VIDN_ContractsCronies1

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The Virgin Islands

Daily NewsA Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper

75 centsFriday, January 14, 200574th year, No. 20101

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Copyright © 2005Daily News Publishing Co.

$SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

20-PAGE SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE

Contractsand Cronies

By TIM FIELDS and MEGAN POINSKIDaily News Staff

TTwo years ago, the VirginIslands government gave a$650,000 contract to acompany with no qual-ifications to do the work.

Rejecting two other bidders that notonly were qualified but also would havesubcontracted some of the work to theUniversity of the Virgin Islands, thegovernment chose to give the contract toElite Technical Services Inc., eventhough the company:

• Had not done the projects itclaimed to have done.

• Had never employed people itclaimed were its key personnel — in

fact some of those people had nevereven heard of the company.

• Listed false V.I. addresses.• Had stateside principals.• Subcontracted 100 percent of the

project, in violation of V.I. law.Today, a year after the project

deadline, Elite has not completed thework, yet the V.I. Department ofPlanning and Natural Resources haspaid Elite $324,500 and has made noattempt to get the money back.

DPNR has a track record of favoringElite and companies with closeconnections to Elite. Over the last fouryears, the V.I. government has awarded

Elite $827,980 in contracts and paid it$501,972 — even though the territoryhas received only a fraction of what itwas supposed to get for that money.

DPNR went so far as to require thatHOVENSA have Elite review cokerplant construction plans before DPNRwould issue the permit.

HOVENSA had to pay Elite$125,755, and DPNR never looked atwhatever review Elite produced.

What is Elite Technical Services?Who has benefited from the contracts?

Today, The Daily News continues itsongoing investigation into the V.I.government’s contracts.

$The Virgin Islands Daily News

SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORTFriday, January 14, 2005

Copyright © 2005 Daily News Publishing Co. • 9155 Estate Thomas, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 00802 • www.virginislandsdailynews.com

Two years ago, theVirgin Islandsgovernmentawarded a $650,000contract for

mapping the territory’s coastalzone to a company that liedabout its qualifications, liedabout its past work and liedabout its staffing.

The government then allowedthat company, Elite TechnicalServices Inc., to violate V.I. lawby assigning 100 percent of theproject to subcontractors insteadof the 49 percent maximum the

law allows.Officials in the V.I. Elections

System and the V.I. PublicFinance Authority also workedfor those subcontractors.

The government paid half thecontracted amount to Elite eventhough Elite never finished theproject and even though V.I.Department of Planning andNatural Resources staff wrotescathing reviews of the meagerwork that Elite did deliver.

The work Elite delivered wasdeemed inadequate and“woefully incomplete,”

according to the DPNR staff’swritten reviews.

“There is absolutely no data inthis project draft in which tobuild a good conclusion,” wroteVictor Somme III, director ofCoastal Zone Management, thedivision of DPNR that oversawthe contract.

Elite’s contract now hasexpired, but the government hasmade no effort to get back anymoney and has not canceled thecontract.

Contractsand Cronies

Again and again the V.I. governmenthas funneled big money

to a favored fewthrough dealings tainted by

felonies, forgeries and false claimsBy TIM FIELDS and MEGAN POINSKI

Daily News Staff

ÓÓ See CONTRACTS, next page

2 • Friday, January 14, 2005 SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORT The Virgin Islands Daily News

E lite has received green lights from the V.I.government all along the way, startingwith the contract selection committee,

which chose Elite without checking the compa-ny’s resume.

The committee overlooked a number of seri-ous problems:

• Elite claimed that it had done major projectsthat it had not done and that were the work ofothers.

• Elite listed “key personnel” with technicalexperience who lived and worked in Atlanta,were employed by other firms, had no connectionto Elite and had no knowledge of Elite’s exis-tence.

• Elite had no local physical address. Elite’saddress listed on its resume and contract propos-al was a mail and telephone answering service inCrown Bay, St. Thomas.

• Elite did not have a V.I. business license toperform the work the contract required.

Government officials say they are at a loss toexplain how Elite’s shortcomings escaped notice.

“I was not aware of this,” DPNRCommissioner Dean Plaskett, who signed thecontract, told The Daily News last month.

V.I. Property and Procurement CommissionerMarc Biggs told The Daily News that he knewnothing about the problems in Elite’s resume andproposal.

Biggs characterized the shortcomings bluntly:“That sounds like fraud,” he said.

What is Elite?

E lite Technical Services is difficult to pindown. It has filed in the Virgin Islands asboth a partnership and a corporation, and

it has described its business in a variety of ways.A number of Elite’s partners, officers and key

personnel listed on government documents saythey had no involvement with the company anddid not sign Elite documents bearing their names.

Elite first surfaced in the Virgin Islands onMay 16, 2000, when it filed a partnership tradename registration certificate with the Lt.Governor’s Office.

The certificate listed the nature of the partner-ship’s business as “computer consulting and sys-tems consulting.”

The partners listed on Elite TechnicalServices’ trade name registration certificate are:

• Wayne Callwood, who is commissioner ofthe V.I. Public Works Department and owner ofCallwood and Associates, an engineering-sur-veying business.

• Earl Brewley, who is a longtime V.I. fire-fighter and taxi driver.

• Tammy Goodrum, who in May 2000 was aGeorgia resident with a full-time job in Atlanta.

Signatures appear under their names on the

document, which was stamped and signed May16, 2000, by Notary Public Michille A. Turnbull.

Callwood’s address is listed on the documentas 1B-11 Solberg, which is the office of his engi-neering business.

“I’m very, very, upset,” Callwood told TheDaily News after he examined the Elite docu-ment bearing his name.

“That’s not my signature. It’s all a forgery,” hesaid. “It’s mind-boggling how my name gotthere.”

Callwood told The Daily News that he has noidea how his name turned up on that document.

“I don’t know who these people are at all. Inever heard of Tammy Goodrum. Earl Brewley?I don’t know these people. I have no connectionto them,” he said.

Goodrum’s address on Elite’s partnership doc-ument is an Estate Tutu home, and it is false,according to the woman who has lived in thehouse for the last 25 years. She said thatGoodrum never has lived there and that she neverhas heard of Goodrum.

ContradictionsElite Technical Services filed incorporation

papers in the Virgin Islands on Feb. 26, 2001, lessthan a year after filing as a partnership.

In the incorporating document, Elite listedTammy Goodrum as president, Earl Brewley asvice president and Willis Mark as secretary-trea-surer. Goodrum, Brewley and Mark also are list-ed as board members. The document does notindicate who owns shares in the company.

Elite wrote in its incorporation filing that itsbusiness purpose is “to provide professional con-sulting services to the general public and busi-nesses.”

Elite’s document also said, “All of the purpos-es for which this corporation is formed shall beeducational and profit related.”

Elite described itself differently four monthslater in its September 2001 proposal for the$650,000 contract to map V.I. coastal zones.Elite said in that document that it was “an engi-neering and environmental firm that providesvery comprehensive consulting services for awide spectrum of clients.”

Elite further said that it was experienced andqualified in storm water evaluations, geographicinformation system (GIS) mapping, permittingservices and solid waste and air quality studies.

Elite project manager Esmond Modeste toldThe Daily News last month that Elite is “an engi-neering firm.”

He said he needed permission from Elite’sofficers before he could say anything further.Modeste would not answer Daily News ques-tions about what Elite does or supply a list of thecompany’s previous projects.

If Elite was an engineering firm, it would bedoing business beyond its legal scope in theVirgin Islands, according to V.I. Licensing andConsumer Affairs Commissioner AndrewRutnik.

A company that claims to be an engineeringfirm must have a V.I. business license to do engi-neering work.

“They would be operating illegally,” Rutniksaid.

Elite registered for its business license as a“project coordinator-consultant,” but to do engi-neering work, at least one of the officers wouldhave to be a licensed engineer in the VirginIslands, Rutnik said.

None of Elite’s three officers — Goodrum,Brewley and Mark — has an engineering licensein the Virgin Islands, Rutnik told The DailyNews this week after checking the license files.

Big moneyIn the last four years, DPNR has steered near-

ly $900,000 in contract work to Elite and $55,000to Global Business Solutions, an Atlanta firm thathas people in common with Elite.

Even though DPNR had paid large sums of

March 2000DPNR Director ofPermits Brent Blydenselects Elite TechnicalServices to reviewconstruction plans forHOVENSA’s $600million coker facility.

May 16, 2000Elite registerspartnership tradename.

Aug. 4, 2000DPNR says Elite did areview of HOVENSA’sconstruction plans.

Aug. 5, 2000Blyden approvesHOVENSA’s permit.

Sept. 27, 2000DPNR gets threeinvoices totaling$43,455.34 for Elite’sHOVENSA review.

Sept. 28, 2000Elite informs Blyden itsoffices are movingfrom 14 CharlotteAmalie to 168 CrownBay Suite 310.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE V.I. GOVERNMENT’S DEALINGS WITH ELITE TECHNICAL SERVICES


CONTRACTS CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Government turned blind eye to violations

V.I. Public Works Commissioner Wayne Callwood says his signature was forged to make itappear he was a partner in Elite.

money to Elite, the department’s files on thecompany and its contract were in disarray whenThe Daily News examined them in July andreceived copies of what DPNR said were allpages of all documents in the Elite files. TheDaily News found:

• DPNR lacked a master file on the $650,000contract.

• Correspondence and files were scatteredpiecemeal between DPNR’s St. Thomas and St.Croix offices.

• The reports in the files lacked specific infor-mation.

According to DPNR Commissioner Plaskett,problems with Elite prompted him to instruct theV.I. Property and Procurement Department toterminate Elite’s contract.

Property and Procurement CommissionerBiggs said that he never has received that orderand that to date the contract has not been can-celed.

Plaskett’s explanation to The Daily News wasthat the contract already had expired and no fur-ther work could be done on it.

DPNR has not recovered any money fromElite. Plaskett first said DPNR had contacted fed-eral authorities and would leave it up to them tocollect the federal funds, but later he said DPNRdid not want to involve federal authorities.

What work wasElite paid to do?

I n preparation for the Comprehensive Landand Water Use Plan, DPNR needed consider-able information about the V.I. coastal zone.

DPNR received $650,000 from the federalgovernment — part of an environmental damagesettlement with AT&T — and the money went tothe Coastal Zone Management Division for thisproject.

Elite submitted a proposal to:• Map, survey and chart the V.I. coastal zone

and submerged lands using geographic informa-tion system — known as GIS — technology.

• Map public access routes to the territory’sbeaches.

• Set design standards for development in thecoastal zone.

• Assess the economic value of the coastalzone.

• Create a dock identification system.• Establish development guidelines for the

coastal zone.Elite competed for the highly technical project

work against two established firms: Gee &Jensen and Maguire Group. Both of those com-panies have years of technical experience onVirgin Islands projects, have local offices andagents and have hundreds of employees nation-wide.

Gee & Jensen and Maguire Group both were

The Virgin Islands Daily News SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORT Friday, January 14, 2005 • 3

Dec. 8, 2000HOVENSA writes$82,300 check to EliteTechnical Services.This followsHOVENSA’s $43,455check to Elite inOctober 2000.

Dec. 22, 2000HOVENSA pays DPNR$4,100 for “administra-tive handling” of plansfor Elite. This followsHOVENSA’s $2,173check to DPNR inOctober 2000.

Feb. 2, 2001Elite Vice PresidentEarl Brewley is listedas resident agent forPubSafe.

Feb. 26, 2001Elite files Articles ofIncorporation.Certificate issued 11months later.

March 13, 2001Elite submits $61,200bid to DPNR Directorof EnvironmentalProtection DivisionHollis Griffin forHazMat training forDPNR.

March 15, 2001PubSafe gets V.I.business license. Listsits address as theDPNR office at KingAirport on St. Thomas.


Why the V.I. government needs to map the coastal zoneThe intent of Elite Technical Services’

$650,000 contract was to provide up-to-date geographical data and to developguidelines to help the territory manageand oversee its precious and dwindlingnatural resources.

Although the contract was signed morethan two years ago and most of the workhas been paid for, neither of these projectobjectives have been completed.

The contract tasks were:• Map and inventory the territory’s

submerged lands and establish theeconomic value of those lands. Thegeographic information system mappingis a critical element in the long-awaitedComprehensive Land and Water UsePlan for the territory. The economicanalysis required gathering diversestatistics — including fishing and cruiseship revenues — and factoring them intoa valuation. That data would be useful inproducing the territory’s entire economicpicture.

• Identify and map all existing publicaccess routes to the territory’s beaches.No such map exists, even though underV.I. law, all beaches are public and mustbe accessible to the public via customaryavenues of access.

• Develop design standards for coastalzone development. Strict standardswould ensure that development is

designed in harmony with the naturalsurroundings, encourage minimal siteclearance, avoid or ensure screening ofdevelopment that interferes with scenicviews, and prevent or reduce themassing of building along undevelopedshores.

• Develop rules and regulations for

setbacks in environmentally sensitive areas.• Create a dock identification and

permitting strategy. This would help theV.I. Department of Planning and NaturalResources enforcement officers finddocks by establishing the equivalent ofaddresses. It also would be invaluable inenforcing permit compliance.

Daily News Photos by SEAN McCOY

Maps and economic values for the territory’s coastal zone are essential to the long-awaited Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan. Thatplan will give the territory information tools for controlling development in such areas as Lindqvist Beach.

All Virgin Islands beaches are public, but the territory has no maps showing access routes.

CONTRACTSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 2


qualified to do every portion of the projectexcept the GIS mapping, which both said theywould pay the University of the Virgin Islandsto do.

Stevie Henry, data manager for UVI’sConservation Data Center, told The Daily Newsthat both Gee & Jensen and Maguire Groupmade proposals to subcontract the GIS work tothe university.

Henry said UVI already does most of the terri-tory’s GIS work.

Elite contacted UVI about the GIS work butnever followed up, Henry said.

Who worksfor Elite?

T he V.I. government did not check intoElite’s representatives nor did it verify the“key personnel” Elite listed on the

resume it submitted to get the $650,000 contract.The personnel are:

Tammy GoodrumElite’s company resume lists Tammy

Goodrum as its co-founder and president and oneof the “key personnel” who would work on theproject.

However, Goodrum had a full-time job inAtlanta throughout the time she was supposed tobe working on Elite’s DPNR contract.

Goodrum, an accountant, worked in Georgiaas a “headhunter” — a recruiter who matchedfinancial professionals with jobs — forAccountants On Call, an Atlanta staffing firm.

The resume for Goodrum that Elite submittedto DPNR with its contract proposal states thatGoodrum worked at AOC from 1996 to 1998and that she became president of Elite in 2000.

However, according to AOC, Goodrumremained in that job until March 2003.

Goodrum told The Daily News that she did notwork on Elite’s contract with DPNR and was nolonger with Elite when it got the contract.

Goodrum recently moved from Atlanta andnow works at Acsys Inc., also a professionalstaffing company, in Charlotte, N.C. She uses adifferent last name: Broadnax.

She said last month that she was surprised tobe contacted about the Elite contract because, shesaid, she resigned from Elite “a forever ago.”

Goodrum said she could not recall the exactdate she left Elite.

Even though numerous Elite documents onfile with the V.I. government bear Goodrum’sname and signature, she said she did not work onthe contract proposal or the project.

Property and Procurement records showGoodrum did not attend the negotiations to getthe $650,000 contract. Brewley and Modeste didthe negotiating.

“This is not a good thing,” Goodrum said. “Itsounds like they’ve been doing stuff I don’t knowanything about.

“This is a bombshell,” she said. “I’m shocked.I think I need to get an attorney.”

She then said: “It looks like it’s too late. I’malready screwed, and I didn’t make anything onit.”

She has refused to say anything further.

Earl BrewleyElite’s resume lists Earl Brewley as co-founder

and vice president of the company and a memberof the staff. He lives on St. Thomas, where heworks full-time as a firefighter.

V.I. Fire Service Director Merwin Potter saidthat in more than 21 years as a firefighter,Brewley has no commendations and no substan-tial amount of additional training.

“I would say that he is a person who comes,just does his work and goes when his time isdone,” Potter said.

Brewley also drives a taxi van on St. Thomas.According to Brewley’s taxi file at the V.I.Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs,he bought his medallion — No. 0209 — for$10,000 on Feb. 6, 1987.

Brewley has driven the taxi for most of the last18 years. He leased the license plates and themedallion only once, for three months in 1991.

Brewley did not want to discuss EliteTechnical Services with The Daily News.

He did not return numerous telephone mes-sages from The Daily News or respond to a lettersent to his Nadir home requesting information onhis role in Elite.

