Oct. 29, 2002 – Police say an illegal alien is now in the hands of the Immigration and Naturalization Service after officers caught him at a traffic stop with a V.I. voter registration card and a Puerto Rican birth certificate, both obtained fraudulently.
What the man didn't have when he was pulled over on St. Thomas was a driver's license, according to Police Commissioner Franz Christian.
When police asked the man, whose name was not released, to present identification, Christian said, he showed them the V.I. voter registration card. But the man also said he had been in the territory less than six months.
Since immigrants must be naturalized citizens in order to vote, Christian said, the police at the traffic stop suspected something was amiss; so, they asked the driver how he got the voter I.D. The cardholder told them that he had used a birth certificate. And then he told them how he got that document.
"He explained to them he paid for a birth certificate, and that the birth certificate came from a Santo Domingan who was traveling back and forth to Puerto Rico," Christian said.
Earlier this year, the commissioner said, V.I. authorities were notified of the theft of a large block of blank birth certificates from the neighboring commonwealth. "These birth papers were blank, but they had the seal on them," he said.
Authorities believe between 8,500 and 11,000 certificates were stolen. Anyone could fill in the blanks and instantly "become" a citizen of Puerto Rico, Christian said.
Police alerted Elections Supervisor John Abramson Jr. to the phony voter card, and authorities said he was checking his records to see if other applicants recently registered to vote in the territory by presenting Puerto Rican birth certificates.
Police are asking business people and others in the community to keep an eye out for anyone presenting questionable identity documents, and to call the police if they see anything suspicious.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
BERRY BLASTS MAPP FOR PFA AUDIT REMARKS
Oct. 29, 2002 – Sen. Lorraine Berry took aim Monday at Kenneth Mapp, top administrator of the Public Finance Authority, saying he had maligned the character of his predecessor, Amadeo Francis, and of Arnold van Beverhoudt, regional audit manager for the U.S. Interior Department's Office of Inspector General.
Mapp's remarks last week came in response to initial media coverage of the highly critical draft report of the inspector general's audit of the Public Finance Authority. (See "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".)
In her weekly radio address and in a telephone interview Monday, Berry expressed astonishment at Mapp's statements. "I am outraged," she said. "With the spotlight on him now because he did not respond to the findings within the audit time period process," he "proceeds to shred the reputations of Arnold van Beverhoudt and Amadeo Francis, who have long records of responsible and honorable service to the government."
Berry said she was "repulsed, actually revolted" by Mapp's contention that van Beverhoudt does "not understand the complexity of the investment market," among other assertions.
Following accounts of the draft report published in The Avis and reported by radio stations on Oct. 22, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality." Speaking on WVWI Radio, he said there was "no factual evidence" for the audit findings concerning school construction overruns, and that what overruns there have been "come nowhere close to $17 million."
The Avis quoted Mapp in an Oct. 23 article as saying that "if the inspector general continues with his reckless and irresponsible utterances on a fatally flawed report, we will hold him personally accountable for any closure on the completion of capital projects." He referred to the construction of the Enighed Pond commercial port and cargo dock on St. John and the related Red Hook marine terminal on St. Thomas.
Mapp also sought to discredit the input of Francis, cited repeatedly in the draft report. According to the document, Francis "concurred with the proposed recommendations and stated that the report accurately represented conditions" at the PFA during the period covered by the audit. Despite attempts by Francis "to alert responsible government officials of the instances of non-compliance with tax-related constraints on the use of bond proceeds, his warnings were essentially ignored," the report states.
On Jan. 30, the Legislature voted to award Francis the V.I. Medal of Honor and on Feb. 28, the PFA board voted to hire him back as a "transitory adviser" to what was then expected to be two persons who would assume his duties, as the board had decided to hire separate directors of finance and of administration. Francis, however, never signed the offered contract, and on March 22, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, who chairs the PFA board, announced that he had approved the contracting of former senator and lieutenant governor Kenneth Mapp to hold both positions, as Francis had done.
Berry said Mapp had every opportunity to comment on the report, starting with the preliminary draft sent to him July 10, then a scheduled Aug. 6 meeting, followed by another Aug. 13. She said Mapp "repeatedly failed to meet with van Beverhoudt for the scheduled appointments. At the same time, van Beverhoudt contacted Mr. Francis, who concurred with the report."
She continued: "Here we have a man of unimpeachable integrity [van Beverhoudt], who, in the course of doing his job, conducts the first audit of the PFA ever … In so doing, he brings to light numerous instances of apparent bond-proceeds mismanagement totaling millions of dollars."
Berry said she felt the community would be better served if the audit process were allowed to take its course, with government officials refraining from attempting to disguise the issues by attacking the credibility of others. The latter course, she said, only "adds to the perception of attempting to blanket the issue with a smokescreen, obviously forgetting the fact that PricewaterhouseCoopers audits the PFA financial statements annually. Therefore, the funding can be collaborated with the draft audit report."
Van Beverhoudt was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. A staff member in his office said the PFA audit report is in the final stages, but a date for publication has not been confirmed.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
Mapp's remarks last week came in response to initial media coverage of the highly critical draft report of the inspector general's audit of the Public Finance Authority. (See "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".)
In her weekly radio address and in a telephone interview Monday, Berry expressed astonishment at Mapp's statements. "I am outraged," she said. "With the spotlight on him now because he did not respond to the findings within the audit time period process," he "proceeds to shred the reputations of Arnold van Beverhoudt and Amadeo Francis, who have long records of responsible and honorable service to the government."
Berry said she was "repulsed, actually revolted" by Mapp's contention that van Beverhoudt does "not understand the complexity of the investment market," among other assertions.
