The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence asked the Royal Bahamas Police Force on Tuesday to investigate claims of bribery at the recent Boxing Day and New Year’s Day parades, according to JCNP Chairman Silbert Ferguson.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Shanta Knowles, press liaison officer, said yesterday the Royal Bahamas Police Force has launched an investigation.

The claims stem from several recordings of calls from a purported female judge to Bommer George, a costume designer for the Genesis Junkanoo group.

Mr George told The Tribune as part of his attempt at a sting operation, he downloaded a software that automatically records incoming calls. He said he is willing to talk to police and share his information with them, including additional recorded calls not yet publicly released.

The JCNP is taking the allegations seriously in part because Mr Ferguson is convinced some of the calls originated ahead of the New Year’s Day parade from inside the JCNP’s Norfolk House location on Frederick Street, access to which is tightly controlled by the parade management team and reserved exclusively for parade operators and judges. Officials assemble there two hours before the parades to receive their packages and materials. Judges are only then told which categories they will assess. The random selection process and the late delivery of assignments are intended to impede corruption. In several of the recordings, the purported female judge discloses the categories she and others were assigned to Mr George.

Mr Ferguson said: “We have a space that the judges operate from within the parade. That’s where all of them meet and get their final instructions and pick up their judges score pads and all the rest of it. The call was made from there based on what you are hearing on the tapes. Ain’ everybody could walk in there like that. That’s a place only judges go and the officials. We have narrowed down the people who were in that block and hopefully the police can move quickly.”

It is a violation of unwritten rules for a judge to disclose their assignment, Mr Ferguson said.

“We have a random selection process so judges do not know what they are judging until about an hour before the parade and so groups do not know who is judging what either,” he said.

Still, Mr Ferguson did not dismiss the possibility the recordings are a part of a hoax. As social media has become pervasive, people have spread falsehoods through voice notes, sometimes inducing panic. In December, a voice note claiming a Bahamasair aircraft experienced mechanical failure in the air contained false information, prompting a rebuke from the airline.

Nonetheless, Mr Ferguson said until the woman on the recordings is found, they must be taken seriously. About 60 people judge the two parades, only 20 percent of them men, he said. The JCNP believes it has narrowed the list of people who could have made the calls to eight or ten but the body is powerless to investigate the matter any further.

In one of the recordings, the purported female judge names a woman who she identifies as her partner in the alleged scheme. Mr Ferguson confirmed the name revealed is that of a judge, but he said the woman with that name did not judge the lead costume category at the Boxing Day parade as the recording suggests.

For his part, Mr George said he recorded the calls as part of a “set up,” saying the woman on the call did not know he was recording her. He did not explain why he anticipated that a bribe-seeker would reach out to him. He also declined to reveal the identity of the woman on the call.

“I look at this in a good way and a bad way,” he said yesterday. “There are some people I don’t want to hurt, that’s the bad thing but the good thing is I’m glad the suckers have been exposed. This could go bad, bad, bad for some people and the girl who did it, I was trying to protect her but I can’t do it no more.”

Mr George owns a trucking service business. He said he has seven additional recordings beyond what have already been circulated on social media. He also sent The Tribune multiple WhatsApp messages purporting to show that a judge revealed her score card to a member of a category A group before the conclusion of the New Year’s Day parade, a violation of rules.

Asked about the messages yesterday, Mr Ferguson confirmed the score cards shown in the images are issued to Junkanoo judges. It has not been verified, however, when the messages were sent. All groups receive every judge’s score card on a jump drive the day after the parades, The Tribune was told.

Shaun Adderley, chairman of the Genesis Junkanoo group, said he believes Mr George’s recordings are “100 percent legitimate”.

“I know Bommer and just like how he was talking, that’s him, it wasn’t like he forcing a story,” he said. Mr Adderley said he wants the results of the two parades declared void.

“It’s serious because it means we have judges that aren’t fair to start off with,” he said.

However, Mr Ferguson ruled out the possibility that results could be voided after an investigation.

“What has happened is the judges have judged the parade,” the JCNP chairman said.

“We have reviewed all the people’s score cards and all the groups have the same information. If anybody desires to make parades null and void, that will not happen like that. Based on what we have seen, we don’t think anything that has been reported or done could screw the results like that.”