Daily News reporters also sought to interviewBrewley on Dec. 29 while he was on duty at theTutu fire station.

When a Daily News reporter approachedBrewley and identified herself, Brewley said, “Idon’t know anything,” and left the building. Hejumped down off a three-foot-tall concreteembankment, ran to his taxi van parked at a near-by gas station and sped away.

Esmond ModesteElite files at DPNR identify Esmond Modeste

as Elite’s project manager. He is an Atlanta-arearesident and has businesses there.

Modeste spoke briefly with The Daily Newsbut deferred all substantive questions to Elite’sboard of directors. Modeste did not respond to asubsequent letter delivered from The Daily Newsto his Atlanta office requesting more information.

Modeste represented Elite at meetings withDPNR officials and wrote the majority of the cor-

respondence between Elite and DPNR.He also negotiated on Elite’s behalf with

DPNR and subcontractors.In addition, Modeste received and signed for a

$155,760 government check made out to Elite inOctober 2003.

Even so, Modeste told The Daily News, henever was an Elite employee. He said he workedwith Elite only “on a consulting basis.”

Modeste said he has “a wealth of information”about Elite, but he said he could not disclose any-thing until “Tammy” or “Mr. Brewley” gave himpermission.

He said he had received no communicationfrom either of them. He did not know“Tammy’s” last name or how to reach her.

When The Daily News told Modeste thatGoodrum had referred all questions to him, hesaid he would need to hear that referral directlyfrom her.

“I would hate to say the wrong thing to you,”Modeste said. “We are not on the best of terms,Elite and I, so I have to be very careful. Theydon’t have my services anymore.”

Modeste said he parted with Elite “monthsago” because he concluded that he was not goingto get money that had been promised to him.

He would not specify how much he is owed orhow much he had received, but he did say, “Myservices are very costly.”

Modeste said his attorney has advised him notto say anything else about Elite.

Modeste has other business links to govern-ment contracts in the Virgin Islands and to Elite.He is chief executive officer of Georgia-basedGlobal Business Solutions.

The V.I. Fire Service gave Global BusinessSolutions $55,000 in 2002 to do brush fire train-ing. Elite’s Earl Brewley, who is a V.I. firefight-er, is also Global Business Solutions’ residentagent in the Virgin Islands.

Who were Elite’s‘key personnel’?

E lite’s contract proposal included theresumes of three skilled technicians it list-ed as “key personnel,” but none of the

three worked for Elite, and Elite PresidentTammy Goodrum told The Daily News shenever had heard of them. Goodrum also said shedid not produce the resumes or the proposal and

did not know who did.The three professionals are:

Tshaka WarrenElite listed Tshaka Warren as one of its highly

skilled technicians who would be working on theGIS mapping contract.

However, Warren said that he has worked forthe City of Atlanta’s Bureau of Planning since1999 and never has worked for Elite. He said theresume was his, but he did not know how Elitegot it.

He observed that Elite made two mistakeswhen it copied his resume. It identified Warren,who is a man, as “Ms. Tshaka Warren,” and itlisted him as a GIS analyst.

“I’m not a GIS analyst,” Warren said.

Romel V. Wallace Jr. Elite listed Romel V. Wallace Jr. as its engi-

neer who would be working on the GIS contractproject.

However, Wallace has worked as a facilitiesmanager for Banco Popular de Puerto Rico on St.Thomas since 1998 and was an electrical engi-neer for the V.I. Water and Power Authority from1991 to 1998.

He told The Daily News that he has continuedto do engineering work on the side but that he hasnever worked for Elite and has never heard ofElite.

Wallace said the resume Elite submitted washis, but he did not know how Elite got it.

David Lloyd-DavisElite listed David Lloyd-Davis as one of its

highly skilled technicians who would be workingon the GIS mapping contract.

However, Lloyd-Davis was a senior urbanplanner and a GIS analyst for the City ofAtlanta’s Bureau of Planning from 1996 to 2000.When he left that job, he took a position withKHAFRA, an Atlanta-based, minority-ownedengineering firm, and stayed until June 2003,KHAFRA officials confirmed. That put him withKHAFRA before and during the time Eliteclaimed he was an Elite employee.

However, Elite listed him as one of its projectmanagers since 2001.

Lloyd-Davis told The Daily News he neverhas heard of Elite and never has worked for Elite.He also said he never has heard of Goodrum,Modeste or Brewley.

“I don’t know any of these people,” he said.Lloyd-Davis said the resume Elite submitted

was his — except that it omitted his work after2000.

“My resume must have been changed,” hesaid.

Lloyd-Davis said he did not know how Elitegot his resume, but he recalled that he did give itto a KHAFRA colleague, David Tucker, in early2001. He said Tucker told him he had connec-tions in the Virgin Islands, was trying to get a V.I.contract and needed someone with GIS experi-ence.

Lloyd-Davis said he had started recently atKHAFRA and did not know how the firm mar-keted itself. He said he thought that Tucker want-

April 19, 2001DPNR CommissionerDean Plaskett directsProperty andProcurementCommissioner MarcBiggs to OK paying Elitefor HazMat training.

May 15, 2001Plaskett approvespayments of $61,200to Elite.

July 17, 2001DPNR’s Hollis Griffinasks Elite for moretraining. Elite VicePresident Earl Brewleysays Elite will charge$26,780 more.

Sept. 5, 2001Griffin signs Elitepayment voucher for$26,780.

Sept. 6, 2001Elite submits resumeand proposal toProperty andProcurement for GISmapping contract.

Nov. 17, 2001Plaskett signsdocument to secure$90,000 from thefederal State EnergyProgram for Elite to doan energy codesanalysis.




A Daily News reporter sought to interviewElite Vice President Earl Brewley on Dec. 29,2004, at the Tutu Fire Station. As soon as thereporter identified herself, Brewley said, “I don’tknow anything,” and left the building. Hejumped down off a three-foot concreteembankment, ran to his taxi van parked at anearby gas station and sped away.


ed his resume to help KHAFRA get contracts.“The way it works is that the firm would get

the job, and I would be working on it,” he said.Lloyd-Davis also gave Tucker a copy of

Tshaka Warren’s resume because they hadworked together for the City of Atlanta and hehoped KHAFRA would hire Warren.

Tucker did not bring up the subject of the GIScontract again, Lloyd-Davis said.

He said that he asked Tucker about it a yearlater and that Tucker said the bid never was sub-mitted.

Tucker lost his job at KHAFRA in October2003. He has filed a lawsuit against the company.

Tucker has his own engineering firm, theAtlanta-based PubSafe Engineering ConsultantsInc., which he launched in 1999.

The V.I. government gave PubSafe a $300,000contract in 2001 to review and write air qualitypermits for DPNR.

PubSafe is on file at the V.I. Lt. Governor’sOffice as a foreign corporation with a local agent,which it must have to do business in the VirginIslands.

PubSafe’s local agent is Earl Brewley.When The Daily News contacted Tucker and

asked him about Brewley’s role in his companyand asked whether Tucker collected resumesfrom his former colleagues at KHAFRA, hewould not answer specifically. To each question,he gave the same response: “I am the president ofPubSafe Engineering Consultants. I bidded on acontract. It was a competitive contract. I got thecontract. I did the work. I went home. That’s all.”

Tucker also refused to say whether he workedwith Elite. “I’m not going to commit myself tothat kind of an answer,” he said.

Elite named Tucker as one of its engineerswho would review the plans for HOVENSA’scoker plant, which was one of several other con-tracts Elite received through the V.I. government.

Tucker would not answer Daily Newsquestions about whether he worked on theHOVENSA job for Elite.

Julio KingElite identified Julio King in its proposal as

“the outside consultant usually retained.” He isthe owner of J.U.B. King & Associates Inc. on St.Thomas.

King, whose firm is a general contractor pro-viding architectural and construction projectmanagement, told The Daily News he never hasheard of Elite and never has done work for anycompany by that name.

He said he did not know how his companyprofile got into Elite’s proposal, but he observedthat the profile is on file at DPNR because he isrequired to provide his work history every timehe applies for a permit.

King said he did not know Goodrum orModeste.

“I’ve never heard of them,” he said.He said he does know Brewley.

Other engineersElite’s invoice to HOVENSA on a different

contract also claimed workers who did not doanything for Elite.

Three out of the four engineers Elite said itused to review plans for the refinery’s cokerplant review said they never have worked forElite and never worked on HOVENSA’splans.

Yet Elite charged HOVENSA for four engi-neers’ work — including $16,000 for over-time.

The fourth engineer was David Tucker, whois owner of PubSafe Engineering Consultantsand has links to Elite.

What experiencedid Elite claim?

A s with the professionals Elite saidwere its “key personnel,” the projectsElite said it had done were an ideal

match for the GIS project.And as with the resumes, the government

would have found Elite misrepresented itsproject experience — if the government hadchecked.

GIS mappingElite’s proposal specified that it used GIS

technology to complete several projects inAtlanta, including “The Rivers Road SewerRehabilitation,” “The Creek Crossing Repair& Rehabilitation Project,” and “The SouthRiver Sewer Inspection.”

Elite included examples of GIS maps ofseveral of those projects.

KHAFRA officials and David Lloyd-Davissaid “The Rivers Road Sewer Rehabilitation”and “The Creek Crossing Repair &Rehabilitation Project” were KHAFRA’swork, not Elite’s.

Michael Leung, a principal in KHAFRA,said the GIS maps in Elite’s proposal toDPNR were KHAFRA’s own work done forthe City of Atlanta “in a joint venture knownas Atlanta Sewer Group.”

“We could not find any record indicatingthat Elite Technical Services was in any wayinvolved with this project,” Leung said.

Leung said David Tucker — formerKHAFRA employee and now PubSafe presi-dent — had access to the documents thatended up in Elite’s proposal. Lloyd-Davis alsohad access to them, Leung said.

“Neither of these two gentlemen had theauthorization to use these documents for any pur-pose outside KHAFRA business,” Leung said.

Elite’s claims also were discredited by var-ious Georgia agencies. Officials with the Stateof Georgia, the City of Atlanta and surround-ing Atlanta counties — DeKalb, Fulton, Cobband Gwinnett counties — all said the projectswere not done for their departments. Nonewho spoke with The Daily News could find arecord of Elite performing any work for them.

Land use planningElite also claimed it worked on GIS maps

for the 15-year Land Use ComprehensiveDevelopment Plan done by the City of AtlantaPlanning Division.

John Heath, the project manager and coor-dinator, told The Daily News he never hadheard of Elite. All the GIS maps for the 15-year Land Use Comprehensive DevelopmentPlan were done by city employees, he said.

Publishing GIS maps and graphicsElite included an Atlanta Job Corps Center

booklet in its list of projects. Elite describedits work as “illustrating a marketing presenta-tion that was developed to convince a localeducational institution to remain in the citylimits.”

Elite further wrote that “the presentationwas developed by integrating GIS data andother graphics.”

Atlanta Job Corps personnel told The DailyNews they never have heard of Elite. JobCorps personnel said pages of a booklet thatwere included with Elite’s proposal appearedto be from the city’s presentation to try to keepthe Job Corps center in the city limits.

The Job Corps did not hire anybody to dothat booklet, they said.

How did Eliteget the contract?

I n November 2001, a V.I. Property andProcurement selection committee met toevaluate GIS mapping proposals from three

firms: Gee & Jensen, Maguire Group and EliteTechnical Services.

The committee comprised Nicole Robertsand Sal Griffith of Property and Procurementand Kerten Peters and Janice Hodge of DPNR.Hodge was director of DPNR’s Coastal ZoneManagement Division.

The committee rated each company based onits proposal and qualifications, responsivenessand dedication, experience and completiontime for contract documents, according to the

official rating sheets. Based on the scores, thecommittee determined Elite was the most capa-ble company overall.

Members of the committee told The DailyNews that they do not recall fact-checkingElite’s credentials.

Had the committee checked the company’sclaims, it could have found that Elite had listedphantom staff and claimed experience it did nothave.

Property and Procurement CommissionerMarc Biggs excused the lack of scrutiny bysaying he does not require that resumes bechecked because he believes the burden is onthe bidder.

“It is a requirement that they tell the truth,”Biggs said. “If an individual attests to a resumeand certifies what they submit and it is not true,that is grounds for canceling the contract.”

Hodge, who has left CZM and now lives onNevis, told The Daily News last week that shedid not question Elite’s claims because Elitealready had done work for other DPNR offices.

“The determination was based on the pro-posal submitted,” she said.

She acknowledged that she did not questionElite representatives about their qualifications.

Hodge said she never met Elite PresidentTammy Goodrum but did meet Elite projectmanager Esmond Modeste and Elite VicePresident Earl Brewley.

“I met with Modeste as part of the project. Ican’t recall if that was the first time I met him.

“Brewley was one of the company represen-tatives. I did not know him either,” she said.

Hodge said she did not question Brewley’squalification to be vice president of a highlyspecialized engineering firm because she didnot know that his occupations were firefighterand taxi driver.

“I didn’t know anything about him,” shesaid.

Once the committee awarded the highestscore to Elite, the next step was negotiating theproject cost.

Elite, however, failed to respond promptly.Property and Procurement notified

Goodrum, Elite’s president, that negotiationswould be on Dec. 10, 2001.

No one from Elite showed up for the meet-ing.

Property and Procurement scheduled a sec-ond meeting for Dec. 18, 2001. Goodrum didnot attend that meeting either, but Modeste andBrewley did attend, according to the meeting’sroster.

Modeste and Brewley wanted $725,000 todo the project but agreed to take $650,000.

In January 2002, Biggs sent an approvedevaluation report to DPNR CommissionerDean Plaskett.

The contract then moved through the chainof approvals: Plaskett signed it in February2002; Biggs signed it in April 2002. The V.I.Justice Department approved it for legal suffi-ciency in October 2002, and Gov. CharlesTurnbull signed it on Oct. 31, 2002.

In December 2002, the V.I. FinanceDepartment cut its first check to Elite for$162,250.

Nov. 21, 2001Property andProcurement selectsElite for GIS mappingcontract.

Dec. 21, 2001Esmond Modeste,Brewley negotiate forElite, agree to take$650,000 for the GISproject.

Dec. 28, 2001Letter from ElitePresident TammyGoodrum authorizesBrewley as Elite’srepresentative.

Feb. 6, 2002Gov. Charles Turnbullsigns Global BusinessSolutions contract for$55,000 for V.I. FireService training.

Aug. 7, 2002Gov. Turnbull signsElite’s energy codescontract for $90,000.

Oct. 31, 2002Gov. Turnbull signsElite’s GIS mappingcontract for $650,000.


CONTRACTSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 “This is a bombshell. I’m shocked. I think I

need to get an attorney.

“It looks like it’s too late. I’m already screwed,and I didn’t make anything on it.”

— Tammy Goodrum, Elite Technical Services president


Nov. 8, 2002Biggs asks AttorneyGeneral Iver Stridironto change Elite’senergy contract to OKup-front payment andextend deadline.

Dec. 12, 2002Elite receives$162,250 first paymenton GIS contract. Elite’swork is already twomonths overdue.

March 31, 2003Elite submits “Draft ofU.S. Virgin IslandsEnergy and WaterConservation BuildingCode.” DPNR does notstamp it as a documentreceived from outside.

May 12, 2003CZM Director JaniceHodge demands GISupdate from Elite,complains Elite has notprovided any monthlyprogress reports.

July 10, 2003Modeste submitsunsigned progressreport to CZM.

July 11, 2003Hodge approvessecond payment forElite for $162,250

Who were Elite’ssubcontractors?

E lite cashed its $162,250 check and thenviolated V.I. law by subcontracting theentire project to two companies: Opus

Management Group and Paradigm Design.While Elite officials told DPNR staff many

times that they could prove the company wasdoing at least 51 percent of the work, DPNR staffsaid they never did.

Under V.I. law (Code of the Virgin IslandsRules Title 31, Chapter 23, Rule 000-75 § 242-81), companies receiving government contractsmust do at least 51 percent of the work them-selves.

“If that is not done, it’s reported to theDepartment of Justice,” said Property andProcurement Commissioner Marc Biggs.

DPNR Commissioner Dean Plaskett, howev-er, excused Elite’s subcontracting, saying that nolaw requires government contractors to do atleast 51 percent of the work themselves.

“That is a policy of Property and Procurement.It is not in the law,” Plaskett said. “There is noth-ing illegal with outsourcing.”

In a later interview with The Daily News,however, Plaskett corrected himself, saying hewas mistaken and that the law does require con-tractors to do 51 percent of the work themselves.

High-ranking V.I. government officials weretied in with one of Elite’s subcontractors.

