US Virgin Islands former governor charged with embezzlement
Dear Editor,
While government lawmakers in Guyana are demanding prosecution for any officials who were guilty of malfeasance under the PPP/C government, the acting Attorney General of the US Virgin Islands has charged former Governor John de Jongh Jr of embezzlement involving nearly half a million dollars. A Finance Authority senior officer, Julio Francis is also charged.
de Jongh who served as governor for eight years only demitted office last January. He was a popular governor and was seen in company with US President Barack Obama in Washington. What is surprising is that the charge was brought locally and not by the federal government.
According to court documents, a warrant for de Jongh’s arrest was issued at 6 pm on Monday and he was arrested on Tuesday morning and taken before a magistrate for his advice of rights hearing. His arraignment is set for September 3. In an affidavit sworn to by investigator Kenneth Schulterbrandt it is alleged that de Jongh and Francis authorized the spending of $490,000 for security improvements to his private residence with government funds. The money was spent without the benefit of a formal security vulnerability assessment to determine the level of security the governor would require, or the most cost effective way of providing security.
When de Jongh took office in 2007 he decided to live in his private residence, rather than the residence set aside in Estate Catharineberg. The massive security work on the private residence brought criticism from several senators. The then governor in a radio address on the controversy said that the process was public and open, but acknowledged it might have been handled better. A newspaper report stated that earlier in this year, de Jongh sent a cheque to the VI government for $203,000, but the new administration refused to accept it, stating that partial payment would, for unspecified reasons, force the government to agree that no more than that total was owed.
Yours faithfully,
Oscar Ramjeet