Update: White, Hendricks Guilty of Wire Fraud, Bribery

A jury of their peers found Calvert White, the former Sports, Parks and Recreation commissioner, and Benjamin Hendricks, a business owner, guilty of committing honest services wire fraud and federal program-related bribery Friday afternoon at the federal courthouse on St. Thomas. No sentencing date was set.

The charges against White and Hendricks stemmed from a federal investigation into a kickback scheme by which White — with Hendricks as a go-between — tried to solicit a $16,000 bribe in exchange for steering a federally-funded contract to install security cameras to Mon Ethos Pro Support, a surveillance company formerly owned by the federal government’s cooperating witness in the case.

Devin Kowalski, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s San Juan office, told the Source that Friday’s verdict was “a testament to the community’s impatience with corruption.”

“Twelve people agreed today that this was an unacceptable situation for the community, and they convicted” the defendants, Kowalski said. “And I’m proud of that fact. I’m proud of the agents and the professional staff of the FBI that worked tirelessly on this case.”

Kowalski credited the work of the U.S. Attorneys Office, the Justice Department, and the V.I. Inspector General’s Office in bringing about Friday’s verdict, which he said took many years.

“We don’t build a case overnight that’s going to produce that outcome,” he said. “So the community needs to trust — and I recognize that there’s a trust deficit — the community needs to trust the FBI is working to make sure all the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted to deliver the United States Attorney’s Office a solid case for them to prosecute and achieve the outcome that we earned today.”

Kowalski urged U.S. Virgin Islanders who have allegations of federal crimes, including public corruption, to contact the FBI by calling 800-CALL-FBI or visiting tips.fbi.gov.

Over the course of its deliberations, which began early Thursday afternoon, the jury asked U.S. District Judge Mark Kearney three questions. One of which was a request to receive instructions again. Later, they asked for a more precise definition of “interstate commerce,” which Kearney explained — by federal law — includes territories, properties and the District of Columbia. The jury later asked whether it was common knowledge that wire transactions, by definition, include text messages, phone calls and emails.

After thanking and dismissing the jury, Kearney denied the government’s motion to detain White and Hendricks ahead of sentencing, which their respective attorneys — Clive Rivers and Darren John-Baptiste — called “ridiculous” and “not a reasonable request” given that neither defendant was accused or convicted of a violent crime. While they await sentencing, White and Hendricks will have to maintain weekly, in-person check-ins with a probation officer and will not be allowed to leave the St. Thomas-St. John district. They will not be required to wear electronic monitors.

The exact sentences will ultimately depend on the judge, who will consider the findings of a presentence report, the recommendations of prosecutors and the defendants, and federal sentencing guidelines.

According to the U.S. Code, honest services fraud occurs when public officials “deprive another of the intangible right of honest services” by misusing their positions for personal gain, typically in the form of a bribe or kickback. The crime carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Bribery concerning federally-funded programs carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if it involves at least $5,000 — the exact amount that the government’s cooperating witness, David Whitaker, wired to Hendricks on Jan. 3, 2024, according to evidence shown at trial.

That evidence also included multiple recordings of in-person meetings, phone calls and text exchanges between Whitaker, White and Hendricks during which the trio discussed how to make Whitaker’s contract bid more attractive to a V.I. Property and Procurement Department evaluation committee.

Whitaker, who himself pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of bribery in connection with another federal investigation into public corruption, took the witness stand Tuesday and Wednesday and testified that Hendricks told him White wanted $16,000 — or one percent of the value of the surveillance camera contract at the time — in exchange for his help. In one recording played for jurors, Whitaker could be heard asking White to “just let me know how you want me to get you the sixteen we talked about.”

“Yeah, no it can’t be a check or nothing like that,” White replied.

Whitaker ended up wiring $5,000 to Hendricks, according to testimony and bank records shown at trial, and the same amount was deposited into one of White’s bank accounts 90 days later. The contract would later be awarded to Whitaker’s company for $1.43 million, though it was never executed.

Friday, July 25 | 3:30 p.m.