Opus Management GroupElite promised to pay $190,000 to Opus

Management Group to do the GIS mapping,dock identification and economic analysis — themajority of the work in Elite’s $650,000 contract— according to Opus President Andrea Daley.

Daley, who is an accountant, said Opus placespeople with technical skills with companies andgovernment agencies to help them fulfill theircontracts. She said Elite contacted Opus becauseOpus had assisted DPNR with a surveying pro-ject.

Opus’ articles of incorporation list ClaritaStewart as an incorporating officer. Stewart, whois an accountant and notary public, notarized aDec. 28, 2001, letter signed by Elite PresidentTammy Goodrum authorizing Elite VicePresident Earl Brewley to represent the companyin all transactions with the V.I. government.

According to federal and territorial court files,Stewart has been found guilty of numerousfelonies.

In 2001, Stewart’s company, C&AManagement Services, received a $7,000 con-tract from the V.I. Elections System to conduct areview and audit of campaign disclosure results.V.I. Elections Supervisor John Abramson Jr. isvice president of Opus Management Group.

Abramson worked on Elite’s coastal zone eco-nomic study. Abramson said that he does someteaching for Opus but that he knows nothingabout Elite.

He said he was paid a $5,000 retainer to do thecoastal study, but he could not finish the workbecause government agencies did not provide thenecessary data on taxes, fees, fish and wildlifecounts, fishermen and boat counts, federal funds,environmental impact, employment, coastal-related jobs and numerous other factors.

“People were reluctant to give information,which made completing the project difficult,”Abramson said.

Also linked to Opus is Brian Turnbull, specialprojects coordinator at the V.I. Public FinanceAuthority, who worked for Opus as a consultant.While working for Opus, Turnbull acted as a liai-son between Elite and DPNR and helped negoti-ate extended deadlines for Elite after the compa-ny missed deadlines and submitted incompletework.

Turnbull told The Daily News last month thathe no longer worked with Opus or Elite. Herefused to say anything further about his work foreither company.

Daley said Elite did not make good on itspromise to pay Opus. Elite paid Opus only$80,000, in two installments of $40,000 each,leaving Opus $110,000 short. Daley said thatshortfall stretched the company too thin andcontributed to Opus having to close both of itsoffices, one on St. Thomas and one on St.Croix.

“This project hit us really hard,” Daley said.“We overextended ourselves.”

Daley said that Opus was able to finish thedock identification project, which required nocontact with government agencies. However,when DPNR’s Coastal Zone ManagementDivision reviewed the draft that Opus completed,the CZM staff saw that it needed changes andadditions. Those never were submitted.

Jo-Ann BurkeJo-Ann Burke is a Montserrat resident who

works for the Montserrat Lands and SurveyDepartment.

Opus President Andrea Daley said that Burke isthe GIS-qualified person that Opus usually hires.

Burke agreed to do the GIS mapping forElite’s project, but she told The Daily News thatshe was not able to get much done because shecould not get information she needed from theV.I. government.

Burke said she never was paid for working onthe project, so she never finished it. She now is onleave from her job on Montserrat and is studyingin England.

“Something was not right with it,” Burke toldThe Daily News, referring to Elite’s GIS contract.

Paradigm DesignElite assigned Paradigm Design to produce the

design manual for coastal zone development, butthe Elite files do not show evidence that the man-ual was done.

Paradigm is a St. Thomas architectural anddesign firm now known as Vaccarino Associates.

The Elite contract files show that Paradigmcomplained to the Coastal Zone ManagementDivision that Elite failed to pay on time.Paradigm reduced its scope of work and reducedits fee at Elite’s request.

Rossana Vaccarino, president of Paradigm, did

not return Daily News telephone calls requestingmore information.

How did Elite getpayments and

new deadlines?

E lite failed to fulfill its contract obligationsfrom the start, but time and again the V.I.government gave the company new

deadlines.Elite was required to submit monthly reports to

the Coastal Zone Management Division, but itdid not submit its first report until seven monthsinto the contract.

According to DPNR documents, on July 11,2003, CZM Director Janice Hodge, who had beenon the committee that selected Elite, approved asecond $162,250 payment to Elite — despite herstaff’s scathing review of the progress report.

The CZM staff review, dated Aug. 4, 2003,cited Elite’s failures to submit many parts of thework and even cited myriad misspellings inElite’s progress report.

Among the review comments: “To date pro-jects are beyond the deadlines for completion,and Elite has not communicated with CZM as towhen it hopes to have these outstanding projectscompleted.”

DPNR files contain a letter dated Sept. 18,2003, from DPNR Commissioner Dean Plaskettto Property and Procurement CommissionerMarc Biggs in which Plaskett expressed concernabout Elite’s poor performance and said he mightneed assistance in recapturing the funds.

DPNR files also contain a directive dated Sept.18, 2003, from Diana Richardson, director ofDPNR’s business office, to the V.I. FinanceDepartment instructing Finance to hold Elite’ssecond check, according to DPNR files.

Elite got paid anyway.In October 2003 — the month all work on the

$650,000 project was due — Brian Turnbullhelped negotiate new deadlines for Elite, and theV.I. government released the second $162,250check to the company.

The second payment was for consultation ser-vices on the contract, so the Finance Departmentwithheld gross receipts taxes, leaving a netamount of $155,760.

The negotiated terms required Elite to provideproof it was doing 51 percent of the work.

Elite never produced proof acceptable toCZM.

Elite submitted two progress reports in 2004.The CZM staff’s analysis of those reports wasseverely negative. Elite’s work was incomplete,some work had not been done at all and Elite hadmissed its renegotiated deadlines, according tothe analysis.

CZM staff also reported that the coastal zoneeconomic analysis Elite delivered was useless.

Elite blamed the government for the shortcom-ings. Elite said it had missed deadlines becauseCZM’s staff did not communicate and V.I. gov-ernment agencies would not provide data essen-tial to the project.

Elite was supposed to send letters to the appro-priate V.I. agencies asking for the information forthe project.

DPNR’s files on Elite contain drafts of letterson DPNR letterhead, addressed to governmentagencies and written as coming from the gover-nor. The letters requested the data needed fordetermining the economic value of tourist recre-ational activities associated with the coast, com-mercial fishing revenues, cruise ship revenues,port activities and all other revenue-generatingactivities associated with the coast.

DPNR provided Elite with those drafts, butPlaskett said he doubted the letters ever weremailed.

The files do not clarify whether Elite or DPNRwas supposed to send the letters.

DPNR’s progress reports urged Elite to makeappointments with the agencies and discuss whatdata Elite needed. Nothing in the files indicatesthat Elite did that or passed such information onto its subcontractors, some of whom met withCZM staff about their frustrations with Elite.

Plaskett acknowledged that although Elite wasnot performing to DPNR’s satisfaction, he gavethe company more time.

“We had to make an effort for them to curetheir default status,” Plaskett said.

In June 2004, Elite project manager EsmondModeste asked DPNR for another deadlineextension.

In July 2004 — 19 months after Elite cashedits first check on the contract — Plaskett wrote aletter directing Property and Procurement to can-cel the contract, he said.

That letter is in DPNR’s files, but Biggs toldThe Daily News he knew nothing about it.Property and Procurement counsel Lynn Millenalso said that she never has seen that letter.

What isthe next step?

A fter The Daily News started investigat-ing the Elite contract, government offi-cials told The Daily News that they

would take action to solve the problems.Property and Procurement Commissioner

Marc Biggs said he was launching an investiga-tion into all aspects of the Elite contract and thecompany.

Coastal Zone Management Director VictorSomme III, who replaced Janice Hodge, said thathe spoke with the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration’s Ocean andCoastal Zone Management Office about havingNOAA review the Elite project but that DPNRdecided against inviting a federal review.

“We decided that we, the staff, would reviewthe work again,” Somme said. “We would stillsolicit an independent review, but we are not surethat we would want our federal partners to pro-vide that review.”

DPNR Commissioner Plaskett said his depart-ment is looking into the matter without federalassistance.

“We feel it is a local issue, and we will handleit that way,” Plaskett said.




Aug. 4, 2003CZM staff harshlycriticizes Elite’sprogress report.

September 2003Hodge leaves CZM.

Sept. 18, 2003DPNR tells Finance tohold Elite’s secondcheck.

Sept. 19, 2003Paradigm Designcomplains to actingCZM Director BillRohring about Elite.

Sept. 26, 2003Modeste asks DPNRcommissioner Plaskettto extend the contractdeadlines.

Sept. 30, 2003CZM staff and Elitesubcontractor OpusManagement Groupproject manager BrianTurnbull work out newdeadlines with Modesteto turn in GIS project.

“It is a requirement that they tell the truth.”— Property and Procurement Commissioner Marc Biggs,

explaining why he does not require that resumes be checked

Government never spotted fake addressesBy TIM FIELDSand MEGAN POINSKIDaily News Staff

T he V.I. government overlooked obvi-ously false addresses that EliteTechnical Services Inc. listed in doc-

umented communications with the govern-ment.

The government never checked, neverraised a red flag.

The false physical addresses were onElite’s notarized articles of incorporationand trade name registrations and in contractsand communication between Elite TechnicalServices and the V.I. government.

Since 2000, Elite has listed three locationsas its business address:

• 14 Estate Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas• 168 Crown Bay, Suite 310, St. Thomas• 2C Contant, Suite 206, St. ThomasTwo of those addresses are the addresses

of other businesses.Elite Technical Services listed the 14

Estate Charlotte Amalie address on its busi-ness license, issued Sept. 20, 2000, and onits partnership trade name registration filedMay 16, 2000.

In addition, Global Business Solutions, aGeorgia-based company whose owner isalso Elite’s project manager and whose localagent is Elite’s vice president, listed 14Estate Charlotte Amalie as its local businessaddress on government documents.

Neither Elite nor Global BusinessSolutions were at 14 Estate CharlotteAmalie.

J.U.B. King & Associates occupies thatlocation. Julio King, owner of that business,said he has been in his present location sinceFebruary 2000 and is the only person whohas had an office there during that period.

“I didn’t give any authorization for any-one to use my office as theirs,” King said.

King said that he has known Earl Brewley,Elite vice president and Global BusinessSolutions project manager, since high schoolbut that he never has heard of those twocompanies. He said he does not know any ofElite and Global’s other key personnel.

The address is not Elite’s only claim con-cerning King. Elite’s $650,000 contract pro-posal claimed it usually used King’s firm asan outside consultant.

King said he never has worked with Eliteor any of its officers before.

“I just can’t believe the magnitude of this,”King told The Daily News after learning ofElite’s use of his firm’s address and name.

The next business address Elite listed was168 Crown Bay, Suite 310, St. Thomas. Eliteput that address on its articles of incorpora-tion, notarized Feb. 26, 2001.

That address is the location of St. ThomasCommunications, which does not rent outoffice space. It provides telephone answer-ing and mail-pickup service. St. ThomasCommunications will answer its telephoneusing the customer’s business name. It cando that via a telephone system that identifiesincoming calls.

Calls to the telephone number Elite listed

as its number in its government documentsand on Elite company letterhead go to theanswering service.

The third address Elite put on a govern-ment document was 2C Contant, Suite 206.Elite listed it on its articles of incorporation,notarized Feb. 26, 2001, as the corporation’saddress.

Elite Technical Services’ name is on adirectory sign outside the building and overan office door, but the office’s windows areboarded up. The door has been locked everytime The Daily News has visited the office

since July.Elite’s mail is directed to St. Thomas

Communications.The building at 2C Contant also is the

location of C&A Management, owned byaccountant Clarita Stewart, who is an incor-porator and board member of one of Elite’ssubcontractors, Opus Management Group.

Opus, too, used the building at 2C Contantas an address.

Global Business Solutions, whose owneris Elite’s project manager, put a questionableGeorgia address on its V.I. and Georgia doc-uments.

Global Business Solutions listed its mainoffice as 5231-E Memorial Drive, Suite 256,Stone Mountain, Ga.

That address belonged to a MailBoxesEtc. that closed in 2004.

The Daily News sent a registered letter toGlobal Business Solutions at that location. Itwas refused and returned to The Daily News.

Elite’s president, Tammy Goodrum, listedan Estate Tutu address as her residence onElite’s partnership registration in 2000,although at the time she was living inAtlanta and working full time for a staffingfirm.

The woman who has lived at the EstateTutu address for more than 25 years told TheDaily News that Goodrum never lived there.The woman said she never has rented outrooms to anyone and never has heard ofGoodrum or Elite or anyone else involvedwith Elite.

Willis Mark, another of the partners listedon Elite’s partnership registration, listed hishome address as 148 Estate Tutu, an incom-plete address because it encompasses dozensof houses.

Daily News Photo

Elite Technical Services Inc. claimed it waslocated at an address in Crown Bay that is amail-pickup and telephone-answering service.

By TIM FIELDSand MEGAN POINSKIDaily News Staff

T hough many of the public documentspertaining to Elite Technical Servicesare signed, it is unclear just whose sig-

natures are on them.Throughout the documents, signatures

appear to change dramatically, signatoriesmisspell their own names, and it appears thatmultiple signatures could have been done bythe same person.

Some of these documents that bear suspectsignatures have even been notarized.

Elite Technical Services filed a partnershiptrade name registration certificate with the Lt.Governor’s Office on May 16, 2000.

The partners listed on Elite’s trade nameregistration certificate are Wayne Callwood,Earl Brewley and Tammy Goodrum.

All three names have been signed on thedocument, which was stamped and signedMay 16, 2000, by Notary Public Michille A.Turnbull.

Since the document was notarized, every-thing it contains — including signatures —should be authentic.

At least one of the signatories on that docu-ment has cried foul.

Callwood, who is now the V.I. PublicWorks commissioner, said he he did not signthe document and does not know how hisname appeared on it.

The notary, who previously worked at theJustice Department and now works at the V.I.Labor Department, told The Daily News thatshe notarized the document, but only forBrewley.

After seeing a copy of the document thatElite filed in the Lt. Governor’s Office, shesaid she was “quite upset.” She said she wouldnever notarize a forged signature.

“I definitely would not do that, especially ifI see a name like Wayne Callwood,” Turnbullsaid. “I would not do that, not for $5.”

Callwood’s signature on the certificate,however, looks similar to that of TammyGoodrum. Goodrum, who worked full time atan Atlanta staffing company at the time, wasthe president of Elite Technical Services.

Goodrum’s signature appears to change ondifferent documents. Goodrum’s signature onthe trade name certificate appears to be thesame as her signature on the proposal for the$650,000 Geographic Information Systemmapping project submitted to the V.I.Department of Planning and NaturalResources in September 2001.

A similar signature also appears on Elite’sarticles of incorporation, notarized by DeniseVanterpool-Lambertis on Feb. 26, 2002.Vanterpool-Lambertis could not be reachedfor more information.

Goodrum’s signature on the contract, datedApril 3, 2002, appears markedly differentfrom her other signatures. Her signature onthe Sept. 27, 2002, certificate of corporateresolution looks similar to the one on the con-tract.

A third version of Goodrum’s signatureappears on a Dec. 28, 2001, letter authorizingElite Vice President Earl Brewley to representElite in all transactions with the V.I. govern-ment. This letter also is notarized — byClarita Stewart.

Stewart told The Daily News that Goodrumcame into her business, along with Brewleyand project manager Esmond Modeste, to gether signature notarized.

Goodrum told Stewart she had a business inthe territory, Stewart said.

Stewart has federal felony convictions,which she did not disclose when she obtainedher commission as a Notary Public and herV.I. business license. Her convictions were inCalifornia and Florida for identity fraud, per-jury, welfare fraud and forgery.

Goodrum told The Daily News she did notsign anything, and she denied putting the GISproposal together.

Goodrum declined The Daily News’ offerto fax copies of the documents to her for her toexamine and confirm or deny that the signa-tures were her signatures. She said she thoughtshe had better get a lawyer.

Elite’s project manager, Georgia residentEsmond Modeste, signed many official docu-ments pertaining to Elite’s GIS mapping con-tract. Modeste told The Daily News that hewas never an Elite employee but worked withthe company on a consulting basis.

Most of Modeste’s signatures on documents— including one to accept a $155,760 checkfor Elite’s services — appear to be from thesame hand. They do not all appear to match,however.

Modeste’s signature — and even thespelling of his name — changed on an Aug. 8,2003, letter to CZM Director Janice Hodge


Oct. 3, 2003Plaskett agrees to newdeadlines andauthorizes payment of$155,760 to Elite.

Dec. 24, 2003DPNR demandsDecember 2003progress report fromElite plus proof it isperforming at least 51percent of the workitself.

Jan. 15, 2004Elite submits itssecond progress reportto DPNR

Jan. 30, 2004Elite generates invoicefor $154,000 to DPNR.

