Commissioner of Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation and Co-Conspirator Charged in Bribery Scheme

An indictment was unsealed today charging Calvert White, the commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation (SP&R), and Benjamin Hendricks, a local businessman, with participating in a bribery scheme. Both defendants made their initial court appearances today in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

According to court documents, White, 49, of St. Thomas, solicited and accepted a bribe from a then-government contractor, David Whitaker, through Hendricks, 62, also of St. Thomas, who acted as an intermediary. The indictment alleges that the scheme began in at least December 2023 and continued until June 2024. 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.

White and Hendricks are each charged with one count of honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; and one count of federal program bribery, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Delia Smith for the District of the Virgin Islands; and Special Agent in Charge Joseph Gonzalez of the FBI San Juan Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI San Juan Field Office, St. Thomas Resident Agency is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Alexandre Dempsey and Steve Loew of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Conley for the District of the Virgin Islands are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.