Document Text Content
Prosecutot"s home torched after came'ras'disabled Page2
:
Boards of Elections delay in counting 'votes violates V.I. Code Page2
ONE DOLLAR wvvvv.virginisiandsdailynevvs.com ISSN 2159-3019
.,.1..,11 5
•_0
. . ""-
��� Co
�ii"'lI><IC��
. A Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper
S
•• ,'.h .... 2012 D.,;y N .... Pu.",h'". Co. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2012 82nd ear, No. 22542
,
CHARGES: ILLEGAL PROCEEDS TOTAL $1.1 MILLION
enator
• •
In
Ic.e
Alvin Williams Jr. -and
two Senate staffers
arrested in federal
fraud and bribery case
Page 3
,
Sen. Alvin
Williams Jr.,
who
surrendered
to law
enforcement
officials
Thursday,
did not run
for re-election
this year. He
is in his third
term in the
V.I.
Legislature.
Daily News File Photo
Get eco-friendly products with on EcoSolutions Loan.
Find out more today. Visit your nearest Scotiabank Branch.
t Terms & conditions apply. Subject to credit approval for an unsecured loan. Offer valid for unsecured personal loans from $2,500 to $25,000 in terms from 12
.
to 60 months. A loan of $20,000 with an 8.99% APR for 60 months will hove a monthly payment of principal and interest of $415.07. The payment is
and does not include insurance. There is no application fee for this loan. ·Trademark of The Sank of Novo Scotia, used
t ' , , " , : , -
. . . I .
2 The Virgin Islands Daily News
, .
) , I ,. \ t . ) ,. . 1 ) \ *
VIRGIN ISLANDS
" � I . • ,
,
Friday, November 9, 2012 .
Prosecutor's home destroyed in suspected arson on St. Croix
By LOU MATTEt
Daily News Staff
ST. THOMAS - v.1. Police and .
V.1. Fire Service officials on St.
Croix are investigating what they
say is suspected arson at the home
of a criminal prosecutor for the v.1.
Attorney General's Office.
The Estate St. George home of
Assistant Attorney General Kip
Roberson was fully engulfed in
flames when five Fire Service trucks
responded to a 911 call about 11
a.m. Thursday, according to St.
Croix Fire Chief Angel Torres Sr.
and Attorney General Vincent
Frazer.
Torres estimated that the borne
had been burning for about 15 minutes
before the call came in. He said
firefighters had to force their way
through a motorized gate to gain
access to the burning house. No one
was inside, and no one was hurt in
tbe blaze, but the home was completely
destroyed, Torres said.
"It's a total loss," Torres said.
Torres said firefighter.; also found
that surveillance cameras at the
. home had been tampered with.,
"Someone cut the wires," he said.
"The wires was pulled out and the
screens were pulled out and thrown
in the bushes."
Torres said firefighters found evidence
of tampering on the doors to
the home, which appeared that
someone had tried to pry the doors
open. The Fire Service did not leave
the scene until 3:20 p.m., Torres
said.
Torres -said Thursday evening that
the Fire Service bad not contacted
any witnesses at that point and that
Roberson's borne was located in an
isolated area. He said he believed
Roberson shared the home with
another attorney, but he did not
know the attorney's name.
"Apparently they were a couple,
but it's an ongoing investigation,"
Torres said. "We gotta really follow
up on some leads and stuff we're
looking at."
Roberson could not be reached
for comment Thursday evening.
Frazer declined to comment about
Roberson's living situation. The
attorney general said late Thursday
Elections boards' slow vote count violates V.I. law
By LOU MATTEI
Daily News Staff
ST. THOMAS - Both Boards of Elections
in the VIrgin Islands have run afoul of the V.I.
Code and board policies in the wake of
Tuesday's general election, from which paper
ballots are still being tallied.
The V:1. Code requires the boards to count the
votes for each candidate within a day of receiving
ballot materials from the polling places:
''Each board of elections, afIer having received
all statements, books, lists, papers, vouchers,
ballots, ballot boxes and district register from
each polling district and polling place in its distric�
shall convene not later than one day following
the receipt thereof and determine the total
number of votes cast in the election district for
each candidate."
. The law states that the boards must convene
no later than three days afIer receiving the aforementioned
materials to tally votes for the Board
of Education and Board of Elections races.
On Tuesday, a majority of the votes from all
races were cast on electronic machines, and
results from those ballots were available within
hours of the polls closing.