Feb. 10, 2004CZM staff say Elite’ssecond progress reportshows work is still notdone.

March 15, 2004Elite submits its thirdprogress report toDPNR.

Who really signed Elite’s documents?Signatures raise questions about forgery and true identity of Elite’s representatives

Notary Public linked to Elite has fraud convictions

ÓÓ See SIGNATURES, next page


T he V.I. governmentcommissioned a con-victed felon to be a

Notary Public, in violation ofV.I. law.

The government should haveknown that Clarita Stewart hadfederal felony convictions for,among other things, identityfraud and perjury. She had toundergo a criminal backgroundcheck when she applied to theLt. Governor’s Office for herNotary Public commission inNovember 1998.

Despite her felonies, the gov-ernment commissioned her as aNotary Public, giving her theauthority to authenticate signa-tures and documents.

Stewart, an accountant, wasthe Notary Public who nota-rized Elite Technical ServicesPresident Tammy Goodrum’ssignature on a Dec. 28, 2001,letter authorizing Elite VicePresident Earl Brewley to rep-resent Elite in all transactionswith the V.I. government.

Goodrum denies that shesigned that letter, and the sig-nature does not appear to matchGoodrum’s signatures on otherdocuments.

Stewart’s troubles with thelaw date back to the early

1990s.According to federal court

files, Stewart — then known asClarita Modeste — was foundguilty of identity and welfarefraud and perjury. According toa complaint filed in LosAngeles Superior Court inAugust 1993, she created falseidentities and collected welfarechecks under those false identi-ties and collected checks forfictional children. She wascharged with six counts offraud and perjury and stealing$27,000 from the welfare sys-tem.

Court records say she violat-ed her probation from theSuperior Court charges, and thecharges were transferred to theU.S. District Court of theCentral Division of California.In October 1993, she was sen-tenced to probation.

Using her maiden nameModeste, she also was chargedin the Virgin Islands in 1988with four counts of embezzling$11,410 from Banco Popularde Puerto Rico. She pleadedguilty to one count of embez-zlement in September 1988,federal court files show. Shewas sentenced to three years inprison, with all but six monthssuspended. She was placed onprobation for five years.

In 1986, Stewart — againusing the name Modeste — was

charged with five counts offorgery in Florida. No judg-ment was entered, and she wasplaced on probation with spe-cial conditions, according tothe 11th Judicial Circuit Courtof Florida of Miami-DadeCounty records.

In an interview with TheDaily News, Stewart confirmedall the felony convictionsexcept the ones in Florida,which she said she did notrecall.

“That is in my past,” Stewartsaid. “I know I had a past, butI’m doing what I can to betterthat.”

Stewart’s past, however,should keep her from being anotary. Part of the application tobecome a notary includes anaffidavit stating that the appli-cant is a U.S. citizen, V.I. resi-dent, has a high school diplomaor a general equivalency diplo-ma, and has “never been con-victed of any crime either withinor outside of the Virgin Islands.”

Stewart told The Daily Newsshe did not know of anyrequirement that notaries haveno criminal record.

Although Stewart’s maidenname is the same as Elite’s pro-ject manager Esmond Modeste,Stewart told The Daily Newsthat they are not related.

Stewart’s connection to Elitegoes beyond her notary stamp.

She was one of the incorporat-ing officers of OpusManagement Group. AfterElite received the $650,000contract to map and analyze theV.I. coastal zone, Elite subcon-tracted to Opus.

Stewart said she has sinceleft Opus.

In 2001, another of Stewart’scompanies, C&A ManagementServices, received a $7,000contract from the V.I. ElectionsSystem to review and auditcampaign finance disclosures.V.I. Elections Supervisor JohnAbramson Jr. is vice presidentof Opus Management Group.

In 2004, Stewart volunteeredfor Sen. Craig Barshinger’scampaign. Barshinger said heknows very little about Stewart,and he said she is not a part ofhis office staff.

In 2002, Stewart worked forSen. Norma Pickard Samuel’sre-election campaign. Afterlosing her bid to return to theLegislature, Samuel becamethe local vice president ofCOMtek, a well-connected off-island communications firm.

The V.I. Public FinanceAuthority last year gaveCOMtek an open-ended con-tract potentially worth millions,even though at the time thefirm was neither licensed norincorporated in the VirginIslands.


Esmond Modeste — Oct. 3, 2003

Esmond Modeste — Aug. 8, 2003

Esmond (misspelled) Modeste — Aug. 8, 2003

Esmond Modeste — June 2, 2004

Esmond Modeste — 2001


April 1, 2004Modeste asks Plaskettabout the overduepayment of $154,000.He says they are 80percent complete onthe project.

April 15, 2004CZM staff say Elite’sthird progress report isessentially the sameas the secondprogress report.

April 27, 2004Elite gets newdeadlines with DPNR.

May 25, 2004Modeste tells DPNRthat Elite cannotproceed without moremoney.

July 8, 2004Modeste complains hehas not heard fromCZM since April, saysElite can’t proceedwithout more money.

July 22, 2004Somme writes a letterto Elite canceling thecontract, but thecontract is notcancelled becausePlaskett says thecontract has expired.

Tammy Goodrum — May 16, 2000

Tammy Goodrum — Feb. 26, 2001

Tammy Goodrum — April 3, 2002

Tammy Goodrum — Sept. 27, 2002

Tammy Goodrum — Dec. 28, 2001 Wayne Callwood — May 16, 2000

Wayne Callwood – Nov. 19, 2004

Wayne Callwood — Dec. 28, 2004

and copied to DPNR Commissioner DeanPlaskett and DPNR Environmental PlannerMichael Spellen. The letter is signed“Esmonde J. Modeste,” but his first namedoes not end in an “e.” The handwriting in thatsignature appears markedly different fromevery other document he signed.

The signature on another copy of the letterappears to be in the same handwriting butspells the name correctly: Esmond J. Modeste.

Four of the eight letters Modeste sent toDPNR between December 2003 and July2004 have a computerized signature —

Modeste’s name typed in a font that lookssomething like handwriting.

Modeste did not give The Daily News achance to ask him about the signatures. Hespoke to reporters on several occasions, promis-ing information at a later time and not deliver-ing. He stopped answering telephone calls fromThe Daily News and did not return messages.

Brewley — vice president of EliteTechnical Services, a V.I. firefighter and St.Thomas taxi driver — signed several officialdocuments. On all documents related to EliteTechnical Services, his taxi licensing andother companies that he is the local agent for,Brewley’s signature appears to be the same.

Michille Turnbull, who notarized Elite’s

partnership trade name registration certificateon May 16, 2000, told The Daily News thatwhen she notarized Brewley’s signature,DPNR Environmental Protection DirectorHollis Griffin vouched for him.

She said Brewley is listed in her notary logbook as someone “personally known” toGriffin. Turnbull would not volunteer anymore information and did not let The DailyNews see the entry in her notary log book.

Griffin has refused to make himself avail-able to The Daily News to answer questionsabout Elite.

Griffin has left DPNR and moved toAtlanta. He resigned July 15, 2004, a few daysafter former CZM counsel Julita DeLeon filed

a federal whistleblower lawsuit in DistrictCourt on St. Thomas. DeLeon claims in hersuit that the government retaliated against herwhen she complained about improprieties inDPNR’s handling of the Elite contract.

Griffin did not return calls from The DailyNews to his home, business and cellularphones. He did not respond to a registered let-ter from The Daily News requesting informa-tion about any involvement Griffin mighthave with Elite Technical Services.

Brent Blyden, DPNR’s director of permits,said he was Griffin’s roommate when theylived on St. Croix from 2000 to 2002 and thathe did not know of any connection betweenGriffin and Elite.

SIGNATURESCONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

ELITE OFFICIALS’SIGNATURES

INCONSISTENTON DOCUMENTS

TAMMY GOODRUMElite Technical Services president

WAYNE CALLWOODElite Technical Services partner

ESMOND MODESTEElite Technical Services project manager

EliteTechnicalServices Inc.

GlobalBusinessSolutions

PubSafeEngineeringConsultants

OpusManagementGroup

Virgin Islandsgovernmentoffice or job

Glitter Art Co.

Personalrelationships

Otherprofessionalactivities

10 • Friday, January 14, 2005 The Virgin Islands Daily News SPECIAL INVESTI

TammyGoodrum

• President, EliteTechnicalServices.

• Recruiter at AOCin Atlanta, 1996-2003.

• Recruiter atAcsys Inc. inCharlotte, N.C.,currently.

• Accountant.

EarlBrewley

• Vice president,Elite TechnicalServices.

• V.I. residentagent, GlobalBusinessSolutions.

• V.I. residentagent, PubSafeEngineeringConsultants.

• V.I. firefighter,1984 to present.

• Grew up withHollis Griffin andJulio King.

• St. Thomas taxidriver, 1987 topresent.

EsmondModeste

• Project managerfor Elite TechnicalServices.

• President, GlobalBusinessSolutions inGeorgia.

• Officer, TheGlitter Art Co. inGeorgia.

WillisMark

• Secretary andtreasurer of EliteTechnicalServices.

• Officer, TheGlitter Art Co. inGeorgia.

DavidTucker

• President ofPubSafe, whichgot a $300,000contract fromDPNR in 2001.

• Engineer until2003 at KHAFRAin Atlanta.

WayneCallwood

• Partner in EliteTechnicalServices(Callwood deniesthat he is apartner in Elite).

• Commissioner,V.I. Public WorksDepartment.

• Collegeclassmate ofHollis Griffin.

PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS LINK

The governor must sign all contracts, but beforeany contract gets to the governor’s desk, it issupposed to go through a series of stepsmandated by V.I. law to ensure that thegovernment is getting the best possible deal andthat the company getting taxpayers’ money is themost qualified to do the job.

Competitive biddingA department notifies the V.I. Property and

Procurement Department that it needs to do a

project, for example build a road or upgrade acomputer system.

• If it is a construction project, Property andProcurement draws up specifications and issuesan invitation for bids via approved publications.

• Contractors submit bids to Property andProcurement.

• A selection committee — three staff membersfrom Property and Procurement and two from thedepartment that requested the project — check

the bids and reject any that are incomplete.• Construction projects are awarded to the

lowest bidder.

Professional services(no competitive bidding)If a department wants to do a project that is not

construction, it is a professional services contract,which can be awarded without competitive biddingin emergencies. The contract is supposed to go to

the most responsible and • Property and Procurem

proposals.• Prospective contracto

Property and Procurement• A selection committe

Property and Procurementdepartment making the reproposals and rates the quon such factors as quality

HOW THE VIRGIN ISLANDS GOVE

IGATIVE REPORT The Virgin Islands Daily News Friday, January 14, 2005 • 11

JohnAbramson Jr.

• Subcontracted byElite for coastalzone economicanalysis.

• Vice president,OpusManagementGroup.

• V.I. ElectionsSupervisor.

ClaritaStewart

• Operates C&AManagementServices at Elite’sContant address.

• Notary public(verified TammyGoodrum’ssignature).

• Incorporatingofficer, OpusManagementGroup.

BrianTurnbull

• Liaison betweenElite TechnicalServices andDepartment ofPlanning andNaturalResources.

• Consultant, OpusManagementGroup.

• Special projectscoordinator, V.I.Public FinanceAuthority.

DeanPlaskett

• In official capacityat DPNR, signed$650,000contract betweenElite and DPNR.

• Approvedpayments to Elitetotaling$501,972.

• Commissioner,V.I. Departmentof Planning andNaturalResources.

BrentBlyden

• In official capacityat DPNR,selected Elite toreviewHOVENSA’splans for itscoker project.

• Director ofPermits, DPNR.

• Formerroommate ofHollis Griffin.

HollisGriffin

• In official capacityat DPNR,oversaw $87,980contract for Eliteto train theterritory’s Haz-Mat Team.

• Director ofEnvironmentalProtection, DPNRuntil July 2004.

• Acquainted withBlyden, Brewley,Callwood, King.

JulioKing

• Outsideconsultant toElite with thesame officeaddress as GlobalBusinessSolutions andElite. (Kingdenies doingwork with Elite.)

• Grew up withEarl Brewley andHollis Griffin.

• Owner, J.U.B.King andAssociates Inc.

• Architect,consultant.

KED TO ELITE TECHNICAL SERVICES

responsive bidder.ment issues a request for

ors submit proposals tot.e — three staff fromt and two staff from the

equest — evaluates theualified proposals basedof work and experience.

The contract goes to the company whose proposalreceived the highest score.

• The selection committee negotiates with thechosen company to determine how much theproject will cost the government.

• The committee can negotiate with the second-highest scoring company if the first company doesnot agree to the government’s price.

After contract is awarded• Once an agreement is reached, the

selection committee submits an evaluationreport to the Property and Procurementcommissioner. The report details how thecommittee arrived at its recommendation.

• If the commissioner approves the report,Property and Procurement notifies thecompany. The company then provides requireddocuments, including its business certificateand proof of bonding. The Property andProcurement commissioner signs it, and then

the department head signs it.

• The contract goes to the V.I. JusticeDepartment to be reviewed and approved forlegal sufficiency.

• The governor signs it.

The firm that is awarded the contract must do51 percent of the work itself, according to theV.I. Property and Procurement Rules andRegulations Title 31 § 242-81.

ERNMENT AWARDS CONTRACTS


DPNR steered HOVENSA to EliteTo get permits, St. Croix refinery had to hire DPNR’s chosen contractorBy TIM FIELDSand MEGAN POINSKIDaily News Staff

T he Virgin Islands Department ofPlanning and Natural Resources notonly gave lucrative contracts to Elite

Technical Services Inc., it forced HOVENSAto do the same.

DPNR told the St. Croix oil refinery in2000 that in order to get the permits it need-ed for its coker plant, it would have to hireElite to review the coker plant constructionplans. That job turned into a $125,755 wind-fall for Elite, but DPNR Commissioner DeanPlaskett and DPNR Director of BuildingPermits Brent Blyden are unable to answer anumber of questions about the contract.

• They cannot explain where some of themoney went.

• They cannot show evidence Elite didany work at all.

• They cannot show evidence that theDPNR staff ever received or saw the requiredreview.

• They cannot produce documentation ofany work Elite did to earn HOVENSA’smoney.

• They cannot name the engineers thatElite said reviewed the plans.

A Daily News investigation into the trans-action found that three of the four engineersElite claimed it employed to review the plansnever worked for Elite and never worked onthe review of HOVENSA’s coker plans.

The fourth engineer, David Tucker, was anemployee of an Atlanta engineering firm,KHAFRA, at the time — not an employee ofElite. Moreover, Tucker did not have alicense to do engineering work in the VirginIslands at that time.

When The Daily News asked Tucker if heworked for Elite on the project he said, “I’mnot going to answer that question.”

Yet Elite charged HOVENSA for fourengineers’ work — including $16,000 forovertime.

DPNR’s records of the transaction areincomplete and its explanation of theaccounting is inaccurate. Plaskett and Blydencould not name any engineers who did theproject.

Neither Plaskett nor Blyden knew howmuch money HOVENSA had paid DPNR orElite.

Plaskett, Blyden and HOVENSA have notproduced any documentation, other thaninvoices, that Elite did any work to earnHOVENSA’s money.

The coker plantIn April 1999, HOVENSA, the second-

largest crude oil refinery in the WesternHemisphere, awarded San Francisco-basedBechtel Group a contract to build a complexand highly sophisticated coker plant.

Hess Oil V.I. Corp. and the Venezuelanational oil company, Petroleos deVenezuela SA, had merged that same year toform HOVENSA and to build the coker,which would enable the refinery to extractmore valuable hydrocarbons from heavyVenezuelan crude.

HOVENSA needed building permits fromDPNR. In September 1999, DPNR began

talks with HOVENSA about having an out-side company review the refinery’s coke con-veyor and its foundations, according toDPNR documents.

In January 2000, Plaskett approved anagreement with HOVENSA for the refinery’suse of the outside company. That agreementalso set the terms for how the money wouldchange hands.

Plaskett stipulated in the agreement thatDPNR “gets to select the company that willdo the review” and that “HOVENSA agreesto pay all review fees to our departmentdirectly.”

In an interview last month with The DailyNews, Plaskett expressed surprise that theagreement said the money would go throughDPNR.

“I said that? They never paid the depart-ment. They paid directly to Elite. I don’tknow why that is in the agreement,” Plaskettsaid.

Blyden said the requirement about themoney going directly to DPNR was meant torefer only to “administrative handling fees”DPNR would charge, not the fees HOVENSAwould pay the outside firm.

He said the arrangement must have beenchanged, but as recently as last week,DPNR’s files contained no documentation ofsuch a change.

