USA / USVI – A former Commissioner of the US Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation (SP&R), Calvert White, was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for soliciting and accepting a bribe from a government contractor in exchange for assistance in attempting to obtain a $1.43 million government contract. His co-conspirator, Benjamin Hendricks, was also sentenced to 68 months in prison for his role in the same scheme.
“Calvert White rigged a public bid process in exchange for a bribe,” said assistant attorney general A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He abused the trust of those who live in the community he was supposed to serve. The Criminal Division will continue to prosecute government corruption. Such conduct undermines the integrity of our institutions at every level of government.”
“The defendants’ convictions send a message: public corruption is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by our community,” said US attorney Adam Sleeper for the District of the Virgin Islands.
Public officials take an oath based on trust and assume a responsibility of service to the people,” said acting special agent in charge Claudia Dubravetz of the FBI 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, and the FBI will continue to work with our partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who abuse their positions for personal gain.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, White solicited and accepted a bribe from a government contractor, David Whitaker, through Hendricks, who acted as an intermediary to facilitate payment of the bribe. The scheme lasted about seven months, beginning in at least December 2023 and continuing until the FBI approached the defendants in June 2024.
As part of the scheme, in December 2023, White demanded the bribe from Whitaker to be later paid through Hendricks. In exchange for the bribe, White agreed to assist Whitaker in obtaining a valuable contract for the installation of security cameras at SP&R properties in the Virgin Islands. As part of the scheme, White provided confidential bid information to Whitaker and took official action to encourage the awarding of the contract to Whitaker. During the bid selection process, Whitaker sent the bribe payment to a bank account controlled by Hendricks, who later delivered the funds to White.
The jury convicted both White and Hendricks of one count of honest services wire fraud, and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
The FBI San Juan Field Office, St Thomas Resident Agency investigated the case.
Trial attorney Alexandre Dempsey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section prosecuted the case. Former PIN Trial attorney Lina Peng also provided significant assistance in the investigation and prosecution.
