Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding testified yesterday morning that he personally knew Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke and had spoken with him on several occasions.
He says the last time he communicated with him was in December, 2007, when the Jamaica Constabulary Force told him that it was concerned about the presence of members of the St. James-based Stone Crusher Gang in Tivoli.
He said he surmised the police were apprehensive about going after the men in Tivoli, fearing the outcome of an operation. Mr. Golding said he sent a messenger to Coke, who sent back a message that there were no such persons in the community.
According to the former prime minister, the police insisted that their intelligence suggested suspects were in the area and carried out an operation in the area in January 2008 but the prime targets were not captured.
He said the circumstances affected his relationship with Coke.
Confession time…admit it, you turn away in disgust when you see news of a Serial Killer on television, yet you will watch shows that cover the stories of such vile creatures. Clearly there is a large audience for these stories as the networks cover them almost weekly.
We watch interviews of neighbors and time after time hear them say how shocked they are to discover they lived next door to a serial killer, because he was “always a nice guy, always a good neighbor.”
Perhaps we don’t understand why these monsters aren’t more obvious to us. Most serial killers lead very normal lives and don’t “look” like monsters.
What is the fascination? Why are we shocked and disgusted, yet curious at the same time?
Author Scott Bonn, Phd is considered one of the world’s top experts on criminal behavior, and in his book, he explains our interest to us, and…
Stephanie St Clair aka Queenie aka Madame St Clair was a French immigrant who moved to New York City in 1912. She was born in 1886, originally in Martinique, an island in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean.
St Clair was a tough and fearless lady of the streets and even by modern day standards considered a force to be reckoned with.
In 1922 she invested $10k of her own money into a numbers bank in Harlem. Her numbers game was so profitable that the Jewish and Italian gangs wanted in on her hustle. She refused and battled not only other gangs but the local authorities. When the cops came knocking she took on the NYPD, testifying about kickbacks that she had paid to them in order to let her operate her illegal rackets. Her testimony resulted in the firing of more than a dozen New York police officers.
FACTS ABOUT STEPHANIE ST CLAIR
The first black Godmother
Affiliated with the infamous New York extortion gang, the 40 Thieves
Recruiter and mentor of Harlem’s first black Godfather, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson
Ran a lucrative numbers operation which, unlike many of her male counterparts, never came under the control of the Italian mafia
Died in 1969 in Harlem –still very rich from the profits of her illegal numbers rackets
Stay tuned for my exclusive story on Madame St Clair. I am absolutely fascinated by this woman and the power she held. She was a true gangster and the time period of history in which she operated makes her a street legend.
It’s difficult to imagine women like her existed 100 years ago when ladies most certainly did not dominate in a man’s world –especially within the underworld.
Stephanie St Clair was a well protected and well respected BOSS. She single-handedly changed the game and she did it all with numbers.
When I think of Madame St Clair’s bold, striking femininity the Marilyn Monroe quote comes to mind…..
“I don’t mind living in a man’s world, as long as I can be a woman in it”
Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding testified yesterday morning that he personally knew Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke and had spoken with him on several occasions.
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