ST. THOMAS — A former Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs enforcement officer who reported allegations that his supervisor accepted bribes to warn businesses ahead of surprise inspections is suing the Virgin Islands government and his own union, claiming he was subjected to years of retaliation that culminated in his dismissal in June 2025.
Chelston Richardson alleges that senior DLCA officials ignored or enabled the misconduct he reported, subsequently subjected him to an unfair disciplinary process and terminated his employment. His federal lawsuit seeks reinstatement and $1,189,005 in lost wages, projected future earnings, attorney's fees and costs.
According to the complaint filed in District Court, Mr. Richardson began reporting alleged corruption within DLCA's enforcement division in 2022. His allegations centered on claims that the division's head had been accepting bribes from businesses in exchange for advance notice of inspections that were supposed to be unannounced.
Following a whistleblower complaint in May 2022, Mr. Richardson alleges that he became a “target of retaliation” by his superior. The lawsuit accuses high-ranking officials, including former DLCA Commissioner Richard Evangelista, current Commissioner Nathalie Hodge and Director of Enforcement Wilbur Francis, of having “supported, enabled, or turned a blind eye” to the alleged corruption and subsequent retaliation.
In July 2023, Mr. Richardson was suspended following what the lawsuit describes as a “perfunctory investigation” into his allegations. He claims the suspension was imposed without advance notice, written charges, a hearing or an opportunity to defend himself.
The complaint argues that the disciplinary action violated local law and his procedural rights as a government employee.
Later that month, Mr. Richardson filed a lawsuit in Superior Court challenging his suspension under the Virgin Islands Whistleblower Protection Act. His union, United Steelworkers Local 8249, also filed a grievance alleging that he had been subjected to a hostile and retaliatory work environment following his reports.
However, Mr. Richardson claims the union's representation was compromised by an inherent conflict of interest because the local represents both supervisors and enforcement officers. He argues that the union representative handling his grievance should have recused himself but failed to do so.
Disciplinary Hearing Challenged
According to the federal complaint, the alleged retaliation continued after Mr. Richardson challenged his suspension.
He claims his supervisor deliberately provoked confrontations and then relied on those incidents to justify disciplinary write-ups. The disciplinary actions eventually led to a hearing in May 2025, which Mr. Richardson describes as “fundamentally unfair and breached the provisions of the CBA,” referring to the collective bargaining agreement governing his employment.
The lawsuit alleges that the hearing panel included officials who were defendants in his earlier Superior Court lawsuit or subjects of grievances concerning his treatment. Mr. Richardson argues that their participation violated the collective bargaining agreement's requirement that disciplinary proceedings be conducted by disinterested parties.
He further alleges that the panel considered incidents that should have been excluded under the agreement.
According to the complaint, the agreement prohibits the use of disciplinary matters more than a year old. Nevertheless, Mr. Richardson claims the hearing included a 2022 use-of-force incident, along with matters for which he had previously been disciplined, including his disputed 2023 suspension.
The lawsuit also accuses Virgin Islands Police Department Internal Affairs Director Vivianne Newton of providing false testimony during the hearing concerning an official report.
Mr. Richardson alleges that Ms. Newton testified about a report “she had caused to be altered,” while concealing the alteration from the disciplinary panel.
“The introduction of false testimony and the concealment of the alteration of an official report violated the CBA’s requirement for fair and honest proceedings,” the complaint argues.
Following the disciplinary hearing, DLCA Commissioner Hodge recommended that Mr. Richardson be terminated. Governor Albert Bryan Jr. subsequently acted on that recommendation, dismissing him in June 2025, according to the lawsuit.
Union Accused of Failing to Pursue Grievances
Following his termination, Mr. Richardson filed another Superior Court action seeking judicial review of his dismissal. His union also filed a grievance challenging the termination.
The federal complaint alleges that United Steelworkers Local 8249 failed to fulfill its responsibilities in handling three grievances filed on his behalf, allowing the matters to remain unresolved despite the assignment of arbitrators.
According to Mr. Richardson, the Virgin Islands Public Employees Relations Board had already assigned arbitrators to the grievances, but union representatives repeatedly told him they were still awaiting those assignments.
The lawsuit claims the union maintained that obtaining arbitrators would take considerable time and that scheduling arbitration proceedings would require an even longer wait.
Mr. Richardson alleges that those representations were false and prevented him from pursuing timely resolution of his grievances. He argues that the union's failure to act constituted a breach of its duty of fair representation and interfered with his ability to challenge the disciplinary actions through arbitration.
He also maintains that the union's simultaneous representation of supervisory personnel and enforcement officers created a structural conflict of interest that further compromised his representation.
Lawsuit Seeks Reinstatement and Nearly $1.2 Million
The federal lawsuit names the Government of the Virgin Islands, Commissioner Nathalie Hodge, former Commissioner Richard Evangelista, Wilbur Francis, Vivianne Newton and United Steelworkers Local 8249 as defendants.
Mr. Richardson seeks $2,000 in lost wages stemming from his 2023 suspension, $52,000 in back pay following his termination, and $795,000 in projected future earnings, known as front pay.
He also requests $340,005 in attorney's fees and costs, bringing the total monetary relief sought to $1,189,005.
In addition to the financial awards, Mr. Richardson is asking the federal court to order his reinstatement as a DLCA enforcement officer.
