By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
CLOSE family members of Long Island MP Adrian Gibson have received threats from some officers closely involved in investigations at the Water and Sewerage Corporation, his attorney has alleged.
Romona Farquharson-Seymour told The Tribune she was concerned about how investigations are being conducted as it relates to her client, who she insisted was being “politically targeted”.
“We’re unhappy as to how things are happening,” she said. “I mean even (Friday), his mother called and said that she was threatened by police who said very negative things and that they’re going to come and arrest her. I mean it’s now becoming ridiculous.
“That’s the threat that was made to her. I’ve spoken to the senior officer who’s involved in the investigation and he says to me that he knows nothing about that and he will certainly speak to the officer that would’ve made these threats to Mr Gibson’s mother (Friday), but it’s just becoming nasty and that’s why we say that it’s certainly political and that he’s being targeted.”
However, when contacted yesterday, Police Commissioner Paul Rolle said he was unaware of the claims and urged the complainant to contact the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s complaint unit.
“I don’t know anything about it,” he said. “We run a professional organisation. If they have a complaint, they should go to the complaint unit.”
The former WSC executive chairman was taken into custody and questioned by police for some seven hours on Thursday, according to his attorney.
While in custody, Mr Gibson was also served a search warrant for his home.
This comes after police allegedly took several of Mr Gibson’s rental vehicles into custody on Long Island earlier this month.
“They searched (his home) and that was it and then within a few minutes, they took him back to the police station and he was released pending further investigation,” the attorney added.
However, the next day, Mrs Farquharson-Seymour claimed an officer contacted Mr Gibson’s mother and informed her that they also wanted to search her home.
The situation has left Mr Gibson’s mother upset, she said.
She said: “She has no involvement (with WSC) and so they picked up the phone and called his mother and spoke along the lines of searching her home and I think she said the officer said to her ‘oh, you sell drugs. We believe you sell drugs. We’re coming to arrest you.’
“This woman is over 60-years-old so she said ‘what are you talking about’ and it’s just ridiculous. She is very upset by it and I had to call (a) Superintendent...who’s a part of the investigation to say what is this that this Inspector would call Mr Gibson’s mother and make such threats to her She told him that ‘I have nothing to hide. I don’t know what you’re talking about, it’ so it’s just nasty,” Mrs Farquharson-Seymour continued.
Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has previously dismissed accusations that his administration is on a political witch hunt regarding WSC.
When pressed on the issue again Friday, Mr Davis refused to comment on the investigations, only to say the matter was “in the hands of police”.
“Let’s just say this, I have nothing to say about that,” Mr Davis told reporters Friday. “The matter is in the hands of police and whatever they decide, it’s in their hands and I have no observations to make about it at this time.”
The exact details of the investigation at WSC are unclear but an audit into the corporation –– which was leaked last month –– allegedly found red flags in the operations of the institution.
The investigation, according to the report, is part of a probe into the issuance of contracts and the management of the corporation under the Minnis administration.
