Ratneser wants probe into BHC leak
By Sam Strangeways
Former Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Kulandra Ratneser is calling on Police to investigate the leaking of confidential Government papers to a television news station.
Footage of the documents — which relate to an investigation into corruption at Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) — were shown during the 7 p.m. ZBM news bulletin last Wednesday. Reporter Gary Moreno told viewers that the station had “obtained a host of Police correspondence” regarding allegations that people had stolen from the Government quango.
Property officer Terrence Smith was jailed for eight years in 2006 for swindling the organisation out of more than $1.2 million. However, no one else was ever charged with any criminal offence following the investigation into BHC.
Mr. Moreno said in his report that the internal memos revealed that Police investigators were frustrated that Mr. Ratneser, who was Acting DPP from March 2003 to July 2004, did not review boxes of evidence and that charges were not brought against others.
The broadcast clearly showed that some of the memos were written by former Det. Insp. Robin Sherwood, the officer who led the BHC investigation, to Police colleagues. Mr. Sherwood has since left the Island and is now a Police constable in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Mr. Ratneser, a consultant to the Attorney General, told The Royal Gazette that whoever leaked the papers was guilty of a criminal offence and that ZBM could also be implicated for handling the documents, which were clearly stamped confidential, and broadcasting them to the public.
“If you are being investigated and you are still an innocent person you don’t want things about that investigation being put out into the public domain,” he said. “That’s a very serious thing, apart from being a criminal offence. It’s a matter which should concern the Commissioner of Police and the people of Bermuda.
“What concerned me was that the documents have been taken out of an identifiable Police computer. The fact that material from a Police computer has found its way into the public domain is very disturbing, especially because people are innocent unless proven guilty.”
Mr. Ratneser said printing the documents from the Police computer and storing them with the intention of using them dishonestly amounted to stealing and using the papers in the broadcast constituted handling stolen property. “I don’t care what they say about me but using this sort of material to smear people in the community is a very, very dangerous trend if this is allowed to happen,” he said. “They (the Police) must take serious steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Mr. Ratneser said he was not contacted by Mr. Moreno to give his side of the story before ZBM broadcast the story and that he had considered reporting him to the Broadcasting Commission. “The whole thing was absolutely wrong journalism,” he said.
He added: “If there was evidence I would have prosecuted; I’m a fearless prosecutor.”
Police spokesman Robin Simmons would not comment on whether Police planned to investigate the leak.
“We are not saying anything,” he said. Mr. Moreno said he could not comment and ZBM management did not respond to a request for comment.