However, widespread diSbUSt of the machines
led to a spike in the use of paper ballots - more
than 4,500
vote count and, in effect, hampered the boards'
abilities to comply with the law.
Today marks the third day since the boards
received all the ballots from the polling sites
Tuesday night.
The St. Thomas-St. John Board hopes to fiuish
counting the Senate races by the end of the
day today before moving on to other races,
according to board member Lorna Thomas.
The St. Croix Board is scheduled to begin
counting its 2,781 paper ballots today.
Thomas, who helped on Thursdsy to oversee
her board's tally of about 600 ballots in the
..
ISSN 2159-3019
� Virgin Islands
D,ily N,w, MiI,h",
Com,,,y ,,,. 'wood �
•
o
" I'IIW __ wInnIn8 ...
CO
© 2012 Daily News Publishing CO.
Islands Daily News �4t:
£lNIC"
by Times·Shamrock ;:: �
Communications
publishes The Virgin
daily, e�cept Sunday,
�
Christmas Day and New Year's Day, at
9155 Estate Thomas, Charlotte Amalie, Sl
Thomas, VI 00802. FirS! class postage paid
at Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. U.S.V.!
USPS 144-180
POSTMASTER, send Form 3579, Notice of
Address Change, to: Circulation Director,
Oaily News, 9155 Estate Thomas. Sl.
Thomas, VI 00802.
Daily News Photo by FIONA STOKES
St. Croix Board of Elections member Lisa
Harris Moorhead looks on as board members
and election judges sort and count ballots
Thursday. The board issued a statement
Thursday that it had finished sorting more
than 2,700 ballots and will begin counting
them today at the Election System Office
.
in
Sunny Isle Shopping Center.
Senate race, said the law makes little sense in the
context of the territory's clUTen! paper baBots,
which can be counted only by hand.
"Literally it would have been impossible to
follow," Thomas said when asked abou� the law.
"I don't see how we could have done that."
Thomas said the board should have new voting
machines by the 2014 elections that can tally
paper ballots automatically.
When asked about enforcing the section of
the law cited above, V.1. Attorney General
Vmcent Frazer said he "would have to look at
that and see."
The boards' handling of the paper ballots also
has brought them into conflict with a Board of
DAILY_NEWS'
Contact us
Publisher
Jason Ro bbins
714-9107
Calendar .................. 33 Nation & World .... 12-23 jrobbins@dailynews.vi
Classifieds .... , ..... inside Opinions . ............ 24-25 Executive Editor
Comics ..... ........ ... 34-37 Police Re po rts ......... 10 J. Low e Davis
Crossword ......... ...... 37 Sport s ..... .. , ......... 38-44 714-9138
Cruise Ships ......... ..... 5 Sudoku ............... inside lowedavis@dailynews.vi
Horoscope .. ... .......... 35 TV Schedule ............ 32. E-mail
Lottery Results .....,.. 12 Weather ................... 12 dailynews@Vipowernet.net
Elections policy.
Joint Board of Elections Chairman Rupert
Ross Jr. said Thursdsy that the joint board passed
a policy earlier this year requiring the boards to
begin counting any paper ballots the night of the
election. He said the policy never was put into
writing, but it may exist in some fonn in minutes
from the meeting. He also said the policy lacked
an enforcement mechanism.
Ross said the intent of the policy, which
passed by a 6-5 vote, was to ensure that processing
of the paper ballots began as soon as possible.
The sooner the counting begins, the easier it
is to comply with another section of the law that
requires the boards to certify a fiual vote count
within 10 days of an election, Ross reasoned.
The certification deadline already was weighing
on the mind of Thomas, who pointed out the
St. Thomas-St. John Board has yet to louch
locked ballot boxes containing absentee ballots
�d walk-in votes.
Elections Supervisor John Abramson Jr. has
said the district processed ·412 walk-in ballots
and mailed 331 absentee ballots.
But Thomas was optimistic that the board was
gaining momenttun afIer a troubled start.
"Tempers were a little tight yesterday, but
everyone's happy today," Thomas said. "The
public was much quieter and accommodating
judges to do their jobs."
Candidate Lawrence Olive, who earned 304
paper-ballot votes on Thursday to bump Lisa
Williams from ninth place in the Senate' race.
said he told his supporters to use the paper ballots
as a more reliable - and legal- alternative
to the electronic machines.
