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Opinions of Friday, 18 October 2019

Columnist: Kwaku Badu

Kevin Taylor: A bogus detective of our time?

Kevin Taylor Kevin Taylor

It is often said that ‘the successful trial and the subsequent crucifixion of ‘Satan’ would require at least two credible witnesses from hell’. But how feasible is that?

Somehow, critical observers have been broaching somewhat controversially that “criminals make excellent detectives”. But how true is that?

Interestingly, the Honourable Kennedy Agyapong is alleging that he has admissible evidence which suggests that the social media commentator, Kevin Taylor, is not the perfect creature as he would like his admirers to believe. He is a descendant of Adam, after all.

Somehow, the Honourable Kennedy Agyapong is accusing the self-styled anti-corruption crusader and the social media enthusiast, Kevin Taylor, of engaging in “blackmailing” and allegedly in possession of a fake NPP identity card.

However, following the Honourable Agyapong’s seemingly chilling revelation, there have been avalanche of criticisms and protestations against him for alleging that Kevin Taylor has some “skeletons in his cupboard”.

Whatever the case, it beats my imagination as to how and why Kevin Taylor’s bandwagon would want us to believe that he can do no wrong.

Well, Kevin Taylor ‘apple-polishers’ should rather demand further and better particulars from the Honourable Kennedy Agyapong over his accusations.

In fact, the Kevin Taylor’s fanatics may well have to research into the double lives of the resplendent individuals like Eugène François Vidocq (July 24, 1775 – May 11, 1857).

Eugène François Vidocq was a French criminal and criminalist, whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe, and Honore de Balzac.

The former criminal, Eugène François Vidocq, became the founder and first director of the crime-detection Sûreté Nationale as well as the head of the first known private detective agency. Vidocq is considered to be the father of modern criminology and of the French police department. He is also regarded as the first private detective.

The Kevin Taylor diehard followers could also take time off and skim through the idiosyncratic story of John Joseph Connolly Jr.

John Joseph Connolly Jr was born on 1st August 1940. He is a former FBI agent who was convicted of racketeering, obstruction of justice and murder charges stemming from his relationship with James "Whitey" Bulger, Steve Flemmi, and the Winter Hill Gang.

The story is told, though vividly, that State and federal officers had been trying to imprison Whitey Bulger for years, but Bulger evaded capture until 2011.

And, as the FBI agent for Bulger and Flemmi, Connolly (who had grown up in the Old Harbour Housing Project with Bulger) had been protecting them from prosecution by supplying Bulger with information about possible attempts to catch them.

In sum, Connolly was indicted on 22nd December 1999, on charges of alerting Bulger and Flemmi to investigations, falsifying FBI reports to cover their crimes, and accepting bribes
(See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Connolly_(FBI).

In a related incident, an internal FBI report kept under wraps for three years, details dozens of cases of agents fired for egregious misconduct and crimes, including drug trafficking, attempted murder, theft, misuse of informants and consorting with prostitutes.

The report, however, found that about one in 1,000 agents dismissed for serious misconduct or criminal offenses by the FBI during the period examined, from 1986 to 1999. The average was between eight and nine per year (See: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/years-of-fbi-agent-crimes-detailed/).

We can indeed attest to numerous instances whereby once trusted detectives have secretly turned into hardened criminals. It is an illustrative case of ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’. After all, they are imperfect human beings.

Astonishingly, a former British Police Detective was convicted of two raids on the same village post office at Bentley Heath, West Midlands, during which he terrified staff and customers with an imitation firearm. Profiting by £47,500 from the crimes, he was preparing to rob a bank when the car he was driving was stopped by police (See: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/.../Ex-detective-who-turned-to-crime-jailed-for-12-years.ht).

Truth be told, in as much as the Kevin Taylor brassbound admirers may have valid reasons to defend him against any perceived unfair criticisms and attacks, we cannot and must not swiftly ward-off any allegations without conducting proper investigations.

As I have delineated on the previous paragraphs, any agencies or individuals that have the privilege to investigate or uncover misdeeds can also commit same heinous crimes in the process.

In that regard, isn’t it fair for anybody who has any concerns to call for a probe into the dealings of such persons?

I must, however, stress that I do not have any problem with the Honourable Agyapong’s somewhat plangent, albeit sound calls to Kevin Taylor’s fans to be mindful of his antics.

“He who comes with equity must come with clean hands.”

K. Badu, UK.

k.badu2011@gmail.com