Joseph Ponteen Appointed Acting Attorney General

Governor Kenneth Mapp has appointed Joseph Ponteen to serve as acting attorney general for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Government House announced late Tuesday. Mr. Ponteen’s appointment was effective December 8 following the resignation of Claude Walker, according to the release. Mr. Ponteen previously served as chief deputy attorney general of the territory.

The Consortium broke the news of Mr. Walker’s resignation on Monday afternoon.

Mr. Walker’s resignation did not come as a surprise; such is the norm during change of administrations. Governor-elect Albert Bryan told The Consortium during a Wednesday interview on the Virgin Islands Political Consortium, that current Mapp appointees who wish to resign could do so.

But the wait for the cabinet announcements from Mr. Bryan’s transition team has frustrated some, and over the weekend a list said to be a legitimate document containing names of individuals on the incoming administration’s transition team — including former Governor John P. de Jongh — was leaked. The Bryan-Roach team has since disavowed the document.

“The information purporting to be a list of the members of the Bryan-Roach Transition Team is not accurate, and neither was it sanctioned by the leadership of the Bryan-Roach Transition Team. Information coming from sources other than the Transition’s Press Sec-retary or Co-Chairs is not official information,” read the statement.

It added, “The leadership of the Bryan-Roach Transition Team fully understands the public’s inter-est and in keeping with our commitment to transparency will provide the official list con-taining the individuals serving on the transition team shortly.

“In the meantime, we ask that you continue to follow our social media pages and our web-site at bryanroachtransition.com for updates and official information on the transition.”

Mr. Walker, who took strong stances against marijuana, will be most notably remembered for his role in arresting Mr. de Jongh on two counts of embezzlement of public monies, and neglecting to pay over public monies in violation of Virgin Islands criminal code. Mr. de Jongh eventually paid the government and was not charged.