The trial of Ray Martinez and Jenifer O’Neal on bribery, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges is on track to begin Dec. 3 as scheduled, according to a status hearing Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Alan Teague in District Court on St. Thomas.
The pair will be tried together after their attorneys confirmed for the judge that they will not be filing motions to sever the cases. The issue was raised at a status conference in August, when O’Neal’s attorney Dale Smith told Teague he “believed that one or more of the defendants might present a defense at trial adverse to the other,” according to court documents.
It seemed that Martinez’s counsel would have a “strong incentive” to sever, “so I put that in the universe,” Smith told the judge at Tuesday’s hearing, where both sides appeared remotely via Microsoft Teams. “But as far as I’m concerned, I’m not filing a motion to sever,” he said.
“Your client won’t be seeking to sever?” Teague asked Miguel Oppenheimer, who is representing Martinez as a court-appointed attorney under the Criminal Justice Act for indigent defendants in criminal cases.
“Correct, your honor,” he replied.
Both attorneys also confirmed they do not plan to file motions to seek to permit or suppress evidence.
The U.S. Justice Department also signaled that it is ready to proceed, and planned to produce emails from government witnesses Tuesday, and the government’s witness list by Wednesday, totaling 154 pages, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandre Dempsey with the DOJ’s Criminal Division in Washington, D.C. While noting the filings are extensive, he thought it “better to err on the side of caution,” he said.
“We’re ready and prepared to go forward. The United States sees no resolution outside of trial,” said Dempsey. He said the government expects to wrap up its case in under three weeks.
“I’m optimistic we’ll actually get it done sooner than anticipated,” he said, while noting that closing arguments and jury deliberations could push it to Dec. 19. “But, knock on wood, it won’t go past that.”
Martinez, the former V.I. Police commissioner, and O’Neal, former Office of Management and Budget director, are each charged with five counts of honest services wire fraud, which each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; one count of federal program bribery, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and one count of money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the DOJ. Martinez is also charged with two counts of obstruction of justice, which each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
An indictment unsealed in January alleges the pair accepted bribes from then-government contractor turned FBI informant David Whitaker, who subsequently admitted to two counts of wire fraud and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds in a plea deal with prosecutors unsealed in September 2024. He is set to testify against Martinez and O’Neal, and his sentencing is currently scheduled for June 10, 2026.
One potential hiccup addressed Tuesday was funding headaches created by the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has left Oppenheimer and co-counsel Juan F. Matos de Juan, as CJA attorneys based in Puerto Rico, to cover their own travel and lodging.
In a motion filed Oct. 7, Oppenheimer said the federal government ran out of funds to compensate CJA attorneys and experts on July 23, and their vouchers have gone unpaid since then, though he and Matos de Juan have continued to work on the case. They were promised payment with the start of a new fiscal year Oct. 1, but then the federal government promptly shut down.
Complicating matters is the fact that December is the high season for travel to the Virgin Islands, and affordable rooms are scarce, with only two hotels available under the government rate, and only from Dec. 2-16, after which any stay “will be approximately $414 a night,” Oppenheimer said.
“Indeed, co-counsel Matos de Juan just concluded trial … in the St. Croix Division, and he is carrying a balance of over $10,000 in expenses (hotel, meals, car rental) in his credit card, with no idea when it will be paid. Needless to say, the reimbursement he will eventually receive will not cover the interest this debt has accrued,” said Oppenheimer.
Additionally, Oppenheimer has already paid out-of-pocket to visit Martinez to prepare for trial, and had planned three more overnight trips this month and next, with each representing $500-plus in expenses, according to the motion.
“Allowing Mr. Martinez’s prosecution to proceed under these conditions impermissibly places his constitutional rights at the mercy of the government’s self-created funding crisis,” Oppenheimer said.
However, Judge Mark Kearney denied the request for a stay in an order issued the same day, instead directing Oppenheimer to book the necessary travel and hotel arrangements through the National Travel Service, which handles government-related travel, which has been ordered to then bill the court.
On Tuesday, Teague instructed Oppenheimer to again contact the National Travel Service “by no later than tomorrow,” to ensure the matter is sorted with the V.I. District Court. “I want this addressed and addressed quickly so we are ready for trial,” he said.
A final pretrial conference is set for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 24 via Zoom before Kearney, who will preside over the trial.
St. Croix Source
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