THE much-anticipated trial of Superintendent Harry ‘Bungles’ Daley was a dramatic exposé of drugs, infidelity, fear of obeah and covert activities that ended in the conviction of the most senior police officer so far on a corruption charge.

The lengthy trial started in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court on April 21 and concluded on December 16 when the senior cop was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment at hard labour.

The trial saw fireworks between the defence, led by attorney Valerie Neita-Robertson, and senior prosecutor Dirk Harrison, and at times included heated exchanges with Senior Magistrate Judith Pusey.

The court also heard of ganja smoking and infidelity on the part of the married superintendent, who once headed the St Catherine North Police Division.

Daley was arrested in a dramatic sting operation along Arnold Road in Kingston on July 31, 2008, after taking $15,000 in marked bills from complainant Tafari Clarke. The arrest culminated a six-month-long covert investigation which involved audio and video recordings.

Daley was slapped with six counts of breaching section 14(1)(a) of the Corruption Prevention Act which states: “A public servant commits an act of corruption if he solicits or accepts, whether directly or indirectly, any article of money or other benefit, being a gift, favour, promise or advantage for himself or any person for doing any act or omitting to do any act in the performance of his public function.

Here is a review of the trial.

Day 1:

The trial started but no witness took the stand because of a lengthy submission by the defence for disclosure of the original audio and video recordings of Daley allegedly taking money from Clarke for protection from a man called Terry, who wanted to muscle in on a plaza in Ewarton, St Catherine operated by his (Clarke’s) relatives. The defence also wanted to view the recording devices.

The prosecution challenged the application and Pusey later refused the application.

Day 2:

Assistant Commissioner of Police Justine Felice, who heads the constabulary’s Anti-Corruption Branch, told the court that a small team from his unit had investigated and recorded Daley for six months prior to his arrest. “I did not brief any other person… about the investigation. I gave a briefing to the team of investigators to ensure the security of the investigation,” Felice told the trial.

Pusey also ruled that the antecedent of the complainant, a deportee from England with a drug conviction, should not be released to the defence.

Day 3:

The trial disintegrated into mud-slinging between Neita-Robertson and Harrison. The argument started over the prosecution’s decision to put Felice on the stand before the complainant. Neita-Robertson said this was an attempt to frustrate the defence. Pusey eventually intervened and, at one point during a heated exchange with Neita-Robertson, invited the defence lawyer outside for a ‘tracing’ match.

Cross-examination of Felice by Neita-Robertson began that day. Felice was quizzed about a bid by Clarke to seek asylum in the United Kingdom.

Day 4:

Lincoln Clarke, father of complainant Tafari Clarke, testified that he witnessed his son paying money to Daley during a 2007 meeting at the superintendent’s office at the Spanish Town Police Station. The senior Clarke said he had been friends with Daley for 36 years.

During cross-examination by Neita-Robertson, the senior Clarke said he did built ganja spliffs for Daley.

“Yes. I was vex but that dead out. That was long time ago [after that] I became chef in his house — build him spliff a morning time,” said Clarke, in response to a suggestion from the attorney.

Lincoln Clarke denied a suggestion from Neita-Robertson that he was telling lies on Daley because the cop had refused to give him money.

Day 5:

A last-minute push by the defence resulted in a delay of the damning video and audio recordings of Daley being played. That same day the complainant testified that he was fitted with recording devices by the police whenever he was to meet with Daley to pay him protection money. Clarke said that this went on for months. Clarke said he gave Daley $20,000, as was demanded, the first time he discussed the problem of Terry with him at his office at the station. Clarke said he discussed the amount of money the plaza made and Daley demanded $20,000 per month to keep off Terry. Clarke said he went to Daley because he was not getting any assistance from the police.

Clarke also described a later conversation he had with Daley about Terry, which was also recorded. “Mr Daley [told me to tell Terry] that ‘Mi born and grow inna Treadway [St Catherine]. Tell Terry to f… around and see if him no get gunshot till him weak’ and that a him still run yah so and even if him get move from St Catherine a him run yah so,” Clarke told the court.