Blyden said the agreement was for the out-side company, Elite, to review the cokerplant construction plans and bill DPNR forthe work. Then DPNR would forward theinvoices to HOVENSA, which would pay

Elite directly, Blyden said.“That’s an option we can use in the plan-

ning review process,” Blyden said.Blyden saw nothing amiss about the

arrangement. He said DPNR commonly out-sources its permit review and inspectionwork, especially on large projects.

“That is legal under the 1997 V.I. UniformBuilding Code,” he said. Blyden said that heselects the outside companies from a pool offirms he knows.

EliteBlyden first told The Daily News that he

did not remember who brought EliteTechnical Services to his attention.

“Elite was referred to me by word-of-mouth through the industry. I think that wastheir first job. I meet contractors all the time,and I can’t recall who it was,” he said.

In a later interview, Blyden told The DailyNews that Elite was “already around” in1999 when he became DPNR’s director ofbuilding permits and that the former directorof building permits, Gerville Larsen, toldhim the company was qualified.

“My predecessor, Gerville Larsen, wasforming a company that could have reviewedthe plans, but the commissioner felt thatwould be a conflict of interest, so the othercompany was Elite,” Blyden said.

Blyden said he met with EsmondModeste, a Georgia resident and Elite’s pro-ject manager.

He said Modeste told him that Elite had

engineers ready and able to do the work.Blyden never checked to find out whether

Elite was qualified to review HOVENSA’smassive and complex $600 million construc-tion project plan.

He blamed deadline pressure and staffshortage for that oversight. “Time was of theessence, and I took Modeste’s word that hecould do the job,” Blyden said.

“You have a billion-dollar project with allthe technical stuff and drawings. It was amassive undertaking,” Blyden said. “We justdidn’t have the manpower to do it.”

Phantom engineersPlaskett and Blyden both said they did not

know who the engineers were that reviewedthe coker plant plans or whether they werequalified.

However, HOVENSA’s chief design engi-neer, Luther Edwards, said he knew who theengineers were because they were listed in aletter from Modeste to Blyden. He suppliedthat letter and Elite’s invoices to The DailyNews.

Modeste’s July 7, 2002, letter — whichHOVENSA had at hand but which Blydensaid he could not find in the DPNR file —said “Elite Technical has assembled a cadreof highly knowledgeable engineers with pro-ject design, design review and constructionperiod services experience to work full timeon this project. Collectively, our four engi-

Daily News Photo by CRISTIAN SIMESCU

When HOVENSA sought V.I. permits for its $600 million coker plant in 2000, the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources said therefinery had to have its construction plans reviewed by Elite Technical Services Inc.

ÓÓ See HOVENSA, next page

neers have over sixty years experience in theStructural and Civil engineering field.”

Elite then listed three names it described asits local engineers: Leonard Gumbs, KennMason and James Bernier.

Gumbs, Mason and Bernier all told TheDaily News this week that they never hadworked for Elite and never reviewed plansfor HOVENSA’s coker.

Elite also identified a fourth engineer inthe letter to Blyden: “We have recently alsoemployed the services of Mr. David Tucker,PE who is registered in GA and is applyingfor local registration in the territory.”

Bernier, Gumbs and Mason all were sur-prised and angered to learn a company hadmisused their names to get a contract.

“I never heard of the company or wasrequested by any company to be consideredfor that position,” said Bernier, a formerDPNR official who now works for the V.I.Health Department.

“It’s just wrong,” Bernier said aboutElite’s using his name.

Bernier said that he never had heard ofElite’s officers — Modeste, Vice PresidentEarl Brewley or President Tammy Goodrum— and that he did not know Tucker.

Bernier surmised that his name was usedbecause he is known to the community as anengineer and architect. He served as DPNRpermits director from 1995 to 1998.

The Daily News showed Bernier the letterfrom Modeste in which Bernier is listed asone of Elite’s engineers. Bernier fired off aresponse to Modeste that began: “Who areyou!”

Bernier then wrote: “It is evidential thatyou received said contract partially based onmy ‘years of experience.’ In addition, youalso stated that I would be one of the fourengineers who would ‘work full time on thisproject.’ I would like to inform you that I wasworking full time with Apex ConstructionCompany, Inc. from January 2000 untilNovember 2002.”

He sent copies of his letter to Blyden andThe Daily News.

Gumbs, an engineer who works for theFederal Emergency Management Association,also said he never had heard of Elite, its offi-cers or its HOVENSA contract.

“That’s interesting, very interesting. I’venever heard of them,” he said. “I did no workon that project.”

Mason said he could not have done workfor the project because he has worked forDPNR’s environmental division since 1999and it would have been a conflict of interest.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on,”Mason said. “I did not do work for them andwas never contacted by this Elite to do workfor them. I haven’t put my seal of approvalon anything for that company.”

After Mason saw a copy of the letter fromModeste listing him as one of Elite’s engi-neers, he also wrote a scathing letter to

Modeste. Copies of the letter were sent to theV.I. Department of Licensing and ConsumerAffairs, Blyden and The Daily News.

“Sir, this unwarranted and reckless misuseof my name and credentials is totally unac-ceptable and criminal!” Mason wrote. “Idemand that you respond to me within 24hours of your receipt of this letter. Failure todo so will result in legal action against youand Elite Technical Services.”

Mason said he did not know Goodrum, buthe recalled meeting Modeste in DPNR’senvironmental office with Hollis Griffin,who was director of DPNR’s EnvironmentalProtection Division.

“They knew each other and seemed likegood friends,” he said.

Mason said he knew Brewley because theywent to school together.

The money trailDPNR records and DPNR officials’ recollec-

tions fail to shed light on Elite’s HOVENSAreview and how much money went to Elite.

DPNR’s files do not contain all of Elite’sinvoices to show how much HOVENSApaid. They also do not contain all govern-ment receipts showing how much HOVEN-SA paid DPNR for administrative handlingfees for Elite’s coker plant review.

Blyden said Elite began reviewing the con-struction plans in May 2000 and was finishedby August 2000.

DPNR records show that Modeste sent thedepartment invoices, statements and a letter

of concern over how Elite was going to bepaid.

In a letter dated May 10, 2000, Modestetold Blyden: “In March, when you notified uswe were selected to assist the Division ofPermits in reviewing the drawings and docu-ments from the Hovensa-Coker Project, youindicated we would be contacted by Hovensato work out payment arrangements. As of thefirst submittal (May 7, 2000) we have notreceived the correspondence that you claimwas forthcoming.”

Modeste said Elite would continue toreview the plans while DPNR worked outpayment arrangements with HOVENSA.

Elite charged $120 an hour to review theplans.

DPNR records show Elite sent the depart-ment three invoices totaling $43,455.34:

• May 5, 2000, for $17,055.34.• May 17, 2000, for $16,800.• July 3, 2000, for $9,600.Elite also sent DPNR a “failure to pay”

notice dated Sept. 20, 2000, for the first twoinvoices.

In December 2000, however, HOVENSApaid Elite $82,300.

A copy of HOVENSA’s $82,300 check toElite was filed March 21, 2003, in DistrictCourt on St. Croix in connection with a for-mer DPNR employee’s federal lawsuitclaiming wrongful termination.

According to court documents, the former


ÓÓ See HOVENSA, next page

HOVENSACONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Elite listed James G. Bernier and Kenn S. Mason as two of its engineers ready to work on the HOVENSA review. Both say Elite’s claims about them were false.


WHAT IS THE V.I. DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND NATURAL RESOURCES?

employee obtained proof of the check to sup-port her allegations of wrongdoing byPlaskett, Blyden and Griffin. Griffin leftDPNR on July 15, 2004, and now is runninga business in Atlanta, according to Plaskett.

Blyden attempted to explain the $82,300payment, but his arithmetic was wrong.

Blyden then said Elite actually submittedfive invoices that totaled $86,910.34 — eventhough DPNR records only contained three.Minus DPNR’s administrative handling fee,Elite’s total payment was $82,810.34,Blyden said.

The Daily News pointed out that he wasadding the statements, which were a cumula-tive of Elite’s total outstanding invoices, tothe individual invoices, thus counting thecharges twice.

Blyden acknowledged that error and sug-gested an explanation could be that he didnot have all the invoices.

Blyden also said that the file was old andthat he had to “dig it up.”

“The files were scattered among St.Thomas and St. Croix,” he said. “I reallydon’t know if we have all the invoices in thefile. I can see if I can locate them. The unex-plainable difference is justifiable — and it’sjust about finding the missing invoices.”

Blyden said “I can guarantee you thatHOVENSA would not pay anything withoutchecking it out first.”

Luther Edwards, the refinery’s chiefdesign engineer, said HOVENSA actuallyhad sent Elite two checks for the coker planreview:

• $43,455.34 on Oct. 11, 2000, endorsedby Elite Technical Services.

• $82,300 on Dec. 8, 2000, which is notendorsed, but deposited in Elite’s bankaccount.

HOVENSA provided The Daily Newswith Elite’s fourth invoice, which charged$82,300, and another payment DPNR had notdisclosed. The fourth invoice, dated Oct. 26,2000, included submittal costs to KHAFRAengineering firm in Atlanta, where Eliteengineer Tucker was working at the time.

DPNR records also show it charged HOV-ENSA an “administrative handling fee” of$4,100 to move the coker construction plansover to Elite and back to HOVENSA.

Blyden said the fee would have been basedon 10 percent of Elite’s total charge for thejob — which was $43,455, according toDPNR files.

HOVENSA actually had sent DPNR twochecks for handling fees:

• $2,173 on Oct. 24, 2000, to DPNR.• $4,100 on Dec. 14, 2000, to the govern-

ment of the Virgin Islands.“The deal was done very loosely, and there

was no prior agreement on how much itwould cost — in addition to a 5 percent han-dling charge,” Edwards said.

No accountabilityNeither Plaskett nor Blyden ever saw the

review.They never even obtained a summary

review report from Elite.Elite sent the coker plant plans to DPNR

with Elite’s stamp of approval on Aug. 4,2000, and DPNR simply forwarded the draw-ings on to HOVENSA, Blyden said.

Blyden approved the refinery’s permit thenext day, Aug. 5, 2000.

Edwards said that HOVENSA did not get areview report or drawings — all it got wasthe permits — and the bill.

PurposeTo plan for long-range, comprehensive

development for physical, economic andhuman resources of the territory.

Budget

Received $24.6 million in federal fundsand $6.6 million from V.I. government’sGeneral Fund in fiscal year 2004.

Duties and responsibilities

• Enforce environmental laws, rules andregulations for the preservation,conservation, management anddevelopment of the territory’s natural

resources, including archaeological,architectural, cultural and historicalresources.

• Approve and monitor land surveys andland subdivisions, earth changes,development and building permits.

• Enforce building codes and zoning laws.• Administer and enforce laws and

regulations for registration, operation,mooring and anchoring of vessels.

• Oversee and regulate growth anddevelopment in coastal areas andoffshore, on islands and cays.

• Administer museums, archives, libraryand information services.

• Oversee the operation of two

commissions: Coastal ZoneManagement and Historic Preservation.

Offices and divisions• Environmental Protection Division• Grants Management• Capital and Development Division• Archaeology and Historic Preservation

Division• Fish and Wildlife Division• Libraries, Archives and Museums

Division• Permits Division• V.I. Council on the Arts• Division of Comprehensive and Coastal

Zone Planning

WHAT IS THE COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION?Purpose

Provide environmental protection againstimpact of coastal development.

Duties and responsibilities• Regulate all the territory’s coastal areas,

except for land owned by the federalgovernment.

• Approve major or minor CZM permits todevelop the territory’s coastal areas.

HOVENSACONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

HOW CAN DPNR OUTSOURCE REVIEWS AND INSPECTIONS?Definition

DPNR pays outside companies to docode enforcement work for thedepartment, including reviews andinspections.

JustificationDPNR Director of Building Permits

Brent Blyden said outsourcing thedepartment’s work to outside companies

is common and allowable under the code.

Selection processBlyden chooses from a pool of firms

he knows.

Outsource companiesDPNR is currently outsourcing or has

recently outsourced work to:• Atlanta-based Ellipse Consulting Inc. to

do inspection work for Reliance in its

affordable housing projects on St.Thomas and St. John.

• Atlanta-based Ellipse Consulting Inc. forBotany Bay residential development.

• New England-based HTA Caribbean forHome Depot.

• Alton Adams Jr. for the V.I. PortAuthority’s Crown Bay development.

• Elite Technical Services to reviewHOVENSA’s coker plant construction plans.

DPNR’s favoritism in handling contractsshortchanges territory and taxpayersBy TIM FIELDSand MEGAN POINSKIDaily News Staff

W hen the governmentgave the contract forthe GIS mapping pro-

ject to an unqualified firm, it notonly squandered hundreds ofthousands of dollars, it also setback one of the territory’s mostimportant and urgent projects:the Comprehensive Land andWater Use Plan.

Furthermore, the govern-ment’s failures in handling thatcontract have deprived the terri-tory of additional tax revenues.

The long-awaited land andwater use plan cannot go for-ward without the sophisticatedmapping information that EliteTechnical Services was sup-posed to provide as part of its$650,000 contract — but neverdid.

The Comprehensive Landand Water Use Plan will:

• Overhaul the territory’szoning laws.

• Eliminate spot-zoning.• Replace 18 zoning districts

with seven land-use zones andfive water-use zones.

Data from a geographic infor-mation system — GIS — isvital to the plan because it

would give up-to-date invento-ries of the submerged and filledlands. These lands are coveredperiodically or permanently bytidal waters, and no register ofthese lands exists.

The land and water use plan,which is supposed to go beforethe 26th Legislature, designatesspecific uses, including agricul-tural, residential and industrial.The V.I. Department ofPlanning and Natural Resourcesalready is 25 years overdue withthe plan. A V.I. law passed in1970 mandates a comprehen-sive land and water use plan.

The Senate has addressed cer-tain aspects of land use through

legislation like the Coastal ZoneManagement Act, but it neverhas enacted an all-encompass-ing plan for developmentthroughout the territory.

DPNR Commissioner DeanPlaskett testified at a SenatePlanning and EnvironmentalProtection Committee hearingin August that the land andwater use plan is vital for con-trolling wanton development.

“The current zoning systemis inflexible,” Plaskett said.“The ineffectiveness of currentlaws permits haphazard devel-opment and adverse environ-mental impacts.”

Last month, Plaskett con-

firmed to The Daily News thatthe surveys and maps of sub-merged and filled lands — thework Elite was supposed to do— are essential to the compre-hensive plan. Current leases onsubmerged lands are far belowmarket value, and some usersare not even making paymentson their leases, Plaskett said.

As part of its $650,000 con-tract, Elite was supposed toproduce updated economic val-ues for all submerged landsand inventory exactly whatland is out there, both of whichwould bring in more revenuesto the government.

“The government is losingout on that money, and the studywas to change that,” Plaskettsaid.

The GIS maps also would bethe final word on public accessroutes to the territory’s beaches.Under V.I. law, all beaches areopen to the public. Disputesover public beach access recent-ly have flared up between thegovernment and developers andbetween established residentsand developers. The GIS mapsclearly would show where pub-lic access lies, but Elite’s failureto produce the maps leaves age-old disputes unresolved.

WHAT IS THE COASTAL ZONE?The Virgin Islands coastal zone consists of coastal

waters, the adjacent shorelands plus the lands and waterover and underneath them. It includes islands, transitionaland intertidal areas, salt marshes, wetlands and beaches.The zone extends inland 50 feet from the low tide line.

WHAT IS GIS MAPPING?Geographic Information System mapping takes data

collected by different agencies and plots it on a map withspecific geographic boundaries. It is more visual and saysmore than a simple chart. GIS mapping can be used to plotout things like population density, vegetation concentrationand elevation.


T he Virgin Islands government hashanded Elite Technical Services Inc.multiple contracts for markedly differ-

ent jobs.The biggest contract was for a coastal zone

mapping project, but the government alsopaid Elite for hazardous materials training,energy conservation analysis and new build-ing codes.

In addition, the government told HOVEN-SA to hire Elite to review a coker plant con-struction plan, and the government gave a for-est fire training contract to a company withlinks to Elite.

Haz-Mat contractIn 2001, Elite received $87,980 in federal

funds on a V.I. Department of Planning andNatural Resources contract for training andcertification of the V.I. Hazardous MaterialTeam, which was part of DPNR untilNovember 2004, when it was transferred tothe V.I. Fire Service.

The government picked Elite over twoother bidders: Safety Solution ConsultantsInc. of Springfield, Mass., and C.A.T.Enterprises of Lithonia, Ga.

