Updated 6 p.m.
A jury of twelve Virgin Islanders plus three alternates took their seats Wednesday afternoon at the federal courthouse on St. Thomas. Opening statements in the trial of former V.I. Police Commissioner Ray Martinez and former Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal are slated to begin Thursday.
Martinez and O’Neal are accused of wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering. Federal prosecutors have also charged Martinez with two counts of obstructing justice.
Jury selection began after District Court Judge Mark Kearney heard oral arguments from Martinez’s attorneys regarding an outstanding motion to admit evidence about the criminal history of David Whitaker, a former cybersecurity contractor and the U.S. government’s key witness in the case. Whitaker took a plea deal and admitted to two counts of wire fraud and one count of bribery last year. As a cooperating government witness, Whitaker also played a central role in the conviction of former Sports, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Calvert White and business-owner Benjamin Hendricks in July.
On Wednesday, Kearney said he would allow Martinez’s attorneys to share with jurors redacted versions of a judgment and committal letter stemming from Whitaker’s 2008 conviction on wire fraud and bribery charges in the Eastern District of Rhode Island.
The admission came after Kearney issued a written order Monday precluding Martinez’s legal team from mentioning or introducing evidence of Whitaker’s April 1998 and March 2000 convictions in the Eastern District of Louisiana — “absent the witness or United States opening the door on this issue” — or Whitaker’s 1997 Louisiana state charges and “other identified prior bad acts.”
Kearney said Wednesday that jurors would not hear the underlying evidence in the Rhode Island case or about Whitaker’s bankruptcies. Martinez’s attorneys, Juan Matos de Juan and Miguel Oppenheimer, had argued that Whitaker’s lengthy criminal history and repeated failures to pay restitution following prior convictions was relevant.
If Whitaker didn’t adhere to court orders in Rhode Island,” Matos de Juan argued, “why would he adhere to the court here?”
“The issue will come up again if the door is left open,” argued O’Neal’s attorney, Dale Lionel Smith, who said jurors should hear that Whitaker bragged about reaping millions from his contracts with the Virgin Islands, while not paying former victims.”
Later, Kearney asked prospective jurors a series of questions about their familiarity and relationships, if any, with members of the prosecution, defense, and witnesses expected to testify in the coming days.
That list includes Property and Procurement Commissioner Lisa Alejandro, Management and Budget employee Jamie Gaston, various current and former VIPD personnel — including current commissioner Mario Brooks — and Anthony Thomas, a former Property and Procurement commissioner who later worked for Whitaker’s company, Mon Ethos Pro Support.
Martinez’s attorneys wrote in a filing Tuesday that they had not identified any person to call as a witness but that they had or will interview Thomas and Brooks as well as: Ludrick Thomas, a former St. Thomas-St. John police chief; Dwight Griffith, a police sergeant; and Naomi Joseph, the deputy chief of St. Croix.
“As always, the defendant, Mr. Martinez, reserves his right to testify at trial if he deems necessary,” they added.
A federal grand jury indicted Martinez and O’Neal nearly one year ago, six months after both resigned amid a federal investigation into the misuse of federal funds. The ensuing charges stemmed from an alleged kickback scheme during which prosecutors say Martinez helped steer an American Rescue Plan Act-funded surveillance camera contract to Whitaker’s company. Whitaker, in turn, made multiple payments to Martinez — and later O’Neal — by inflating invoices for them to sign off on.
