Blame It on the Bermuda Triangle

By Jay Peterzell/Washington

Millionaires like Ross Perot are used to getting their way. A case in point: In 1985 the Texas businessman bought two vacation homes in Bermuda, one for himself, one for his son. He hired a local firm to add swimming pools, verandas and air conditioning to both houses. Perot also set about finding a way to dock his 68-ft. cabin cruiser, the Chateau Margaux, at his doorstep.

Unfortunately, Perot's preferred anchorage in Castle Harbour is filled with species of marine life that are protected by environmental laws. On June 4, 1986, Bermuda's Ministry of the Environment ruled against Perot's plan to build a dock and boathouse in front of one of his houses, because "substantial dredging" would be needed to bring his boat close to shore. Faced with that denial, Perot's contractors realized that any similar request for permission to cut a channel in a nearby coral reef would probably be nixed as well. A week later, without filing for a permit, Perot's construction team blew up a section of the reef near his house.

On Aug. 6, 1986, Bermuda's leading newspaper, the Royal Gazette, quoted government officials who said they were investigating whether damage to the reef was caused by work done for Perot. Perot said he had in fact ordered some work on his house but knew nothing about the damage to the reef. "If all this is going to become news, I'm gone," he told the Royal Gazette. "I am going to sell my houses and leave." The threat seemed to chasten Bermuda officials, who quickly reported that there was no evidence Perot or anyone in his family had known about or authorized the "jackhammering" of the reef or other violations by Perot's contractors. But a government spokesman said the reef had been damaged and promised to investigate further.

As it turns out, records kept by Bermuda police, who strictly control access to explosives, show that 100 sticks of underwater dynamite and 50 detonators were issued on June 10, 1986, to Doug Mackie, a marine-construction expert hired by Perot's main contractor, Bermuda Engineering Associates. Mackie got more explosives the following day. A cheerful man who is one of Bermuda's handful of licensed blasters, Mackie says his job for Perot involved drilling a row of holes in the seabed, filling each with several sticks of dynamite, and detonating them electrically with a battery kept on his barge. On several occasions, he says, Perot put on snorkel gear and "dove the site with us and watched the drilling going on." Perot then watched from the shore as the charges were set off. None of this came to the attention of the Bermuda government.

Like much of the coral in Castle Harbour, the dynamited reef head was in poor shape, and it may already have been dead when Perot's men blew it up. Eventually the government decided the damage was not great and did not take anyone to court. On the understanding that Perot would not do any more unauthorized blasting, it then issued a retroactive permit for the dredging.

The question of who actually authorized the blasting was never answered. Mackie says it was the project supervisor at Bermuda Engineering. A former employee of the firm denies this. But he suggests the firm told Perot that any new application for a blasting permit would probably be denied. Last week Perot said he assumed that Bermuda Engineering obtained whatever permits were needed. He flatly denied that he watched Mackie drill or dynamite the seabed. He added that all Mackie did was use a jackhammer to knock off a 3-ft. piece of dead coral protruding from a dock. Perot then telephoned Mackie and quizzed him angrily about what he had told TIME. Mackie now says his memory of the incident is no longer clear.