DPNR Commissioner Dean Plaskettexplained his choice of Elite in an April 2001letter to Property and ProcurementCommissioner Marc Biggs.

Plaskett wrote: “We have selected EliteTechnical Services for their ability to conductthe training within the required time: (to) re-certify the Territory’s Hazardous MaterialTeam (and to) train new members of the V.I.Fire Service, Virgin Islands PoliceDepartment, DPNR and St. Croix Rescuewith the Basic awareness course for firstresponders.”

The contract was for $61,200, but in July2001, Elite wanted $26,780 more.

Hollis Griffin, who at the time was DPNRdirector of environmental protection, askedElite Vice President Earl Brewley to conductHaz-Mat training for Federal Express,Tropical Shipping and the V.I. Port Authorityand to recommend emergency preparednessupgrades.

Plaskett approved the extra payment for theextra training.

However, as has been the case with thegovernment’s handling of other Elite con-tracts, Elite got paid but did not deliver.

“I’m still waiting for that training,” AmosKing, operations manager for TropicalShipping, told The Daily News this week —three years after Elite was supposed to pro-vide it.

King said he never had heard of Elite andnever had heard of it doing an evaluation ofTropical Shipping’s contingency plans.

A FedEx spokesman did not reply to DailyNews requests for information about whetherElite provided training.

Port Authority Executive Director DarlanBrin said he did not remember that specifickind of training or the company that wouldhave done it.

Plaskett said that the Haz-Mat training wassatisfied according to plan.

Energy contractIn August 2002, the government gave Elite

Technical Services another federally fundedDPNR contract. It paid Elite nearly $90,000,even though the company failed to deliver allthe work specified in a V.I. Energy Officecontract.

Plaskett justified Elite getting the no-bidcontract because, he said, Elite was the onlylocal engineering firm “capable and experi-enced” in doing this type of analysis.

Elite is not an approved or licensed engi-neering firm in the Virgin Islands.

Elite was hired to pick up where the EnergyCode Technical Review Committee — com-prising prominent local architects and engi-neers including Alton Adams Jr., BillMcComb and Onaje Jackson — left off in1990. The committee worked for free and for-mulated an inches-think draft energy code atno charge to the government.

In 1996, DPNR received a federal grant toupdate the code, and it awarded the contractto Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,also known as Battelle. That company spenttwo years trying unsuccessfully to get a V.I.business license. It finally got frustrated andwithdrew its proposal in 1999, according toDPNR.

Battelle officials did not return calls fromThe Daily News.

DPNR received several extensions to thegrant, which was set to expire in 1999.

Battelle recommended two other experi-enced companies based in California — Eleyand Associates and The Deringer Group — tothe V.I. government.

Eley Vice President Erik Kolderup said thisweek that Eley responded to DPNR’s requestfor proposals but never heard back fromDPNR.

DPNR blamed Eley. Victor Somme III, director of the V.I.

Energy Office at the time of the Elite energycontract, wrote in a June 30, 2003, statusreport to the U.S. Energy Department that theextensions were necessary “because VIEO’sinability to find qualify [sic] contractors to

perform the economic analysis. EliteTechnical Services, a local engineering con-sulting firm, was recommended and the con-tracting process began.”

On March 15, 2002, Plaskett askedProperty and Procurement CommissionerMarc Biggs to approve the contract andreferred all questions to Somme.

Plaskett told Biggs that Elite was a newlyformed engineering and consulting firm andthat it “is the only local company that is capa-ble and experienced to conduct this type ofanalysis.”

As documents and later developmentsshow, the firm was neither experienced norlocal. Elite consistently failed to deliver on allof its government contracts. In addition,Elite’s only local officer was V.I. firefighterand Elite Vice President Earl Brewley. Elitedid not have any employees, despite its repre-sentations that it had highly qualified “keypersonnel.”

Yet once the government discovered that, itcontinued not only to give Elite contracts butalso to pay for work that had not been done.

After finding out in March 2002 that Elitedid not have to pay into the V.I. workers’compensation program, Somme identifiedElite Technical Services as “a partnershipwithout employees.”

Employees or not, Gov. Charles Turnbullsigned Elite’s Energy Office contract on Aug.7, 2002.

Elite was to:• Produce a “savings opportunity analysis”

for residential and commercial constructionby detailing energy-conserving constructionmethods and practices; interviewing buildingofficials, architects, engineers and contrac-tors; describing current building codes andenforcement processes; and identifying ener-gy efficiency and water conservation mea-sures.

• Develop building energy codes for theterritory that ensured cost-effective mea-sures. The codes were to be written afterreviewing the current draft of a V.I. energycode and comparing it with professional

standards as well as codes from Hawaii,American Samoa and Guam. After the codewas developed, Elite was to host workshopson the code for local businesses, designersand contractors.

• Produce an economic impact analysis ofenergy and water conservation measures andconduct training seminars for builders.

• Produce a manual of compliance inspec-tion forms for designers using Hawaii build-ing energy codes and conduct workshops forofficials, designers and contractors whowould implement the code.

By November 2002, Elite still had deliv-ered nothing and its contract was about toexpire, so Plaskett and Biggs asked V.I.Attorney General Iver Stridiron to approve anamendment giving Elite a 45-day extension.

Plaskett also wanted to pay Elite $36,000right away. His argument on Elite’s behalfwas that Elite did not understand it had to dothe work before it got paid.

“The contractor was not fully cognizantthat the contract required the production ofdeliverables prior to payment,” Plaskett wroteto Stridiron in November 2002.

Plaskett did not disclose that DPNRalready had authorized paying Elite $36,000two months earlier. The Daily News’ searchthrough DPNR files found that DianaRichardson, director of DPNR’s businessoffice, signed and approved Elite’s first pay-ment voucher on Sept. 6, 2002.

Plaskett went on to approve a second $36,000payment to Elite on March 13, 2003, and a thirdpayment of $17,492 on April 8, 2003.

He did that even though the contract hadexpired and Stridiron had never approved anextension.

The reason Stridiron did not approve it wasthat Plaskett never sent it to him.

Stridiron questioned the payments in a let-ter to Finance Commissioner BerniceTurnbull on Aug. 12, 2004, written to adviseher about complying with The Daily Newsrequest for Elite payment records.

“To date we have not received a copy of theexecuted amendment from Property andProcurement nor the Department of Planningand Natural Resources, and as such we do notknow whether it was executed by all parties,”Stridiron wrote. “We also do not knowwhether payments have been made by yourDepartment at the behest of DPNR pursuantto the terms of the contract, as amended. Iwould therefore urge you to look into thisaspect of the Elite contract as you preparecopies of the payment history for The DailyNews.”

Although Elite got paid in full, the compa-ny’s performance on the energy codes ledVincent Brathwaite, program specialist in theV.I. Energy Office, to conclude: “I would notuse Elite ever again.”

Brathwaite said he had to delete the manu-al from the contract’s scope of work becausehe was having so many problems with Elite.He said Elite was not turning in work, and hefelt it was best to just get what he could.

Once Elite got the energy contract, it vio-lated V.I. law by subcontracting all of thework to a stateside company, Indiana-basedAmerican Technology Management Corp.,


DPNR continually gave contracts to ElitePlaskett made unapproved payments despite Elite’s failure to deliver work

ÓÓ See ELITE, next page

By November 2002, Elite still had delivered nothing andits contract was about to expire, so DPNR CommissionerDean Plaskett and Property and Procurement CommissionerMarc Biggs asked Attorney General Iver Stridiron toapprove an amendment giving Elite a 45-day extension.

Plaskett also wanted to pay Elite $36,000 right away.His argument on Elite’s behalf was that Elite did notunderstand it had to do the work before it got paid.

Plaskett did not disclose that DPNR already hadauthorized paying Elite $36,000 two months earlier. TheDaily News’ search through DPNR files found that DianaRichardson, director of DPNR’s business office, signed andapproved Elite’s first payment voucher on Sept. 6, 2002.

Plaskett went on to approve a second $36,000 paymentto Elite on March 13, 2003, and a third payment of $17,492on April 8, 2003.


also called AmTech.AmTech got roughly $48,000 from Elite

for doing all the work Elite was supposed todo, AmTech President Thomas Peyton said.

Peyton said he knew that Elite was paid$90,000.

“I thought, ‘Geez, there’s a huge disparityhere. They should be doing some of thework,’” Peyton said.

Peyton also said Elite was slow to pay. Hesaid he had to wait more than a year afterElite got its last check from DPNR.

Brathwaite knew Peyton’s firm was doingthe work. He said Elite was so unresponsiveto deadlines that he had to step in and dealdirectly with Peyton to get reports.

“Not good business practice, I know, but Iwas up against a deadline,” Brathwaite said.

Somme said he, too, had a hard time con-tacting Elite Vice President Brewley aboutmissed deadlines. Somme knew Brewleywas a taxi driver and firefighter, and he saidhe once dropped off Elite correspondence atthe Tutu fire station where Brewley was onduty.

Somme said he never questioned whether afull-time firefighter and taxi driver was qual-ified to be the vice president of a firm repre-senting itself as a highly technical engineer-ing firm.

“I gave him the benefit of the doubt,”Somme said.

Plaskett told The Daily News last monththat DPNR had significant problems withElite.

“The energy contract was terrible,” Plaskettsaid. “Were they timely? No, they were nottimely.”

He justified the payments, however, sayingthat Elite eventually did perform.

Elite completed the contract in March 31,2003, according to DPNR.

The Daily News investigation into Elite’senergy contract also found that Elite deliv-ered a “Draft of U.S. Virgin Islands Energyand Water Conservation Building Code” thathad been lifted almost entirely from the draftsof Guam and American Samoa’s energycodes, which Eley created in 1996.

The copying was so blatant that Elite’sdraft left the word “Guam” on one of thecharts that was supposed to be a VirginIslands chart.

Other parts of Elite’s draft came almostentirely from energy and commercial codes inHawaii.

DPNR accepted what Elite turned in, andPlaskett said Elite satisfied the contract.

Eley Vice President Erik Kolderup saidthat Elite’s use of another company’s workwas not acceptable. The energy codes inHawaii and Guam are not copyrighted, butwhat Elite did was inappropriate he said.

“It may not be stealing, but it’s unethical,”Kolderup said.

Information withheldDespite a request made by The Daily News

under the V.I. Open Public Records Act toreview all documents pertaining to Elite andits contracts, DPNR failed to provide accessto all files.

In July 2004, the only work DPNR had inits Elite file was the 20-page Draft of U.S.Virgin Islands Energy and WaterConservation Building Code. It was labeledwith a date of March 31, 2003, and did nothave DPNR’s official stamp.

The file included no economic impact

analysis, no manual, no records indicatingpublic hearings held or who attended them.No documents covered Elite’s use of a sub-contractor, AmTech.

Six months later when a Daily Newsreporter again asked to review the same file,DPNR staff produced two new files contain-ing stacks of documents that DPNR had notreleased before.

The V.I. Open Public Records Act man-dates that government agencies and depart-ments let the public review and copy all pub-lic documents. DPNR Office Manager DianaRichardson could not explain why the docu-ments had not been made public earlier.

Firefighting safetyElite’s project manager, Atlanta resident

Esmond Modeste, has other businesses linkedto Elite Technical Services or its principals.

One of those is Atlanta-based GlobalBusiness Solutions, which received a federallyfunded V.I. Fire Service contract — and usedFire Service personnel to do the contractedwork.

On its V.I. documents, Global BusinessSolutions listed two addresses:

• 168 Crown Bay, St. Thomas, which isthe address of a telephone answering and mailservices business and is the same mailingaddress Elite put on its documents.

• 14 Estate Charlotte Amalie, which also isthe physical address Elite Technical Servicesused.

Global Business Solutions’ local registeredagent is V.I. firefighter Earl Brewley.Brewley also is Elite’s corporate vice presi-dent and a partner in the Elite TechnicalServices partnership.

In January 2002, V.I. Fire Service DirectorIan Williams Sr. approved a $55,000 payment

to Global Business Solutions to conduct a for-est fire seminar for firefighters. Williams saidGlobal was the only company that submitteda complete bid.

V.I. Fire Service Financial AdministratorPaula Douglas said Global BusinessSolutions was on the U.S. Department ofAgriculture’s list of trainers.

Williams told The Daily News he neversaw Brewley’s name on anything associatedwith Global Business Solutions. He also saidthat as far as he could recall, Brewley simplytook the training along with the other fire-fighters.

Williams said the training, offered inFebruary and March 2002, was helpful.Participants received certificates of comple-tion but did not become certified from thetraining.

The proposal that Global BusinessSolutions submitted to get the contract did notidentify the trainer it would use.

Global Business Solutions’ trainer turnedout to be V.I. Fire Service Capt. BenjaminSantana. The V.I. government paid GlobalBusiness Solutions $55,000 to do somethingthat the Fire Service could have done foritself for free, since the trainer was one of itsown ranking fire officials.

The Daily News has not been able to locateSantana, who has retired, for information andcomment for this story.

Fire Service Director Merwin Potter saidthat in those days — before Potter was theFire Service’s top administrator — a contractlike the one given to Global BusinessSolutions could pass muster, but not now.

Potter said he considers the price, curricu-lum for the training and the location and qual-ifications of the trainers before approving atraining contract.

ELITECONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

Elite delivered a draft of the Energy and Water Conservation Building Code that had been lifted from the code drafted for Guam by another company. Elite did not even remove Guam’s name.


Two former DPNR employeescomplain in lawsuits about handlingof Elite contracts and paymentsBy TIM FIELDSand MEGAN POINSKIDaily News Staff

T wo former V.I. Department of Planningand Natural Resources employees havefiled federal lawsuits against the govern-

ment, claiming they lost their jobs in part becausethey voiced suspicion about Elite TechnicalServices and the government’s handling ofElite’s projects.

Julita DeLeon was DPNR legal counsel from1999 until August 2003, when she was appoint-ed acting director of DPNR’s Coastal ZoneManagement Commission. A month later, shewas demoted back to her post as counsel. In April2004, she was forced to leave, she says in herlawsuit filed July 6 in District Court on St.Thomas.

She says in the lawsuit that the governmentretaliated when she turned whistleblower, com-plaining about improprieties in DPNR’s contractwith Elite Technical Services and in DPNR’shandling of Elite.

Up to that point, DeLeon’s career at CZM wasstellar and her work was honored, by both DPNRand others in her field, according to her lawsuit.

She received an award from DPNR for hercontributions to the department in 2003, and shewas elected to the board of directors of theCoastal States Organization, she said in the suit.

In August 2003, when DPNR CommissionerDean Plaskett named DeLeon acting director ofCZM, she prepared for her new role by meetingwith several past and present officials andemployees who worked with CZM, she said inthe lawsuit.

During those meetings, she said, she learned ofthe contract that DPNR had given Elite TechnicalServices to map the territory’s submerged lands.

The lawsuit states that in those discussions,some “questionable matters” involving Elitecame up, including:

• Elite had subcontracted the project work inviolation of territorial law.

• Despite receiving an initial payment underthe contract terms, Elite did not deliver any workwithin the specified deadlines.

• Elite’s ability to perform under the contractwas in doubt.

• Elite subcontracted to people outside theVirgin Islands.

• Elite did not make its principals available tomeet in person with DPNR officials to discussthe project’s progress.

Despite these concerns, the lawsuit states, fur-ther payments to Elite were in the works inAugust and September 2003.

DeLeon’s lawsuit states that she recommend-ed to the outgoing CZM director, Janice Hodge,that the contract with Elite be rescinded or termi-nated. However, Hodge, who officially resignedfrom DPNR on Dec. 31, 2003, but was on leavebeginning in September 2003, did not cancel thecontract.

Hodge told The Daily News last week that heronly concern with the Elite contract was thatwork was not being done on time.

Plaskett called DeLeon on Sept. 10, 2003, andsaid he understood she had problems and con-cerns about the Elite contract, the lawsuit states.

DeLeon told him about what she had found

wrong with the contract “and indicated that, asActing Director and an attorney, she could notauthorize further payment to Elite, and that thecontract should be rescinded,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit describes Plaskett’s reaction asfollows: “The Commissioner became irate andtold Plaintiff that he, and not Plaintiff, decideswhat she signs or does not sign, and furtheraccused Plaintiff of being unable to make ‘toughdecisions.’”

Later that day, according to the lawsuit,Plaskett named another DPNR employee CZMacting director and returned DeLeon to her posi-tion as legal counsel in the department. DeLeonwas no longer made privy to discussions oractions concerning Elite, her lawsuit says.

DeLeon accused Plaskett in the lawsuit ofharassing her, directing profanity at her andrefusing to allow her to take job-related travel.

