ST. CROIX — As the federal bribery trial of former Police Commissioner Ray Martinez and former Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal approaches in December, the government outlined its witnesses and summarized the facts of the case in its trial memorandum filed today in District Court, Division of St. Thomas and St. John.
Martinez and O’Neal are both charged with honest services wire fraud, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, and money laundering conspiracy for allegedly accepting bribes from David Whitaker. Martinez is also charged with two counts of obstruction of justice (corrupt persuasion and falsification of records).
Whitaker is the founder and former owner of the cyber security firm Mon Ethos Pro Support who also owned and operated its affiliated company — the Office of Data Discovery Forensic Analysis. After the Virgin Islands Police Department retained Mon Ethos and ODDFA under Martinez’s direction to assist in analyzing a covert monitoring device discovered in a government office in May 2022, the former police commissioner and Whitaker allegedly entered into a bribery relationship in November 2022. Whitaker allegedly proposed that he could help Martinez with his restaurant business, Don Felito’s Cookshop, in exchange for Martinez’s assistance in ensuring that Whitaker’s outstanding invoices to the VIPD were approved and paid. Martinez is accused of accepting at least $110,358 in bribes, some of which were allegedly paid via inflated invoices.
After an original invoice from October 2023 and an inflated invoice prompted O’Neal to contact Martinez directly, Martinez allegedly instructed her to process the higher invoice and ignore the original. In January 2024, Martinez allegedly told Whitaker he wanted to help O’Neal financially by adding an additional $10,000 to $15,000 to an invoice as a “gift” for her. O’Neal allegedly used her position as OMB director to expedite payment of the inflated invoice. She is accused of accepting at least $17,730 in bribes and directing Whitaker to pay the lease for her restaurant directly to the landlord to conceal the alleged scheme.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office anticipates calling nine witnesses, including Whitaker, who accepted a plea agreement in March 2024 and admitted to, among other things, bribing a VIPD agent. Three prosecutors have filed notices of appearance with the court in this case — Assistant U.S. Attorney Cherrisse Amaro, and Washington, D.C.-based trial attorneys Alexandre Dempsey and Steven Loew. Amaro served as OMB’s legal counsel during part of O’Neal’s tenure as director.
Jamie Gaston, an OMB employee, is expected to testify two to three hours regarding her responsibilities in processing payments for the VIPD. She will explain how O’Neal, her supervisor, allegedly directed and pressured her to expedite approval of certain VIPD invoices, including those related to Mon Ethos. She will identify communications allegedly showing O’Neal’s involvement in processing inflated invoices and will confirm the timeline of approvals corresponding to the wire transfers at issue in the indictment.
The government anticipates calling other witnesses, including Deputy Police Commissioner Jason Marsh, who will testify that Martinez instructed him to approve certain invoices and payments to Whitaker’s companies on Martinez’s behalf; and Property and Procurement Commissioner Lisa Alejandro, who will explain that contracts exceeding certain monetary thresholds — such as the $1.4 million Mon Ethos contract — required the governor’s signature following review by P&P.
During the eight to 10 hours Whitaker is expected to testify under direct examination by prosecutors, the government noted in its trial memorandum that Whitaker will explain how Martinez solicited and accepted payments and other things of value — including restaurant equipment, rent, tuition payments, and luxury travel. He will also testify about a memorandum used to conceal bribe payments, the submission of inflated invoices, subsequent lease payments made to allegedly benefit O’Neal, and the defendants’ alleged attempts to conceal their conduct once the FBI investigation became known. Whitaker will identify both defendants’ voices on recorded calls, authenticate text messages, and explain his cooperation with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Additionally, the lead investigator will testify about the initiation and scope of the federal investigation, an FBI Computer Analysis Response Team examiner will testify about the forensic examination of the defendants’ seized electronic devices, and the property manager for Yacht Haven Grande will testify regarding the $17,730 payment allegedly received on April 15, 2024 for the lease of O’Neal’s coffee shop.
The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection at 9 a.m. December 3 in District Court on St. Thomas before District Judge Mark Kearney.
