ST. THOMAS — The August 6 indictment of Julito Francis, Gerard Castor Sr. and John Woods will see a trial before a federal jury on September 28, following an arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller on Wednesday, where the three men pleaded not guilty.
District Court Judge Curtis V. Gomez will preside over the case.
Francis, 53, former Director of Finance and Administration for the VIPFA, was charged with 11 counts of conspiracy, bribery, extortion under color of official right, honest services wire fraud and perjury; Gerard Castor, 69, president and owner of Balbo Construction Corporation, was charged with 10 counts of conspiracy, bribery and honest services wire fraud; and Woods, 59, co-principal of an architectural company that worked on behalf of the VIPFA, was charged with three counts of conspiracy, bribery and extortion under color of official right on August 6, following a protracted federal investigation into government fraud.
The three men appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller of the District of the Virgin Islands the same day they were arrested, and were released pending Wednesday’s arraignment.
According to the indictment, Castor provided more than $400,000 in improvements to Francis’ personal residence, and over $10,000 in improvements to Woods’ personal property. In return, Francis and Woods used their official positions to ensure that Balbo Construction was awarded construction contracts by the VIPFA that were worth over $17 million, including a multi-million contract, and supplements thereto, to build the St. Thomas Regional Library.
The indictment further alleged that the defendants attempted to conceal the bribery scheme by creating false documents that suggested Francis and Woods intended to pay Castor for the work performed.
Tags: Gerard Castor Sr. and John Woods, Julito Francis
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