Three former officials of the Bryan Administration and a government contractor pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of wire fraud and bribery. A federal magistrate accepted the pleas from the four defendants and set a tentative trial date for Feb. 24.
The four face charges related to allegations surrounding their dealings with the company Mon Ethos Pro Support, whose founder — David Whitaker — admitted his role in similar offenses in September.
Former Police Commissioner Ray A. Martinez, former Management and Budget Director Jennifer O’Neal, former Sports, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Calvert White and contractor Benjamin Hendricks entered their pleas in the small third-floor District courtroom of U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Teague. Teague carried out first-appearance hearings for all four defendants following the delivery of two grand jury indictments.
After performing an advice of rights and setting conditions for pretrial release, lawyers for the four defendants asked Teague not to set arraignment dates. Instead, they asked that their clients be allowed to enter the pleas there and then.
The magistrate agreed. Martinez pleaded not guilty to nine criminal counts, including scheming to commit honest services wire fraud (five counts); bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, money laundering conspiracy, and obstruction of justice (two counts);
O’Neal pleaded not guilty to participating in an honest services wire fraud scheme, bribery involving federally-funded programs, and money laundering conspiracy.
Federal prosecutors cite court documents that say Martinez, 56, and O’Neal accepted bribes from Whitaker. “The indictment alleges that the scheme began in at least November 2022 and continued until June 2024, with O’Neal joining the scheme no later than January 2024.
The defendants also allegedly conspired to launder proceeds from the bribery scheme through a monetary transaction to pay rent at O’Neal’s coffee shop. In exchange for the bribes paid by Whitaker, Martinez and O’Neal … allegedly agreed to approve fraudulently inflated invoices and assist with obtaining payment for those invoices by the Virgin Islands to Whitaker. Martinez also agreed to assist Whitaker in obtaining a $1.48 million contract to provide services to the VIPD in October 2023,” said a statement issued by U.S. Justice on Friday.
White and Hendricks pleaded not guilty to identical sets of charges — honest services bribery schemes and bribery concerning federally funded programs.
Prosecutors said White, 49 … solicited and accepted a bribe from (sic) Whitaker through Hendricks, 62 … who served as an intermediary.
“In exchange for the bribe paid by Whitaker, White allegedly agreed to assist Whitaker in obtaining a $1.43 million contract with SP&R. White, amongst other acts, allegedly provided confidential bid information to Whitaker and took official action to encourage the awarding of the contract to Whitaker. Hendricks allegedly served as a middleman for the payments and facilitated the bribery scheme,” according to a Friday statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Details supporting the allegations are contained in two grand jury indictments. Teague told those seated in the courtroom that the indictment against White and Hendricks was unsealed Friday morning shortly before the hearing began.
Members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office led by Criminal Division Chief Michael Conley, federal investigators, reporters and a handful of spectators sat quietly while the proceedings played out at a hearing lasting roughly an hour.
Defendants sat around a table where attorneys Michael Sheesley, Treston Moore and Clive Rivers and Darren John-Baptiste took turns representing them. All four sat in the courtroom, restrained by handcuffs attached to chains around their waists. The suit jackets worn by Martinez and O’Neal appeared pinched by the restraints. White and Hendricks came dressed in shirt sleeves, suggesting their court appearances were compelled on short notice.
Hendricks looked around the room anxiously; White slumped in a chair against the courtroom wall with a troubled look on his face. Martinez and O’Neal appeared stoic.
Teague set the schedule for pretrial hearings with discovery by Jan. 17, the filing of motions by Jan. 29, appearance at a pretrial conference on Feb. 7, and a trial to start on Feb. 24.
The magistrate prefaced the scheduling order, saying it served more as a marker than calendar dates set in stone. But Conley asked for more time, citing the need to sort through a voluminous amount of evidence gathered so far.
Conley asked for and was given until Feb. 16 to file a motion asking the court to declare this matter as a complex case.
