USVI-On-Line

The impression I have gotten is that Bob was a customer but not conspirator, probably a sort of "by-catch" in the sting operation.
Earl Skeleton is from Tortola, and quite notorious there. The BVI commenters obviously know a lot about him, and some apparently support him and/or his gangsta image.
Potter, incidentally, is the owner of the strip-club in the lower Lumberyard complex
that was the topic of much forum discussion a couple of years ago.

I remember when the club was opening. It's in what used to be Mixology. There was considerable discussion here at the time. Two, maybe three years ago? It was opening around the same time that the video slot parlor was opening and some feared the end of civilized life on STJ.

That the club has been operating in the center of Cruz Bay for a few years, unbeknownst to most visitors, indicates that it's not too hard to stay below the tourist radar. Seems a few different worlds exist on STJ and they don't necessarily intersect.

Yes, Lex, that's a good way to put it. For most of us who live here, those worlds overlap to a greater or lesser extent. Six degrees of separation is more like one degree, although the distances are growing rapidly.

hugo wrote:The impression I have gotten is that Bob was a customer but not conspirator, probably a sort of "by-catch" in the sting operation.
Earl Skeleton is from Tortola, and quite notorious there. The BVI commenters obviously know a lot about him, and some apparently support him and/or his gangsta image.
Potter, incidentally, is the owner of the strip-club in the lower Lumberyard complex
that was the topic of much forum discussion a couple of years ago.

I was thinking the same thing Hugo, Bob was a customer. Then that made no sense why the FBI would take him in......all this just seems so strange. Someone had said that FBI and DEA are still very prevalent on island.

It's possible that they arrested Bob in this as he is a man with much to lose. They will probably try to push him into becoming a rat against the others. It's not uncommon.

That seems very possible. Reportedly he was charged in the indictment with nine counts each of use of communication facility to facilitate a drug crime and also with possession of cocaine. Things get very serious when they are federal charges. Likely they will agree to drop most charges if he agrees to cooperate. They may well not want him, but they want his testimony. It would probably be wise to stay out of the Caribbean afterward.

Lex, thanks for the kind welcome.

The newspapers have been basing their reports on court documents and testimony and are almost correct in their reports, I didn't want to make anyone think that they are being duped. It's just a sentence here or there that are misleading.

For example, there was an article in the daily news May 10, 2011 that said:
"The charging document also lists the dates that members of the conspiracy sold drugs to other people, including Shinners selling to undercover law enforcement officers."

That is incorrect. The charging documents DO NOT list any incident where Shinners sold drugs to anyone or sold to an undercover law enforcement officer.

There are a lot of little statements here and there, too many to list, that don't change the gist of the big story but are completely incorrect when it comes to Shinners and probably irreversible by now.

XOXO, good question, hugo's answer is correct, I couldn't have worded it better. His charges are possession of cocaine nine times over the space of almost a year and using a communication device (telephone) to purchase. Not a good situation at all, but in no way was he part of a drug ring or a conspirator and has not been charged as such.

As for the bigger story, it's extraordinary how much was being purchased in the fake fbi drop. Holy moly.
For those that need a link, here's one...

(again, the only beef I have with the article is in the first paragraph when it says 'the six men and one woman, who face a total of 47 counts of conspiracy and drug trafficking' It's just a small thing, but its misleading as Shinners faces no counts of conspiracy or drug trafficking. (I'm starting to sound like a broken record)

article: http://world247.net/tag/fbi%E2%80%99s/


As most of you know, Bob was released last week on bail. On Wednesday the parties that are being charged in the drug conspiracy attended a hearing that lasted six hours. The hearing was regarding pre-trial release terms. The presumption is that the 5 are a flight risk and danger to community, and the hearing was for the defendants to make a case otherwise. As far as I know, Judge Miller has not ruled yet. I can't imagine they will be released pre-trial, but you never know, we shall stay tuned.