Tony deBrum Emerges
The deBrum – Allen Connection almost sounds like a furniture store — but it’s not. Indeed, the deBrum name — along with George Allen — has already made its way into our sordid tale. So, it’s worth mentioning that one member of the deBrum clan — Tony deBrum — plays a continuing role in this drama. His contribution goes all the way back to the arrival of Steve Goodenow — and the misdirection that led to Judge Kabua Kabua’s courtroom. And now there’s news that Scotty has been secreted to the deBrum plantation on Likiep? That development raised eyebrows.
(As Vice-Chair, Marshall Islands Political Status Mission)
Tony deBrum’s First Appearance
In Kabua Kabua’s courtroom, “Goodenow was invited to sit at the counsel’s table with Villagomez, as was Oscar deBrum, Jim Winn (AG) and George Allen. Also with George Allen was Tony deBrum. Tony deBrum does not have a license to practice law. But in his capacity can speak in front of the court apparently representing clients. He was being used by George Allen to conduct the hearing in Marshallese. Some of Allen’s documents were filed in Marshallese and most of Allen’s portion of the proceeding was conducted in Marshallese, much to the displeasure of the AG [Winn] and Ramon, who did not speak the language.” Steve Goodenow, Memo To File, May 1, 1978
The clerk was the translator and gave a very limited translation of what was being said. Tony deBrum would talk for maybe three minutes and you would get a one minute or less translation... Meanwhile we sat; meanwhile more time was taken from our search for Scotty. Steve Goodenow, Memo To File, May 1, 1978
Plot Thickens
From there on out, the plot only thickens, getting muddier and muddier by the minute. For instance…
George Allen was told on Friday, May 17th, in the late afternoon or early evening hours, that Mackay wished to have his son returned to Alaska. This word had been communicated to Goodenow from Honolulu. Goodenow asked Allen, as a member of the bar and as a courtesy, to check with Honolulu to substantiate this fact. Whether he actually did so is… Not known. He certainly didn’t act like it, but no matter. Things were moving fast.
Scotty, George Allen & deBrum: In The Case Notes
Also noteworthy, referring once more to Steve Goodenow’s case notes:
1) The affidavit of Neil Mackay does indicate that [Rodger] Cotting was aware of the problems involving Neil and Scotty Mackay. Whether or not he was specifically aware of Ramon Villagomez and myself, I do not know… Thus it is my conclusion that the governmental authorities, including Cotting, were aware of the situation and may certainly have known that someone was on their way to pick up the boy.
2) Cotting knew that he could not prevent us from entering yet he certainly did attempt to detain us and the facts support this. [T]here is only one reason why he would have been at the airport and that is to see who was coming to pick up Scotty.
3) My question relates to the arrangements made at Likiep for Scotty Mackay. Who made those arrangements? [1]
More Case Notes
4) I am wondering what Cotting is referring to when he says “I can only rely on the many traditional and elected leaders here who assisted in my effort to win legal guardianship of Scotty Mackay.” [2]
5) It would appear that Rodger Cotting was aware of the search for Mackay and Scotty in Honolulu, as authorized by the court. He states, “it was Mackay’s desire to remove Scotty from the scene of the controversy…” If it was Cotting’s agreement to babysit Scotty until the problems in Alaska were resolved, which certainly must cover a several month period, why then did he attempt to adopt him?
6) Cotting’s affidavit…[also] states that he was informed by Ray McKay [no relation] that Mr. Goodenow and Mr. Villagomez were trying to get papers to take custody of Scotty. The fact was we already had papers, and at that very moment Allen was busy typing out his documents, and later lied to us about his [secret] meeting.
7) There are a number of unanswered questions. In light of George Allen’s comment to myself and Villagomez, money had to have been promised and a retainer paid. If it was in fact Cotting that paid a retainer to Allen, the amount must have been at least $5,000, based on Allen’s comment… Again, it gets to a question of motivation. If Cotting did pay Allen the sum of $5,000, was he or was he not promised remuneration? He also states emphatically that he was only baby-sitting Scotty Mackay in the first part of his affidavit, yet he attempts to adopt Scotty. This just doesn’t make any sense, other than the adoption was just a ruse to keep me from picking up Scotty and taking him back to Alaska.
