It has come as no surprise to learn that the Cayman Islands ex premier, McKeeva Bush, liked to gamble.

A lot of my friends like to gamble.

Just because I don’t and find gambling exceedingly boring has nothing to do with my opinion of a gambler.

However, when a gambler steals money from his employer to gamble, whether he fully intends to pay it back and has, is completely different.

The man who steals to gamble has a serious problem. He has a compulsion to gamble and damn the consequences of his actions.

The so-called, “trumped up” charges by the UK and their puppet, the Cayman Islands Governor, against Bush that his supporters have chanted ad nauseam, are difficult to ignore. Unfortunately if Bush said the sky was green many would still believe him.

When it was first announced that Bush was charged with abusing his office and breaching the people’s trust by ill-using a government credit card, the ex-premier said it was because he had used the credit card for dry cleaning and buying books for his library.

There was not a word or intimation from him that it was to steal money from the public purse to gamble.

The charges against Bush now filed with the courts, is for making cash withdrawals from casinos in the United States on several occasions during his first year in office. The charge sheet states Bush withdrew over $50,000 on at least four occasions between July 2009 and April 2010.

The charges are as follows:

1. Misconduct in public office for an unauthorized cash withdrawal on his government credit card in casino establishments in the United States of US$8,467.26 sometime between July 2009 and September 2009, just weeks after he was returned to office.

2.  Misconduct in public office for making another cash withdrawal on his government credit card between 12 September 2009 and 4 December 2009, again in an American casino of US$6,980.80.

3. A charge of theft based on the first withdrawal of US$8,467.26

4.  A charge of theft based on the second withdrawal of US$6,980.80.

5. A third theft charge of US$17,478.43, which was stolen between 18 January and 1 April 2010 via the government-issued card.

6. A fourth theft charge of US$17,074.66, again on the government credit card sometime between 17 March and 21 April 2010.

7. A fifth theft charge of US$1,026.08 on the credit card on or about 23 April 2010

The remaining four charges against Bush relate to breach of trust by a member of the Legislative Assembly in relation to several of the theft charges, which were also cash withdrawals from American casinos.

What is even more shocking is that he was prepared to gamble his whole political career and the county’s highest political office to quench his thirst to gamble.

Whether it is a credit card or cash – if it belongs to someone else and you have permission only to use the monies on your employer’s (in this case the Cayman Islands Government) business that is all you can use it for. If you use it for any other purpose without permission you are a thief. EVEN IF YOU PAY IT BACK!!

Of course, all these charges are alleged and none have been proved. The Cayman Islands ex-premier is innocent until proven guilty.

One must not prejudge. And I would not gamble at this time on any conviction.