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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesDONASTORG GIVES IDC ANOTHER DEADLINE

DONASTORG GIVES IDC ANOTHER DEADLINE

Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg is going over the head of the Industrial Development Commission’s executive director to get documents he says will prove the V.I. Telephone Corp. is abusing its tax benefits.
On Friday, Donastorg asked IDC chairman Rafael Jackson, who also serves as Tourism commissioner, to provide him with documents relating to Vitelco’s IDC compliance records and detailed reports on Vitelco’s consolidation efforts and transfer of employees from the Daily News, Vitelcellular, Vitelcom, EmCom Securities, Innovative Communication Corp. and two cable TV companies onto its payroll.
Last week, Donastorg threatened to take the IDC and its executive director, Frandelle Gerard, to court if she didn’t hand over the requested documents by Monday, months after his original request.
While Gerard gave Donastorg some documents, it was mostly information he already had, the senator said in a letter to Jackson on Friday.
"All I have received from the IDC is a small manila envelope basically containing a list of Vitelco employees, and this only came under threat of legal action," Donastorg wrote. "Has the commission advised Ms. Gerard to proceed in such a fashion?"
Neither Jackson nor Gerard could be reached for comment Friday.
Donastorg, meanwhile, said he would give Gerard and the IDC until 5 p.m. Tuesday to deliver the documents to his office.
"If I don’t receive relevant information by that time you will have the opportunity to explain your dereliction of duties to a judge as a Writ of Mandamus will be filed with the court of competent jurisdiction," he said.
Donastorg maintains that by placing employees from its sister companies on its payroll, Vitelco is subsidizing those businesses with its customers' payments.

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