Police investigating crash involving candidate
Mario Rankin’s car crashed at the Poindexter Roundabout, 8 April 2017
(CNS): The police say they are investigating a single-vehicle collision that happened early Saturday morning at the Poindexter Roundabout in Newlands, in which a car belonging to a political candidate was abandoned at the crash site. Because there was no one at the scene when officers responded to the call out, the police have not stated who was driving the vehicle but they have determined who owns the car. CNS understands that the Range Rover, which appears to have smashed into a light pole before being abandoned, belongs to Mario Rankin.
Rankin’s election campaign already appears to be fraught with challenges. Contesting the seat of Newlands as an independent candidate in an alliance with Chris Saunders, he is one of three candidates whose qualification to stand for office have been questioned by the Elections Office. Rankin is being challenged on the basis that he has a previous dishonesty conviction, though whether that conviction was recorded remains in question.
Rankin also appeared in court for a labour law infraction relating to issues of back pay for staff when he ran the Sail Inn Restaurant after various employees complained that they were not paid between 2012-2013. It is understood that he is making payments under the supervision of the courts but the magistrate has asked for a breakdown of Rankin’s finances to increase the payment amounts.
According to the election candidates’ register of interests, which were viewed by CNS the day after Nomination Day, Rankin has declared no job, no business interests, shares or directorships and no sponsorship of any kind.
Yet Rankin was featured in a controversial BBC documentary last year depicting Cayman as a tax haven and playground for millionaires, in which he spoke about his business success in scrap metal and making some CI$4.5 million on a government contract post Hurricane Ivan.
He was described by the host, Jacques Peretti, as a “construction magnate” and one of the richest people on the island”, as Rankin drove the documentary maker around in his Ferrari.
Category: 2017 General Elections, Elections, Local News, Politics
Who the heck is Maxine Bodden? Is this the PPM can offer us in BT West? I guess they couldn’t get anybody else to run. Lord they in trouble!
Chris Saunders is not a Mac supporter. Stop spreading FAKE news!
Being a Mac supporter is one of the better things you could say about Chris Saunders, and that’s from a person who would never in a million years vote for Mac or anyone associated with him.
I am sure Chris Saunders is aware of this “fake news” and his silence on the matter is very telling. He is a big man, if he is in fact not associated with these people, then he should put out a public statement saying as much.
This “wait and see where my fortune lie” business is not going to work. The marl road is very powerful, as it stands now, he is associated with Mario and he is associated with McKeeva until he comes out and publicly states otherwise.
Chris is a smart guy and I think he has a shot in this race, but it is tight and he cannot afford to lose any votes. He has a choice to make, stick with principles and publicly disassociate, or hope to try and ride Mac’s tail another time and take your chance that the UDP has a large enough base in Boden Town West to get him in. Question is, do you feel lucky?
Listening to his abrasive attitude on the radio about who to apologise to, the people he’s trying to represent for the poor error in judgement for one. But what if there was a pedestrian about? What if you “fell asleep” somewhere else and hit a person? If for the magnitude of possibilities and your reaction to it alone.
Character is who we are in the face of adversity – not who we are when things are going well. Sorry sir but you demonstrated your character on the radio on April 10th and Cayman has enough of “those” character’s in office now. These are serious times, we have serious issues and we need serious people to solve them.
Next!
Mario Rankine! Learn some respect as many of us feel you owe Jevvy an apology for your abrasive tone and gesturing during the April 10 show.
You are not fit to run or even take up office. You claim you have gotten this far in the past 42 years by being so smart, so stop blasted complaining for ending up in court being liable for debts incurred when you took ownership of the grand harbour companies. Any responsible person that is wise enough to take on a business venture (5 in this case) should have either researched the previous owners debts or understood you would be liable. STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE making excuses.
Check your tone, your attitude which you cannot hide and realize you are not qualified to sit in office. You are not Winston Connoly… so please drink some tea and watch the show.
You owe Jevvy Ebanks an apology. Rude! My grandmother and aunts that watched you grow up felt when they watched the show that you have an anger problem and I am starting to agree with them.
You can’t write this crap. One of the few places in the world where you can run a jerk chicken stand business one year and then run for Premier the next. A third world mentality and culture with first world financial centers. What a contrast.
Are you Kayman? I hope you get ‘ im . Sounds like you deserve ‘im.
these candidates should put their resumes on display for the voters….
