In one of several tributes from relatives and friends during the service held at the De La Vega City community centre, a resident, Camille Douglas, called Bennett "our leader, our MP, our king, our don: one don".

"And I now declare him as Spanish Town's hero," Douglas said.

Bennett, 43, was head of the notorious Clansman gang, which runs extortion and shake-down rackets in Spanish Town and nearby communities. On the police most wanted list for over a decade, Bennett was associated with scores of murders and other crimes

Mourners at yesterday's funeral service in Spanish Town for former Clansman leader Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett. (Photos: Joseph Wellington)

But the gangster, whose Clansman organisation supports the ruling People's National Party, was able to elude capture until his October 30 gunfight with cops at a home in the secluded Clarendon community of Tanakay near Rock River.
In the aftermath of his death, the Spanish Town police said that Bennett had support from elected officials of the ruling party, but did not give names.

No PNP officials, however, turned up at yesterday's funeral on which, the security forces, who blanketed De La Vega City and elsewhere in Spanish Town, kept a close, but discreet watch.

Like most recent funerals of the so-called dons and gang leaders who run criminal operations from inner-city communities, Bennett's had the characteristics of a dancehall affair.

He was buried in a glass casket with handles of gold, and men and women in the latest skimpy fashions drank beer, other alcoholic beverages and smoked ganja (marijuana) cigarettes.

Some of the mourners waited hours for Bennett's body to arrive for the service, which began at 2:20 pm, nearly an hour-and-a- half late.

In his sermon, the Rev Rohan Edwards of the Lighthouse Assembly avoided references to the life and work of Bennett. He confined himself to reminding the mourners that while Bennett had passed on "God still sits on His throne and will take care of things".

Clive Wade, who delivered the eulogy, said Bennett was seen by his parents, from a very early age, as the main hope for his family's upward mobility. He said Bennett began to show the will to earn wealth and to share it with his family and others from a young age.

Wade did not explain how Bennett earned that wealth, which the police have estimated at more than $100 million, most of it held in other people's names.

The service was severely cut as the organisers raced to beat the clock and have the motorcade head for Goshen.

Despite the rush, however, the motorcade taking the body to Clarendon did not leave De La Vega City until after 4:00 pm due to the strict security measures.