ST. THOMAS — The federal hammer fell today on former Sports, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Calvert White, 49, as Judge Mark Kearney sentenced him to 60 months (5 years) in prison for his role in a brazen government-contract shakedown.
White, the son of former longtime St. Thomas Senator Celestino A. White Sr., was also ordered to serve 36 months of supervised release following his incarceration.
The GPS Order While the court has allowed White to remain at liberty until a March 2, 2026, self-surrender date, his freedom comes with a tether. Judge Kearney ordered that White be fitted with a GPS monitoring bracelet effective immediately—a granular, humiliating detail for an official once tasked with leading the territory’s youth and athletic programs.
The $1.4 Million “Inside Track” Today’s sentencing concludes a saga that began in December 2023. According to evidence presented at trial, White conspired with government contractor David Whitaker and intermediary Benjamin Hendricks to steer a security camera contract budgeted at $1.4 million toward Whitaker’s firm, Mon Ethos Pro Support.
In exchange for his cooperation, White solicited a $16,000 bribe, coaching Whitaker on how to lower his bid to beat competitors and sharing confidential bid information. Despite the high value of the contract, investigators found that White ultimately only received a $5,000 deposit into his personal Banco Popular account—the “price” for which he traded two decades of public service.
Co-Defendant Hendricks Sentenced Benjamin Hendricks, 62, who acted as the “middleman” for the payments, was also sentenced today to 5 years and 8 months in prison. Prosecutors argued that Hendricks facilitated the illegal wire transfers through his company, A Clean Environment USVI LLC, to mask the flow of bribe money.
The Final Word While federal officials were quick to issue statements about “upholding the Constitution,” for the people of the Virgin Islands, the numbers tell the real story: 5 years in prison for a $5,000 bribe on a $1.4 million contract.
The GPS Order
While Judge Mark Kearney granted White a self-surrender date of March 2, 2026, the court is taking no chances. Effective immediately, White must wear a GPS monitoring bracelet. It is a visceral, granular detail that marks the final fall of a commissioner once trusted with the territory’s youth and athletic programs.
The “Mon Ethos” Connection
This sentencing is the culmination of a months-long investigation into a kickback scheme involving government contractor David Whitaker and his firm, Mon Ethos Pro Support. White was convicted last July of honest services wire fraud and federal programs bribery for steering a $1.43 million security contract in exchange for a $16,000 bribe—of which $5,000 was successfully deposited into his account.
Co-Defendant Sentenced In a parallel judgment today, White’s intermediary, Benjamin Hendricks, was sentenced to 5 years and 8 months for his role as the “go-between” in the corruption scheme.