The defence also recalled the senior Clarke to rebut the spliff-building allegations and his claim that he was Daley’s chef. However, Clarke insisted that he built spliffs for Daley. He said he also cooked for Daley and his police friends and a girlfriend of Daley’s.

“Him have a girlfriend at the Elletson Road Police Station and mi cook for her too,” Clarke said.

Day 6:

The prosecution attempted to play the recordings of Daley taking protection money from Clarke but the defence objected, saying that the prosecution needed to lay the proper foundation, which the Crown proceeded to do by calling as a witness, Corporal Nigel Pencil of the Anti-Corruption Branch. Pencil was responsible for the recordings.

Day 7:

The defence launched a blistering attack on Pencil, alleging that he had manipulated the recordings of Daley collecting money from Clarke in order to bolster the investigation. The defence claimed that the recordings were edited. Pencil denied the allegations. He said the recordings had been secured and that he did not know how to operate the software to edit the recordings.

Day 8:

The court heard that Daley’s assets were being scrutinised by detectives from the Financial Investigation Division. Daley appeared jolted by the announcement which followed a request from Daley’s legal team for the return of the cop’s laptop which was taken from his Ebony Vale, St Catherine home by investigators at the time of his arrest. “Valerie! Valerie! Mi never know ’bout that,” Daley reacted.

The defence also cross-examined Clarke in relation to the recording devices, in an effort to block them from being played.

Day 9:

Senior Magistrate Pusey reserved until May 13 her decision on whether the recordings were admissible, following submissions from the defence, which wanted to keep them out and the prosecution, which was pressing for them to be played. The trial was also adjourned to continue on July 13, as the defence attorneys had other matters.

Day 10:

Pusey ruled that the recordings, branded ‘The Movies’ by the prosecution, were admissible. She said it had not been established by the defence that the recordings were tampered with. “[There is] no reasonable cause to believe that the accuracy or the validity of the document was affected by improper process or procedure or inaccurate security safeguard,” Pusey said.

Day 11:

Daley sat stony-faced as the recordings of him collecting money were played in a packed courtroom. On the tape he was heard arranging a meeting for John’s Road, Spanish Town with Clarke to collect the cash on June 30. Clarke is heard on the recording telling Daley that Terry had called him two days prior and was telling him that his boss (Daley) was no longer in the St Catherine police division and that he (Clarke) would now have to start making payments to him.

“Tell him say a mi him fi call… a Spanish Town mi come from. Mi born and grow a Treadway… even if mi no deh yah a me run yah so. Tell him say if him want gunshot him fi f… around same way,” Daley is heard telling Clarke.

After the recordings were played, Clarke told the court that he had to pay the superintendent a “certain amount” monthly and if the money was short there would be “problem”.

During cross-examination, Neita-Robertson sought to attack Clarke’s credibility, citing his cocaine possession conviction in England.

Day 12:

Clarke said under cross-examination that he could not dare tell Daley that he was tired of paying him the monthly protection money. “I could never in my right mind go to Mr Daley and say I’m tired of paying this money. Even if me short mi have to tell him say mi a go get the rest to him,” Clarke told the court.

Neita-Robertson told the court that the money being collected was to liquidate a debt owed to Daley by Clarke’s deceased uncle.

Another heated exchange between Neita-Robertson and Harrison caused Magistrate Pusey to walk out of court for approximately 15 minutes.

The trial was also held up for close to a half-hour when the complainant refused a set of headphones belonging to the defence, claiming that the lawyers were trying to obeah him. The defence wanted Clarke to listen to a portion of the recordings during cross-examination. Harrison had to go and get headphones.

Day 13:

Clarke said that he was not easily intimidated but that he was afraid of Daley, whom he described as a “dangerous man” who had both gunmen and members of the constabulary under his control.

“Mr Daley could intimidate me. He has all the gunmen them on both sides and the police man dem. You have all the right to be afraid of Mr Daley. Mr Daley is a dangerous man,” Clarke said during re-examination from prosecutor Harrison, before Neita-Robertson rose to make an objection.