Mario Rankin – dead beat employer
Matthew Leslie – disillusion womanizer
Austin Harris – Wife beater
Kenneth Bryant – High School diploma in night clubbing
Big Mac – Honduran farmer
John John – owner of sacred vessel.
You forgot Bryant’s drugs conviction, just saying.
You have been most restrained and very polite 2.24 , but then the laws of libel prevents us from saying any more.
Dr. Frank – collector of mystery gunshots
Ossie – Cow Cod expert
You forgot Frank McField’s drunk altercations with Police late at night and spitting on them.
Plus he not really a Doctor
And Big Mac ,too many to list.
I just wish that the Judge ruling on his case of back payments to his ex staff would have seen Mr. Rankine’s Facebook posts last week showing off his new high performance powerboat, you have to ask where this guys moral compass is, still paying off monies owed to staff for worked for him but yet goes out and spends money on toys.
Pay your debts before buying toys.
and our spineless leaders allow this kind of shit to happen….
coddling residents, rocking them to sleep, singing a lullaby………..that’s all they seem to do
It’s actually not his boat, the boat actually belongs to his uncle, which is a well known and highly respected businessman here in the Cayman Islands. He just wanted to post it for bragging rights I guess!!!!
He likes to brag a lot. Pay your debts, stop going to court for DUIs and then you will have something to brag about!
That in itself disqualifies him from office
When a person owes money and spends it on themselves instead first, that speaks volumes about their moral compass and ethics. I really feel for the children of such persons though, and the example being set for them.
The video should be on Caymans Funniest Home Videos, Candidate Edition. It certainly up there with Matthew’s efforts!
Isn’t the penalty for leaving the scene of an accident the same as DUI? Good bye driver’s licence.
Not sure it applies to single car accidents, but if it does, you would need to prove he was driving at the time.
He admitted it on the Talk Show (Rooster) after he attacked poor Jevvie
Plenty of CCTV at that roundabout……
Actually either way. He’s the owner of the vehicle. Let’s not forget he got on the radio on Monday and admitted to driving. Said it was no one’s business since he didn’t harm anyone. He supposedly fell asleep at the wheel. Not likely but since he didn’t call the police will we ever know.
I fall asleep after several cocktails too but I am not stupid enough to be behind the wheel when it happens. Have a designated driver, take a cab or stay home. It’s not rocket science.
I think it is rocket surgery!
Did Dr Steve back this muppet too? His sense of judgment is horrible! Avoid the candidates he’s backing like the plague!
Also, if he was sober at the time surely he would have waited for the police to arrive, so he could remove any speculation of alcohol being contributing a factor?
7.20am People say that Mario and Chris are Big Mac stooges,UDP/CDP all the way.
And Austin.
Well there goes the person I was planning to vote for in Bodden Town West. Cannot support a candidate who associates himself with Mario, birds of a feather … Hopefully Maxine Bodden has a decent head otherwise it may be a day spent fishing.
Maxine is by far the best candidate for BTW. She is very well educated, is/was an excellent attorney, a decent person with integrity, morals and diplomacy. She has a lot of common sense and will be able to deal with people from all backgrounds. For the first time ever, I was not going to vote when I saw the line up and am so glad to see that Maxine is running.
Buju needs to have his license taken away.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!
Buju needs taking away in a yellow van
Silly, you really shouldn’t be playing Super Mario with your real car.
I stopped at the new gas station by Lantern Point one day and guess who was meandering around the pumps, chatting with his customers. He talked me up for a long time and told me he was happy to have me as a customer. If he doesn’t have any business interests why would he do that? The Election Officers need to dig in to the register of interest he filed.
Wrong person your thinking of Stephan baraud this was Mario Rankin get your property right before you post
Both UDP muppets, not much between them really.
He looked pretty good to me at a club, chilling in the corner playing big man, all you have to do is ask the Bartender to see his tab.
7.41pm.That comment is an insult to our soil.
Wonder if he was taking waverunners again?
No man,you remember that him and “sweets”??
WOW … why is Mario running? I mean you can’t clean up your mess BEFORE and during your campaign?
Why is Mario running? The answer seems obvious to me… He can’t drive!
LOL … good one!
What an odd little man.
???
Politicians; the last great job catagory for Caymanians only.
Category; and no, Caymanians need only stop limiting themselves.
