ST. CROIX — The Senate’s assistant legal counsel has opined that the appointment of former Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte as president and CEO of the West Indian Company Limited may not violate Virgin Islands law.
In an August 20 memorandum to Senate Vice President Kenneth Gittens, obtained by WTJX, attorney LaVerne Mills-Williams, the Senate’s assistant legal counsel, through Chief Legal Counsel Amos Carty Jr., responded to Gittens’ request for a legal opinion regarding whether Boschulte’s appointment conflicts with Title 3, Chapter 5, Section 65d(c) of the Virgin Islands Code.
Boschulte, who previously served as WICO’s president and CEO from 2012 to 2017, joined the board in 2019 and chaired it until April 21, 2023.
Governor Albert Bryan Jr., chairman of WICO’s parent company, the Public Finance Authority, told The Virgin Islands Consortium in an article published on February 28 that the WICO board offered Boschulte the job to lead WICO during a board meeting held the same day.
On March 4, WTJX reported that Boschulte’s tenure on the WICO board could restrict him from taking the helm, citing the law’s one-year cooling-off period for board members becoming employees.
READ MORE: Virgin Islands law appears to restrict Joseph Boschulte from heading WICO as its president and CEO
In response to a reporter’s inquiry at a March 24 press conference, the governor confirmed that Boschulte was offered the job as WICO’s next CEO, but had neither accepted nor declined the offer, as negotiations were ongoing.
In her legal opinion, Mills-Williams concluded it is arguable that WICO is not subject to local governmental restrictions regarding a board member’s eligibility to be employed at the company within one year of serving on its board. She highlighted that while Subsections (a) and (b) of Section 65d explicitly mention “independent instrumentalities,” Subsection (c) — the relevant provision — does not.
Mills-Williams wrote that Subsections (a) and (b) provide:
(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no person who has been convicted of a felony shall be eligible to serve on any board or commission of the government of the United States Virgin Islands, including its independent instrumentalities.
(b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person serving on a board or commission of the government of the United States Virgin Islands, including its independent instrumentalities, if convicted of a felony shall upon conviction be ineligible to continue as a member of such board or commission.
However, Title 3 Virgin Islands Code, Subtitle 3, Chapter 5, Subchapter I, Section 65d, Subsection (c) provides that: No member serving on a board or commission may continue to serve as a board or commission member while simultaneously serving as an employee of that board or commission. No person may serve as an employee of a board or commission, in any capacity, within one year of having served as a board or commission member of the same board with which he or she is seeking employment.
“The omission of the phrase ‘including its independent instrumentalities’ from Subsection (c) suggests that Subsection (c) is not applicable to government instrumentalities,” Mills-Williams wrote.
Mills-Williams did note that WICO is a public entity as evidenced by its enabling legislation in Act 5826 and subsequent court rulings.
READ MORE: WICO chair breaks ranks, conceding the entity’s public status after interim CEO’s evasive testimony
The WICO board has yet to announce their next president and CEO. WICO’s next board meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday.