"If the trend continues, I don't see no reason
"(hy 1 will not be in the top seven," Olive said.
"It just goes to show you that the paper ballot is
the true count."
- Contact reporter Lou Mattei at 714-9124
or emaillmalfei@dailynews.vi.
that he had not yet been fully briefed
on the fire, but he had a deputy on
st. Croix looking into the question
of whether the sijspected arson could
be connected to any cases Roberson
was working.
"1 hope not, but we will look into
that," Frazer said.
Torres said the fire remains under
investigation by the Po lice
Department's forensics unit and the
Fire Service's arson prevention unit.
Anyone with information about the fire
can call the Fire Service at 773-8050
and ask for the arson prevention unit.
Election Update
Senate At�arge
Craig Barshinger ...... .. ............... 11,133
Wilma Marsh-Monsanto ............... 4, 930
r
St. Thomas-St. John District
Clifford Graham ............................. 6,840
Shawn-Michael Malon e ................... 4.704
Myron Jackson ............ ..... ... ......... .. 4.661
Janette Millin Young ....... , ............... 4, 407
Clarence Payne .............................. 3.851
Tregenza Roach ............................. 3, 793
Donald Cole ................................... 3.352
Justin Harrigan S r ..................•........ 3,118
Lawrence Olive ............................... 3.003
Lisa Williams ............. ...:................ 2,823
Horace Brooks .................•............. 2.610
Paul Alexander .. .... ......................... 2,202
Sean Georges ..... .............•............. 2,147
Marvin Blyden .. ................ ..... ... ... ... 2,125
Louis Willis .... ...... ...................... .... 2, 082
Alma Francis·Heyliger ....... ..... ..... .... 1, 911
Kent Bernier Sr . .... ....... .................. 1,800
Janelle Sarauw .............................. 1, 750
Stephen Frett ................................. 1, 436
Cecilia Milliner-Emanuel. ................. l,191
Joseph Gumbs ............................... l,138
Kyza Callwood . ..............., ...., ............. 949
Shirley Sadler ................................... 826
Elvin Fahie Sr . ................................... 804
Neville Arney ........., ....,..., ....,............, 727
today, and we appreciated them territOlywide allowing the - that
Alan
has slowed
Friedman
the
............ ....................... 642
Carol Berry ....................................... 624
Omodoso Muhammad ......... ..... ........ . 411
Cleone Marrishow ............................. 32 7
Jodi Hodge ....................................... 304
Josephine Lindquist .......................... 290
Andreas Tietje ..., ......., ......................,272
Orial Webb ................,....................... 210
Walter Brown ...... .............................. 183
Charlesworth Halstead ...................... 125
• Unofficial; as ofThursday.
Advertising Opinions Circulation
Sf. Thomas-Sf. John
714-9141 or 714-9147
Fax: 774-6886
St. Croix
773-4425
Fax: 719-3000
714-9138
News
Sf. Thomas-St. John
7. 14-9106
Fax: 776-0740
714-9101
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One dollar daily.
Other subscription rates available on request.
The publisher reserves the right to change
subscription rates during the
term of a subscription with 30
d,,,, ,,,'co. Th""'" m,y b, '- ft-•
Classifieds
St. Croix
made by mail to the subscriber,
714-2222
classifieds
@da ily new s.vi
773-4425
Fax: 773-1621
Sports
by notice contained in the
newspaper itself or otherwise
Subscription changes may be
implemented by changing the
"
Printed on
recycled paper
Mail 714-9102
duration of the subscription.
9155 EstateThomas Fax: 776-0740
ONUNE SUBSCRIPTIONS:
SI. Thomas. VI 00802
virginislandsdailynews.newspaperdlrect.com
I
I
Friday, November 9,2012 VIRGIN ISLANDS The Virgin Islands Daily News 3
Sen. Alvin Williams Jr. charged with
bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud
By ALDETH LEWIN
Daily News Sta ff
ST. THOMAS � Sen. Alvin Williams Jr. was arrested
by federal agents Thursday and charged with bribery,
mail frand and wire fraud.
The proceeds of Williams' criminal activities
$1.1 million, according to a statement from the U.S.
Attorney's Office.
About 4 p.m. Thursday, almost a dozen 10 FBI agents
converged on the v.1. Legislature building on St.
Thomas. according to several eyewitnesses.
The agents went inside and came out escorting Kim
Blackett, who is listed on the Legislature website as
Williams' chief of staff . Blackett also was charged in an
indictment filed Thursday.