Neita-Robertson had earlier played a recording of Clarke bragging to a taxi operator that he cannot be intimidated.

Clarke rejected suggestions from Neita-Robertson that he had reported that Daley was collecting protection money from him so that he and his girlfriend could be placed under the witness protection programme and sent overseas.

“One of the… rewards [you got] is to go back to foreign for the first time since you were deported,” Neita-Robertson suggested to which Clarke responded, “That’s not true.”

“One of the rewards you got was to pay your rent from [Assistant Commissioner of Police Justin] Felice,” Neita-Robertson suggested.

“No, that’s a lie,” Clarke shot back.

“I’m suggesting to you that you used the system to get yourself and your babymother abroad. That’s what this thing is all about,” Neita-Robertson strongly suggested, but Clarke again rejected the suggestion.

Neita-Robertson said that at the time Clarke reported Daley to Felice at the Anti-Corruption Branch, Clarke called a cousin named Dwayne to say that he had found a way to “get back to foreign”, asking him (Dwayne) if he “wanted to come”.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Clarke maintained.

Day 14:

Daley fell asleep during his corruption trial while sitting in the prisoner’s dock. The midday nap had gone unnoticed by the general court, but was pointed out shortly after by Senior Magistrate Pusey, who bemoaned the fact that she had to watch “everyone” else sleep while she was unable to do so.

“Mr Daley has had his nap. Mr Daley’s brother has had his nap. I can only sit here and watch,” said Pusey, whose quip came after one of Daley’s lawyers assured her that a recording he wanted to play for a witness was not as lengthy as the previous one.

“Thank God,” Pusey replied.

Pusey had earlier complained about being tired and said that she had to be “rocking” her chair to keep from falling asleep. The magistrate could be seen, at times, resting her head while one of the recordings was being played.

The defence continued its effort to show that recordings of Daley taking what is alleged to be protection money from Tafari Clarke had been edited. But Corporal Pencil denied that the recordings were edited.

There was also a spat between the defence and the prosecution, caused by what appeared to be discrepancies in the evidence given by Pencil and Deputy Superintendent Leon Clunis.

Pencil had previously testified that he and Clunis had arrived on the scene of Daley’s arrest on July 31, 2008 in the same car. But Clunis had earlier that day testified to the contrary.

The trial was adjourned until July 28.

Day 15:

Felice admitted to lending Clarke $10,000 to assist with paying his rent. Felice made the admission during cross-examination by Neita-Robertson.

“It was a loan because his rent money had been short,” Felice said.

“Were you repaid?” Magistrate Pusey asked Felice.

“Yes, I was,” he replied.

Felice, however, refused to answer questions posed to him by Neita-Robertson relating to certain documents which were seized from Daley’s house, which was searched while Daley was in custody at the New Horizon Remand Centre in Kingston.

“It is a fact that you found no large sums of money?” the attorney asked.

“That is correct,” Felice answered.

“Neither did you find any ledgers to suggest he was collecting extortion money?”

“No. Your honour, I do not want to answer that question as the investigation is ongoing,” Felice answered curtly.

The assistant police commissioner testified that he had assigned Sergeant Lenworth Lewis to travel to Canada to interview Carlene Bailey, the common-law wife of Clarke’s uncle — Leonard Miller — and a man identified as Kerry Dallas. Felice said statements were taken from the two.

At the same time, Daley’s defence team continued their effort to taint the character of Clarke, who they suggested was an informer for the British police who had arrested him and secured a conviction on drug charges.

Lewis, his colleague Corporal Pencil and businessman Paul Wilson, who rented three shops at a plaza previously owned by Miller, also testified. Wilson told the court that there was a squabble between Clarke and his relatives over who should collect the $85,000 rent he (Wilson) paid monthly.

The dispute, he said, was settled after a meeting that involved him, Clarke and his aunt, identified only as ‘Patsy’, Kerry Dallas, and a police officer from the Linstead Police Station.

