In addition to being entitled to a government that works, people are entitled to officials who pass the smell test.
It was Wendell Jeffrey’s article in a daily news paper declaring a candidate for Mayor deceitful and dishonest that caught my attention.
I don’t mind damning claims if they are backed up by fact finding, intelligent analysis and rational opinions but when I realized Jeffery’s name calling was based on his interpretation of Benschop and the Councilor/Mayor candidate nexus, it made me wonder at the caliber of this candidate who wanted to run the city of Georgetown which remains in recovery from twenty three years of political strangulation, cultural neglect and every other deficiency in between.
That his reasoning was essentially unintelligent, puerile and well short of the intellect expected from a candidate for leadership of the nation’s capital, was just the tip of my curiosity but then I noted that he signed his name as pastor and the whole principle of ‘judge not lest ye be judged’ kicked in.
I have to confess that his denomination piqued my curiosity even more…this Practical Christianity Ministries. There was something about practical Christianity that didn’t suggest derogatory remarks or cantankerous confrontation and degradation of another human being.
So I did some digging and came away with some very interesting FACTS about this man who would be Mayor.
Jeffrey can be found under a variety of documentation that lists Practical Christianity Ministries, where he is listed from founder to ‘incorporator’ to ‘establisher’ of a grand inmate program that benefited the Indiana Department of Corrections, USA.
And that was an easy place to start- Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) – because that’s a place that actually exists.
So I called.
The IDOC categorically denies Jeffery’s claims of implementing any program for their prisoners. There are records that show he was a volunteer at the Westville Indiana Prison facility and was part of a Practical Christianity Ministry’s Bible Study with inmates at the Westville Indiana facility, only…not the entire State prison.
IDOC says,too, that Jeffrey was never a chaplain there, never part of its prison staff. They say his recount of a Dr. Hill – the man he says gave him his start at IDOC -would be best proven if he submitted the full name of this good doctor because they have no one on staff with that name currently or when Jeffrey would have been a registered volunteer in the Westville Indiana Prison Facility. And if he was, he would not have had the authority to give Jeffrey any authority to do the things he claims he did.
Further and particularly worthy of note, IDOC denies giving Wendell Jeffrey, P, any permission to teach any course in ‘cognitive reorientation and neuro linguistic programming’, as he claims and have no knowledge of what that course would have encompassed.
So much for that impressively packed collection of words.
They do remember him being deported, though, because he was removed from the volunteer roster at that point.
One of the things Wendell P. Jeffery did claim is that he is an author.
That checked out.
He wrote a book called ‘No longer a Shepherd’s Rod’, (a religious body that is a supposed off spring of the Seventh Day Adventist Church) which is a recount of his days as a Branch Davidian under polygamist Cultist, turned arsonist and murderer, David Koresh. The 157 page book, with an array of editors touting pastoral doctorates, reads like a hodge podge of news paper clippings, offering nothing more than what was already known about this man, Koresh, who managed to sway and swindle many West Indian and Guyanese immigrants, amongst others, who were looking for Jesus in Waco Texas. You can purchase a copy of this slow moving tale at 99% off for the sum of USD 4.15 on Amazon.com
It was this loose connection to the Seventh Day Adventists that caused us to look in to Jeffery’s relationship with this faith – that and the fact that he was, apparently, introduced to the Georgetown Prison System as a member of the Seventh Day Adventist organization in Guyana.
Turns out he was never ordained by the Seventh Day Adventist and his claim of being an Alumni of Oakwood University, the historically black Seventh Day Adventist institution of higher learning located in Huntsville Alabama, has not been verified because specific parameters were not provided. However, an initial data base search revealed no Wendell P. Jeffery graduated at any level in pastoral studies or any other field of study – though I will caution that this was just a peripheral search with the scant information we were able to provide.
Just to be on the safe side, I also called the Seventh Day Adventist North American and Inter American Divisions located in Florida, USA at #305 403 4700 and the Seventh Day Adventist Conference, Georgetown to verify if Wendell Jeffrey was ever assigned the title Reverend or Pastor by their denomination.
They have all confirmed that Wendell Jeffrey, even if we stick the initial ‘P’ in there, is not a Pastor, Minister or any Divinity official with the Seventh Day Adventist Church anywhere and any assertion by him that he is should be disregarded, even when he appears in places where there is a gathering of clergy and stands next to them for the photo op.
