Supreme Court Justices, Inspector General, Usie Richards, Marvin Forbes And Others Approved By Full Senate

ST. THOMAS — The 31st Legislature on Tuesday approved a number of Governor Kenneth Mapp’s nominees who will serve in various areas of government.

Inspector General Steven van Beverhoudt, who was recently roiled by a controversy surrounding the Office of the Inspector General’s handling of an audit of the Dema Law Firm, was unanimously supported by lawmakers.

Senators also approved the nominations all three Virgin Islands Supreme Court Justices.

Elsewhere, Marvin Forbes, whose nomination by Mr. Mapp to serve on the board of the Virgin Islands Port Authority, was debated in Senate committees intensely relative to Mr. Forbes’s experience, was supported all senators except Senator Tregenza Roach. So too were the nominations of Noreen Michael, who was reappointed to the Housing Authority board; Yvonne Thraen appointed to the Port Authority board; George Blackhall reappointed to the Housing Authority board; and Angelo Riddick as director of the Bureau of Information  Technology.

Former senator Usie Richards was approved to serve as a member of the Casino Control Commission, but his approval came with opposition from lawmakers concerned about sexual harassment charges brought against him by several women in 2004, when he was a first-term senator. Mr. Richards went on to win four terms following the allegations, but the accusations have dogged him to this day, as made clear by the questions he faced during hearings. (Details here.)

Mr. Richards’s nomination was approved by the votes of eight senators — Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly, Kenneth Gittens, Marvin Blyden, Clifford Graham, Novelle Francis, Positive Nelson, Sammuel Sanes and Almando Liburd. Voting against Mr. Richards’s nomination were Senators Myron Jackson, Justin Harrigan, Sr., Janette Millin Young, Neville James and Mr. Roach. Senator Kurt Vialet did not vote, and Jean Forde was absent.

Correction: December 22, 2016

A previous version of this story misstated Senator Tregenza Roach’s vote on the nomination of Marvin Forbes. Mr. Roach voted against Mr. Forbes nomination. He also voted against the nomination of Usie Richards. The story has been updated to reflect the correct information.