For Lee Heiman, president of Track Entertainment, which produces and promotes the annual Bermuda Jazz Festival, the terror unleashed upon his hometown New York City last week was not all he had to endure.

The promoter says he was threatened with being "handcuffed and arrested" by a senior Immigration official and needed Police protection at Dockyard after being verbally threatened by a local production crew member. "To say the least, this has been a trying experience for me and the members of my company, he wrote in an open letter to Bermuda.

Mr. Heiman's letter also says misconceptions abound over Track Entertainment's role in producing and promoting the annual Bermuda Jazz Festival.

And he makes serious allegations about a number of individuals, including Government officials over the handling of the event.

Mr. Heiman promises that all those who bought tickets for the show - cancelled because of an air travel shutdown in the United States - will receive full refunds.

The "overwhelming majority" of Bermudians had been "wonderful hosts," he said. But the letter then continues with a litany of complaints about shoddy business practices and the treatment of the company's personnel at the hands of Bermudians last week.

Among the "misconceptions" says Mr. Heiman, is that Track has made "huge profits" every year it has produced the festival and that the company "greatly disadvantages" Bermudian workers.

"Over 90 percent of the people who work on the Bermuda Jazz Festival are Bermudians," wrote Mr. Heiman. "Track has brought in eight or less of its own staff each year, and an additional 20 special sound, staging and lighting technicians who accompany their own equipment to the Island." He added that besides working directly with a local labour crew of over 20 men, the company pays for the services of dozens of other local organisations and companies during the week of the festival.

He claims that the Tourism Department "has provided less and less support" since David Allen became tourism minister. The department asked Track to use a local company to act as an agent to secure work permits, he said. Last year, Track used RF Communications, a local production and communications company which was recommended for the job by the department. But Mr. Heiman claims that he had been "forced" to use RF Communications' video documentation services only to have them deliver unedited and "unprofessional looking" tapes, at a cost of $5,000, a month after the event.

This year the local agent was B First Entertainment which, according to Mr. Heiman did not pass on the total of the work permit fees to Immigration - leading to a dispute with Immigration.

Robert Horton, Permanent Secretary of Immigration ordered the company to "cease and desist" all work as they were dismantling the stage late last week.

"This came as a complete shock as we had contractually hired a Bermudian production company, B First Entertainment, and sent them a check for over $7,000 that they had cashed," wrote Mr. Heiman.

"This money was for the express purpose of securing the work permits at the request of Immigration. Before I could complete my explanation, I was emphatically cut off by Mr. Horton and told that if I did not secure the necessary work permits immediately my crew and I would be handcuffed and arrested."

The dispute was resolved only after the intervention of the US Consul.

Mr. Heiman makes a number of other allegations against locals involved in this year's festival. One operator, hired to coordinate transportation for the crew and visiting artists, was "deceitful" and made "untrue" statements which "disparaged Track unjustly".

"In addition, the absolute lack of character and compassion being shown by several Bermudian entertainment producers including David Frost and Andrew Phillips is shocking," the letter continues. "The world is in mourning and on the verge of shock and Mr. Frost's reaction is 'let's party'."

He said the event pumps in considerable sums of money into the Island, and a number of local charities have benefited from Track Entertainment's charitable donations.

And in what could well be a farewell statement to Bermuda, Mr. Heiman says: "We have tried to overlook the actions of a few Bermudians... We can overlook these people no longer and want to thank Bermuda for this opportunity to set the record straight.

"It seems hard to understand how a government agency can hire a company to produce an event, while at the same time a government agency can prevent us from working within the country. Perhaps Minister Allen has some. We are refraining from relaying our stories to the US travel community and the US entertainment community because we do not want to hinder Bermuda in its efforts to attract visitors to the country. We wish Bermuda well."