Following accounts of the draft report published in The Avis and reported by radio stations on Oct. 22, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality." Speaking on WVWI Radio, he said there was "no factual evidence" for the audit findings concerning school construction overruns, and that what overruns there have been "come nowhere close to $17 million."
The Avis quoted Mapp in an Oct. 23 article as saying that "if the inspector general continues with his reckless and irresponsible utterances on a fatally flawed report, we will hold him personally accountable for any closure on the completion of capital projects." He referred to the construction of the Enighed Pond commercial port and cargo dock on St. John and the related Red Hook marine terminal on St. Thomas.
Mapp also sought to discredit the input of Francis, cited repeatedly in the draft report. According to the document, Francis "concurred with the proposed recommendations and stated that the report accurately represented conditions" at the PFA during the period covered by the audit. Despite attempts by Francis "to alert responsible government officials of the instances of non-compliance with tax-related constraints on the use of bond proceeds, his warnings were essentially ignored," the report states.
On Jan. 30, the Legislature voted to award Francis the V.I. Medal of Honor and on Feb. 28, the PFA board voted to hire him back as a "transitory adviser" to what was then expected to be two persons who would assume his duties, as the board had decided to hire separate directors of finance and of administration. Francis, however, never signed the offered contract, and on March 22, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, who chairs the PFA board, announced that he had approved the contracting of former senator and lieutenant governor Kenneth Mapp to hold both positions, as Francis had done.
Berry said Mapp had every opportunity to comment on the report, starting with the preliminary draft sent to him July 10, then a scheduled Aug. 6 meeting, followed by another Aug. 13. She said Mapp "repeatedly failed to meet with van Beverhoudt for the scheduled appointments. At the same time, van Beverhoudt contacted Mr. Francis, who concurred with the report."
She continued: "Here we have a man of unimpeachable integrity [van Beverhoudt], who, in the course of doing his job, conducts the first audit of the PFA ever … In so doing, he brings to light numerous instances of apparent bond-proceeds mismanagement totaling millions of dollars."
Berry said she felt the community would be better served if the audit process were allowed to take its course, with government officials refraining from attempting to disguise the issues by attacking the credibility of others. The latter course, she said, only "adds to the perception of attempting to blanket the issue with a smokescreen, obviously forgetting the fact that PricewaterhouseCoopers audits the PFA financial statements annually. Therefore, the funding can be collaborated with the draft audit report."
Van Beverhoudt was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. A staff member in his office said the PFA audit report is in the final stages, but a date for publication has not been confirmed.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
STRIKE ISSUES: 'MISCONDUCT' CHARGES, NEW HIRING
Oct. 29, 2002 – Despite some progress in recent days regarding wage, pension and insurance issues, representatives of Innovative Telephone/Innovative Cable TV and the United Steelworkers Union walked away from the bargaining table short of a resolution that would end the four-week work stoppage.
Two bones of contention now separate the entities, according to an Innovative Telephone release issued Tuesday:
– Innovative's contention that employees who have "engaged in unlawful strike misconduct," as Innovative Telephone's president, Samuel Ebbesen, put it in the release, face disciplinary action by the company.
– What Innovative described as the union's insistence as a condition of returning to work that "permanent replacement workers" hired by Innovative to maintain operations during the strike be terminated.
Without specifying what constitutes "unlawful strike misconduct," Ebbesen said the company has rejected the Steelworkers' request for amnesty. "Employees must be held accountable for their actions, even during a strike," he said.
At a Steelworkers' meeting Tuesday afternoon on St. Croix, union local leader Fred Joseph said Ebbesen's reference to "misconduct" referred to allegations by company officials that union members heckled Innovative brass from the picket lines and that a union member slashed the tires of an Innovative executive's vehicle.
Joseph said Innovative is demanding that several union members alleged by the company to have taken part in these activities remain off the job on suspension while the rest of the union returns to work. He denied the company's statement that "the Steelworkers asked that the company grant 'amnesty' to their members who engaged in unlawful strike misconduct."
"How could we ask for amnesty for something we never did?" Joseph said. "We don't want amnesty; we want our people back at work."
As to the issue of replacement workers, Joseph said the company has hired 10 to 20 new employees to take the place of striking union members. Innovative Telephone spokesman Thomas J. Dunn declined to comment on the matter last week; he could not be reached for comment on Tuesday evening.
For at least two weeks, The Virgin Islands Daily News, which is owned by Innovative Communication Corp., the parent company as well of Innovative Telephone and Innovative Cable TV, has been running blind advertisements for customer service representatives and technicians. When called about the advertisement, a receptionist said the positions were at Innovative.
"The company has the right to hire new employees," Joseph said. "But we have the right to stay out until all our people go back in."
The replacement hires will not be fired, Ebbesen said, making a point of saying that they are Virgin Islanders, as opposed to personnel brought in from off island. "These workers have applied to us for permanent employment; we hired them and we will not fire them," he said in the release.
Joseph again took issue with Innovative's interpretation of the Steelworkers' stand. He said the union does not necessarily want the new hires fired.
But, "What about the 315 people who have worked there — many of them for years?" he said, referring to the strikers. "Don't they have any loyalty to us?"
He said the international level of the Steelworkers union is mounting a "corporate campaign" to look into Innovative's business practices.
Meanwhile, the Senate Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Committee is to take testimony on the strike this week. The committee, chaired by Sen. Adelbert Bryan, is to convene Thursday on St. Croix and Friday on St. Thomas to examine the issues which led to the strike and to consider whether the phone company is in compliance with its 1998 tax benefits certificate from the Industrial (now Economic) Development Commission.
