Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg says he has information that high-ranking officials are trying to thwart an Industrial Development Commission investigation into violations of the V.I. Telephone Corp.'s IDC benefits.
Donastorg put his concerns in a letter to Attorney General Iver Stridiron, asking the AG to implement an inquiry into the accusation.
Donastorg has been a strong critic of Vitelco. In June he petitioned for a legislative Committee of the Whole meeting to look into possible wrongdoing by the Public Services Commission relative to Vitelco.
IDC acting director Frandelle Gerard said Wednesday she was not aware of the letter and had no knowledge of any attempts to interfere with the IDC beneficiary compliance-review process.
Gerard said all beneficiaries were now undergoing a review, but she could not comment on any specific beneficiary without consulting the partners involved in the process.
The review process is a joint effort involving Labor, Licensing and Consumer Affairs, the Internal Revenue Bureau and the Office of Corporations, she said.
The departments and agencies each submit a report on each beneficiary, which is then reviewed by the IDC.
Gerard did say there is a proscribed process under which the attorney general could be brought in.
Donastorg said he hoped the AG would not be "hindered in his investigation by an inappropriate sense of political loyalty.
"It is such concerns that lead me to believe that you and all future attorneys general should be elected, rather than appointed," he said. "Such independence would help assure the public that the attorney general is working for truth and legality rather than simply representing the administration."
Stridiron could not be reached. He was off-island, according to a staff member at his office.
