Is the Freeport News Editor Breaking the Law?

Oswald Brown/ Editor of The Freeport News

Nassau, The Bahamas – The Editor of the Freeport News confirmed over the weekend that he is forced to break the law in The Bahamas by playing “numbers” daily in Grand Bahama. In his article the ‘twisted minded’ editor made his call for the government to pass legislation to legalize the numbers business. Oswald Brown, who is supposed to present to the conscience of The Bahamas, sound ethical presentations in print, said the following in his column over the weekend:

“One day shortly before Christmas when I went to purchase my daily numbers for the Chicago and Florida lotteries, an elderly lady in the front of me at the sales window was counting out some pennies, nickels and other change to pay for her numbers when she was informed by the sales agent that they did not accept pennies.

“Why not?” the lady asked, in a somewhat polished and refined voice that suggested that she was not a high school dropout.

“We don’t accept pennies,” the sales girl repeated, somewhat rudely and in a not-so-polished and refined voice that sort of indicated that she did not pay attention to her teachers at Jack Hayward or St. Georges High and never made it past the 10th grade.

“Well, that’s all the money I have, and I want my numbers,” the lady insisted.

“You holding up the line,” the sales girl responded, her voice clearly reflecting that she was becoming irritated.

“But this is all the money that I have,” the lady reiterated.

By now, I had heard enough of this exchange, and was running a bit late for a 10 a.m. appointment at my office.

“How much money are we talking about?” I asked.

“Two dollars and fifty cents should do,” the lady said.

I gave her three dollars and she thanked me and said, “Mr. Brown, I’ll be sure to pay you back.”

“…I abhor the fact that daily I am forced to break the law because successive governments in this country have been too afraid of the religious backlash…”

What hypocrisy by the criminally blinded editor! What is also interesting here firstly is that Oswald Brown who was looking for the “cyber person,” “Sernio” stating he has contacted the police on more than one occasion for an update, is breaking the law himself? Yes Appeal Court Justice Joan Sawyer is absolutely correct in her comments at the opening of the courts last week. “Look in the mirror” Oswald!

Clearly in this editorial Oswald Brown confesses to his breaking the law of The Bahamas and with the same pen, is seeking justice from officers of the law. Now I am confused! This writer is one that is immensely concerned with the behaviour of Oswald Brown. Brown who – still to this day – sits under a cloud of suspicion, is now openly breaking the laws of The Bahamas. And in the same vain sat as a speaker at the Crime Symposium in September as a panelist trying to address the issue. This is totally unacceptable!

In his headline “Rumours and a Conspiracy theory” here is a writer who has found great fascination in the works of John Grisham, a writer with ‘spellbinding killer thrillers.’ Oswald Brown wrote under that August 2006 headline the following; “John Grisham is one of my favourite novelists.…he has written some gripping, spellbinding legal thrillers that are extremely difficult to put down once you have started to read them, including A Time to Kill, his first book published in 1989, [and] The Firm…”

“Especially in the book, Grisham takes his readers on a thrilling, edge-of-your -seat mental rollercoaster ride as McDeere avoids becoming a murder victim – as did two of his colleagues – after he discovers that the firm is actually a front for the Mafia.”

“Whenever Grisham decides to develop a plot for his next book, he should hop on a plane and fly down to Freeport, Grand Bahama, and investigate the circumstances surrounding the recent death of my best friend, Preston Stuart Jr. from the moment that my worst fears were realized two weeks ago when I received a telephone call that Preston’s body was discovered in his car in a canal in Queen’s Cove, a subdivision that he owned, the plot of a John Grisham novel was planted in my mind and it gradually developed solid roots as one rumour after the other began to circulate as to why he allegedly committed suicide,” Oswald brown wrote in his 2006 editorial.

If there is a death Oswald should become concerned with, it would be the death of his second wife who was discovered floating on Saunders Beach, opposite the couple’s residence. Sadly so, her body was cremated quickly and shipped off to her awaiting family in the United States.

If this writer could get a hold of Grisham, I would recount the timeline leading to that mysterious death and ask Grisham to deliver Brown a signature copy.

Journalists in The Bahamas, especially the likes of Oswald Brown must understand their role in this country as watchdogs of the State. They must uphold the laws of The Bahamas and encourage other members of the society to do the same. Not be on rushing an old senior off the ‘illegal number racket’ line with almost threatening words all in attempts to break Bahamian law adding the gall to write about it. This same braggadocios action by Brown, coincides with what I call the ‘crooked subculture in journalism’ today and this is unacceptable!

I should further advise all law officers, particularly those in Grand Bahama, the next time they receive a call from the Editor of the Freeport News, that they simply ask him to come into the station for questioning on the above matter.