Former Governor Charles Turnbull Chief Deputy of Staff Alric Simmonds pleads guilty to 8 counts of Embezzlement, 1 count of Conversion of Government funds and 2 counts of Grand Larceny, before Superior Court Judge James Carroll, III.

Under the plea agreement Simmonds would receive 25 years in prison with 5 years suspended, which would give him 20 years in jail under the agreement. Judge Carroll advised Mr. Simmonds that by pleading guilty he would be giving up certain rights that he is protected by, under the law. The Superior Court Judge told Simmonds that he could sentence him to the maximum sentence and was not bound by the plea agreement sentencing guideline. The maximum sentence that can be imposed for the Embezzlement and Grand Larceny each is 10 years imprisonment. The maximum sentence for the Conversion of Government Funds is 5 years imprisonment. http://www.visource.com

Other former top Turnbull Cabinet Members, Commissioners Plaskett and Biggs, plead not guilty before US District Court Magistrate Judge, Jeffrey Barnard on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, to a 41-page indictment handed up by a Federal Grand Jury. The US Attorney’s Office has charged that Plaskett and Biggs along with local businessman Leroy Marchena, was involved in a phony contract scheme that swindled approximately 1.4 million dollars from the Virgin Islands Government. Plaskett, Biggs and Marchena were allowed to post an unsecured 10,000.00 bond, report to probation weekly and submit to random drug testing.

The Virgin Islands Daily News in their special investigative report exposed this scheme in January, 2005, which headlined it as “Contracts and Cronies”. It was revealed that the Government had awarded contracts to Elite Technical Services and C&R Development Design, both sham companies.

Several Federal Law Enforcement Agencies conducted multi agency investigations into the fraudulent contract scheme. The Federal Agencies that were involved were the FBI, US Treasury Department’s Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, US Postal Inspection Service, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Inspector General, the US Attorney’s Office. The local law enforcement agency involved was the Office of the Virgin Islands Inspector General.

Four other defendants have already pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and will cooperate with the government in its case against Plaskett, Biggs and Marchena. The other four defendants are former DPNR Environmental Protection Director, Hollis Griffin, former DPNR Director of Building Permits, Brent Blyden. Elite Technical Services Vice President and former co-founder, Earl Brewley, who is also a retired Virgin Islands Firefighter and taxi driver, plead guilty to conspiracy. Elite’s Project Manager, Esmond Modeste, a Georgia businessman and owner of Global Business Solutions, plead guilty also to conspiracy.

Judge Barnard has set a trial date for January 7, 2008.
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