July 30

Day 16:

The prosecution closed its case. The defence was set to make a no-case submission but the matter was put off until August 4 due to illness on the part of Neita-Robertson. Carolyn Reid-Cameron, who appeared with Neita-Robertson, also asked for time to properly prepare the no-case submission.

Day 17:

The defence made its no-case submission. Daley’s legal team said that the case should be thrown out as the prosecution had failed to establish that the money Daley had been collecting from the complainant was for protection. The defence again attacked Clarke’s credibility.

Day 18:

Pusey refused the no-case submission. She gave no reasons and adjourned the case until August 31, when Daley would take the stand.

August 31

Day 19:

Daley took the witness stand and denied that he had an arrangement to collect payment from Clarke in return for protection. The superintendent testified to a packed courtroom that the monthly sums he had been collecting from Clarke was money owed to him by Clarke’s now deceased uncle, Leonard Miller.

Daley said he had loaned Miller $250,000 in October 2003 to expand his block factory operations. Daley said that an agreement was drafted and signed by himself, Miller and two justices of the peace.

The terms of the agreement, according to Daley, were for Miller to start making repayment to him in January 2004, with an initial sum of $20,000 and $10,000 monthly thereafter for two years.

But Daley was unable to produce the document to the court, as it, he said, was taken from his Ebony Vale, St Catherine home by the police, following his arrest, and never returned.

Daley said that following Miller’s death, family members of Miller’s agreed to honour the agreement. Daley said he started receiving payment in 2005 from Miller’s son, Leonard Miller Jr, who gave him $30,000.

Leonard Miller Jr, Daley testified, died after making the first payment and an agreement was reached for repayment of the loan to be made by a justice of the peace (JP) by the name of ‘Garricks’. The JP started making payment in November 2006, Daley testified.

Daley said Tafari Clarke was then instructed by relatives to make payments to him (Daley) from the rent he collected from the plaza. Leonard Miller Snr was the owner of the plaza.

Clarke, Daley said, started making payment in May 2007.

September

Day 20:

Daley says the corruption charges against him were trumped up and that he was being ‘framed’ by his colleagues in the constabulary. He said he even shared his suspicion with the police commissioner and the assistant commissioner of police in charge of the Area 5 Police Division.

He said he became even more suspicious when, after being returned to the Spanish Town Police Station in June 2008 following a temporary transfer, he realised that surveillance cameras were installed in his office and the surrounding areas.

“Did you do anything when you found out about the cameras?” asked Neita-Robertson.

“There were a lot of rumours going around,” Daley responded. “I was not surprised. I actually went to the commissioner and told him that I was being set up. I was of the frame of mind that something was amiss.”

Daley said his suspicion of being set up was further heightened when he had a run-in with members of the military at a dance in Spanish Town last year.

“Regarding these circumstances, had you any concern about taking any money from Mr Tafari Clarke?” Neita-Robertson asked, to which Daley replied, “No, ma’am, I wasn’t doing anything illegal.”

Daley said his suspicions of being “set up” by the police were confirmed at his arrest on July 31 last year and the eventual corruption charges that were laid against him.

“I was shocked, ma’am,” Daley said in relation to the charges. “That’s when it came home to me that this was the frame up. This was the conspiracy.”

Under cross-examination, Daley said he was charged with rape but that the charge was dropped. He proceeded to tell the court that the complainant was charged as a result with public mischief but was cut off by senior prosecutor Dirk Harrison.

He also denied that his transfer to the constabulary’s Inspectorate Branch was a disciplinary measure.

Day 21:

Daley testified that his colleagues in the constabulary had, on three separate occasions, tried “framing” him. He said that in one of the instances, police officers held in an extortion racket were told to implicate him in their illegal activities. Proper investigation, he said, later proved his innocence.

“On one of these attempts I was not in the island. If I could not provide proof that I was in the company of someone overseas I would have been indicted,” Daley said during cross-examination. “Evidence is also on record where policemen were told to implicate me in the extortion racket when they were charged. Investigation proved otherwise.”