Scotty Speculation Reigns Supreme
I believe that Mackay selected Majuro because 1) A foreign destination that would not require a passport (Scotty Mackay did not have a passport); 2) His contact with Rodger Cotting which had been established through the Sullivans; 3) The lack of the Uniform Custody Child Act in the Trust Territories; 4) The lack of communication with Hawaii and/or Alaska; 5) There was extreme pressure being applied to Mackay through our location efforts. Mackay needed a safe place to hide. Steve Goodenow, Memo To File, May 1, 1978
Goodenow: “Why Mackay left Majuro and left his son in the care of the Cottings is unknown. He definitely was trying to slip into Honolulu unnoticed. His use of false ID tends to confirm this suspicion.[4] It is believed that Mackay needed to make contact with his representatives in Honolulu and/or Alaska in order to plan strategy.
“I can only speculate why Allen, his mouthpiece Tony deBrum and Cotting persisted. Mackay may have left instructions for them to continue their efforts to hide the boy no matter what he said or did. As for Tony deBrum, he acted as Allen’s mouthpiece during the lower court hearing. He must have also used his connections to use his relative’s plantation on Likiep. Also, because Majuro is such a small place, it was obviously hard for the figures of authority to deal with one of their own.” [3]
Several developments stand out in this regard: Roger Cotting and Marie Cotting had disappeared. By this time, it appeared that the Goose had been used to spirit Scotty off Majuro.
Directive To George Allen
Returning to Goodenow’s narrative, he notes that “it should be noted that by this time I had received a telephone call from Brook Hart informing me that this matter had been resolved, in that Mackay had signed an affidavit wherein he stated that it was his desire for Scotty to be returned to Alaska… I approached George Allen with this information on Friday night at the Cotting residence.”
Villagomez and Goodenow knocked on the door and saw Sullivan come to the door for a brief moment and close the curtain. Then George Allen appeared and exited the residence. They talked to George. Goodenow stated a specific offer at that time indicating that it had come to his attention that Mackay desired the return of Scotty to Alaska “with myself, or anyone else… I told Allen that he should contact me by 8:00 Saturday morning. I told him where I was staying and told him to him to please get in touch with me so I could contact Honolulu with his response.”
“When 8:00 o’clock came the next morning, I had no response. In court I had no response, and after the proceedings were through, and we had been victorious, I still had no response from Allen.”
The Goose
After the hearing, we questioned the pilot for the Goose. His name was John Penny. I think I already mentioned that the owner of the airline, or the operator on Majuro, is Curt Pinho. Pinho had obviously been aligned with Rodger Cotting, since he was seen with Cotting at the airport the first day we came in. Penny was questioned as to what the location of the Goose had been on its flight pattern and if he had taken Scotty Mackay with him. Steve Goodenow, Memo To File, May 1, 1978
Goodenow: “Penny was very evasive, although we did ascertain from him that the Goose had flown to the Island of Likiep. It was fairly easy to determine from talking with Penny that this was the location of the boy. We tried to get confirmation of this through Curt Pinho, but Pinho had disappeared. We also concentrated our efforts in locating Marie and Rodger Cotting as well as Chuck Sullivan. None of them were found on Saturday.”
NOTES
[1] Tony? Was it Tony?
[2] Tony, of course. And likely others in his orbit.
[3] Given Tony deBrum’s emergence as a UN Delegate promoting Marshall Islands independence, that assessment is perhaps an understatement.
[4] When Neil Mackay arrived back in Honolulu, he was carrying identification under the name of Val Galleron. He had Galleron’s credit cards and several ID cards. Galleron, it turned out, was a friend of Jean Sullivan. And he knew Mackay was using his ID. This is just more evidence of Neil Mackay’s uncanny ability to get total strangers to do his bidding.
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