CHRISTIANSTED — Attorney General Claude Walker’s attempt to wrest control of the Virgin Islands Casino Control Commission (VICCC) from its chairwoman Anne Golden was dealt a seemingly fatal blow on Monday.
Superior Court Judge Robert A. Molloy ruled that Walker cannot control VICCC bank accounts or prevent the VICCC from having a credit card, according to court documents obtained by the Virgin Islands Free Press.
Simultaneously, Walker was also asking the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands to order Molloy to issue a ruling, which he did on Monday.
“So the only issue before the Supreme Court was whether to order Judge Molloy to rule or not,” a source familiar with the ruling told the Virgin Islands Free Press. “Since he had ruled, the petition for mandamus was moot. It is not a comment by the Supreme Court one way or the other on the merits of the actual ruling.”
The moot ruling by the Virgin Islands Supreme Court came down today signed by Chief Judge Rhys S. Hodge.
Walker now has sixty days from yesterday (the date that Judge Molloy ruled) to file an appeal to the Virgin Islands Supreme Court that challenges the merits of Judge Molloy’s ruling.
“The attorney general’s only option at this point is to appeal if he is not satisfied with the decision,” the source said.
According to the court ruling, Walker is still allowed to control 20 percent of VICCC proceeds to distribute to the VICCC’s Division of Gaming Enforcement.