Joseph said union members plan to attend the Senate hearings in force and that those on St. Croix will march to the Legislature building from the Frederiksted post office on Thursday morning.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
Two bones of contention now separate the entities, according to an Innovative Telephone release issued Tuesday:
– Innovative's contention that employees who have "engaged in unlawful strike misconduct," as Innovative Telephone's president, Samuel Ebbesen, put it in the release, face disciplinary action by the company.
– What Innovative described as the union's insistence as a condition of returning to work that "permanent replacement workers" hired by Innovative to maintain operations during the strike be terminated.
Without specifying what constitutes "unlawful strike misconduct," Ebbesen said the company has rejected the Steelworkers' request for amnesty. "Employees must be held accountable for their actions, even during a strike," he said.
At a Steelworkers' meeting Tuesday afternoon on St. Croix, union local leader Fred Joseph said Ebbesen's reference to "misconduct" referred to allegations by company officials that union members heckled Innovative brass from the picket lines and that a union member slashed the tires of an Innovative executive's vehicle.
Joseph said Innovative is demanding that several union members alleged by the company to have taken part in these activities remain off the job on suspension while the rest of the union returns to work. He denied the company's statement that "the Steelworkers asked that the company grant 'amnesty' to their members who engaged in unlawful strike misconduct."
"How could we ask for amnesty for something we never did?" Joseph said. "We don't want amnesty; we want our people back at work."
As to the issue of replacement workers, Joseph said the company has hired 10 to 20 new employees to take the place of striking union members. Innovative Telephone spokesman Thomas J. Dunn declined to comment on the matter last week; he could not be reached for comment on Tuesday evening.
For at least two weeks, The Virgin Islands Daily News, which is owned by Innovative Communication Corp., the parent company as well of Innovative Telephone and Innovative Cable TV, has been running blind advertisements for customer service representatives and technicians. When called about the advertisement, a receptionist said the positions were at Innovative.
"The company has the right to hire new employees," Joseph said. "But we have the right to stay out until all our people go back in."
The replacement hires will not be fired, Ebbesen said, making a point of saying that they are Virgin Islanders, as opposed to personnel brought in from off island. "These workers have applied to us for permanent employment; we hired them and we will not fire them," he said in the release.
Joseph again took issue with Innovative's interpretation of the Steelworkers' stand. He said the union does not necessarily want the new hires fired.
But, "What about the 315 people who have worked there — many of them for years?" he said, referring to the strikers. "Don't they have any loyalty to us?"
He said the international level of the Steelworkers union is mounting a "corporate campaign" to look into Innovative's business practices.
Meanwhile, the Senate Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Committee is to take testimony on the strike this week. The committee, chaired by Sen. Adelbert Bryan, is to convene Thursday on St. Croix and Friday on St. Thomas to examine the issues which led to the strike and to consider whether the phone company is in compliance with its 1998 tax benefits certificate from the Industrial (now Economic) Development Commission.
Joseph said union members plan to attend the Senate hearings in force and that those on St. Croix will march to the Legislature building from the Frederiksted post office on Thursday morning.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
BOGUS BIRTH CERTIFICATE GOT ALIEN V.I. VOTER I.D.
Oct. 29, 2002 – Police say an illegal alien is now in the hands of the Immigration and Naturalization Service after officers caught him at a traffic stop with a V.I. voter registration card and a Puerto Rican birth certificate, both obtained fraudulently.
What the man didn't have when he was pulled over on St. Thomas was a driver's license, according to Police Commissioner Franz Christian.
When police asked the man, whose name was not released, to present identification, Christian said, he showed them the V.I. voter registration card. But the man also said he had been in the territory less than six months.
Since immigrants must be naturalized citizens in order to vote, Christian said, the police at the traffic stop suspected something was amiss; so, they asked the driver how he got the voter I.D. The cardholder told them that he had used a birth certificate. And then he told them how he got that document.
"He explained to them he paid for a birth certificate, and that the birth certificate came from a Santo Domingan who was traveling back and forth to Puerto Rico," Christian said.
Earlier this year, the commissioner said, V.I. authorities were notified of the theft of a large block of blank birth certificates from the neighboring commonwealth. "These birth papers were blank, but they had the seal on them," he said.
Authorities believe between 8,500 and 11,000 certificates were stolen. Anyone could fill in the blanks and instantly "become" a citizen of Puerto Rico, Christian said.
Police alerted Elections Supervisor John Abramson Jr. to the phony voter card, and authorities said he was checking his records to see if other applicants recently registered to vote in the territory by presenting Puerto Rican birth certificates.
Police are asking business people and others in the community to keep an eye out for anyone presenting questionable identity documents, and to call the police if they see anything suspicious.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
What the man didn't have when he was pulled over on St. Thomas was a driver's license, according to Police Commissioner Franz Christian.
When police asked the man, whose name was not released, to present identification, Christian said, he showed them the V.I. voter registration card. But the man also said he had been in the territory less than six months.
Since immigrants must be naturalized citizens in order to vote, Christian said, the police at the traffic stop suspected something was amiss; so, they asked the driver how he got the voter I.D. The cardholder told them that he had used a birth certificate. And then he told them how he got that document.
"He explained to them he paid for a birth certificate, and that the birth certificate came from a Santo Domingan who was traveling back and forth to Puerto Rico," Christian said.
Earlier this year, the commissioner said, V.I. authorities were notified of the theft of a large block of blank birth certificates from the neighboring commonwealth. "These birth papers were blank, but they had the seal on them," he said.
Authorities believe between 8,500 and 11,000 certificates were stolen. Anyone could fill in the blanks and instantly "become" a citizen of Puerto Rico, Christian said.
Police alerted Elections Supervisor John Abramson Jr. to the phony voter card, and authorities said he was checking his records to see if other applicants recently registered to vote in the territory by presenting Puerto Rican birth certificates.
