A Closer Look at Golf Cart Permits and A Casino Operation in San Pedro

If you’ve ever been to Ambergris Caye during the busy tourist season, you know the island can get pretty jammed with golf carts. Locals have been voicing their frustrations about the sheer number of these vehicles. But what if the very officials who are supposed to solve this problem are actually making it worse?  We’ve heard that a new company on the island was granted two hundred golf cart permits earlier this year. That’s a claim that definitely makes you sit up and take notice. Naturally, we had to investigate further. The town council is denying these claims, but our digging led us to a casino in Florida with some questionable dealings. Here’s Paul Lopez with the full story.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Ambergris Caye is facing a golf cart overload. Right now, there are just too many of them on the island. Back in May 2024, San Pedro Area Representative Andre Perez recognized this problem and told News Five that the town needs to get tough on the illegal importation of golf carts.

 

Andre Perez, Area Representative, San Pedro (File: May 3^rd, 2024)

“When I have the traffic problem and the congestion, we realize that we’ve reached our point. That we have to say, no more.”

 

Only a month later, Minister of Transport Rodwell Ferguson stated that his ministry would soon have to request a moratorium on golf carts.

 

Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Transport (File: June 4^th, 2024)

“Soon we will ask for a moratorium on golf carts. So, you can only maybe replace the one that you have. We have to bring any additional group because it’s too consistent.”

 

News Five has learned that a company, which recently started operating on the island, received up to two hundred golf cart permits. This suggests that the council, through the Ambergris Caye Traffic Control Committee, might be contributing to the very problem it’s complaining about. Today, we spoke with San Pedro Town Mayor, ‘Wally’ Nunez, who denied all the allegations.

 

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro Town

“That is not a fact. Initially when, I did not even know when they change ownership because formally it was known as Monetta then it went to Caribi Bleu. The company applied for the renewal of some permits they had which was twenty golfcarts and that was approved even when Moneta was there, that they were to have that twenty golfcarts as part of the resort. However, when they reapplied it was an extension to give them back that twenty. There has been some other applications but they were not approved. There has not been any other approvals for any more golfcarts other than the twenty.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Are you willing to provide us with copies of the Ambergris Caye Traffic Control Logbook that show how much permits were issued to them?”

 

Wally Nunez

“We have copies on our system that you can see how much golfcarts were registered under Caribi Bleu and you can check to see how much they have and you can see they only have twenty under that company name.”

 

News Five’s visit to the property on the island revealed numerous golfcarts parked inside the property’s parking lot, all with license plate numbers. From what we could see, there were just over a dozen golf carts in the parking lot at the time, backing up Mayor Nunez’s story. But that same day, we got our hands on video footage showing several of those same golf carts quietly tucked away inside a warehouse right next to the company’s property.

 

Wally Nunez

“We heard about the same allegations, but we don’t have any video surveillance, so it would be good If we have, because we did send our wardens to check and the ones that we saw there, they had license plate and they were the ones registered. We haven’t had any proof per say that there are any other golfcarts that are not registered.”

According to Mayor Nunez, these spanking new golf carts are replacements for the old golf carts under the same permits. Golf cart permits are a hot commodity on the island, because the council has placed a moratorium on their issuance. But he doesn’t deny that some people have tried to bribe their way into getting a golf cart permit.

 

Wally Nunez

“Yes there will be some people that will come an offer our staff as well that there will give us something for our permit. That is why we are always working with our staff to say that we don’t want this to be on your record to say that we will have to fire anybody for taking any bribes. They try to find a way and there are individuals that try to offer their guest or any expats on the island, oh we can get you a permit or even the rentals, go ahead and apply and we will help you, but who and how they are trying to get to this thing, because we need to get to the bottom of it, so that the corruption doesn’t happen on the island.”

Notably, signatures of approvals are required from Mayor Nunez and the Traffic Control Committee’s Chairperson, Reymundo Nunez, for permit approvals. Mayor Nunez mentioned that his signature was recently added to the issuance process for greater accountability.

 

Paul Lopez

“In addition, assertions are that you were gifted golf carts.”

 

Wally Nunez

“I have heard about it too, but I haven’t seen any. They said that they gave us ten golf carts. Some people told me that we were given twenty golfcarts. And strangely enough, how is it that they were given twenty permits and then they gave twenty golf carts to us?”

 

So, who exactly are the people behind Caribi Bleu Casino, and why did they catch our attention in the first place? To get to the bottom of this, we had to do some digging. According to Mayor Nunez, Caribi Bleu Casino was previously known as Moneta until it came under new management earlier this year. A search on the Sunbiz.org Division of Corporations’ website shows five limited liability companies registered under American Conglomerate, LLC. The only one currently active is Caribi Bleu International, LLC, which was established in May of this year. The registered agent is Rima Ray, who goes by Remington or Remi Ray in Belize.

 

Wally Nunez

“I really and truly haven’t had any interactions with them. I know them as businesspeople, high bye, but not really as any personal interactions that you will say, we are not that close.”

 

According to the minutes from the Board of Sumter County Commissioners on March twelfth, 2024, Rima Ray also has an internet café business in Lady Lake, Florida. The café recently got its operating permit renewed. However, video footage obtained by News Five allegedly shows slot machines running inside the very café. In the state of Florida, it is illegal for internet cafes to operate slot machines. There are tons of news articles online about the struggles the Florida Gaming Control Commission has been having in their efforts to shut down illegal internet cafes, also known as adult arcades. On October tenth, we caught up with Belize Rural South Area Representative, Andre Perez, at an event in Belize City, where we questioned him about his knowledge of this individual. Here is how he responded.

 

Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South

“Do you know an individual by the name of Remington Ray, the owner of Caribi Bleu Casino?”

 

Paul Lopez

“No, I don’t.”

 

Locals in San Pedro would recognize Ray as a major sponsor of the San Pedro Pirates Football Club. You can see the Caribi Bleu Casino logo all over their jerseys and flyers. We’ll keep investigating these reports. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez

 

We reached out to Rima Ray today for comments, but our text messages and call went unanswered.