Source: US FBI
St. Thomas, USVI — Acting U.S. Attorney Adam F. Sleeper announced today that former Commissioner of Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation Calvert White, 49, of St. Thomas, and Benjamin Hendricks, 62, also of St. Thomas, were convicted of Honest Services Wire Fraud and Federal Programs Bribery following a four day jury trial.
“No one is above the law,” said Acting United States Attorney Adam Sleeper. “Today’s convictions show that even high-ranking government officials will be held accountable for engaging in criminal misconduct. Our community deserves better.”
“Public corruption erodes the very fabric of our society. The community deserves honesty and integrity from public officials,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Devin Kowalski. “The FBI follows the facts no matter where they lead. Our mission is simple but powerful: to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. Every person in the Virgin Islands is included in that promise. I want to thank our dedicated FBI agents and personnel here in the Virgin Islands who worked relentlessly on this investigation as well as our partners at the United States Attorney’s Office and the Public Integrity Section. We encourage anyone with information on federal crimes to contact us at 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at Tips.FBI.Gov. Tipsters may remain anonymous.”
According to evidence admitted at trial, White solicited and accepted a bribe from a then-government contractor, David Whitaker, through Hendricks, who acted as an intermediary. The scheme began in at least December 2023 and continued until the defendants were approached in June 2024. In exchange for the bribe paid by Whitaker, White agreed to assist Whitaker in obtaining a contract budgeted for $1.6 million with SP&R. White, amongst other acts, provided confidential bid information to Whitaker and took official action to encourage the awarding of the contract to Whitaker. Hendricks served as a middleman for the payments and facilitated the bribery scheme.
The offense of Honest Services Wire Fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and the offense of Federal Programs Bribery carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI San Juan Field Office, St. Thomas Resident Agency investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Alexandre Dempsey and Lina Peng of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Conley for the District of the Virgin Islands are prosecuting the case.
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