Police are asking business people and others in the community to keep an eye out for anyone presenting questionable identity documents, and to call the police if they see anything suspicious.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
BERRY BLASTS MAPP FOR PFA AUDIT REMARKS
Oct. 29, 2002 – Sen. Lorraine Berry took aim at Kenneth Mapp, top administrator of the Public Finance Authority, on Monday, saying he had maligned the character of his predecessor, Amadeo Francis, and of Arnold van Beverhoudt, regional audit manager for the U.S. Interior Department's Office of Inspector General.
Mapp's remarks came last week in response to initial media coverage of the highly critical draft report of the inspector general's audit of the Public Finance Authority. (See "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".)
In her weekly radio address and in a telephone interview Monday, Berry expressed astonishment at Mapp's statements. "I am outraged," she said. "With the spotlight on him now because he did not respond to the findings within the audit time period process," he "proceeds to shred the reputations of Arnold van Beverhoudt and Amadeo Francis, who have long records of responsible and honorable service to the government."
Berry said she was "repulsed, actually revolted" by Mapp's contention that van Beverhoudt does "not understand the complexity of the investment market," among other assertions.
Following accounts of the draft report published in The Avis and reported by radio stations on Oct. 22, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality." Speaking on WVWI Radio, he said there was "no factual evidence" for the audit findings concerning school construction overruns, and that what overruns there have been "come nowhere close to $17 million."
The Avis quotes Mapp in an Oct. 23 article as saying that "if the inspector general continues with his reckless and irresponsible utterances on a fatally flawed report, we will hold him personally accountable for any closure on the completion of capital projects." He referred to the construction of the Enighed Pond commercial port and cargo dock on St. John and the related Red Hook marine terminal on St. Thomas.
Mapp also sought to discredit the input of Francis, cited repeatedly in the draft report. According to the document, Francis "concurred with the proposed recommendations and stated that the report accurately represented conditions" at the PFA during the period covered by the audit. Despite attempts by Francis "to alert responsible government officials of the instances of non-compliance with tax-related constraints on the use of bond proceeds, his warnings were essentially ignored," the report states.
On Jan. 30, the Legislature voted to award Francis the V.I. Medal of Honor and on Feb. 28, the PFA board voted to hire him back as a "transitory adviser" to what was then expected to be two persons who would assume his duties, as the board had decided to hire separate directors of finance and of administration. Francis, however, never signed the offered contract, and on March 22, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, who chars the PFA board, announced that he had approved the contracting of former senator and lieutenant governor Kenneth Mapp to hold both positions, as Francis had done.
Berry said Mapp had every opportunity to comment on the report, starting with the preliminary draft sent to him on July 10, then a scheduled Aug. 6 meeting, followed by another on Aug. 13. She said Mapp "repeatedly failed to meet with van Beverhoudt for the scheduled appointments. At the same time, van Beverhoudt contacted Mr. Francis, who concurred with the report."
She continued: "Here we have a man of unimpeachable integrity [van Beverhoudt], who, in the course of doing his job, conducts the first audit of the PFA ever … In so doing, he brings to light numerous instances of apparent bond-proceeds mismanagement totaling millions of dollars."
Berry said she felt the community would be better served if the audit process were allowed to take its course, with government officials refraining from attempting to disguise the issues by attacking the credibility of others. The latter course, she said, only "adds to the perception of attempting to blanket the issue with a smokescreen, obviously forgetting the fact that PricewaterhouseCoopers audits the PFA financial statements annually. Therefore, the funding can be collaborated with the draft audit report."
Van Beverhoudt was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. A staff member in his office said the PFA audit report is in the final stages, but a date for publication has not been confirmed.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
Mapp's remarks came last week in response to initial media coverage of the highly critical draft report of the inspector general's audit of the Public Finance Authority. (See "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".)
In her weekly radio address and in a telephone interview Monday, Berry expressed astonishment at Mapp's statements. "I am outraged," she said. "With the spotlight on him now because he did not respond to the findings within the audit time period process," he "proceeds to shred the reputations of Arnold van Beverhoudt and Amadeo Francis, who have long records of responsible and honorable service to the government."
Berry said she was "repulsed, actually revolted" by Mapp's contention that van Beverhoudt does "not understand the complexity of the investment market," among other assertions.
Following accounts of the draft report published in The Avis and reported by radio stations on Oct. 22, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality." Speaking on WVWI Radio, he said there was "no factual evidence" for the audit findings concerning school construction overruns, and that what overruns there have been "come nowhere close to $17 million."
The Avis quotes Mapp in an Oct. 23 article as saying that "if the inspector general continues with his reckless and irresponsible utterances on a fatally flawed report, we will hold him personally accountable for any closure on the completion of capital projects." He referred to the construction of the Enighed Pond commercial port and cargo dock on St. John and the related Red Hook marine terminal on St. Thomas.
Mapp also sought to discredit the input of Francis, cited repeatedly in the draft report. According to the document, Francis "concurred with the proposed recommendations and stated that the report accurately represented conditions" at the PFA during the period covered by the audit. Despite attempts by Francis "to alert responsible government officials of the instances of non-compliance with tax-related constraints on the use of bond proceeds, his warnings were essentially ignored," the report states.
On Jan. 30, the Legislature voted to award Francis the V.I. Medal of Honor and on Feb. 28, the PFA board voted to hire him back as a "transitory adviser" to what was then expected to be two persons who would assume his duties, as the board had decided to hire separate directors of finance and of administration. Francis, however, never signed the offered contract, and on March 22, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, who chars the PFA board, announced that he had approved the contracting of former senator and lieutenant governor Kenneth Mapp to hold both positions, as Francis had done.
