Immigration chief says investigator had no permit

As of Tuesday, March 29, 2016

William Pratt, former immigration director.

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE American investigator hired by environmental group Save The Bays to investigate Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard and the two “hit men” he allegedly contracted, never had a work permit to conduct his investigations, Director of Immigration William Pratt said on Thursday.

Mr Pratt said John Joseph DiPaolo, a Fort Lauderdale investigator, entered the country as a “regular visitor”, according to the department’s records.

Mr Pratt’s comments came more than a week after Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade questioned how Mr DiPaolo was able to come into the Bahamas and conduct an investigation without the permission of the Royal Bahamas Police Force or a work permit from the Department of Immigration.

Former Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Thompson also questioned the same on Thursday, suggesting that at the very least, Mr DiPaolo could have enlisted the services of a local security firm and have them apply for a temporary work permit for him to use.

Mr DiPaolo, along with a team of retired FBI and Scotland Yard professionals and Bahamian investigators, conducted a lengthy investigation into claims that Mr Nygard contracted two “criminals” – Livingston “Toggie” Bullard and Wisler “Bobo” Davilma – to harass, intimidate and cause physical harm and property damage to four directors of the Save The Bays organisation; Reverend CB Moss; a government official and several others.

The investigation is part of a controversy surrounding how Mr Nygard allegedly orchestrated a murderous plot against his billionaire neighbour Louis Bacon and lawyer Fred Smith, his chief opponents in an ongoing campaign against development at Nygard Cay.

On March 14, Mr Greenslade questioned how Mr DiPaolo came into the country to “work without any reference to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.”

Mr Greenslade said at the time that he would be speaking to Mr Pratt “to see if he has anything on file” regarding Mr DiPaolo’s entry into the country.

When questioned on Thursday, Mr Pratt said: “He doesn’t have a work permit, not to my knowledge.”

“According to our records he entered as a visitor,” Mr Pratt continued. “Whether he deceived the officers and pretended to be a tourist that’s another thing. But apparently he was admitted as a regular visitor. According to our records he never had a work permit.”

Mr Thompson also weighed in on the matter, suggesting that while the work Mr DiPaolo and the others conducted might not have been illegal, their “coming in and doing the work” without a permit was.

“To do it legally, and not to break the laws of The Bahamas, a security or a investigator coming in here should make contact with a firm here or a person here who can get a temp permit for him to come in,” he said. “When he comes in he’s working, he’s interviewing people, he’s taking pictures and that type of thing. Now if he’s going to do that he should get permission from immigration because he’s working. That’s my take on it. Not to just come in.”

Mr Thompson also said that the Royal Bahamas Police Force should have been engaged a lot sooner in the matter.

“I think the people who knew about this a year ago, more than a year ago, should have gone to the police,” he said. “If you have two alleged hit men living in your country, the police should know about it. If I knew that this fellow is a hit man I’m going to the police.

“This is what honest, decent citizens, law-abiding citizens should do. So if this was known, from what I’ve been reading from last year February, the police should have been in on that long time, and those men would have been picked up. But you see people don’t have faith in our police force, and politicians in particular, from all areas, do not respect the police.”

Last week, Mr Greenslade announced that he had launched an official investigation into the allegations. He said the independent investigation would determine whether there is anything of a criminal nature that the RBPF should be pursuing.

B_I_D___ 8 years, 1 month ago

Deflect deflect deflect...sorry...you are not going to get ANYWHERE in an investigation if you request from government officials to come in and investigate government officials...just blew the entire investigation and coverups just get deeper and deeper now that the cat is out of the bag that an investigation is underway.

Economist 8 years, 1 month ago

The Punch printed a letter written by Fred Smith, early last year,to the Police referring to several reports that had been made about the safety of the Save The Bay persons and the fact that he had no answer.

He referred to the numerous requests for a police investigation, which had been met with silence.

Now you get caught with your pants down and the only thing you can investigate is if someone came in without a work permit? What a bunch of jokers!

thephoenix562 8 years, 1 month ago

So what ?Big Deal

Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years, 1 month ago

A work permit requirement cannot be used to shield one from investigation and criminal prosecution in instances where clear evidence of criminal wrong doing is found to exist. The information gatherer's lack of a work permit does not somehow invalidate the evidence of criminal wrong doing that has been gathered and made public. The incriminating information gathered and made public in this matter need not have been obtained by anyone with a work permit or search warrant.

