Caroline St. George says she fears for her life, and the person she’s afraid of is Sir Jack Hayward, who was the partner of her late father, Edward St. George, according to a statement she gave to Grand Bahama police on Monday.
It is the latest twist to a riveting saga that has ensnared the majority shareholders of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, the company that manages the City of Freeport.
Sir Jack is a major shareholder of the Port Authority and said in a statement on Sunday that he was concerned that certain statements that had been made on behalf of Caroline St. George (a daughter from Edwardﾒs first marriage), and Mary St. George (who was his second wife) were potentially damaging to the Port Authority.
Sir Jack also threatened to sue over the matter.
On Monday, Caroline St. George reported to police that Sir Jack had threatened her.
In her statement, a copy of which was obtained by The Bahama Journal on Tuesday in its ongoing investigation into goings on at the Grand Bahama Port Authority, Ms. St. George said that she has known Sir Jack all her life.
She claimed that last Friday, at about 5:30pm after she arrived in Grand Bahama from a trip to Miami and was on her way home, she received a call from Sir Jack.
“As soon as he came on the [phone] he began shouting at me saying that he was furious that I was undermining everything that he and my father had created over the years,” Ms. St. George told the police.
“He said, you have put my business in jeopardy, [and that of] the licensees and that I am going to sue you.”
Ms. St. George further claimed, “He also said that, ﾑI am going to bury you and destroy you with everything I have under my power. I am not going to rest until you are completely crushed.ﾒ”
She claimed that when Sir Jack started shouting she put the phone on speaker, which is why she reportedly had witnesses.
Ms. St. George said after Sir Jack stopped shouting she asked him whether he was finished, and he asked her whether she had “absorbed” what he had said.
“I said ‘yes’ and said ‘goodbye’ and ended the conversation by hanging up the phone,” she reported to police.
She said two people who were with her at the time heard “all that conversation”. At the time, Ms. St. George said she was with Maxine Higgins and Kendal Farquharson.
Her police statement also said, “Jack and I have had phone conversations before and it was always pleasant until Friday. I know that on Monday 11 September 2006, my lawyer, Damian Gomez, made a press [statement] on my behalf claiming my interest in the Port Authority and I guess thatﾒs what set him off.
“Sir Jack made that threat on my phone. I was really concerned because I know he has the resources to carry them out, so I was afraid for my life. I am requesting police action [in] this matter.”
Ms. Higgins, who said she is employed with Ms. St. George as a governess, also gave police a statement as a witness.
She reported to police that after Ms. St. George put the phone on speaker, she heard a voice that sounded like Sir Jack Hayward on the line.
“I have known Sir Jack for the past seven years while working for Caroline and heard his voice on the phone and in person many times before and I have also spoken to him on the phone,” the police statement said.
“I heard Sir Jack say that he was furious with [Caroline] about the comments made in the Freeport News and that this statement is destroying the Freeport economy and the licensees. He told her that it was destroying the reputation that he and her father had built.
“He told her that ﾑI will use all the power that is under my control to destroy and bury youﾒ and kept on running on and Caroline only said, ﾑIs that all Jack?ﾒ”
When asked on Tuesday whether police were investigating the claims, Superintendent Emerick Seymour, the officer in charge of the Lucaya Police Station where Ms. St. George and Ms. Higgins made their statements, said he had been out of office and would have to “look into the matter” before confirming anything.
He asked The Journal to call back on Wednesday.
Troubles surrounding the Grand Bahama Port Authority became apparent in June when CEO and Co-Chairman Julian Francis resigned.
He was quickly replaced by Austrian-born businessman, Hannes Babak, whose appointment fuelled much debate and concerns that he may be faced with conflict of interest situations.
When several other senior Bahamian executives parted ways with the Port Authority many licensees of the Port became increasingly jittery. In fact, President of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce Dr. Doswell Coakley continues to call for a commission of inquiry to investigate matters concerning the Port Authority.
The plot thickened when two weeks ago, reports emerged that Edward St. Georgeﾒs ex-wife, Mary, was demanding 50 percent of his assets, as was reportedly a part of their divorce agreement in the late 70s.
Soon after, Caroline St. Georgeﾒs attorney, Damian Gomez, told reporters that Caroline was determined to protect her familyﾒs interest, and that many of her assets were co-mingled with her father.
Mr. Gomez also said she wants Mr. Babak fired as chairman amid reports that he was poised to unfairly benefit from the Portﾒs profits. He said Caroline was also willing to sue Mr. Babak over the matter.
In his statement on Sunday, Sir Jack said he had read comments made on behalf of Mary and Caroline St. George with “increasing horror”, and he said he endorsed everything that Mr. Babak has done as chairman of the Port Authority. Sir Jack said he was instrumental in hiring the new chairman.
“If these unfounded and unwarranted attacks continue, I shall have to consider seeking substantial compensation for any damage caused,” Sir Jack said in the Sunday statement. “I am also concerned about the insecurity engendered to our licensees, the staff of the Port Authority and the people of Freeport generally by these injudicious remarks.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Gomez wrote a letter to executives of the Grand Bahama Port Authority threatening more legal action. His letter, a copy of which was also obtained by the Bahama Journal, was a direct response to the one Sir Jack released on Sunday.
“I read the threat of Sir Jack A. Hayward to the public at large that he would commence legal action to prevent criticism of his decision making and of him in the running of the Grand Bahama Port Authority,” Mr. Gomez said.
“This threat is a clear violation of the rights of members of the public, including me, to freedom of expression. I therefore invite Sir Jack on behalf of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and himself, to expressly indicate that he does not intend to threaten my constitutional rights protected by Article 23 (1) of the Constitution of The Bahamas, 1973, nor those of Ms. Caroline St. George.”
Mr. Gomez continued, “In the event that such an indication is not given to me within the next 14 days I shall instruct counsel to take such steps under Article 28(1) of the Constitution of The Bahamas, 1973, including a claim for vindicatory damages without any further reference to you.”
He said he was “alarmed” that a member of a quasi-governmental authority could “harbour the undemocratic views which had been set out in the said press release.”
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