Berry said Mapp had every opportunity to comment on the report, starting with the preliminary draft sent to him on July 10, then a scheduled Aug. 6 meeting, followed by another on Aug. 13. She said Mapp "repeatedly failed to meet with van Beverhoudt for the scheduled appointments. At the same time, van Beverhoudt contacted Mr. Francis, who concurred with the report."
She continued: "Here we have a man of unimpeachable integrity [van Beverhoudt], who, in the course of doing his job, conducts the first audit of the PFA ever … In so doing, he brings to light numerous instances of apparent bond-proceeds mismanagement totaling millions of dollars."
Berry said she felt the community would be better served if the audit process were allowed to take its course, with government officials refraining from attempting to disguise the issues by attacking the credibility of others. The latter course, she said, only "adds to the perception of attempting to blanket the issue with a smokescreen, obviously forgetting the fact that PricewaterhouseCoopers audits the PFA financial statements annually. Therefore, the funding can be collaborated with the draft audit report."
Van Beverhoudt was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. A staff member in his office said the PFA audit report is in the final stages, but a date for publication has not been confirmed.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
STRIKE ISSUES: 'MISCONDUCT' CHARGES, NEW HIRING
Oct. 29, 2002 – Despite some progress in recent days regarding wage, pension and insurance issues, representatives of Innovative Telephone/Innovative Cable TV and the United Steelworkers Union walked away from the bargaining table short of a resolution that would end the four-week work stoppage.
Two bones of contention now separate the entities, according to an Innovative Telephone release issued Tuesday:
– Innovative's contention that employees who have "engaged in unlawful strike misconduct," as Innovative Telephone's president, Samuel Ebbesen, put it in the release, face disciplinary action by the company.
– What Innovative described as the union's insistence as a condition of returning to work that "permanent replacement workers" hired by Innovative to maintain operations during the strike be terminated.
Without specifying what constitutes "unlawful strike misconduct," Ebbesen said the company has rejected the Steelworkers' request for amnesty. "Employees must be held accountable for their actions, even during a strike," he said.
At a Steelworkers' meeting Tuesday afternoon on St. Croix, union local leader Fred Joseph said Ebbesen's reference to "misconduct" referred to allegations by company officials that union members heckled Innovative brass from the picket lines and that a union member slashed the tires of an Innovative executive's vehicle.
Joseph said Innovative is demanding that several union members alleged by the company to have taken part in these activities remain off the job on suspension while the rest of the union returns to work. He denied the company's statement that "the Steelworkers asked that the company grant 'amnesty' to their members who engaged in unlawful strike misconduct."
"How could we ask for amnesty for something we never did?" Joseph said. "We don't want amnesty; we want our people back at work."
As to the issue of replacement workers, Joseph said the company has hired 10 to 20 new employees to take the place of striking union members. Innovative Telephone spokesman Thomas J. Dunn declined to comment on the matter last week; he could not be reached for comment on Tuesday evening.
For at least two weeks, The Virgin Islands Daily News, which is owned by Innovative Communication Corp., the parent company as well of Innovative Telephone and Innovative Cable TV, has been running blind advertisements for customer service representatives and technicians. When called about the advertisement, a receptionist said the positions were at Innovative.
"The company has the right to hire new employees," Joseph said. "But we have the right to stay out until all our people go back in."
The replacement hires will not be fired, Ebbesen said, making a point of saying that they are Virgin Islanders, as opposed to personnel brought in from off island. "These workers have applied to us for permanent employment; we hired them and we will not fire them," he said in the release.
Joseph again took issue with Innovative's interpretation of the Steelworkers' stand. He said the union does not necessarily want the new hires fired.
But, "What about the 315 people who have worked there — many of them for years?" he said, referring to the strikers. "Don't they have any loyalty to us?"
He said the international level of the Steelworkers union is mounting a "corporate campaign" to look into Innovative's business practices.
Meanwhile, the Senate Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Committee is to take testimony on the strike this week. The committee, chaired by Sen. Adelbert Bryan, is to convene Thursday on St. Croix and Friday on St. Thomas to examine the issues which led to the strike and to consider whether the phone company is in compliance with its 1998 tax benefits certificate from the Industrial (now Economic) Development Commission.
Joseph said union members plan to attend the Senate hearings in force and that those on St. Croix will march to the Legislature building from the Frederiksted post office on Thursday morning.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
Two bones of contention now separate the entities, according to an Innovative Telephone release issued Tuesday:
– Innovative's contention that employees who have "engaged in unlawful strike misconduct," as Innovative Telephone's president, Samuel Ebbesen, put it in the release, face disciplinary action by the company.
– What Innovative described as the union's insistence as a condition of returning to work that "permanent replacement workers" hired by Innovative to maintain operations during the strike be terminated.
Without specifying what constitutes "unlawful strike misconduct," Ebbesen said the company has rejected the Steelworkers' request for amnesty. "Employees must be held accountable for their actions, even during a strike," he said.
At a Steelworkers' meeting Tuesday afternoon on St. Croix, union local leader Fred Joseph said Ebbesen's reference to "misconduct" referred to allegations by company officials that union members heckled Innovative brass from the picket lines and that a union member slashed the tires of an Innovative executive's vehicle.
Joseph said Innovative is demanding that several union members alleged by the company to have taken part in these activities remain off the job on suspension while the rest of the union returns to work. He denied the company's statement that "the Steelworkers asked that the company grant 'amnesty' to their members who engaged in unlawful strike misconduct."
"How could we ask for amnesty for something we never did?" Joseph said. "We don't want amnesty; we want our people back at work."
As to the issue of replacement workers, Joseph said the company has hired 10 to 20 new employees to take the place of striking union members. Innovative Telephone spokesman Thomas J. Dunn declined to comment on the matter last week; he could not be reached for comment on Tuesday evening.