BigSlick 8 years, 1 month ago

All a bunch of smoke and mirrors!

bluesky 8 years, 1 month ago

Bruno Rufa don't need work permit, Retired FBI don't need work permit, once you are associated with The Out Spoken QC you don't need a work permit.

sheeprunner12 8 years, 1 month ago

BTW: ........ did James Bond get a work permit when he did his Thunderball investigations???????? .......... BOL ....... or the guys in 1984??????

Economist 8 years, 1 month ago

Unless I am mistaken Rufa has not been found to have been working, nor has he admitted to working.

baclarke 8 years, 1 month ago

Indeed this is a deflection. While there is a problem with the fact that these guys did not have permits, it is so funny that the police would expect you to come to them in a matter involving to of the highest ranking officials in the country. You have got to be joking!

MonkeeDoo 8 years, 1 month ago

Greenslade must go with the rest of them. Empty Fix Hill of the Sunday School kids and put all of these crooks in there to do hard labour.

SP 8 years, 1 month ago

80,000 Haitians no work permits no problem. 1 FBI agent finds PLP corruption problem!

B_I_D___ 8 years, 1 month ago

Bullseye!!

TalRussell 8 years, 1 month ago

Comrade Immigration Chief you are so deeply under water on this work permit issue.
What made you to jump in front the media to comment on this permit thing - like what is the rational behind your commenting?
When was the last time you made a similar statement to the media over did they, or did they not hold a valid work permit?
Be wise cause none rising to become a courageous spokesman's is ever going to sweep away all the true people behind the hit men's and fire bombers allegations.
Personally, I would not want get me self mixed up with people, who it is alleged had hired hit man's and fire bombers - even if only in the role of dispensing work permit information.
There is no individual arrested or before the court to answer to, not being in possession of a valid work permit.
I would let the politicians and lawyers, work this most disturbing mess out - all by themselves. The casualties list will be deep and long. That my Comrades, you can bank-on.

JohnDoe 8 years, 1 month ago

"According to our records he never had a work permit” says the Immigration Chief. Therefore, it logically follows that this whole story is either a fabrication or just not true because everyone knows that a person without a work permit cannot be trusted. "Toggie" and "Bobo" never had any contracts with government, they never made any recordings of conversations with Nygard, they were never hired by Nygard to do anything, much less commit murder and in fact they never even met Nygard or the DPM. Everybody just lying on these two good boys who are being used by bad people to destabilize our good government who everyone knows is beyond reproach.

jcmorgan 8 years, 1 month ago

Mr.Rufa is an retired fbi agent,who do not need a permit to investigate, that is what he does and if he did aply for one all of the power that be would know everything about what he is ddoing how can an educated senior immigration officer allow himself to be drag into this mess by saying he needed a permit to investage.am reall to sick and ashame to continue with such nnonsence.

Tarzan 8 years, 1 month ago

Who ever would have thought? All Michael Misick had to do was to jail the investigators who exposed his serial frauds, over their failure to obtain a proper work permit. It is the perfect scam. You control the government. You steal the people's money. And, you deny anyone the necessary papers to conduct a proper investigation. Misick should be ashamed of himself for missing that one.

Economist 8 years, 1 month ago

Amazing how quickly the Director of Immigration can dig out this information.

Ask people who have tried to come in legitimately to work or reside and you NEVER hear from the Director and it takes his Immigration Department months and, in many cases, several years to get anything done.

cmiller 8 years, 1 month ago

The government dragged this old fool out to make sure we understand that all the evidence will be in-admissable because it was collected by illegal means. I am soooooooo sick of these slick , slimy snakes we call our government.

proudloudandfnm 8 years, 1 month ago

This is what Greenslade is investigating??!?!?!? We have a murder plot and a plot to destabilize government and he's investigating if someone had a $175.00 work permit?!?!?!??

Damn!! Greenslade is a good PLP.....

TalRussell 8 years, 1 month ago

Comrades why is it necessary to dress we director of Bahamaland's Immigration Department all up in some kinds military uniform?
Maybe the PLP Cabinet are serious when they be dropping hints on how tourism needs be replaced cause its a dying economic generator?
Could it be possible they be's seriously thinking that we numbers operations - yet to be fully licensed - is the perfect tourists replacement?
Maybe the Director will play a guessing game - like had only the private detective applied for a work permit - how long does he thinks it wouldst have taken to get the news by one his immigration people to have reached the cabinet office?
When was the last time the immigration department, actually issued a work permit for an "undercover" private detective?

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