Dear Sir,

I watched with great interest as the police carried out their raids on both of Ewart Brown’s clinics while he was off the island and his staff were off from work.

My understanding was that this raid had the blessing of one magistrate, who granted the police a search warrant, while another judge overturned the warrant and ordered the police to return the files that they had taken from Dr Brown’s clinics.

I have always said that, when it comes down to people who are elected to Parliament and who abuse the trust of the people, they should be dealt with. Justice should prevail and let the chips fall where they may — whether Dr Brown has done anything wrong or not, time will eventually tell.

As a long-serving member of the Progressive Labour Party, I had always expressed the opinion that when, or if ever, the PLP wins the government that we cannot act as if we are going to be able to do any of the things that the United Bermuda Party had been doing or were accused of, for they would be watching us with eyes sharper than that of any hawk and would be right there to rip us apart like a group of hungry lions.

What I find so amazing about the raids on Dr Brown’s clinics was not only the way in which they went about it, but that this was the first time that I have ever seen or could remember any government going after a former Member of Parliament with such a venomous and hostile approach. To think that the Government had spent more than $3 million of the taxpayers’ money and thus far has not shown much for it makes one wonder if this is nothing more than just a witch-hunt.

It has been said over the years that one of Bermuda’s most powerful economic pillars was that of crony capitalism, and that most of those that were in government over the years, and along with friends and family, had their hands deep down into the public purse.

I would like to ask some questions with the hope that someone will be able to help me out if I’m right or wrong. When the police needed new cars, where did they go to buy them? When public works and parks needed new trucks and other equipment, where did they go to buy them? When each government department needed new computers, office equipment, stationery and other equipment, where did they go to buy them? When those government employees that needed to have GP cars to get around in, where did they go to buy them?

The buses, ferries and all those government-owned vehicles need gas, oil and parts to run on. Where did they go to buy all those products? When it came down to which insurance companies to use, where did they go to insure government properties. Who received those lucrative contracts?

I grew up from a little boy hearing about the hot game of musical chairs that politicians were playing with the chairmanships of companies such as Belco, Telco, the insurance companies, the banks, hospitals and other important big moneymaking companies throughout Bermuda for years and these same politicians, owners or investors were in some of those same companies as well.

These people have had free access to the tax purse for decades and it doesn’t look as if it is going to ease up at any time soon. You see, the thing that makes the taxpayers’ purse such an easy victim for those that can get their hands on it is because we all have to pay taxes, whether we like it or not, and it’s a nice big lump sum of money just sitting there waiting for the taking.

Then there is friends and family. What wonderful government contracts they may have been receiving, I wonder. The question I ask is this: why do I get the feeling that there are a lot of crooks out there running around with a lot of money in their pockets that they did not work too hard for?

And since the Government feels so loose with the taxpayers’ purse, maybe it needs to spend some more of that money hunting down some of those cronies of past governments as well, instead of just wasting a lot of time and the taxpayers’ money focusing on Dr Brown alone.

If only one could imagine what kind of fun those crony capitalists were having over the years, as they had such a free hand and access to the taxpayers’ purse, they must have racked in endless millions? Now there’s something to really investigate.

E. MCNEIL STOVELL