Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Bahamas Is Pissed At Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith is shaping up as a major political embarrassment for the government of the Bahamas with one minister under pressure to resign for giving her special treatment.

Since arriving in Nassau three months ago, and being struck by tragedy when her 20-year-old son Daniel Wayne Smith died, the former reality TV star has sparked a Cabinet crisis, angry editorials and inspired lawsuits that could drag on for months.

Daniel's death triggered several embarrassing disclosures for the Bahamas government, including the fast-tracking of her residency permit by Immigration Minister Shane Gibson.

Gibson, who claimed to be a close friend of Smith, is now under intense pressure to quit for not doing due diligence in allowing her to stay in the country. He also faces ridicule for being photographed at her much-publicized "exchange of vows" with lawyer boyfriend Howard K. Stern on a catamaran while her son's body lay in a local morgue.

With a Bahamas general election less than five months away, the Bahamian media is demanding that Prime Minister Perry Christie fire Gibson.

It also wants to know when legal authorities are going to order an inquest into Daniel Smith's death. So far, Bahamian officials have been strangely quiet on autopsy tests and an inquest date, in spite of U.S. pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht's disclosure that the youth's body contained methadone and at least two antidepressants.

If all that weren't bad enough, another of Smith's ex-lovers, South Carolina realtor Ben Thompson, is suing in the Bahamian courts to establish his ownership of the $900,000 house that formed the basis of Smith's residency permit.

Under Bahamian law, a person has to buy a property worth at least $500,000 before qualifying for residency but Thompson says he only advanced money to buy the house on the understanding that Smith would take out a mortgage to repay him.

Thompson alleges that Smith "double crossed" him by reneging on the deal once her residency was established, claiming the property was a gift. He is suing in the hope of getting his money back or establishing ownership.

Smith and Stern, who also claims to be father of her daughter, have failed to respond to Thompson's eviction notice, which expired on October 31. They continue to live in the house, which stands on Nassau's exclusive Eastern Road, traditional base of the nation's wealthy white merchants.

For a social climbing dumb blonde, she sure can cost a lot of problems. But then again, that's what they're only good at.

Source

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