U.S. Attorney Appoints District Election Officer for 2024 General Election
Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Huston will lead the efforts for the District of the Virgin Islands regarding the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming Nov. 5 general election, United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced Wednesday.
Huston has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer and, in that capacity, will be responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of Election Day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington, DC, according to the press release.
The Justice Department has an important role in deterring and combating discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers and election fraud and will address these violations wherever they occur. The
The long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals and seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the department so that the public can report possible federal election law violations, the press release stated.
“Every citizen must be free to cast his/her vote without interference or discrimination and
to have that vote counted in a fair and free election,” Smith said. “Moreover, election officials and staff must be allowed to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials
or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English), the release stated.
“The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy,” Smith said. “We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Huston will be on duty in this district while the polls are open and can be reached by the public at 340-773-3920.”
The FBI will also have special agents available in each field office to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day and can be reached by the public at 340-777-3363. Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC, by complaint form found at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by calling 800-253-3931, the release stated.
“Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American
electorate,” Smith said. “It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, that in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. The Virgin Islands Police Department has primary jurisdiction over polling places and can react sooner in an emergency, the release stated.
Brief: School Bus Involved in Crash on St. Croix, No Injuries Reported
A school bus accident occurred this Wednesday on St. Croix. The incident took place near Whim Ballpark in Frederiksted, the V.I. Education Department announced.
The bus was transporting students home from St. Croix Educational Complex High School when it was struck by another vehicle, causing slight damage, according to the press release.
No injuries to students were reported after the school bus accident. Some students independently exited the bus and left the scene following the incident. Emergency services were contacted via 911 to assess the situation, the press release stated.
An active investigation is underway, with VIDE officials collaborating with the Virgin Islands Police Department and the bus company to gather further details. An official incident report is anticipated soon, the release stated.
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In Appeal to Third Circuit, Barnes Argues District Court Lacked Jurisdiction
Stephanie Barnes, a former Casino Control Commission contractor serving 44 months in prison for stealing from the government, should have her sentence vacated because the V.I. District Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, according to an appeal filed Monday in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Barnes was found guilty by a jury in December 2021 in V.I. District Court on St. Croix of theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds under 18 U.S. Code, Section 666. She also was convicted of two charges under the V.I. Code — filing a false tax return and receipt of government property.
However, her appeal asserts that the federal charge should never have been brought because “no federal interest warranted the federal government’s intervention,” given that the Casino Control Commission is an independent entity that was created by an act of the Legislature in 1995, separate from the V.I. government, and received no federal program benefits.
The commission’s “revenue originates from private sources and its operational account is held and administered autonomously. The Commission’s chairperson is an ‘agent’ of the Commission, not of the V.I. Government. The funds purportedly misapplied/converted were under the ‘custody, care and control’ of the Commission, not of the V.I. Government. Only the Commission was a party in Barnes’ contract. The evidence did not support § 666’s jurisdictional element,” the appeal states.
Moreover, because the District Court “lacked subject matter jurisdiction from the inception in regards to Count 5 [the federal charge], it lacked concurrent jurisdiction over the local offenses. Pursuant to the Organic Act of 1954, the district court may have had concurrent jurisdiction over Counts 23 and 30 [the local charges] only if the district court had jurisdiction over a federal offense. It did not in this case. Counts 23 and 30 thus failed as well,” according to the appeal.
Barnes first sought to have her case dismissed for lack of jurisdiction in December 2019, but Judge Robert A. Molloy denied her motions without prejudice in an order issued one year later, in December 2020.
That was a mistake, according to the appeal, which spans 64 pages plus 268 pages of exhibits.
The Justice Department’s theory was that the V.I. government received federal benefits and that the Casino Control chairperson was an agent of that government, it says. However, what the evidence showed is that the commission is “an entity totally independent from the V.I. Government, which did not receive any funding from the V.I. Government, let alone from the federal government, and which generated and autonomously administered its own operational revenue.”
Moreover, the court failed to properly instruct the jury regarding the theft of federal funds charge, which requires that the organization, government or agency must have been unanimously found to have received benefits in excess of $10,000 under a federal program in the same one-year period. Because Barnes’ crimes are alleged to have spanned 2.5 years, the “missing unanimity instruction most likely led the jury to not consider the same one-year period to find beyond reasonable doubt that an agreement to violate § 666 was reached. The general unanimity instruction was insufficient,” according to the appeal.
Barnes, 65, is currently incarcerated at the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility on St. Croix after being moved in April from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, where she had been held since her conviction.
She has steadfastly maintained her innocence and has alleged that any fraud or theft that took place was the work of Violet Anne Golden, the former head of the Casino Control Commission, who pleaded guilty to misappropriating $295,503 of government funds in January 2020. Under her plea deal, Golden was sentenced to 24 months behind bars in August that year and was released in September 2021. She testified at Barnes’ trial on behalf of the prosecution.
According to court records, Golden and Barnes spent the money intended for agency operations on lavish trips, clothing, entertainment, and other unapproved items after Golden hired Barnes in 2015 to develop programs for people with gambling addictions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the expenditures included a chartered plane and VIP passes to the St. Kitts Music Festival, travel to casino-related conferences “so as to enjoy luxurious hotel stays with meals and room service at high-end places such as the Ritz Carlton Hotel,” excursions to Disney World in Florida and to see “Hamilton” on Broadway in New York.
“All told, the evidence established that Barnes received salary and benefits from the Casino Commission totaling over $600,000 in approximately three years,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The irregularities in spending and administrative functions were brought to light by an investigation of the V.I. Inspector General in 2018, which led to a referral to the FBI. Golden and Barnes were indicted on July 11, 2019, and arrested one week later.
However, Barnes alleged that not only did Golden operate without any oversight by her fellow commissioners and employees, but she had also been doing so since 2013 when she became chairwoman — two years before Barnes was hired.
Barnes is represented in her appeal by Kendys Pimentel-Soto of Puerto Rico, who was appointed by court order in August. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Sleeper is representing the government.
