AZ Academy invites the public to see St. Croix’s most wanted community leaders and celebrities serve time in a mock jail at its “Jail or Bail” event to be held at noon, this Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Comanche Mill on the Christiansted Boardwalk. Go to www.azvi.org/bail to help keep local jailbirds behind bars for two full hours – or help bail them out!
This light-hearted and entertaining new fundraising event will offer the public an opportunity to see prominent citizens appear before a mock judge and answer to outlandish charges such as “aiding the improvement of education” and “conspiring against the spread of tan tan.” The day will feature a mock-courthouse trial in front of the public at the boardwalk where each jailbird will be charged with aiding and abetting community causes, and then sentenced to raise bail. Once found guilty, the jailbird will join other local mock-prisoners in the mock-jail cell and be required to call on friends, relatives, colleagues and the general public to help raise bail within one hour’s time.
The public is asked to participate by either donating funds to help bail out the local jailbirds, or by donating funds to keep the jailbirds behind bars during the event. Donations can be made prior to the event through the secure PayPal donation site at www.azvi.org/bail, or in-person at the event on Saturday. The event will also be streaming live on the Internet thanks to Kalalloo (http://www.kalalloo.com/Kalalloo_Live_Channel.html) for those people unable to make it to the event. All proceeds will raises go to the AZ Academy Scholarship Fund.
There is a twist to the conditions of the bail: AZ Academy will be collecting donations during the event to keep the jailbirds in jail, and if AZ Academy succeeds in raising more donations than the set bail price, the jailbird will be required to stay in jail for a second hour. Jailbirds will have the opportunity to raise bail before the event, but they have volunteered to stay behind bars for one hour during the event. Jail time will be accompanied with lunch and chair massages. Once the jailbirds have posted bail and served their time, they will be set free and can return to the outside world with a “clean record.”
There is a twist to the conditions of the bail: AZ Academy will be collecting donations during the event to keep the jailbirds in jail, and if AZ Academy succeeds in raising more donations than the set bail price, the jailbird will be required to stay in jail for a second hour. Jailbirds will have the opportunity to raise bail before the event, but they have volunteered to stay behind bars for one hour during the event. Jail time will be accompanied with lunch and chair massages. Once the jailbirds have posted bail and served their time, they will be set free and can return to the outside world with a “clean record.”
The scholarship fund supports tuition costs for families in need. For the last three years, AZ Academy has committed over $80,000 to need-based scholarships to make certain that economic constraints do not determine academic opportunity. AZ Academy currently provides financial aid or scholarships to about 37 percent, yet receives funding for only 17 percent of the costs.
Volunteers and donations are welcome. For more information about “Jail or Bail” or the AZ Academy Scholarship Fund, please contact Terri Wunschel, development director, at 773-7909 or e-mail twunschel@azvi.org
A list of participating volunteer jailbirds, their accusations and bail follows:
- Senator Sammuel Sanes, V.I. Legislature, is accused of “Aiding and Abetting the Betterment of St. Croix” – bail is set at $1,000
- Kat McManus, Isle 95 Radio personality, is accused of “Accessory to the Empowerment of the Common Man” – bail is set at $1,000
- Dr. Paul Hess, Island Animal Clinic, is accused of “Conspiring to End Pet Overpopulation” – bail is set at $500
- Kat Pugliese, eat @ cane bay, and Jodi Starr, Restaurant Bacchus, are jointly-accused with “Stealing Candy from Babies” – bail is set at $1,420
- Papi Love, Latino 98.3 Radio Personality, is accused of “Defending the Community and the Radio Station” – bail is set at $500
- Senator Nellie O’Reilly, .V.I Legislature, is accused of “Possession of Props with Intent to Distribute During Legislative Hearing” – bail is set at $1,000
- Roger W. Morgan, Free Speech Radio personality, is accused of “Aiding and Abetting the Improvement of St. Croix Education” – bail is set at $2,000
- Shalimar Hodge, Women’s Coalition of St. Croix, is accused of “Accessory to Protecting Men, Women and Children Against Violence” – bail is set at $1,000
- Dr. Kasey Canton, Progressive Veterinary Hospital, is accused of “Distributing Care and Compassion to the Animals of St. Croix” – bail is set at $300
- Mike Taras, Caribbean Printing and Marketing, is accused of “Conspiracy to Offer Discounts to Nonprofit Organizations” – bail is set at $1,000
- David Hamada, St. George Village Botanical Garden, is accused of “Conspiring Against the Spread of Tan Tan” – bail is set at $500
- Former Senator Holland Redfield, AM 970 Straight Talk host, is accused of “Contributing to Earthquake Relief” – bail is set at $500
- Jerome Agean, Channel 8 News, is accused of being a “Public Informant on the Benefits of Positive Education” – bail is set at $500
- Mauree Heller, AZ Academy teacher, is accused of “Conspiring to Integrate Technology into the Classroom” – bail is set at $2,000
- Papi Love Jr., Latino 98.3 Radio personality, is accused of “Making People Dance and Sing While Playing Good Latin Music” – bail is set at $500
- Julie Landreneau, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virgin Islands, is accused of “Failure to Abandon the Boys & Girls of the Virgin Islands” – bail is set at $1,000
- Peter “Papi” Skrivanos, Pickled Greek, is accused of “Display of Excessive Happiness” – bail is set $2,000
- Derek Shupe, Fort Christian Brew Pub, is accused of “Being a Hopeless Romantic” – bail is set $1,000
- Fran Geocaris, Divi Carina Bay Casino, is accused of “Aiding in “A-Betting” – bail is set $2,100
- Kurt Schindler, Kurt Briggs Schindler, is accused of “Disturbing the Peace” – bail is set $1,000
- Padraic Coursey, Aqua Sounds, is accused of “Producing High Quality Music in a State of the Art Recording Studio” – bail is set $1,000
- Novelle Francis Jr., V.I. Police Commissioner “Jury is still out”- Bail is not yet determined
- Captain Carl Holley, Fish With Carl Charters “Jury is still out”- Bail is not yet determined
- Melody Rames, V.I. Police Department spokeswoman “Jury is still out”- Bail is not yet determined
