James spent $50,000-plus on Italian venture
Published: October 12, 2010
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Sen. Wayne James, center, with members of a delegation from Italy at a reception in January at Government House in Christiansted.
ST. CROIX — Sen. Wayne James spent more than $50,000 in taxpayer money in eight months on trips he took to Italy and on expenses incurred while hosting a delegation from Montescudaio here in the territory.
James released some of the information Monday afternoon in response to a Daily News request under the V.I. Open Public Records law for details of his office’s total expenditures of V.I. taxpayer money on his project to develop a twin-city relationship with the Italian town.
The Daily News has been pursuing the spending information since July.
Earlier this month, James sought to dismiss the public record request, informing The Daily News that it would have to get the information from the Legislature’s business office. The Daily News continued to press Sen. James, however, because the spending was done by his office.
The information James provided Monday is not completely responsive to the public records request, which asked for an itemization of all James’s expenditures on his involvement with Italy. Late Monday afternoon, James’ provided only the totals for each category, not a breakdown.
Sen. James spent $29,960 for three trips to Montescudaio between November 2009 and June 2010, $8,184.59 to host a four-member Italian delegation in the territory in January, and $11,545 for a party he hosted at Government House in Christiansted to honor that delegation in January. Approximately 500 people attended the party, according to the document.
James also spent approximately $800 on miscellaneous costs for telephone and graphic design in relation to the January event, he said.
The more than $50,000 in taxpayer money that James spent on the Montescudaio project between November 2009 and June 2010 is in addition to another $50,000 — an appropriation he proposed and that the 28th Legislature passed — to use V.I. taxpayer money to sponsor a soccer team in Montescudaio.
The Legislature passed the measure, which took $500,000 from a previously appropriated $5 million for marketing efforts by the V.I. Tourism Department and used $450,000 for sponsorship of V.I. sports teams and $50,000 for the Montescudaio team, in July.
Gov. John deJongh Jr. vetoed the measure in August.
In September, the 28th Legislature overrode the veto, turning the appropriation into law. Sen. Neville James, Sen. Terrence Nelson, Sen. Nereida Rivera-O'Reilly and Sen. Usie Richards — all four of whom are St. Croix senators, as is Wayne James — voted against the override, but the override passed.
On Monday night after providing the information, Sen. Wayne James declined to answer questions from The Daily News.
In a January, in an interview related to the party he hosted for a delegation of four from Montescudaio, James told The Daily News that he expected the relationship to be mutually beneficial to the territory and to Montescudaio, both culturally and commercially. He said he hoped to see V.I.-produced rum exports to Italy increase and wine produced in Montescudaio imported to the territory.
He told The Daily News at that time that the reception was paid for with public funds from his Senate allotment, although he did not know how much the bill would be and would not know until he received invoices.
The Daily News submitted a written request for the information from James in July, after a delegation of 13 from the territory, including Senate President Louis Hill, traveled to Montescudaio in June for the signing of the twin-city agreement. Some members of the delegation told The Daily News that they paid their own way.
The Daily News requested from Hill the information for Hill’s spending on the trip to Italy.
Hill released a statement saying that the only taxpayer money he spent on the trip was for himself and for his personal assistant, Victor Benoit.
Hill said his office spent $2,575.24 on Benoit’s trip, and $3,006.50 on Hill’s trip.
The figures include airline tickets, a hotel in Puerto Rico and in Florence, Italy, as well as transportation and some meals.
“This trip solidified our twin-city deal and allows us to expand our tourism and rum market shares to Europe,” Hill said in his prepared statement. “Senator James should be recognized for his initiative in marketing our identity as a top travel destination and manufacturer of fine rum products beyond our shores. I am proud to have represented the Legislature and the people of the Virgin Islands at this event.”
James, through his office, also cited the potential benefits of the Italian initiative. In August, he said that he did not receive a Daily News request for information addressed to him and the newspaper resent the request. James’ special advisor, Hortense Rowe, responded in a letter, saying that the office would respond to the request within 25 working days — which would have been Sept. 15. Her letter on James’ behalf also said:
“Thank you for your interest in the wonderful contributions of our office to the Virgin Islands, and we look forward to your glowing reports when the Virgin Islands begins witnessing increased revenue from Italian tourists as a direct result of Senator James’ unique and already-successful initiative.”
James’ did not provide the spending information in September as promised.
Instead, James’ office forwarded a letter dated Sept. 15 from Tomas Alejandro in the Legislature’s business office, stating that Alejandro was forced to leave the island for a medical emergency and would not be back until the week of Sept. 20.
James’ spending information arrived at The Daily News late Monday afternoon, Oct. 11.
— Contact Joy Blackburn at 774-8772 ext. 455 or e-mail jblackburn@dailynews.vi.