I don’t know if there is any legal standing or barriers for a deportee to be a principal in a United States 501 C 3 (tax exempt) Corporation, or have their name registered as corporate official with an Indiana USA address when they are of nonresident and deportee status but I’m sure that the US embassy in Georgetown could help, with the assistance of the US Internal Revenue Service. Just to check, though, I called Practical Christianity Ministries in Indiana at # 574 440 4027 and kept getting the voice mail of a Paul Nedrow, the CEO, who never calls back…ever.
Whatever Wendell has been doing since his forced return to Guyana, finagling into areas he is neither equipped nor qualified for under the guise of service provision, he has managed to make quite an impression on some in the media. I read an article in the Guyana Times that all but hailed this Jeffrey as the second coming. They gilded the biography he gave them without bothering to check anything he said –seconding the integrity of their news organ to the assumed veracity of his claims.
This is what emboldens him; gives him the unmitigated gall to claim any profession that he feels will massage the receptive generosity of Guyanese, fueling his confidence trickery to be all the things he says he is.
But they are only in his head, these multi-faceted, layered, professions that seem to grow in dimension every time he manages to inveigle his way into some unsuspecting arena that uses the foot print he has conned into formation. And we can’t blame them. Due diligence was not done initially, allowing the Jefferey’s to slither in and set up shop amongst a people who tend to think that the last man did a background check.
Let’s stipulate at this point that being a criminal doesn’t make one a Criminologist.
Jeffrey is no criminologist or any of the things he constantly tells the news he is.
His crafted master plan for vagrancy and reintegrating criminals into communities are words carefully recited to give the appearance of knowledge and to run for an office he should be denied based on his fabricated biography and patented dishonesty.
The Mayor of Georgetown is the portal to the nation’s capital, its people, business community, its culture and should be an office that is as known for its integrity as it is for its acumen and its representation of the face of the nation.
The last Local Government Election held in Guyana was in 1994. The one immediately prior to that was in 1970. When the electorate goes to the polls on March 18th 2016, they will be doing so for the second time in 46 years.
This period of violation of constitutional rights and imposition of a ban on democracy has been etched in nation’s history and will be a constant reminder of where we never want to go again.
There is now new opportunity to repair the image of Georgetown, salvage what’s left of the Garden City, encourage the participation of legitimate businesses by electing a Mayor and City Council that works for the people.
When Wendell Jeffrey accused Mark Benschop of being dishonest and deceitful many thought he, Jeffery, was an upright, honest, trustworthy man who knew neither dishonesty nor deceitfulness.
The good thing here is that the voters in the Local Government Elections are aware that their votes will be the fuel to start the trundle of Georgetown back on course, so they will converge on the polls to put the best person in.
And now that they’ve gotten a glimpse of the dark underbelly of Wendell Jeffrey, gotten a chance to peel back that clerical collar they now know is costume, the reasons Jeffrey is ineligible for public office, office with the incarcerated population, office outside of his private home, become very obvious.
Now that we have some answers about who he is and can find out even more by consulting with the local US embassy, I suspect when voters go to select those who will elect a representative to the City’s highest office, there will be no compromise.
http://www.guyanatimesgy.com/2016/02/15/wortmanville-werk-en-rust-candidate-has-a-master-plan-for-development/
Great job, excellent research on this imposter!!!
All that was said in the article might not be quite accurate.
Care to elaborate rebscebecca?
Because unlike the article you have only expressed an opinion without any traceable source.
Do come back and share with us.
Boyoboy. Do I not feel vindicated for going after some of the comments of Jeffery on FB, and tearing into his crap that President Granger’s tentative suggestion of an end to Corporal punishment would destroy Guyana. I mean, understand why some still support that method of discipline in the home. But for anyone to equate a suspension of that in schools as the potential cause for the destruction of the society indicate that the source is absolutely backward, lacking in any degree of developed thinking, and merely one of those persons who hang unto the coat tails of institutions as a means of getting their hands on power.
Citizens of Georgetown, do not allow this man to lie and deceive his way into the office of Mayor. Do not allow the Capital city to become infamous for electing someone like this to run it.