The commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation (SP&R) and an alleged accomplice have been charged with federal program bribery and wire fraud.
According to a recent court report in St. Thomas, the case involves Commissioner Calvert White and a local Virgin Islands businessman, Benjamin Hendricks, who was involved in an elaborate bribery scheme.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) San Juan Field Office, St. Thomas Resident Agency, is investigating the case. Trial Attorneys Alexandre Dempsey, Steve Loew of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Conley for the District of the Virgin Islands are prosecuting.
Commissioner and local U.S. Virgin Islands businessman charged
The investigation gathered a head of steam when White reportedly “solicited and accepted a bribe from a then-government contractor, David Whitaker, through Hendricks, 62, also of St. Thomas, who acted as an intermediary.
The investigators were reportedly drawn to information that Whyte received a bribe from a then-government contractor, David Whitaker. Hendricks allegedly acted as the middleman in the deal.
According to the court report, the timeframe for the alleged illegal activity took place between December 2024 and June 2024. For the presumed acceptance of the bribe, the report states that “in exchange for the bribe paid by Whitaker, White allegedly agreed to assist Whitaker in obtaining a $1.43 million contract with SP&R.”
Confidential bid information was passed from Whyte to Whitaker, according to the papers, with the Commissioner taking “official action to encourage the awarding of the contract to Whitaker. Hendricks allegedly served as a middleman for the payments and facilitated the bribery scheme.”
Both men have been charged with one count of honest services wire fraud, which could mean a maximum of twenty years in prison. They also are charged with a single count each of federal program bribery, which carries a ten-year maximum custodial sentence.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Delia Smith for the District of the Virgin Islands; and Special Agent in Charge Joseph Gonzalez of the FBI San Juan Field Office announced the charges against the pair.
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