For at least two weeks, The Virgin Islands Daily News, which is owned by Innovative Communication Corp., the parent company as well of Innovative Telephone and Innovative Cable TV, has been running blind advertisements for customer service representatives and technicians. When called about the advertisement, a receptionist said the positions were at Innovative.
"The company has the right to hire new employees," Joseph said. "But we have the right to stay out until all our people go back in."
The replacement hires will not be fired, Ebbesen said, making a point of saying that they are Virgin Islanders, as opposed to personnel brought in from off island. "These workers have applied to us for permanent employment; we hired them and we will not fire them," he said in the release.
Joseph again took issue with Innovative's interpretation of the Steelworkers' stand. He said the union does not necessarily want the new hires fired.
But, "What about the 315 people who have worked there — many of them for years?" he said, referring to the strikers. "Don't they have any loyalty to us?"
He said the international level of the Steelworkers union is mounting a "corporate campaign" to look into Innovative's business practices.
Meanwhile, the Senate Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Committee is to take testimony on the strike this week. The committee, chaired by Sen. Adelbert Bryan, is to convene Thursday on St. Croix and Friday on St. Thomas to examine the issues which led to the strike and to consider whether the phone company is in compliance with its 1998 tax benefits certificate from the Industrial (now Economic) Development Commission.
Joseph said union members plan to attend the Senate hearings in force and that those on St. Croix will march to the Legislature building from the Frederiksted post office on Thursday morning.
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BOGUS BIRTH CERTIFICATE GOT ALIEN V.I. VOTER I.D.
Oct. 29, 2002 – Police say an illegal alien is now in the hands of the Immigration and Naturalization Service after officers caught him at a traffic stop with a V.I. voter registration card and a Puerto Rican birth certificate, both obtained fraudulently.
What the man didn't have when he was pulled over on St. Thomas was a driver's license, according to Police Commissioner Franz Christian.
When police asked the man, whose name was not released, to present identification, Christian said, he showed them the V.I. voter registration card. But the man also said he had been in the territory less than six months.
Since immigrants must be naturalized citizens in order to vote, Christian said, the police at the traffic stop suspected something was amiss; so, they asked the driver how he got the voter I.D. The cardholder told them that he had used a birth certificate. And then he told them how he got that document.
"He explained to them he paid for a birth certificate, and that the birth certificate came from a Santo Domingan who was traveling back and forth to Puerto Rico," Christian said.
Earlier this year, the commissioner said, V.I. authorities were notified of the theft of a large block of blank birth certificates from the neighboring commonwealth. "These birth papers were blank, but they had the seal on them," he said.
Authorities believe between 8,500 and 11,000 certificates were stolen. Anyone could fill in the blanks and instantly "become" a citizen of Puerto Rico, Christian said.
Police alerted Elections Supervisor John Abramson Jr. to the phony voter card, and authorities said he was checking his records to see if other applicants recently registered to vote in the territory by presenting Puerto Rican birth certificates.
Police are asking business people and others in the community to keep an eye out for anyone presenting questionable identity documents, and to call the police if they see anything suspicious.
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What the man didn't have when he was pulled over on St. Thomas was a driver's license, according to Police Commissioner Franz Christian.
When police asked the man, whose name was not released, to present identification, Christian said, he showed them the V.I. voter registration card. But the man also said he had been in the territory less than six months.
Since immigrants must be naturalized citizens in order to vote, Christian said, the police at the traffic stop suspected something was amiss; so, they asked the driver how he got the voter I.D. The cardholder told them that he had used a birth certificate. And then he told them how he got that document.
"He explained to them he paid for a birth certificate, and that the birth certificate came from a Santo Domingan who was traveling back and forth to Puerto Rico," Christian said.
Earlier this year, the commissioner said, V.I. authorities were notified of the theft of a large block of blank birth certificates from the neighboring commonwealth. "These birth papers were blank, but they had the seal on them," he said.
Authorities believe between 8,500 and 11,000 certificates were stolen. Anyone could fill in the blanks and instantly "become" a citizen of Puerto Rico, Christian said.
Police alerted Elections Supervisor John Abramson Jr. to the phony voter card, and authorities said he was checking his records to see if other applicants recently registered to vote in the territory by presenting Puerto Rican birth certificates.
Police are asking business people and others in the community to keep an eye out for anyone presenting questionable identity documents, and to call the police if they see anything suspicious.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
BERRY BLASTS MAPP FOR PFA AUDIT REMARKS
Oct. 29, 2002 – Sen. Lorraine Berry took aim at Kenneth Mapp, top administrator of the Public Finance Authority, on Monday, saying he had maligned the character of his predecessor, Amadeo Francis, and of Arnold van Beverhoudt, regional audit manager for the U.S. Interior Department's Office of Inspector General.
Mapp's remarks came last week in response to initial media coverage of the highly critical draft report of the inspector general's audit of the Public Finance Authority. (See "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".)
In her weekly radio address and in a telephone interview Monday, Berry expressed astonishment at Mapp's statements. "I am outraged," she said. "With the spotlight on him now because he did not respond to the findings within the audit time period process," he "proceeds to shred the reputations of Arnold van Beverhoudt and Amadeo Francis, who have long records of responsible and honorable service to the government."
Berry said she was "repulsed, actually revolted" by Mapp's contention that van Beverhoudt does "not understand the complexity of the investment market," among other assertions.
Following accounts of the draft report published in The Avis and reported by radio stations on Oct. 22, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality." Speaking on WVWI Radio, he said there was "no factual evidence" for the audit findings concerning school construction overruns, and that what overruns there have been "come nowhere close to $17 million."