He also said that “no investigation” was done in the present case against him before he was charged.

Day 22:

Justice of the Peace Herbert Garriques told the court that the money collected by Daley from Clarke was a repayment for a loan.

Garriques testified that he was instructed by members of Tafari Clarke’s family to give Daley $10,000 monthly from rent collected at the Bungos Plaza as repayment of a $250,000 loan to Leonard Miller. Garriques, who was the rent collector at the time, started making the payment to Daley in 2006. Garriques said that he continued paying Daley up until the last payment in April 2007, after which he handed over the business of rent collection to Clarke, along with the record book. The witness further testified that he passed on the instructions, as well, to Clarke that Daley was to be paid $10,000 from the rent collected.

Garriques, who was being questioned by Reid-Cameron, said Clarke kept pressing about finding someone from whom he could buy a US or Canadian visa, which he intended to use to return to England, from where he was deported.

Day 23:

Justice of the Peace William Morgan testified that he drafted the terms and conditions under which Daley was to be repaid for the $250,000 he had loaned to his friend, Leonard Miller. Morgan, who is also a teacher, said the terms and conditions were crafted when Daley and Miller came to his house in October 2003.

Morgan said that Miller, at that time, presented him with a receipt, stating that he had borrowed $250,000 from Daley which was to be paid back “on demand”.

The witness said that after scrutinising the receipt, he drafted the terms and conditions under which the loan was to be repaid and that both Miller and Daley signed to it. Morgan said he, too, signed as a witness and stamped it with his justice of the peace seal.

Morgan outlined that repayment of the loan was to commence at the end of January 2004 with an initial sum of $20,000 and monthly instalments of $10,000 thereafter, until the debt was cleared.

Morgan further stated that money for the loan was to be made from Miller’s block factory and the plaza, also owned by Miller before his death in 2003, in accordance with the agreement.

Day 24:

Magistrate Pusey reserved her verdict until November 18, following closing arguments from counsels representing both the Crown and Daley.

In her brief address, Neita-Robertson urged the court to find Daley not guilty, while arguing that the prosecution had not substantiated the allegations made by Clarke.

Neita-Robertson said that the Crown had not provided the evidence to show that Daley had collected protection or extortion money from Clarke.

She said also said that the allegations made by Clarke were unreliable, while classing his evidence as self-serving.

On the other hand, prosecutor Harrison told the court in a lengthy address that the Crown was under no obligation to corroborate Clarke’s evidence.

Harrison called on Pusey to reject Daley’s evidence that the money he had been collecting was repayment on a loan to Clarke’s deceased uncle, while describing the senior officer as the “quintessential corrupt cop”.

Day 25:

The highly anticipated verdict was rescheduled for December 16. Magistrate Pusey was set to hand down a decision but instead told the court that she was unable to carefully revise the evidence from the trial due to “ill health and other factors”.

“Mr Daley, unfortunately, I’m not ready [to deliver a verdict] on this matter,” Pusey said while addressing the senior cop.

“May the Lord bless you, ma’am,” Daley responded loudly.

“And keep you, Mr Daley,” Pusey responded to muffled laughter.

Daley’s bail was extended.

Following the proceedings, Daley — who had earlier sat in the Court with a tense and focused expression etched on his face — told a throng of reporters that he was feeling “as I always do” because he had done no wrong.

“I have done nothing wrong, and it’s a process that I have to go through,” said Daley.

A heavy police presence was on hand for the proceedings.

Day 26:

Daley was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment at hard labour. His bail was, however, extended by the court pending an appeal.

Outside the Court Daley insisted to reporters that he was innocent.

“I am an innocent man. I did not do what is said of me. I felt like I’m in a dream and I wish for that dream to be over. It still is not over,” he said in disbelief. “How could this be happening? How could it be that a lie could be influencing something to the extent that it does against me? I just can’t comprehend.”

He is facing five similar corruption charges in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate’s Court.