The United States Attorney for the Virgin Islands, James Hurd Jr., has put officials on notice that federal law enforcement efforts in the territory are now being directed toward what he considers the number one threat to the public’s interest – public corruption.
He has informed his boss, Attorney General Janet Reno, of this priority, he said.
"The biggest priority in the Virgin Islands is public corruption … that is the area that can have the biggest impact on the quality of life for Virgin Islanders," Hurd told St. Thomas Rotarians at a weekly luncheon meeting Wednesday, to a round of applause.
"We’ve had cases nobody thought we could get convictions in and there are more to come," he said.
The top federal prosecutor in the territory said more resources are being pumped into the investigation of public corruption cases, and that he expects results in the near future. "We have doubled the number of FBI agents since I became U.S. Attorney in this territory and we are going to have more as we do more cases."
He asked for the community’s patience, saying "these are long term cases," including several "program fraud cases" that could net "some grand jury indictments shortly." These long investigations "have taken tremendous amounts of money and resources," Hurd said.
The U.S. Attorney disclosed the recent successful prosecution of an environmental crime against a cruise ship line, another major category of crime. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, he reported, was sentenced Monday to pay a $1 million fine plus $500,000 to the wildlife fund for use exclusively in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
RCCL was convicted in 1999 of illegal dumping in the waters of more than a dozen locations, including the territory.
"Unlike other places where it is like spooning sand on a beach, if you make an impact on one big violator, you see an immediate impact on the local environment," said the U.S. Attorney.