The Avis quotes Mapp in an Oct. 23 article as saying that "if the inspector general continues with his reckless and irresponsible utterances on a fatally flawed report, we will hold him personally accountable for any closure on the completion of capital projects." He referred to the construction of the Enighed Pond commercial port and cargo dock on St. John and the related Red Hook marine terminal on St. Thomas.
Mapp also sought to discredit the input of Francis, cited repeatedly in the draft report. According to the document, Francis "concurred with the proposed recommendations and stated that the report accurately represented conditions" at the PFA during the period covered by the audit. Despite attempts by Francis "to alert responsible government officials of the instances of non-compliance with tax-related constraints on the use of bond proceeds, his warnings were essentially ignored," the report states.
On Jan. 30, the Legislature voted to award Francis the V.I. Medal of Honor and on Feb. 28, the PFA board voted to hire him back as a "transitory adviser" to what was then expected to be two persons who would assume his duties, as the board had decided to hire separate directors of finance and of administration. Francis, however, never signed the offered contract, and on March 22, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, who chars the PFA board, announced that he had approved the contracting of former senator and lieutenant governor Kenneth Mapp to hold both positions, as Francis had done.
Berry said Mapp had every opportunity to comment on the report, starting with the preliminary draft sent to him on July 10, then a scheduled Aug. 6 meeting, followed by another on Aug. 13. She said Mapp "repeatedly failed to meet with van Beverhoudt for the scheduled appointments. At the same time, van Beverhoudt contacted Mr. Francis, who concurred with the report."
She continued: "Here we have a man of unimpeachable integrity [van Beverhoudt], who, in the course of doing his job, conducts the first audit of the PFA ever … In so doing, he brings to light numerous instances of apparent bond-proceeds mismanagement totaling millions of dollars."
Berry said she felt the community would be better served if the audit process were allowed to take its course, with government officials refraining from attempting to disguise the issues by attacking the credibility of others. The latter course, she said, only "adds to the perception of attempting to blanket the issue with a smokescreen, obviously forgetting the fact that PricewaterhouseCoopers audits the PFA financial statements annually. Therefore, the funding can be collaborated with the draft audit report."
Van Beverhoudt was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. A staff member in his office said the PFA audit report is in the final stages, but a date for publication has not been confirmed.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
Mapp's remarks came last week in response to initial media coverage of the highly critical draft report of the inspector general's audit of the Public Finance Authority. (See "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".)
In her weekly radio address and in a telephone interview Monday, Berry expressed astonishment at Mapp's statements. "I am outraged," she said. "With the spotlight on him now because he did not respond to the findings within the audit time period process," he "proceeds to shred the reputations of Arnold van Beverhoudt and Amadeo Francis, who have long records of responsible and honorable service to the government."
Berry said she was "repulsed, actually revolted" by Mapp's contention that van Beverhoudt does "not understand the complexity of the investment market," among other assertions.
Following accounts of the draft report published in The Avis and reported by radio stations on Oct. 22, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality." Speaking on WVWI Radio, he said there was "no factual evidence" for the audit findings concerning school construction overruns, and that what overruns there have been "come nowhere close to $17 million."
The Avis quotes Mapp in an Oct. 23 article as saying that "if the inspector general continues with his reckless and irresponsible utterances on a fatally flawed report, we will hold him personally accountable for any closure on the completion of capital projects." He referred to the construction of the Enighed Pond commercial port and cargo dock on St. John and the related Red Hook marine terminal on St. Thomas.
Mapp also sought to discredit the input of Francis, cited repeatedly in the draft report. According to the document, Francis "concurred with the proposed recommendations and stated that the report accurately represented conditions" at the PFA during the period covered by the audit. Despite attempts by Francis "to alert responsible government officials of the instances of non-compliance with tax-related constraints on the use of bond proceeds, his warnings were essentially ignored," the report states.
On Jan. 30, the Legislature voted to award Francis the V.I. Medal of Honor and on Feb. 28, the PFA board voted to hire him back as a "transitory adviser" to what was then expected to be two persons who would assume his duties, as the board had decided to hire separate directors of finance and of administration. Francis, however, never signed the offered contract, and on March 22, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, who chars the PFA board, announced that he had approved the contracting of former senator and lieutenant governor Kenneth Mapp to hold both positions, as Francis had done.
Berry said Mapp had every opportunity to comment on the report, starting with the preliminary draft sent to him on July 10, then a scheduled Aug. 6 meeting, followed by another on Aug. 13. She said Mapp "repeatedly failed to meet with van Beverhoudt for the scheduled appointments. At the same time, van Beverhoudt contacted Mr. Francis, who concurred with the report."
She continued: "Here we have a man of unimpeachable integrity [van Beverhoudt], who, in the course of doing his job, conducts the first audit of the PFA ever … In so doing, he brings to light numerous instances of apparent bond-proceeds mismanagement totaling millions of dollars."
Berry said she felt the community would be better served if the audit process were allowed to take its course, with government officials refraining from attempting to disguise the issues by attacking the credibility of others. The latter course, she said, only "adds to the perception of attempting to blanket the issue with a smokescreen, obviously forgetting the fact that PricewaterhouseCoopers audits the PFA financial statements annually. Therefore, the funding can be collaborated with the draft audit report."
Van Beverhoudt was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. A staff member in his office said the PFA audit report is in the final stages, but a date for publication has not been confirmed.
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PUBLIC ASKED TO LET SEA KNOW OF OPEN SEWAGE
Oct. 29, 2002 – The St. Croix Environmental Association is embarking on a month-long project to keep track of where and when raw sewage is flowing outside of sewer lines on the island. Its success, an SEA official says, will depend on the cooperation of community members.
