By Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer 
Mr. Clarke and his cousin, Jenny Ebanks, reminisce as they browse through a family album .
A UNITED STATES Federal Court in New Hampshire is set to pass sentence on January 16 on a couple found guilty on 20 counts including forced labour, attempted forced labour, trafficking into forced labour, document servitude, wire fraud and false statements.
This sensational case in far off New Hampshire started in Jamaica, in the quaint south coast village of Treasure Beach, a little over three years ago. This fishing village prides itself on the friendliness of its residents, which fuels its reputation as the cradle of community tourism, a term popularised by one of its most outstanding sons, Desmond Henry, a former director of tourism.
It was therefore not out of character for Garth Clarke, 53, one of the most jovial of the Treasure Beach residents, to hit it off immediately with the seemingly friendly American couple he met one day in 2000 walking along the main road through the community.
The Americans, Timothy Bradley, 43 and Kathleen (Kate) O'Dell, 48, of Litchfield, New Hampshire, reportedly told Mr. Clarke that they were seeking three Jamaicans to work on their farm, the job to entail mostly logging operations.
Eventually Clarke and a friend, Livingston Junior Wilson, signed on for the job, lured by promises of attractive salaries, good working conditions and time off for recreational activities in the Granite State.
Only, the Kate O'Dell and Tim Bradley who received them in New Hampshire were not the same smiling faces that Clarke remembered back in Jamaica.
Things started going wrong, according to him, from the moment they were met at the airport in New Hampshire by a now stonyfaced Kate O'Dell who immediately laid down the law for them: "Let me tell you guys something. Mr. Bradley is a no-good son of a... but pay him no mind, just listen to what I tell you."
A puzzled Garth Clarke asked: "You mean the same Mr. Bradley I met in Jamaica?" This question he said was met with a string of curse words from O'Dell who repeated her injunction, emphasising that they were expected to keep their mouths shut and just do as they were told.
DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE
By now Clarke and his friend Junior Wilson were beginning to realise that they were in for a different experience from the one they thought they had signed on for back in Jamaica. Their worst fears were confirmed when they met up with the waiting Timothy Bradley at a restaurant.
Confident and assertive individual that he is, Clarke walked over to greet his new employer, only to be snubbed by Bradley who reportedly placed his hands in his pockets and turned his back on the stunned Jamaican.
"This was totally different from my encounter with him in Jamaica; everything started going wrong from there," he told The Sunday Gleaner.
What ensued he said was a nightmarish experience not thought possible in the 21st century. Relegated to living in an unheated camper at the back of Bradley's property, with no bed, no indoor toilet, and not even a blanket (they were offered, but rejected, two blankets previously used by Bradley's dogs), the two Jamaicans toiled daily from six in the morning to eight at night. After two weeks of being over- worked, under-fed and not being paid, Clarke tricked his employers into allowing him to travel by bus to New Jersey, telling them that he needed to take some documents to his daughter who was studying in that state.
He made good his escape from the reach of his employers, vowing to do all he could to get his friend Junior Wilson away from there as well.
However, upon realising that Clarke was not coming back the couple reportedly held onto Wilson's travel documents making it impossible for him to leave until his six months had expired.
RESCUED
It was the experience of two other Jamaicans, David Hutchin-son and Andrew Flynn from Portland, who were hired a year later by the New Hampshire couple that brought their employment practices to the attention of law enforcement officials. One of the men, set upon by a dog allegedly let loose on him by Bradley because he was trying to escape, was rescued by one of Bradley's neighbours who called in the authorities.
In one of the funnier moments of the trial, Clarke, on the witness stand, was accused by the defence lawyer of only accepting the job offer because he wanted a visa to travel to the United States.
"When he said that, I looked over to the judge and asked him if I could show him my passport. He said yes and I gave it to him. When he opened it he was surprised to see it stamped all over from all the travelling I have done in the United States and Canada."
As Mr. Clarke related, not even the judge could hide his amusement as the red-faced defence lawyer realised that he had been outwitted by the feisty Jamaican whom he had underestimated.
As he relaxed in his bar, back home in Treasure Beach, Garth Clarke told The Sunday Gleaner that he would never forget his experience with the New Hamp-shire couple, but that he had moved on with his life. Except for one thing he was still waiting anxiously for January 16 when he hoped and expected that Timothy Bradley and Kathleen O'Dell would get their just deserts at their sentencing hearing.
