Ray Martinez

Ray Martinez, the former Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Police Department, was convicted on December 11, 2025, of five counts of honest services wire fraud, federal program bribery, money laundering conspiracy, and two counts of obstruction of justice. He resigned in June 2024 following his implication in a federal investigation. Evidence revealed Martinez accepted nearly $100,000 in bribes from contractor David Whitaker—including luxury travel, private school tuition, and restaurant equipment—in exchange for approving fraudulent invoices and awarding Whitaker a $1.49 million contract funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. After learning of the federal probe, Martinez attempted to obstruct justice by ordering Whitaker to destroy evidence and creating a falsified promissory note to conceal the bribes. On June 9, 2026, Martinez was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $77,257 in restitution, a $5,000 fine, a $900 special assessment, and forfeit $128,088.79.