I bet alcohol played no part in this 2am crash…oh wait
What a …………………., feel free to add a description.
the scrap metal money is done , now he is looking some more easy money you should have used that money wisely and stop being so egotistical, you will soon be flat on your face again like in 2007 where you couldn’t even feed your dog
good luck this time
Wonder what he was hiding !!!!!!!!!!!!!
That sound you hear ? That’s matt Leslie breathing a sigh of relief that he is no longer the biggest idiot in this race ! Let me guess..he was concussed , confused , his friend who he don’t know his name or where he lives was driving , or he didn’t realize he had ran off the road . This place is a joke now . One big unfunny joke .
Buju was driving. Same Jamaican weed seller who visits the island illegally and borrows cars from firemen.
8.01pm Let me guess. He was not driving, it was some Jamaican by the name of “fireman” who had borrowed his car and comes and goes from Jamaica by canoe. He does not have his address or phone number and no-one else has seen him.
These disgusting people don’t worry me. What worries me is the people that vote for them.
They all worry me. I left!
10.45pm If you left then they shouldn’t bother you.
You are so right. But it does. My problem.
Mac voters in other words
Well the options aren’t much. Like choosing the person who will least screw up the country.
Like was said during the US Elections- Hillary or Donald? It’s like picking which STD you prefer? Gonorhea or Syphillis? They wanted neither but ya had to pick one. Neither is good but geese someone had to be president.
Sounding familiar Cayman?
Trash is as trash does. It like a big box of chocolates, you neve know what you are going to get here on the island.
Crooked road?
McKeeva will have to get another one….lol.
lol wonder why he left the scene? hmmmm let me guess.
You can blame the Roads Authority for that one. I know several people who have been driving home late at night only to find that the Roads Authority had placed a roundabout right smack in the middle of the road.
A very well lit round-about, at that . Funny thing is I have been driving the new bypass since it opened both directions daily & at night ,the car has never been inclined to mount the curb and strike a pole. Are Range Rovers not supposed to be superior in handling and road holding? Must be something wrong unna…
He must have hit a banana peel!!
Did anyone else catch his performance on Crosstalk live video this morning?
Mario was unnecessarily abrasive and defensive to the hosts and callers.
At that moment he proved himself as unsuitable for political office.
Sorry Mar-Mar…but it’s back to being a “construction magnate” for you.
We’ll keep your application on file though…promise.
Also watch his interview on Cayman candidates website and cayman compass. Both interviews he struggles to make or keep eye contact with interviewer. That is first body language sign of dishonest individual. Sharpen up on your speak skills sir, but then again it just might not do him any good. If the people of Newlands are smart they would see right through this joker and joker is putting it lightly.
My thoughts exactly – in one single moment he would have lost my vote no matter what else came out of his mouth. Not that he had it in the first instance as he has only one platform – fuel. If you ever listen to him closely, no matter what the conversation is he somehow always brings it back to fuel.
LOL this is so true— cost of fuel! or something related to fuel! I’ve been hearing this “fuel fuel fuel” since 2012!
You just can’t make this stuff up.
If this man gets voted in, it will prove how sick this island really is.
Please don’t fail us Cayman.
He’s not going to get in so don’t lose any sleep on that count.
Wow. Anancy story as they call it next door!
that’s where 1/2 of him is from but please use or own saying stop using other peoples that’s a big part of the problem here now!
In a normal place, people who travelled and had other experiences to bring to the table would be welcomed. Its an educational process. If you are not for education…that’s all I need to know.
Um, what?
Please can someone translate this;
“that’s where 1/2 of him is from but please use or own saying stop using other peoples that’s a big part of the problem here now”
I can’t……
Let me help you out. The poster is inferring that the original poster is suggesting that Mr Rankine is Jamaican – Anancy being a popular folk story figure there – but protests, saying that Mr Rankine is only 50% Jamaican, and more importantly that Caymanians should not use expressions popular in Jamaican culture, as ascribing to that culture is a major problem in Cayman. So basically bigot number one suggesting that Mr Rankine is Jamaican (with a distinct negative inference about his honesty), and bigot number 2 saying yes, he is 50% Jamaican (relevance of which is inferred) but rather than saying that’s irrelevant, says that ascribing to Jamaican culture is a major cause of problems in Cayman. Take your pick on who is more wrong.
Thank you for taking my question as genuine and thank you for answering!!