MURDER OF SPANISH TOWN CRIMINAL LEADER AGAIN CALLS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINGSTON 000318 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR (BENT),INL/LP (BOZZOLO) E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2014 TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM SNAR JM SUBJECT: MURDER OF SPANISH TOWN CRIMINAL LEADER AGAIN CALLS ATTENTION TO HIS LINKS TO JLP MP REF: A. HENDERSON/BENT 2/13 E-MAIL ¶B. 04 KINGSTON 01956 Classified By: A/DCM Ronald S. Robinson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) The February 8 murder of Andrew "Bun Man" Hope, the leader of Spanish Town's One Order gang, while Hope sat in a vehicle registered to Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Member of Parliament Olivia "Babsy" Grange, again drew attention to the deceased man's ties to Grange. Witnesses alleged that it was a JCF officer who shot Hope and would not permit officers to remove his body from the vehicle. The JCF had to call in reinforcements to restrain angry residents and to secure the crime scene for investigation. Gang supporters torched the old courthouse, burned cars and mounted roadblocks. A probation office was firebombed causing extensive damage to the building and cars parked on the compound. Government offices and schools were closed and bus services were terminated for two days following the uprising. Police contacts stated that Hope was parked in Grange's vehicle in Spanish Town when several men dressed in khakis, alighted from another vehicle, and shot him eleven times. The police theorize that the assailants were members of the rival People's National Party (PNP) affiliated "Klansmen" gang. ¶2. (C) The murder of "Bun Man" is the second killing in two years of a prominent gang leader with ties to Grange. Ironically, in August 2004, former One Order gang Leader Oliver "Bubba" Smith was murdered in a vehicle that was also registered to Grange (Ref A). At that time the JCF questioned Grange about her relationship with Smith, but there was no formal investigation. In response to media inquiries, Grange stated that she registered the car in her name "to help out one of her constituents." ¶3. (C) During a 2003 media interview, Grange said that being an MP and community-oriented activist required that she be in contact with many different kinds of people, and that "I see people as people, I hold no pretenses, and I can dine with kings and walk with beggars. Because I am in touch with the community, people believe that I am involved, but I am not involved in any criminal activity." In private, however, Grange was more forthcoming with NAS Director regarding her relationship with Hope. Shortly after an October shooting incident following a peace meeting between the One Order and Klansmen gangs, Grange said she had attended the meeting and had been accompanied in her vehicle by Hope when gunmen opened fire on her motorcade, killing a nearby motorcyclist. Grange matter-of-factly told NAS Director that she had known Hope since he was a boy and that she considered herself to be his "mentor". She repeatedly described herself as a product of West Kingston, that she understood "the way things work" there, and that Hope is "the least of the evils." She said further that she did not think of Hope as a criminal. When NAS Director pointed out that an individual who is the leader of criminals and who directs criminal activities is himself a criminal, Grange agreed, but seemed genuinely unable to grasp that concept. ¶4. (C) Comment: Calm has since been restored to the Old Capital, schools and businesses have reopened, and the investigation into Hope's killing continues. Unfortunately, incidents such as these demonstrate that the relationships between criminals, politicians, and violence are still widely tolerated in both the political and private sectors. It was Grange's candor in the October discussion, not her close association with a known criminal, that we found most illuminating. Many Jamaican politicians continue to maintain mutually beneficial links with such figures, but most do a better job than Grange of maintaining a fig leaf of deniability. End Comment. JOHNSON