ST. THOMAS — The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the West Indian Company, Ltd., must turn over details of a board meeting to the Senate where it made the decision that WICO should pay for Governor Kenneth Mapp’s expensive former Estate Nazareth rental, which was costing tax payers over $20,000 monthly, according to an opinion the court filed on August 25.
“Because WICO was established as a government corporation pursuant to a special Act of the Virgin Islands Legislature to further government objectives, and WICO is permanently and completely controlled by government appointees, it is part of the government for purposes of the constitutional claims,” reads part of the opinion in a broader case involving two former employees who claimed, amongst other allegations, wrongful termination by WICO CEO Joseph Boschulte .
The court’s decision clears the way for the 31st Legislature to collect information that Boschulte argued at a July 9 Committee of the Whole hearing was private because WICO, being a government-owned agency, was not fully a public entity, and used Virgin Islands Code to back up his claim.
The District Court had ruled in the federal civil suit Sprauve v. West Indian Co. Ltd., that WICO employees were not “public employees” and highlighted text that reads, “additionally, as WICO is not a purely public entity, it will not be deemed a ‘public corporation.'”
But the court’s August 25 ruling that deems WICO a public company erases Boschulte’s argument and forces the firm to provide the details of the meeting if requested by the Senate.
Senate President Neville James said the 31st Legislature’s decision following the court’s ruling will be known by the end of this week.
Tags: Joseph Boschulte, the west indian company, us virgin islands, wico
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