During the month of November, the association will be monitoring what are technically called "wastewater bypasses." SEA is taking on the task of recording and reporting as many such instances of flowing sewage as possible to assist the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
"We are asking the public to assist us in our monitoring efforts. We need help with three specific tasks," SEA executive director Bill Turner said Monday in a release.
First, he said, "We are requesting that any citizen who sees raw sewage flowing in any open area immediately call us to report it at 773-1989." He said callers need not identify themselves and that what SEA needs is simply the location of the flowing sewage and the time that the caller first noticed it.
Second, SEA would like to hear from anyone "noticing a foul smell" indicative of sewage in an area. This is because "frequently the bypass is in an area that is not directly visible" to residents or passersby, Turner said. Again, callers are asked to let the association know where and when the smell became noticeable.
Third, Turner said, SEA would like people with cameras to photograph any bypass areas that they can and make the images available to the association. Anyone doing so "will be entitled to the same confidentiality that callers receive," he said. Those taking pictures are asked to note the location and time that each photograph was taken, along with when the situation pictured first became apparent.
The objective of the monitoring program is to provide data to the EPA "that will document the most serious bypass problem areas on St. Croix," Turner said. "We hope that this information will lead to action to alleviate the burden on residents in these areas."
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
During the month of November, the association will be monitoring what are technically called "wastewater bypasses." SEA is taking on the task of recording and reporting as many such instances of flowing sewage as possible to assist the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
"We are asking the public to assist us in our monitoring efforts. We need help with three specific tasks," SEA executive director Bill Turner said Monday in a release.
First, he said, "We are requesting that any citizen who sees raw sewage flowing in any open area immediately call us to report it at 773-1989." He said callers need not identify themselves and that what SEA needs is simply the location of the flowing sewage and the time that the caller first noticed it.
Second, SEA would like to hear from anyone "noticing a foul smell" indicative of sewage in an area. This is because "frequently the bypass is in an area that is not directly visible" to residents or passersby, Turner said. Again, callers are asked to let the association know where and when the smell became noticeable.
Third, Turner said, SEA would like people with cameras to photograph any bypass areas that they can and make the images available to the association. Anyone doing so "will be entitled to the same confidentiality that callers receive," he said. Those taking pictures are asked to note the location and time that each photograph was taken, along with when the situation pictured first became apparent.
The objective of the monitoring program is to provide data to the EPA "that will document the most serious bypass problem areas on St. Croix," Turner said. "We hope that this information will lead to action to alleviate the burden on residents in these areas."
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
WITH DAHLIA PENA, EXPECT A 'LOVELY' JAZZ VESPERS
Oct. 29, 2002 – Vocalist Dahlia Pena gets top billing for Sunday's Jazz Vespers November concert at the St. Croix Reformed Church. She'll be accompanied by Marcus Rabb on trumpet, Elvis Pedro on guitar, Marsvyn David on bass and Ken Afra Dailey on drums.
Pena's selections and stylings have a lovely theme: "Love Lost, Love Found … An Evening of Love Songs." The program will include romantic standards by Cole Porter, Henry Mancini and George Gershwin, among others.
A featured performer at the Divi Carina Bay Casino and at Harbour Night events, Pena is a native Crucian who has been strongly influenced by Nancy Wilson and Mahalia Jackson. She can be heard singing background vocals on several recordings produced by the studio of Ronnie Benjamin Jr.
Jazz Vespers presents family-oriented jazz programs in a smoke-free and alcohol-free environment on the first Sunday of each month. The timing — 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. — is to take advantage of the sunset views from inside the church sanctuary. Admission is free, too, although a free-will offering is taken. There are no reservations, and regular concertgoers know to get there early for the best seats.
Following the program, everyone is invited to mingle with the evening's artists and enjoy complimentary refreshments.
The St. Croix Reformed Church is located on the hill above the Kingshill post office. For more information, call Willard Fields at 719-3672 or Pastor Rod Koopmans at 778-0520; or send an e-mail to Jazz Vespers.
This second season of Jazz Vespers concerts is made possible in party by Owen Johnson Electric, Carringtons Inn, Beeston Hill Clinical Lab and The Blue Moon.
Coming concerts will feature guitarist Ronald Russell on Dec. 1, bassist/arranger/composer Marsvyn David on Jan. 5, and vocalist Claudette "Adjoa" Young-Hinds and Friends on Feb. 2.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
Pena's selections and stylings have a lovely theme: "Love Lost, Love Found … An Evening of Love Songs." The program will include romantic standards by Cole Porter, Henry Mancini and George Gershwin, among others.
A featured performer at the Divi Carina Bay Casino and at Harbour Night events, Pena is a native Crucian who has been strongly influenced by Nancy Wilson and Mahalia Jackson. She can be heard singing background vocals on several recordings produced by the studio of Ronnie Benjamin Jr.
Jazz Vespers presents family-oriented jazz programs in a smoke-free and alcohol-free environment on the first Sunday of each month. The timing — 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. — is to take advantage of the sunset views from inside the church sanctuary. Admission is free, too, although a free-will offering is taken. There are no reservations, and regular concertgoers know to get there early for the best seats.
Following the program, everyone is invited to mingle with the evening's artists and enjoy complimentary refreshments.
The St. Croix Reformed Church is located on the hill above the Kingshill post office. For more information, call Willard Fields at 719-3672 or Pastor Rod Koopmans at 778-0520; or send an e-mail to Jazz Vespers.
This second season of Jazz Vespers concerts is made possible in party by Owen Johnson Electric, Carringtons Inn, Beeston Hill Clinical Lab and The Blue Moon.
Coming concerts will feature guitarist Ronald Russell on Dec. 1, bassist/arranger/composer Marsvyn David on Jan. 5, and vocalist Claudette "Adjoa" Young-Hinds and Friends on Feb. 2.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
