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Charlotte Amalie
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HomeNewsArchivesGovernment House Questions Authenticity of Letters Alleging 'Turmoil’ at DOJ

Government House Questions Authenticity of Letters Alleging 'Turmoil’ at DOJ

Just one day after Attorney General designee Soraya Diase-Coffelt suddenly resigned from the V.I. Department of Justice, unverified letters alleging “turmoil” at the DOJ — written on DOJ letterhead and signed by “The Staff of the Virgin Islands Department of Justice” — began circulating online.

Diase-Coffelt resigned after just two weeks on the job, and at the time Government House confirmed that there had been a dispute over control of staffing decisions. (See Related Links below.)

Diase-Coffelt ran against Gov. Kenneth Mapp for governor. When she lost and the race went into a run off between Mapp and former Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen, Diase-Coffelt endorsed Mapp. Her appointment to serve as attorney general was one of the first announced after Mapp became governor. After her sudden resignation, Mapp named St. Thomas attorney Terri Griffiths to serve as acting attorney general. (See Related Links below.)

The letters that followed her resignation detail staffing issues and allege acts of intimidation, abuse of power and negligence of official duties, which one letter claims Diase-Coffelt was attempting to correct.

The first letter, dated Dec. 23, is addressed to the Mapp/Potter Transition Team. The letter details the staff’s concerns over how DOJ management was handling the task of interviewing the staff in order to draft a report on the status of the DOJ. It is unclear how many staff members are in accord with the sentiments expressed in the letter, since it is not signed by anyone individually.

The letter says staff members cannot be fully honest with the manager tasked with conducting the interviews, since it is that person they have issues with.

“We understand that this customary process within a department is to have persons who work for that department prepare a comprehensive report to give the transition team an idea of how a department operates but we believe that a supervisor should not be allowed to interview staff that he/she supervises or has close interactions with,” the letter states.

It goes on to accuse the chief of the Criminal Division of being “unreasonable, unfair, unjust, vindictive and biased.” They raise the concern that if they are honest and the chief remains in the position, they will be reprimanded. It also details many other issues they have with the chief and how they believe this person is not a team player, has harassed employees, has lied and has shown poor judgement in offering plea deals that are too severe.

The letter alleges that some of these issues have hampered the department’s relationship with the Virgin Islands Police Department Major Crimes Unit.

Some of the more general allegations in this letter describe a dismantling of specialized units, such as white collar crime, domestic violence, and family/ special victims. It states that the special investigations division was once the pride of the DOJ but has become “a laughing stock.”

The letter alleges a general lack of respect for DOJ attorneys by the former attorney general and the Criminal Division chief, and claims that they are not given enough control, particularly over plea agreements.

The letter even provides photos of one DOJ staff member apparently sleeping on the job.

“We, the staff at the Department of Justice wanted the transition team to be aware of our concerns because we do not believe that they will be addressed in the report,” states the letter. “We hope and pray that our concerns are taken seriously and you see that we only write this letter because of our fear of retribution.”

The second letter, dated Jan. 15, is addressed to Lee Carle, of WSTA Radio. The letter expresses shock, allegedly on behalf of the employees of the DOJ, over the resignation of Diase-Coffelt.

“This department after eight years of failed leadership looked forward to embracing new leadership, and we are truly disappointed that Judge Diase-Coffelt thought it best to leave us,” the letter states. “There are many serious issues to be addressed in this department and we had faith in her abilities but we understand that she has moral standards that she must adhere to.”

The letter alleges that Diase-Coffelt wanted to reform the DOJ but that, “some people wanted business to run the same as usual.” According to the letter, the staff made recommendations to Diase-Coffelt and they believed she was going to make changes, but was prevented from making them.

“Politics is hard but we respect that she will not be bullied by others into choosing her managers and some of her staff at the DOJ,” the letter states.

The letter goes on to name several attorneys who have allegedly received pink slips recently.

“Turmoil at the Department of Justice! Who is listening to this department? the letter states.

The V.I. Source sent Government House spokeswoman Kimberly Jones a list of questions related to specific allegations within the letter. The V.I. Source asked what the administration is doing to investigate whether any of the allegations are true and if people have been fired for political reasons.

Jones said she doesn’t respond to anonymous letters and that their authenticity hasn’t been verified. She also questioned the timing of them being released.

“I don’t even want to address something if I don’t have a person to address it to,” Jones said.

When asked if the administration was interested in finding out if any of the allegations were true, regardless of the origins of the letters, and if in fact there was “turmoil” at the department, she said she didn’t know and hasn’t had a chance to speak with those involved.

She also could not confirm if the Mapp/ Potter Transition Team had received the initial letter, and said she hadn’t heard about the letters until they appeared online a few days ago.

“If it was delivered to the Mapp/Potter team, I wasn’t aware of it,” she said.

The Source attempted to verify specific allegations, such as if the letter is accurate when it names people who recently received pink slips. Jones said she didn’t have any of that information and would look into it and follow up in a few days.

The Source is still attempting to get clarification from Government House on several posed questions, including the following:

Did the Mapp/Potter team respond to the staff’s concerns about the interviewing process? If so, what was the response, and what action was taken?

Will there be an investigation into the alleged misconduct?

Will the allegations of waste and disrupted relations with the VIPD be investigated?

Did the administration in any way prevent Diase-Coffelt from instituting reform?

Is it true that the administration would like to stick with the status quo? If so, is this because the administration believes the DOJ is operating well?

Were any of the decisions made related to the DOJ political, meaning people were rewarded for supporting the administration or penalized for not supporting? Would the administration hire someone who was not supportive if they were the best person for the job, for instance?

Can you explain why the employees named in the letter were fired? Can you provide documentation of their unsatisfactory work if the fires were in fact not political? Or can you justify the need for political firings?

In general, what is the Mapp/ Potter team doing to address the alleged “turmoil” at the DOJ?

Editors Note: The V.I. Source has not named the people alleged to have been fired or accused of wrongdoing in the letters because their authenticity is being disputed and there is no evidence of how many DOJ staff members the letters represent. The V.I. Source will continue to look into the specific allegations.

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