Another staff member also was charged, according to
the U.S. Attorney's Office, which did not release
.
the person's
name.
Senate President Ronald Russell said he was on St.
Croix at the time the agents arrived at the Legislature,
but he was informed of the arrest. Russell said he was
told that Williams had surrendered to law.enforcement
officers.
"He turned himself in, that's what" I understand,"
Russell said.
Russell said he had no additional information
Thursday.
In October 2011, about 25 federal and local law
enforcement officers raided the St. Thomas Senate
building and·Williams' office.
A federal grand jury handed up an indictment
Thursday charging Williams, Blackett and a third person
with operating and participating in crintinal activities
including bribery, wire fraud and mail fraud, U.S.
Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands Ronald
Sharpe said in a prepared statement
The indictment has not yet been posted by the District
Court. However, the statement from Sharpe includes a
number of details from the charging dOCuments inclnding
that Williams is accused of:
• Attempting to bribe Public Works Commissioner
Danyl Smalls with $10,000 in cash.
• Accepting bribes from the developers of Raphune
VIstas.
• Accepting $35,000 in bribes from the developers of
the wind twtines atTutuParkMall.
• Soliciting kick-hacks from his own staff in exchange
for salary raises.
• Committing wire frand by using public funds to pay
for courses and having staff members submit work in
his name to obtain an online degree in his name from
.
University of Phoenix.
According to Sh3Ipe, if Blackett and Williams are
convicted, they face a maximum 20-year prison sentence
and up to $250,000 in fines.
Public Works
On Sept. 5, 2009, Williams gave the V.I. Public
Works Commissioner $10,000 in cash in an attempt
to bribe him to give contracts to Ace Development
Inc., a company in which Williams had an interest,
Sh3Ipe said.
In his answers to a Daily News candidate questionnaire
for the 2006 Voter Guide, Williams said he was
'the owner of Ace Development Inc.
At the time, Darryl Smalls was the Public Works
Commissioner. When The Daily NeWs reached Smalls
on Thursday night, he said he had no comment.
Raphune Vistas
Sen. Alvin Williams Jr.
Between Feb. 21, 2007, and Nov. 18, 2011,
Williams solicited a bribe from the developers of the
Raphune Vista housing development project on St.
Thomas, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. The
indictment says Williams promoted legislative action
and supported the authorization of funding and zoning
of the project in exchange for which Ace
Development received a contract related to the construction
of Raphune VIstas, Sh3Ipe said.
As part of the contract, Ace Development used
and/or rented. construction equipment to the developers,
Sh3Ipe wrote.
In May 2009, the Senate approved a zoning change
for Oceanside Villageinc., the developers of Raphune
Vistas, from R-l, residential low density one- and
two-family, to R-4, residential medium densityagainst
the recommendations of the V.I. Department
. of Planning and Natural Resources.
In June 2009, Gov. John deJongh Jr. vetoed the
zotting change.
Tutu wind turbines
In September 2008, Williams asked for and received
a $10,000 campaign contribution from the developers of
the Tutu Park windinill pmject as a bribe to snpport legislation
supporting the project, Sharpe said.
Williams also solicited $25,000 in campaign contributions
from the wind turbine developers between
September 2008 and September 2009 ;according to
the federal prosecutor.
A number of companies were involved with the wind
twtine project, including Green Power Electric; Dallasbased
Earth, Wind and Power; and Island Wmd Power.
When the Senate passed a comprehensive renewable
energ)' bill in 2009, an amendment was tacked
on to change the zoning code to allow wind turbines
in B-1 and B-3 business zones without having to seek
separate zoning approval. The legislation also would
have allowed wholesale renewable energy production
in B-4 and B-3 zones.
The measure was line-item vetoed by deJongh in
July 2009.
Campaign funds and false reports
From January 2006 to December 20 II, Williams
and a legislative staff member failed to deposit-certain
campaign contributions; withdrew funds from a
campaign account; and submitted false campaign disclosure
reports that failed to include certain contributions,
accoraing to Sharpe.
Kick-backs from staff
In the summer of 20 1 0, Williams tried to solicit
kick-backs from his own staff in exchange for giving
them salary increases, the statement from the U.S.
attorney's office said.
. According to Sharpe, the staff I11:embers were supposed
to withdraw a portion of the increased salary in
cash and give it to Williams.