TRANSCRIPT OF RECORDING AT CENTRE OF ALLEGATIONS

First Recording (purportedly between December 25 and 27):

Bommer: Hello

Woman: Hello? This Bommer?

Bommer: Yeah.

Woman: I didn’t know that was your costume on Boxing Day.

Bommer: Which costume that is?

Woman: Cinderella.

Bommer: Yeah that was our costume. What’s happen?

Woman: We actually was paid to bet against that.

Bommer: Really? Who pay y’all to bet against it?

Woman: xxx (name deleted) gave us couple dollars so we could um, mark it down.

Bommer: Stop (expletive) around.

Woman: I did not know that. Not until after the fact we realise that that was your costume.

Bommer: I don’t understand, I don’t understand what you trying to say to me.

Woman: That costume did look so good on Bay Street but we got couple dollars.

Bommer: What is couple dollars?

Woman: $4,000.

Bommer: From who?

Woman: (Pause). That’s not important.

Bommer: Wow. So you saying to me y’all was paid to bet against (expletive) costumes?

Woman: Yeah, xxx gave us couple dollars.

Bommer: Wow.

Woman: And if we did know that me and (woman’s name) would’ve come to you because we know we would’ve get more money.

Bommer: Man look here, who this is I talking to?

Woman: That’s not important.

Bommer: Wow.

Woman: The important thing is, you have any horse in the race for New Year’s?

Man: Yeah I got horse in the race for New Year’s. Now what y’all gon do? No, no, no, no let’s get back to this (expletive) Boxing Day. You saying to me now y’all get paid to bet against Cinderella from xxx?

Woman: Yes.

Bommer: What I don’t understand, y’all get a costume what ain (expletive) finish and y’all beat things which finish likes Toones and myself which was completed?

Woman: We did not know it was you. I did not know it was you. You know me too but I don’t want to say my name.

Bommer: Boy listen here. This is some serious (expletive) man, this some serious allegation.

Woman: I just thought I should let you know ‘cause your costume was really nice. It was really nice. It was really detailed and it was really nice. Xxx told us to use our discretion.

Bommer: Who?

Woman: Sorry?

Bommer: What you say just now? Who told you use your discretion?

Woman: Um, do you have any horses in the race for January?

Bommer: Yeah I have horse in the race. I have plenty horse in the race. Now what y’all want do? What y’all want do? If you could bet against (expletive) the costume for Boxing Day I might as well put my money on the line too.

Woman: We didn’t know you were with Genesis. We thought you were with the Valley Boys. That’s how we didn’t even realise. We didn’t know you was with Genesis.

Bommer: What I trying to say is y’all get money to (expletive) bet against the costume? That’s what I asking you.

Woman: Yes.

Bommer: Wow. Can I call you back? Or can you call me back?

Woman: Do you want us to have a little wages settlement for January? $1,000 each?

Bommer: I just, you don’t want to give me a number to call you back? I either got to call you back or you could call me back. I got to think this over. I got to (expletive) think this over my head hurting now.

Woman: Ok.

Bommer: Call me back in about 45 minutes.

Woman: Ok.

Second recording (purportedly January 1):

Woman: Hey. She doing step dance.

Bommer: (mumbling to himself) Who doing (expletive) step dance? Step dance.

Woman: And I doing free dancers.

Bommer: (mumbling to himself) Free dance, free dance. Anyway, no lead huh? Ain’ nobody doing lead?

Woman: Um overall costume I see.

Bommer: No lead lead lead. Ain’ nobody doing lead?

Woman: I ain’ see nobody who I know doing lead.

Bommer: (expletive). Listen here, I gon’ call you back in five minutes.

Woman: All right.

Third recording:

Man: Hey, I got a free dance and (inaudible), 587 for the Valley Boys.

Woman: All right.

Bommer: I gon’ call you back all right? I got one more. When I get a number I gon call you. Listen this one, 587, put this hard in the card all right?

Woman: All right.

Fourth recording:

Woman: You ain’ get me the rest of the costumes.

Bommer: Aw I trying to line up…I tryna get the next one right now.

Woman: It’s 587?

Bommer: 587 and I gon’ get the next one.

Woman: All right.