Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan.
Several high-ranking officials in the Democrat-run Virgin Islands have been convicted for taking bribes and kickbacks.
Albert Bryan, the Democrat governor of the Virgin Islands, has apparently surrounded himself in recent years with fraudsters and grafters.
Bryan's former commissioner of the territory's parks and recreation department, Calvert White, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison following his conviction for one count of honest services wire fraud and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
'This is unacceptable.'
The sentencing — relatively light given that the fraud offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and the bribery offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison — took place just weeks after the Democrat governor's former police commissioner and former budget director were found guilty of extensive corruption.
White, who resigned last January, solicited and accepted a bribe from David Whitaker, the founder of the cybersecurity firm Mon Ethos Pro Support — a bribe that was facilitated by local businessman Benjamin Hendricks.
In exchange for $16,000 to later be paid by Hendricks, White agreed to help Whitaker obtain a contract valued at over $1.4 million for the installation of security cameras at U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation properties.
The Justice Department indicated that as part of the scheme, which lasted from late 2023 until the FBI intervened in June 2024, White provided confidential bidding information to Whitaker and proactively worked in an official capacity to ensure that Whitaker would get the contract.
"Calvert White rigged a public bid process in exchange for a bribe," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the DOJ's Criminal Division. "He abused the trust of those who live in the community he was supposed to serve."
While not ordered to pay a fine, White was required to forfeit $5,000, the amount he received from Whitaker via Hendricks as partial payment for the contract, reported the St. Thomas Source. He will reportedly wear a GPS monitoring bracelet until he surrenders to authorities on March 2.
For his role in the scheme, Hendricks was sentenced last week to 68 months in prison.
"Public officials take an oath based on trust and assume a responsibility of service to the people," said Claudia Dubravetz, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's San Juan field office. "When that trust is violated through acts of corruption, it undermines confidence in government and harms the communities it is meant to serve. This is unacceptable."
Whitaker, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to two counts of wire fraud and one count of bribery and is set to be sentenced later this year, was apparently also in cahoots with former Virgin Islands Police Department Commissioner Ray Martinez and former Virgin Islands Office of Management and Budget Director Jenifer O'Neal.
Martinez was found guilty last month of five counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and two counts of obstruction of justice. O'Neal was found guilty of two counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
The DOJ indicated that Martinez accepted roughly $100,000 in bribe payments from Whitaker — "including cash, luxury travel, personal expenses, private-school tuition, and restaurant equipment" — in exchange for wielding his official authority to approve invoices and award Whitaker a $1.4 million contract federally funded under the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
O'Neal knowingly approved a $70,000 inflated invoice under that contract and, in exchange, accepted a $17,730 lease payment for her business in federal funds from the inflated invoice.
Bryan's former commissioner of the territory's parks and recreation department, Calvert White, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison following his conviction for one count of honest services wire fraud and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
'This is unacceptable.'
The sentencing — relatively light given that the fraud offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and the bribery offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison — took place just weeks after the Democrat governor's former police commissioner and former budget director were found guilty of extensive corruption.
White, who resigned last January, solicited and accepted a bribe from David Whitaker, the founder of the cybersecurity firm Mon Ethos Pro Support — a bribe that was facilitated by local businessman Benjamin Hendricks.
In exchange for $16,000 to later be paid by Hendricks, White agreed to help Whitaker obtain a contract valued at over $1.4 million for the installation of security cameras at U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation properties.
The Justice Department indicated that as part of the scheme, which lasted from late 2023 until the FBI intervened in June 2024, White provided confidential bidding information to Whitaker and proactively worked in an official capacity to ensure that Whitaker would get the contract.
"Calvert White rigged a public bid process in exchange for a bribe," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the DOJ's Criminal Division. "He abused the trust of those who live in the community he was supposed to serve."
While not ordered to pay a fine, White was required to forfeit $5,000, the amount he received from Whitaker via Hendricks as partial payment for the contract, reported the St. Thomas Source. He will reportedly wear a GPS monitoring bracelet until he surrenders to authorities on March 2.
For his role in the scheme, Hendricks was sentenced last week to 68 months in prison.
"Public officials take an oath based on trust and assume a responsibility of service to the people," said Claudia Dubravetz, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's San Juan field office. "When that trust is violated through acts of corruption, it undermines confidence in government and harms the communities it is meant to serve. This is unacceptable."
Whitaker, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to two counts of wire fraud and one count of bribery and is set to be sentenced later this year, was apparently also in cahoots with former Virgin Islands Police Department Commissioner Ray Martinez and former Virgin Islands Office of Management and Budget Director Jenifer O'Neal.
Martinez was found guilty last month of five counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and two counts of obstruction of justice. O'Neal was found guilty of two counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
The DOJ indicated that Martinez accepted roughly $100,000 in bribe payments from Whitaker — "including cash, luxury travel, personal expenses, private-school tuition, and restaurant equipment" — in exchange for wielding his official authority to approve invoices and award Whitaker a $1.4 million contract federally funded under the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
O'Neal knowingly approved a $70,000 inflated invoice under that contract and, in exchange, accepted a $17,730 lease payment for her business in federal funds from the inflated invoice.
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