the police go to Cable & Wireless with a warrant or some legal document to compel C&W to reveal the identity of the criminal? Were charges laid? Did the police explain their actions to you and keep you informed of the progress of their enquiries? When do you testify in court?

Tell us, Adrian…

What happens when an investor and business person on Barbados is threatened by a criminal whose identity can be known in five minutes with the records from Cable & Wireless? What happened, Adrian? 

“World’s Most Powerful Journalist” – Matt Drudge

According to the Telegraph UK, the most powerful journalist in the world is Matt Drudge: a 41 year-old school drop-out who runs a news and blog website out of his Florida condo.

Yesterday he told the world that Prince Harry is fighting in Afghanistan and today His Royal Highness is packing to fly home. Last week he published a photo of Barack Obama in a Muslim elder outfit and caused a media firestorm when he revealed that the photo had come from Hillary’s campaign team. In January 2007, Drudge published the US President’s State of the Union speech some 40 minutes before it was given before the joint house.

The world has changed, but some folks in media and government still don’t get it.

They will.

Further Reading

Telegraph UK – Matt Drudge: World’s Most Powerful Journalist

Matt Drudge’s Website – Drudge Report

Light Bulbs Scandal: Former Jamaican Government Minister Charged With Corruption and Money Laundering Breaches

Former State Minister For Energy Kern Spencer Spent Two Nights In Jail

A September 2007 photo of former junior minister for energy, Kern Spencer, and Coleen Wright, during the official opening of the new parliament following the general elections. The two, along with Rodney Chin, who was named as the sole director of both Universal Management and Development Company and Caribbean Communications and Media Network, were arrested and charged Tuesday evening with several counts of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and corruption in connection with the Cuban light bulb scandal in which $267 million was spent to distribute four million energy-saving light bulbs that were donated to Jamaica by the Cuban Government.

… from the Jamaica Observer article Kern Offered Bail – Former Junior Minister, Two Co-accused Spend Another Night In Lock-up

Lesson For Barbados: Private Companies Are Used To Facilitate Government Corruption

Citizens of Barbados should pay close attention to this latest Jamaican government scandal because the techniques that were used to steal Jamaican tax dollars were regularly practiced by our own corrupt Barbados government officials.

With the previous BLP Government, contracts were regularly issued without an open bidding process to private companies owned by friends and relatives of government officials. This can be a simple as the government paying a certain supplier three times the normal price for shipment of copier paper (hey, nice Christmas bonus for a relative!) to the sophisticated scams practiced by VECO Corporation – the builders of our new way-over-budget jail.

Recent trials in Alaska revealed that VECO corruptly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in “consulting fees” to the relatives of US politicians who awarded government contracts to the company.

You would have to be totally stupid to think that VECO never gave any consulting fees out in relation Barbados projects like the new jail or the oil terminal.

Will The New DLP Government Let The Previous Administration Get Away With Keeping The Proceeds Of Their Corrupt Activities?

Doing nothing about the past BLP corruption is not an option if the new DLP Government wants to retain credibility with the voters.

Also see BFP’s How Corrupt Politicians Operate: Government Minister Awards A Contract To His Lover’s Company – Without Tender