Attorneys for a Family Island developer are demanding that a police investigation be launched into circumstances surrounding their client’s recent eviction from his Berry Island resort property.
For almost three weeks, owner of Mega Management Limited, Benjamin Schmill has had to live in a hotel here in the capital after the Fender family of three moved into his Great Harbour Cay property, just hours after the resort’s manager, Joseph Malon had left the island.
Away in Florida at the time, Mr. Schmill told the Bahama Journal Friday that around 11am on Wednesday, January 28, he received a call from the resort’s assistant manager, Reginald Farrington, who indicated that three people, along with their two bodyguards – “Mr. Bones” and Ramon Bethel – had arrived at the Great Harbour Cay resort.
According to Mr. Farrington, the group proceeded to break the locks of Mr. Schmill’s nearby home, along with his office window, charging that they were the rightful owners of the property.
Owned by Pristine Resorts Limited and Pintelle Investments Inc, Mr. Schmill entered a 10-year lease agreement with the company in March 2000 to manage the Great Harbour Cay property, which includes a marina, warehouse, airport and the Links Apartment.
But the property’s previous owners, Southward Ventures Depository Trust, of which the Fenders are a part , are claiming that Mr. Schmill’s lease agreement is invalid, as they never received payment from Pristine Resorts, an allegation Mr. Schmill readily denies.
“These people came in and took over all of my belongings, my wife’s personal things,” he told the Bahama Journal Friday.
“They are intruders, thieves and they are living in my house, using my phone, my electricity, my personal things and nothing can be done. We spent in excess of $250,000 on renovations on the beach house and the house, the headquarters for Mega Management.”
Mr. Schmill’s attorney, Valentine Grimes has pointed out that all this -the takeover- was done without the group having a court order in hand.
“They simply decided to take the law in their own hands,” he charged. “I am satisfied that no attorney would advise their client to do this, so I can only assume that this was done contrary to the advice of their lawyers.
Disgraced attorneys Philip “Brave” Davis, the attorney who also represents the biggest drug dealers in the country, and Obie Pindling, who was linked as a key suspect in the murder of Joy Cartwright and who has confirmed ties to the New Jersey Mafia, are representing the Fenders in this matter.
Having learnt of the “break-in,” Mr. Schmill said he instructed Mr. Farrington to lodge a complaint with the police following the “break-in.” .
Accompanied by Mr. Grimes, Mr. Schmill visited the island that Friday, at which time they were approached by the Fenders and their two bodyguards.
Mr. Grimes further noted that it was then that he and his client visited the island’s administrator to lodge a complaint, after being followed the entire day by the group. The men proceeded to the police station where a complaint was filed on “small piece of scrap paper.”
Accompanied by three police officers, Schmill and Grimes returned to Great Harbour Cay on Thursday to serve a court order on the Fenders. According to Mr. Grimes, at the time, the family accepted the content of the order and left the premises. He said that his client then resumed occupancy of his home.
Mr. Grimes said: “It was our understanding based on my discussions with the Deputy Commissioner of Police, John Rolle that once the police had assisted us in serving the order and once we were in possession, everything would be okay. Everything appeared to be under control from our perspective.”
The attorney added that it was only later that day when he and Mr. Schmill were preparing to leave the island that there appeared to be conflicting instructions to the police.
According to Mr. Grimes, before leaving, his client visited his home along with two of his assistants, at which time “everything appeared to be okay.
Things however changed he said, when the assistants left the house, leaving their employer home alone. Mr. Grimes said it was then that Mr. Schmill was approached by one of the Fenders, and a police officer ordering him to leave the house.
“This was contrary to what Mr. Rolle had told me,” he charged.
Mr. Grimes added however that he, along with Mr. Schmill’s other attorney, Charles Mackay are satisfied that having had discussions with the necessary authorities, the court was very clear as to what it meant and that if the defendants (Fenders along with their bodyguards) wished to change the order, they had to go back to court.
“This is our concern,” he said. “If they complied with the order, left the property, who gave instructions to the officer that overrode that which was given to him. Either we have the rule of law or we don’t, and the suggestion was that if he stays on the island all hell would break loose.”
Mr. Grimes said: “Never in our entire careers have we heard or experienced such a thing happening.”
A major investor for the Berry Islands, Mr. Schmill said he is simply trying to bring back the island’s days of glory.
During his address at last year’s PLP convention, Prime Minister Christie announced that his government would be signing a Heads of Agreement with Mega Management Ltd for further development on that island, which would include a 120-room hotel and improvements to the golf course.
Not Just in the Family Islands
Of course, it’s not just in the Family Islands that this criminal organisation operates. Nassau and Freeport are literally overrun, by the controlling criminal influence of this mafia, in virtually all aspects of Bahamian society.
Many Bahamians are familiar with the story of the Robertson’s, who were “removed” from Cat Isand several years ago, by a related criminal organisation, under similar circumstances.
And most Bahamians have heard of Harald Fuhrmann and Lisa Wells. These two legal crusaders are the most outspoken of the many hundreds of people who have also had their land stolen, or their legal rights usurped, by this same group of criminal lawyers and real estate agents masquerading as prominent Bahamian citizens.
Mr. Fuhrmann has been embroiled in a 10 year legal battle trying to get justice from the dysfunctional Bahamian courts while a conspiracy of corrupt lawyers make it impossible for him to do so.
Ms. Wells, the original founder of BahamasB2B, has had a violent deadbeat, named Omar Bernard, who is allegedly financed by a corrupt Bahamian businessman, occupying her building on Mackey Street for three years – without paying paying a cent in rent.
Ms. Wells legally evicted Mr. Bernard from the property, for non-payment of rent, three years ago. Mr. Bernard then broke into the building, one night, while the corrupt businessman had a disgraced attorney allegedly bribe a Supreme Court judge, to issue a bogus injunction, reinstating Mr. Bernard’s occupancy until such time that he can appeal the matter in court.
The appeal has never happened, of course!
In four years, the injustice has never been corrected as the Supreme Court Registry has been delinquent in setting trial dates, the court has lost the files on several occasions, changed judges three times and each judge has delayed the case for suspiciously invalid reasons.
Complaints to everyone from the Bahamas Bar Association to the Office of the Prime Minister have been ignored because of the criminal influence of top capos in the Bahamas mafia.
Sourced from an article by Macushla N. Pinder in The Bahamas Journal and from the BahamasB2B archives.