In an effort to make things better at work, thelawsuit states, DeLeon wrote Plaskett two confi-dential letters, dated Feb. 5, 2004, and March 12,2004, requesting that they work in an atmosphereof “consideration and respect.”

Despite the confidential nature of the letters,Plaskett distributed them to several other govern-ment officials, causing criticism to be directed ather, the lawsuit says.

On April 6, DeLeon received a letter fromGov. Charles Turnbull’s office advising her thather resignation had been accepted. She asserts inthe lawsuit that she did not resign and that theadministration used a procedural ploy to removeher.

As is customary for upper-level governmentofficials who serve at the pleasure of the gover-nor, DeLeon submitted an undated letter of resig-nation to Government House after Turnbull’sinauguration. However, she states in her lawsuit,“notwithstanding the guise of the April 6, 2004,letter from the Governor, Plaintiff did not resignbut was involuntarily terminated by the govern-ment.”

In its response to the lawsuit, the governmentdenies DeLeon’s allegations and any wrongdo-ing.

The case is pending in District Court.In a second lawsuit filed March 21, 2003,

Mona Monell, who worked for DPNR on St.Croix for 23 years, filed a complaint in DistrictCourt on St. Croix after DPNR fired her. In thelawsuit, she claimed DPNR discriminatedagainst her because of her age, her native Crucianheritage and her disability, but she also raisedquestions in the lawsuit about DPNR’s handlingof Elite.

Monell also said in the lawsuit that she wantedto “expose irregularities and wrongdoing withrespect to the receipt of the funds” for Elite.

At the time she was fired, Monell worked inrevenue collection for DPNR. After she wasfired, she obtained a copy of an $82,300 checkHOVENSA issued to Elite Technical Services inDecember 2000 for reviewing the application forthe HOVENSA coker plant project.

She filed a grievance to get her job back butlost at arbitration, in large part because she hadlied in order to obtain the copy of HOVENSA’scheck to Elite. “There can be no doubt that for herpost-discharge misconduct, taken alone, theGovernment had just cause to terminate griev-ant,” the arbitrator wrote. His report and thecheck are part of Monell’s file in District Court.

Monell’s lawsuit is pending.In 2001, Monell wrote to Adelbert Bryan, a

V.I. senator for St. Croix at that time, to complainthat DPNR required HOVENSA to hire Elite,bypassing normal procurement procedures.Monell said that pursuant to the V.I. Code,DPNR employees should review applications.

Bryan recalled the letter. He said he talkedabout the issue with Monell and brought it up ata Dec. 27, 2001, special session of the Legislatureregarding the coker plant. At that session, the sen-ators approved $63 million in bonds floated bythe V.I. Public Finance Authority for long-termfinancing of the coker’s solid-waste disposalplant.

The senators did not address the questionabout DPNR and Elite, Bryan said.

“In the Senate, you can’t do anything by your-self,” Bryan said. “You need others with you.”

V.I.’s standardsfor picking contractorswould not passmuster elsewhereBy TIM FIELDSand MEGAN POINSKIDaily News Staff

T he V.I. government’s standards forawarding contracts falls far belowstandards elsewhere.

In Atlanta — home base for many EliteTechnical Services connections — FultonCounty Deputy Director for Public WorksKun Suwanarpa said that she would nothave accepted a proposal like the one EliteTechnical Services submitted to the V.I.government.

Elite’s proposal for the V.I. Departmentof Planning and Natural Resources con-tract lacked essential information, such asdetailed proof of previous experience.

Fulton County would have requiredmore proof if Elite had bid for a job there,according to Suwanarpa.

“Normally, when people give out aresume — especially when they are com-peting for a job — they need to show ushow big and how small the projects theyhave done are,” Suwanarpa said.

Suwanarpa and her staff require biddersto answer any questions and clear up anyambiguities in proposals and resumesbefore the bid will even be considered,much less awarded.

Any bid that is considered by FultonCounty Public Works must answer the fol-lowing questions — which the V.I. govern-ment did not ask Elite:

• What, specifically, are the pastprojects? One of Elite’s projects on itsresume is identified as “Creek CrossingRepair and Rehabilitation Project, Atlanta,Ga.” It does not identify the creek or itssize. Elite also fails to say when the pro-jects were worked on or completed.

• What was the scope of eachproject? On its resume, Elite described itsprojects by the end result. A project identi-fied as “South River Sewer Inspection” isfurther described as one in a series of mapsthat depicts sewer lines. It does not sayhow long it took to make this map or thework that went into putting it together.

• How much was the contractorpaid for the project? Costs show thegovernment agency that is reviewing bidsexactly how large the project was. A$500,000 project would have a smallerscope than a $5 million project. Elite didnot list any amounts paid for projects itclaimed to have done.

• Where was the project? Elite’sresume simply states that its projects allwere in Atlanta — which is vague becausea project in Atlanta could have been donefor the State of Georgia, the City of Atlantaor Fulton, DeKalb or Cobb counties.

• What did the firm do? Suwanarpalooked at Elite’s list of project experienceto try to identify whether any of those pro-jects were through Fulton County andcould not identify them. “Cannot tell by thedescription what exactly the firm did or itsroles in those projects,” Suwanarpa toldThe Daily News in a written statement.

• Who can attest to work quality?A list of references with contact telephonenumbers is standard on any resume. Elite’sresume does not list any references at all.

Julita DeLeon’s federal whistleblower lawsuit statesthat in discussions with CZM staff, some “questionablematters” involving Elite came up, including:

• Elite had subcontracted the project work inviolation of territorial law.

• Despite receiving an initial payment under thecontract terms, Elite did not deliver any workwithin the specified deadlines.

• Elite’s ability to perform under the contract wasin doubt.

• Elite subcontracted to people outside the VirginIslands.

• Elite did not make its principals available to meetin person with DPNR officials to discuss theproject’s progress.


Fraud, theft and embezzlementtaint V.I. government officesBy TIM FIELDSand MEGAN POINSKIDaily News Staff

T he government’s payment of $324,500in federal funds to Elite TechnicalServices for project work that is

incomplete or useless is one of many exam-ples of the V.I. government’s waste and abuseof funds and its lack of accountability.

Some of the cases, all previously reportedby The Daily News:

• St. Croix sewer contract — InFebruary, five business and government lead-ers were indicted by a federal grand jury onfraud charges arising from their role in a gov-ernment sewer contract that District JudgeThomas Moore said “reeked of politics andpolitical influence and, quite possibly, ofpolitical corruption.”

The indictment, which came after The DailyNews disclosed the existence and nature of thecontract, claims that the five conspired toswindle money from the V.I. governmentthrough a multimillion-dollar sewer repaircontract with Global Resources Management:a start-up company with one employee, noequipment and key political connections.

The defendants are Ashley Andrews, presi-dent of Global Resources; Alicia Hansen, aformer V.I. senator and former candidate forgovernor; her husband, Esdel Hansen, a for-mer V.I. Public Works Department employeeand director of utilities for Global Resources;Ohanio Harris, former special assistant toGov. Charles Turnbull and former presidentof Global Resources; Campbell Malone, for-mer post auditor for the V.I. Legislature andaccountant for Andrews.

The charges cover territorial and federaloffenses that include bribery, conspiracy toviolate federal law, filing fraudulent claimsagainst the V.I. government, program fraud,violating territorial conflict of intereststatutes and wire fraud.

All five defendants have pleaded not guiltyto all the charges. Their trial is scheduled forFebruary in District Court.

• Sen. Carlton Dowe fraud charges— A V.I. senator from 2000-2004 and V.I.Fire Service director from 1995 to 1999,Dowe is under federal indictment, chargedwith stealing $75,207.25 from the V.I. gov-ernment in a wire fraud scheme arising froma back pay claim.

The indictment charges that Dowe plottedto receive his back pay a second time and dis-guised the fraud by instructing a Fire Serviceaccountant to alter his payroll records.

Dowe has pleaded not guilty, and his trial isscheduled for February.

• Riise Richards fraud charges — Adirector of planning, research and develop-ment for the V.I. Police Department and pres-ident of the United Steelworkers of Americalocal union representing supervisors,Richards has been charged with 12 counts offraud. Richards is accused of taking $4,100from a police travel account, using police air-line tickets for personal travel and filingfraudulent reimbursement claims with thegovernment.

Richards has pleaded not guilty to thecharges, and the trial is pending in TerritorialCourt.

• V.I. roofing program bribes —Former V.I. Property and ProcurementCommissioner Dean Luke and CharlesBornman, former project manager for theGovernor’s Home Protection Roof Program,were convicted in February on federalcharges of bribery, conspiracy and extortion.The jury found they worked together to solic-it $25,000 from contractors involved in theprogram in the late 1990s. Additionally, theyfound that Bornman awarded $65,000 in pay-ments to a company for unnecessary repairs.

Their sentencing is pending.• V.I. Bureau of Corrections theft —

Derrick Thomas, chief of security at GoldenGrove Adult Correctional Facility, wascharged in Territorial Court with embezzle-ment and grand larceny. Investigators sayThomas ordered an inmate assigned to theprison’s carpentry shop to make cabinets forhis kitchen using $757 worth of the prison’sraw building materials. Thomas has pleadednot guilty to all charges. His trial is pending.

• V.I Justice Department theft —Dina Hermon, former Justice Departmentcashier in the Paternity and Child SupportDivision, was convicted and sentenced inAugust to a year in prison and ordered to payrestitution of the nearly $40,000 she stolefrom the division between 1996 and 1999.

• V.I. Department of Licensing andConsumer Affairs fraud — JamilaRussell, an employee in the department,pleaded guilty in July to illegally issuinglicenses to contractors in 2000 and 2001. Shewas sentenced to two years of probation andordered to pay $5,000 restitution.

• Lucien Moolenaar II theft — A for-mer V.I. deputy Health commissioner,Moolenaar was convicted in August of steal-ing $102,467.85 paid to him by mistake in hisgovernment paychecks for five years andlying about it to federal agents. The juryfound Moolenaar guilty of one count of con-version of government funds, one count ofgrand larceny and one count of making falsestatements. Moolenaar’s sentencing is pend-ing.

• Government credit card fraud —Some officials of semiautonomous govern-ment agencies, including the V.I. Water andPower Authority and the public television sta-tion, used their government credit cards topay for $180,820 in personal items for them-selves, according to a V.I. InspectorGeneral’s audit. The charges included a wed-ding, shoes and beauty products. The auditalso found that $339,990 in charges were notsupported by receipts. The government hasnot filed criminal charges.

• V.I. Finance Department loss ofcash —The department does not have accu-rate accounting of nearly $3 million in gov-ernment petty cash and cannot account forwhat happened to $899,219, according to aV.I. Inspector General’s audit in October.The government has not filed criminalcharges.

• V.I. Housing Authority fraudcharges — Walter John Jr., former procure-ment specialist at the V.I. Housing Authority,and George Flemming, president of Mr. G’sMaintenance Service Inc. on St. Croix, wereindicted by a federal grand jury in April onfraud charges. They are charged with corrupt-

ly securing payment on repair contracts. Theyhave pleaded not guilty, and their trial ispending in District Court.

• DPNR bribes — Montclaire Guishard,a former V.I. Department of Planning andNatural Resources environmental enforce-ment officer, was convicted in federal courtin 2003 of accepting $20,000 in bribes tomisidentify a drug suspect. He was sentencedin April to more than 19 years in prison andstripped of his badge. Guishard has appealedto the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

• WAPA embezzlement — WAPAemployee Angelique Abbott was sentenced tosix months of probation and a $550 fine afterpleading guilty in October 2003 to embezzle-ment. Abbott was charged with diverting $25reconnection fees to credit other accounts.

• DLCA embezzlement — DalsiaParilla, a DLCA employee, pleaded guilty inAugust 2003 and was sentenced in October toserve three years in prison for embezzlingmore than $10,000. She was charged withstealing licensing fees, registration fees andfines from the department’s Taxi Division.

• Narcotics Strike Force perjury —NSF Director Wayne Chinnery was convictedin federal court in May 2002 of lying underoath in connection with pistol-whipping awoman. He is serving a three-year federalprison sentence.

• V.I. Lottery embezzlement — SoniaFoy, former V.I. Lottery secretary of collec-tions, pleaded guilty in June 2001 to embez-zling $8,000 from the lottery and a vendor.She was sentenced to five years of probationin November 2002.

• V.I. Lottery fraud — Lottery DirectoryAlec Dizon pleaded guilty in 2001 to defraud-ing the V.I. government of $72,000 by open-ing a government-funded bank account andgetting a Visa card issued on that account. InApril 2002, he was sentenced to nearly twoyears in prison.

• V.I. Public Works Department falseclaims — Ann Abramson was convicted bya District Court jury of making false state-ments and presenting false claims in 1999when she was Public Works commissioner.The charges arose from payments she autho-rized to repair Arthur A. Richards JuniorHigh School in October 1999. She was sen-tenced in 2001 to 30 months in federal prison.

• V.I. Tourism Department fraud —Susanna Hodge Riddle, who was manager ofthe Tourism’s Chicago office, pleaded guiltyin May 2001 to fraud for taking $19,000 froma government bank account and using themoney to pay for personal travel, a rental carand her phone bill. In June 2001, she was sen-tenced to three months in prison.

• Army Corps of Engineers fraud — Aretired Public Works official and police auxil-iary officer, George Patrick was convicted by aDistrict Court jury in February 2001 ofdefrauding the federal government by collect-ing $171,000 from the Army Corps ofEngineers for his unlicensed security company.

• IRB theft — Stephen Austin Monsanto,who was special assistant to the V.I. InternalRevenue Bureau director, pleaded guilty inSeptember 2000 to diverting $200,000 ingovernment checks to his personal bankaccount. He was sentenced to more than ayear in prison in January 2001.

In their own wordson the Elite contract

“The staff members are incrediblyexperienced in delivering on a timelybasis the clients’ deliverables. Moreimportantly, the tasks are usuallycompleted under budget. ELITE isexperienced in analyzing andunderstanding clients’ needs andtransforming these needs into cost-effective solutions.”

— Elite Technical Services’ proposalfor the $650,000 contract

“I also find it hard to believe that allVirgin Island hotels and beaches withshoreline access can be visited in tenhours.”

— DPNR environmental planner William Rohringin a May 23, 2003, memo to CZM Director Janice

Hodge, about Elite’s work planfor mapping public shoreline access

“It is apparent that little effort was putinto the overall report as pages arenot numbered and there are obviousmisspellings and grammaticalmistakes that could have been easilycorrected utilizing spell check orgrammar check.”

— CZM Director Janice Hodge, Aug. 8, 2003,about Elite’s first progress report

“To date, projects are beyond thedeadlines for completion, and Elite hasnot communicated with CZM as towhen it hopes to have theseoutstanding projects completed.”

— CZM Director Janice Hodge, Aug. 8, 2003

“They also voiced some frustration intheir dealings with Elite TechnicalServices. Specifically mentioned wasthe inability of Elite to providefeedback on the work that has beencompleted thus far. A lot of the delaysin the work was attributed to theinability to effectively of communicatewith Elite.”

— DPNR environmental planner Michael Spellenin a memo to CZM Director Janice Hodge,

Aug. 8, 2003, after meeting with Paradigm Design

“The Department is also concernedthat the subcontractors seem to bereceiving little or no guidance andsupport from the contractor.Subcontractors have had to turn topersonnel from the Division of CoastalZone Management to receive inputconcerning their work product andconcerns with obtaining the necessarydata to finish projects in a timelymatter. A final concern involves Elite’sapparent lack of capability to completefifty percent (50%) of the workrequired to fulfill the contractrequirements.”

— DPNR Commissioner Dean Plaskettin a letter to Property and Procurement

Commissioner Marc Biggs, Sept. 18, 2003

“While we at Elite Technical ServicesInc. have acknowledged the fact thatwe have not provided many of thequality products in accordance withour mutual covenants, your staffequally acknowledges the difficultyand the impact that Elite TechnicalServices Inc. encountered as a resultin not obtaining valued essential data.We, at Elite Technical Services, knowthat the nature of the problems thatour associates and we encountered isnot insurmountable. Therefore, wehave recommitted our entire resourcecapabilities to complete ourobligations to your agency. We are,therefore, requesting that you affordus the opportunity to restore yourconfidence in us.”

— Elite Project Manager Esmond Modeste in a letterto DPNR Commissioner Dean Plaskett, Sept. 26, 2003


FEDERAL AUDITS FIND FINANCIAL SCANDALS

T he territory has a history ofmismanaging federal funds, awardingdubious contracts and failing to oversee

performance on contracts.Daily News scrutiny found:

• • •Top officials of eight V.I. government

semiautonomous agencies used theirgovernment credit cards for $520,810 inpersonal and unverified business expensesbetween fiscal years 1998 and 2003, aSeptember 2004 audit found. The chargesincluded $180,820 for such personal items asweddings, trips, shoes and beauty products,the auditors found.

