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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 86 - Wednesday August 30, 2006
Dominica's Special Envoy to Bahrain- Dr. King
Jason Webb


Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain on Tuesday August 29, 2006 received Commonwealth of Dominica Prime Minister Special Envoy Rudolph King. King conveyed regards of his country's Premier Roosevelt Skerrit to Shaikh Khalifa and wished him good health and happiness as well as more advancement and prosperity for Bahrain. Shaikh Khalifa welcomed the envoy and expressed Bahrain's eagerness to boost bilateral ties and inaugurate new fields of cooperation.

The Premier noted that geographical remoteness is not an obstacle in the face of cooperation between countries and never hamper development of countries bilateral relations, especially in the presence of advanced technology and rapid transport means.

He affirmed that Bahrain is giving great importance to its relations with friendly countries and is always seeking to strengthen them through enhancement of cooperation and exchange of official visits.

This emanates from Bahrain's firm belief in the impact this would have on economic and investment fields and the benefit it brings to both sides, the Premier said. Shaikh Khalifa sent his regards to the Premier of the Commonwealth of Dominica and wished his country further development and prosperity. The meeting was attended by Bapco Board Chairman Shaikh Salman Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and Cabinet Secretary General Dr.Yasser Bin Isa Al Nasser.

Dr. Rudolph King is a Bahamian and chairman of the non-profit making King Humanitarian and Global Foundation. In April 2006, a Bahamian paper The Royal Gazette reported that Dr. King was declared bankrupt in the Bahamas � the result of an unpaid debt on house renovations.

Judge John Lyons handed down the bankruptcy judgement after hearing representations by attorney Roger Gomez, for King, and Dr. Peter Maynard and Jason Maynard, for Cavalier Construction Ltd.

Registrar Mrs. Estelle Gray-Evans was ordered under the judgement to take possession of all King�s property until a trustee was certified by the court. A creditors� meeting is to be held on a date to be fixed.

The Royal Gazette also reported that checks on his background revealed he appeared in court in the Bahamas in 2004, when it was claimed he owed American Express more than $400,000 for an unpaid credit card bill.

A Bahamian tabloid also reported that King had resigned as chairman of his own charity and was taking a year off to sort out �several legal headaches�.

The newspaper claimed he was still living in luxury at a friend�s $2 million home and driving around in a top-of-the-range Jeep worth $125,000.

On March 13, 2006, Dr. King, who is also known as Rudy King-Laroda and Kermit Rudolph Casito Laroda, held a press conference and was publicly embarassed when he claimed that he would be bringing world leaders, Hollywood stars and a Nobel Peace Prize winner to Bermuda for a prestigious awards ceremony.

According to The Royal Gazette, Dr. King announced at a Press conference at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel that Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Halle Berry, Will Smith and Rick Springfield, plus three unnamed world leaders, would be attending the 2006 Global Vision Awards of Excellence on June 30.

During the press conference, he reportedly took a call from Will Smith. However, agents for Oscar winner Ms Berry, Oscar nominee Mr. Smith and Mr. Springfield told The Royal Gazette that they knew nothing about the event and that their clients would not be visiting the Island.

Alana Sarratore, from New York�s Doyle-Kos Entertainment agency, which represents singer Mr. Springfield, said: �That is totally untrue. We know nothing about it whatsoever. We completely deny that that�s the case.�

The case for the credit card fraud came before Justice Hartman Longley in February 2004 and saw American Express attorney Peter Maynard claim that Dr. King owed the company $417,912.

Dr. King � said in court to have changed his name in December, 1991 to Kermit Rudolph Casito Laroda � was alleged to have spent the amount on two credit cards in less than two months and repaid only $3,000.

Dr. King initially denied any involvement in the 2004 court case but then admitted he was involved. He said: �That was a matter which was dealt with in the court in Bahamas. I was not prosecuted.�

Dr. King told the paper that he was invited to host the awards ceremony on the Island by the Bermuda Alliance for Tourism (BAT) and the Bermuda Hotel Association (BHA). But Wayne Smith, executive director of BAT, and John Harvey, CEO for BHA, both denied that was the case.

Mr. Smith said the alliance simply provided information to Dr. King: �I � at no time � invited him. He came to us with a proposal and said he has this event in various different places. �I�m afraid I do not know much about the King Humanitarian Foundation. He did give us a big file of references. I didn�t take up the references. But we are not in the business of turning tourists away.�

Mr. Harvey said: �There was a chat about what he did and about what we do in Bermuda and that was it.�

Dr. King told the Press conference that Ms Berry �has confirmed that she will be attending�. He claimed a long list of celebrities from the world of film and television had all agreed to accept awards.

�They are coming in droves,� he said. �Mr. Will Smith. We have confirmation that he will be attending.�

He also named South African Archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu. Archbishop Tutu could not be contacted yesterday for comment.

�This is the very first time that these great awards will be happening in Bermuda,� said Dr. King. �It�s an awards dinner where we will be inviting local persons to attend as well. This will be a fabulous time, a night one will always remember.�

He said he could not name the three world leaders attending for security reasons. Dr. King � whose organisation was launched in 2000 and has offices in Florida and Nassau � says he has a doctorate in economics from Cambridge University.

In March 2006, Sean Douglas, press secretary for the Government of Dominica, could not confirm the ambassadorship to the newspaper, but said Dr. King was a friend of prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit. Dr King has however assumed the title His Excellency.

Comments about this article? Email:
editor@
thedominican.net
Telephone:
1-703-861-9411
Fax:
1-202-589-7937

Volume No. 1 Issue No. 81
Dominica V Switzerland
Lakschin- Dominica's Ambassador
The case against switzerland
Disneyfication of Caribbean
Life of Rb Douglas




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