Mapp Moves To Dismiss Attorney’s Wrongful Discharge Lawsuit

ST. CROIX — Attorneys of Governor Kenneth Mapp have moved to dismiss a wrongful discharge lawsuit filed against the administration after the firing of Attorney LaVerne Mills-Williams, contending that the governor did not violate Virgin Islands law in the action he took.

Mrs. Mills-Williams was hired by Mr. Mapp to work at Government House through the recommendation of the administration’s Chief Legal Counsel, Emile Henderson III. While there, she served as assistant attorney general to the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands.

But things went awry, according to Mrs. Mills-Williams, when she released credit card information to the public, via a Freedom of Information Act request, about Mr. Mapp’s spending habits. Ostensibly, the governor wanted to see and possibly block certain expenses from the public’s view — in violation of the Freedom of Information Act — but Mrs. Mills-Williams refused to adhere to the governor’s demands, according to local media reports. She was later unceremoniously relieved from her duties at Government House and jounced to and fro to various government departments by the administration.

However, the motion to dismiss, (seen here) contends that contrary to Mrs. Mills-Williams claims, there was no violation to the Whistleblower Protection Act. It also states that Mrs. Mills-Williams failed to state claim for misrepresentation, and that she failed to state claim for tortious interference with contract — as Mr. Mapp’s attorneys attempt to dismantle the potentially damaging case against the chief executive.

The governor, on multiple occasions, have said he fired Mrs. Mills-Williams for her alliance with Attorney Lee Rohn, who Mr. Mapp says is a convicted felon, and that Mrs. Mills-Williams’ association with Ms. Rohn could compromise critical cases ongoing at the Department of Justice.

“I am not confident that your access and potential influence to ongoing criminal investigations and evidence would not be compromised on behalf of and through your association with Attorney Lee J. Rohn,” wrote the governor in his notice of termination letter. The letter was delivered to Mrs. Mills-Williams by the governor’s personal security guards after dark, according to Ms. Rohn, who is also preparing a defamation suit against Mr. Mapp for making what she says are unsubstantiated claims about her character.