• • •The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development seized control of the V.I. HousingAuthority in August 2003. HUD officials citedsevere and longstanding problems withfinances and accounting at the agency leadingto millions of dollars in discrepancies in Fiscalyear 2001. Among the nation’s 3,200 publichousing agencies, the V.I. Housing Authority isonly the 17th that HUD has taken over since1985.

• • •The V.I. Public Finance Authority ineffectively

or inappropriately spent almost $30 million,creating cost overruns of more than $17 millionon school construction, a December 2002federal audit found.

• • •The PFA spent $1.2 million on a mental

health facility that never opened, and spent$2.3 million on work not related to the PFA’sprimary function, the auditors found inDecember 2002.

• • •The V.I. government paid $1 million in 2000-

2001 to a vendor who did not have a V.I.business license or a contract to dogovernment work, according to a November2002 federal audit. In addition, the governmentawarded contracts without money to pay forthem and overpaid $130,000 on 57 contracts,the auditors reported.

• • •The V.I. Health Department spent nearly

$900,000 between 1996 and 2001 on projectsthat were never completed, an October 2002audit found. Contracts for St. Croix projectswere illegally awarded — sometimes tounlicensed contractors — the auditors found.

• • •The V.I. government misspent and

mismanaged the almost $13 million it receivedannually from the Federal HighwayAdministration for road repairs and construction,according to an August 2002 federal audit. Thegovernment duplicated payments tocontractors, failed to collect damages whencontractors did not meet deadlines, overpaidemployees, bypassed the competitive biddingprocess and misused federal funds andequipment, the auditors found.

• • •The Narcotics Strike Force spent almost half

of a federal fund designed for undercoveroperations on personal expenses for the NSFmembers, a March 2002 audit found. The NSFofficers used $149,790 to rent residences onall three islands; they also spent $27,209 oncell phones and other communication charges,$2,165 on vehicle repairs, and more than$23,000 on undocumented expenses — aMarch 2002 federal audit found.

• • •A drunken off-duty police officer totaled a

$22,000 Narcotics Strike Force ChevroletBlazer, and the NSF did not require him toreplace it, the March 2002 audit reported.

• • •The V.I. Police Department could not

document $240,514 in expenses and could notaccount for 68 of its assigned guns, a March

2002 federal audit found. In addition, the auditfound that the police department failed to use$54,400 in federal grants because of lack ofplanning.

• • •The V.I. government could not account for

$42,000 of $88 million collected from 12governmental agencies in May and June 1999,according to a January 2000 federal audit thatalso found collections were not properlydocumented, recorded or adequately secured.Bank deposits were not made in a timelymanner, were not reconciled to dailycollections, and records were not promptlysubmitted to the V.I. Finance Department, theauditors found.

• • •Former V.I. Property and Procurement

Commissioner Dean Luke and former projectmanager for the Governor’s Home ProtectionRoof Program Charles Bornman wereconvicted in February on federal charges ofbribery, conspiracy and extortion. The juryfound they worked together to solicit $25,000from contractors involved in the program in thelate 1990s. Additionally, they found thatBornman awarded $65,000 in payments to acompany for unnecessary repairs. Theirsentencing is pending.

• • •The V.I. Child Support Enforcement Program

— part of the V.I. Justice Department’sPaternity and Child Support Division — spent$78,884 over three years to rent office space itnever used, could not prove that $8.3 million incontracts were competitively bid, and collected$23,000 in child support through employeeswho were not bonded or authorized ascashiers, a December 1999 federal auditfound.

• • •The V.I. Internal Revenue Bureau

squandered $51,000 on airline tickets, papershredders, printers, paper and an alarmsystem, according to a federal April 1999 auditof a $1.4 million federal grant to improvecollections and upgrade computers. Four of thecomputers and six of the monitors purchasedwith that grant money could not be located.

• • •The V.I. government allowed more than

3,300 taxpayers exemptions to which theywere not entitled, and the government’sslipshod bookkeeping and poor managementcost the territory $15.4 million in propertytaxes, an April 1999 federal audit found. Thegovernment also failed to enforce delinquenttax collections, the auditors said.

• • •The V.I. government spent an unnecessary

$16 million a year on salaries and benefitsstarting in 1996 because it hired more than600 executive branch employees to replace567 executive branch workers who retiredearly under a 1994 federal law created to cutthe workforce, an April 1999 federal auditfound. Even though the law did not allow forreplacement employees to be hired, the V.I.government not only did so but it also added33 more executive employees.

• • •Labor Department mismanagement and

collection deficiencies cost the territory $18.7million for the Unemployment InsuranceProgram between 1997 and 1998, according toa January 1999 federal audit. The V.I. programalso failed to safeguard its computer recordsand as a result, the records of 1,031 benefitclaimants were deleted, the audit found.

• • •The V.I. government illegally transferred up

to $120 million in federal funds to theterritory’s General Fund to cover biweeklygovernment employee payroll checks from1995 to 1998, a September 1998 federal auditfound.

• • •Despite glaring problems uncovered by

previous audits, government departments didimprove their fiscal management, theSeptember 1998 federal audit found.

• • •The Department of Education and the Public

Works Department bypassed the Departmentof Property and Procurement and awardedmillions of dollars in government funds withoutcontracts or competitive bidding, an April 1998federal audit found. Property and Procurementwas excluded from the bid process for thepost-Hurricane Marilyn school reconstructionprojects, the audit reported.

• • •The Public Works Department failed to

collect millions of dollars from sewercustomers between 1988 and 1996,spotlighting PWD’s shoddy accounting andpoor organization, a March 1998 federal auditfound. Many customers were underbilled, andfew were charged connection fees or annualuser fees, the audit said.

• • •The Department of Planning and Natural

Resources failed to collect at least $155,069 inpermit fees during fiscal years 1995 and 1996,a January 1998 federal audit found. In addition,DPNR allowed contractors to constructbuildings without required permits, did notreview architectural plans, did not ensure thataccurate permit fees were assessed orcollected and did not properly maintain permitfiles, the audit found.

• • •At least $7.7 million in federal funds to

renovate the territory’s health facilities afterHurricane Hugo were misspent or inadequatelydocumented, a June 1996 audit found. Fourcontractors who did major work were notlicensed in the Virgin Islands, and thegovernment failed to ensure that it received thebest prices for contracts or that competitivebids were solicited, inspectors found.

• • •The University of the Virgin Islands and the

V.I. Tourism Department were unable toaccount for $15.5 million of a $85 millionFEMA loan after Hurricane Marilyn, aDecember 1997 federal audit found. Gov. RoySchneider did not inform the university or thedepartment that the money came from afederal disaster loan, the auditors reported.

• • •Local administrators of the federally funded

Special Supplemental Food Program forWomen, Infants and Children (WIC) ran up $3million in administrative costs — including a$2,600 party to celebrate the opening of aclinic on St. Croix — during fiscal years 1994and 1995, according to an April 1997 audit bythe U.S. Inspector General. WIC nutrition aidesdid not properly document clients’ incomesources, and some applicants who wereturned down at one WIC office weresuccessfully enrolled at another, the inspectorsreported.

• • •The V.I. government did not maintain

adequate control over $227 million in federalgrants and bond proceeds for the CapitalImprovements Program and may havemisspent as much as $8 million allocated torepair hurricane-damaged schools, accordingto a U.S. Inspector General audit inSeptember 1994.

• • •$25 million in post-Hurricane Hugo

construction contracts did not go to the lowestbidders and $4.5 million in contracts were notawarded competitively by the V.I. Property andProcurement Department, inspectorsconducting the 1994 audit found. They saidthey could not determine whether $18 millionin contracts had been awarded properly.

In their own wordson the Elite contract

“Elite Technical Services has notfulfilled its contract obligations to theDepartment. They have failed toprovide timely monthly updates forthe projects. Additionally, they havenot been able to produce the results inthe time frames in which theypromised.”

— DPNR Environmental Planner Michael Spellenin a memo to Acting CZM Director Bill Rohring,

Feb 10, 2004

“The Department requested that Elitepresent supporting documentationthat shows that they are performingat least fifty one percent (51%) of thecontract scope of work by January 9,2004. To date Elite has notdemonstrated or provided anyinformation to substantiate thisclaim.”

— DPNR environmental planner Michael Spellenin a memo to Acting CZM Director Bill Rohring

and DPNR Commissioner Dean Plaskett, April 15, 2004

“Elite reaffirms its commitment tocomplete all of its contractualobligations and responsibilities. Wemust however, formally register ourcomplaint about your Department’sfailure to assist with the delivery ofthe requested data and timely reviewsof the status reports, which hamperedElite’s ability to deliver several of thework-products as called for in thecontract.”— Elite Project Manager Esmond Modeste in a letter

to DPNR Commissioner Dean Plaskett, April 22, 2004

“If the information is not received bythe due date, we will have no otherrecourse but to assume that you areno longer interested in the completionof the scope of work and seek otheralternative measures to complete thework.”

— CZM Acting Director William Rohring in a letter toElite Project Manager Esmond Modeste, May 25, 2004

Elite Technical Services Inc. doesnot have “the ability to re-engage itssub-consultants without a contractamendment and receipts of past duepayment for services alreadyperformed. ETSI has decided not toabandon this project because it hastoo much at stake both financially andto its reputation; however, we cannotproceed without your directintervention and a resolution of theissues which has caused the currentimpasse.”— Elite Project Manager Esmond Modeste in a letter

to DPNR Commissioner Dean Plaskett, July 8, 2004

“CZM’s decision reflects an overalldissatisfaction with Elite’sperformance in providing the contractdeliverables to us in a timely manner.Additionally, the work that wasreceived by CZM is incomplete andpoor in quality.”

— DPNR Director of Environmental Protection VictorSomme III in a letter to Elite project manager

Esmond Modeste, July 22, 2004

“This project in its current form iswoefully incomplete.”

— DPNR Director of Environmental ProtectionVictor Somme III in a letter to Elite

project manager Esmond Modeste,July 22, 2004, referring Elite’s economic analysis

“To date CZM has not received asatisfactory explanation as to why thetime deadlines for this project werenot kept.”

— DPNR Director of Environmental ProtectionVictor Somme III in a letter to Esmond Modeste,

July 22, 2004, referring to the GIS mapping


Daily News reporters Tim Fields and Megan Poinskispent six months gathering the information for thesestories. Their reporting on this project started in July2004 and continued until minutes before presstimethis morning.

DocumentsDocuments obtained and used for this project are

available to the public. They are:• Articles of incorporations• Business licenses• Contracts• Contract proposals• District Court files• Guam and American Samoa Building Energy Code• Invoices and payments for contracts• Mortgages• Notary Public commission lists• Partnership filings• Property deeds• Taxi licenses• Telephone directories• Trademark registrations• Virgin Islands Building Code • Virgin Islands statutes

Document filesThe documents are in the files of these government

agencies:• 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida, Miami-Dade County• Alabama Secretary of State’s Office• Georgia Secretary of State’s Office• Municipal Court of Los Angeles Judicial District,

County of Los Angeles, State of California• V.I. Department of Finance• V.I. Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs• V.I. Department of Planning and Natural

Resources, Coastal Zone Management Committee• V.I. Department of Property and Procurement• V.I. Lieutenant Governor’s Office• U.S. Central District Court of California, Western

Division• U.S. District Court of St. Croix• U.S. District Court of St. Thomas-St. John

InterviewsThe Daily News reporters interviewed:• John Abramson Jr., V.I. Election Supervisor and

Opus Management Group vice president• Jill Banks, Georgia Department of Transportation

clerk• Eleanor Battiste, resident of St. Thomas

• James Bernier, Director of Engineering andMaintenance of V.I. Department of Health

• Commissioner Marc Biggs, V.I. Department ofProperty and Procurement

• Brent Blyden, director of Building Permits for DPNR• Vincent Brathwaite, energy development program

specialist for DPNR• T.J. Broadnax, Tammy Broadnax’s husband• Adelbert Bryan, former V.I. senator• Jo-Ann Burke, GIS technician, Montserrat Division

of Lands and Survey• Wayne Callwood, V.I. Public Works commissioner• Devin Carrington, former legal counsel for DPNR• Andrea Daley, Opus Management Group president• Steve Davis, building official for city of San Mateo,

Calif.• Luther Edwards, HOVENSA’s chief design

engineer• Rhonda Etheridge, director of Division of Treasury

for Gwinnet County, Ga.• Glenn Francis, St. Thomas-St. John fire chief• CD George, Procurement Department manager

City of Atlanta • Tammy Goodrum (Broadnax), Elite Technical

Services president• Leonard Gumbs, engineer working for Federal

Emergency Management Agency• John Headland, board member of American

Society of Civil Engineers’ Coastal Ocean Port andRiver Institute. He is also regional manager forengineering firm Moffatt and Nichol.

• John Heath, Comprehensive Development Planproject manager and coordinator for the City of Atlanta

• Stevie Henry, data manager for UVI’s ConservationData Center

• Janice Hodge, former director of DPNR’s CoastalZone Management Commission

• Azekah Jennings, assistant U.S. Attorney, VirginIslands

• Bernadette Jones, manager of Dekalb County’scontracting department

• Julio King, president of Julio King and Associates• Roger Larouche, U.S. Inspector General’s Office,

Washington, D.C.• Michael Leung, principal of KHAFRA• David Lloyd-Davis, former employee of KHAFRA

engineering and City of Atlanta Bureau of Planning• Kenn Mason, environmental engineer for DPNR’s

Environmental Protection Division• Lynn Millin, legal counsel for Property and

Procurement• Esmond Modeste, Elite Technical Services project

manager

• Alex Moorhead, HOVENSA vice president forgovernment affairs and community relations

•Kerten Peters, employee of DPNR’s planningdepartment and member of Elite selectioncommittee

• Commissioner Dean Plaskett, V.I. Department ofPlanning and Natural Resources

• Merwin Potter, V.I. Fire Service director• Robert Quigley, director of communications for

Cobb County, Ga.• Nicole Roberts, Property and Procurement

employee and member of Elite selectioncommittee

• Beven Smith, director of DPNR’s V.I. EnergyOffice

• Victor Somme, director of DPNR’s Coastal ZoneManagement Commission

• Staff at Atlanta JobCorps• Clarita Stewart, notary and former boardmember

of Opus• Kun Suwanarpa, deputy director for Public Works,

Fulton County, Ga.• David Tucker, president of PubSafe Engineering

Consultants Inc.• Brian Turnbull, V.I. Public Finance Authority special

projects coordinator and former employee of EliteTechnical Services and Opus Management Group

• Michille Turnbull, V.I. Labor Department employeeand notary

• Steven Van Beverhoudt, V.I. Inspector General• Romel Wallace Jr., facilities manager for Banco

Popular on St. Thomas• Tshaka Warren, City of Atlanta Bureau of Planning

Attempted contactsThe following individuals either refused to be

interviewed or did not respond to interview requestsmade via registered mail, delivery agent andtelephone:

• Earl Brewley, Elite Technical Services vicepresident; Elite Technical Services partnershippartner, Global Business Solutions corporationprincipal; registered agent for PubSafe.

• Hollis Griffin, former DPNR director ofEnvironmental Protection

• Sal Griffith, DPNR employee and member of theElite selection committee

• Willis Mark, Elite Technical Services secretary-treasurer

• Benjamin Santana, retired firefighter• Rossana Vaccarino, Paradigm Design/Vaccarino

Associates• Denise Vanterpool-Lambertis, notary public

Copyright © 2005 Daily News Publishing Co. • 9155 Estate Thomas, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 00802 • www.virginislandsdailynews.com

HOW THE DAILY NEWSDID THIS INVESTIGATION

SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORT PROJECT TEAMREPORTERS PROJECT EDITORS

CONTRIBUTING REPORTEREunice Bedminster

GRAPHICS AND PHOTOSTimothy Kipp Lewin, Sean McCoy,Michael Potter, Cristian Simescu

COPY EDITORS AND PROOFREADERSJames Allison, William Brown, Ann Key,Rachel Davis McVearry, Curtis Walcott

ADDITIONAL SUPPORTThe staff of The Virgin Islands Daily News

TIM FIELDS774-8772 ext. 364

[email protected]

MEGAN POINSKI774-8772 ext. 304

[email protected]

J. Lowe Davis774-8772 ext. 350

[email protected]

Jason Robbins774-8772 ext. 307

[email protected]