Italian Government Official Questions Value, Expenses Of Sen. W. James “Twin Cities” Deal
New questions have arisen about the costs and value of the "Twin Cities" agreement crafted by Sen. Wayne James, center. Was he reimbursed for expenses the Italian government paid?
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Dear CIF staff,
I am Fabio Tinelli Roncalli and I am the leader of the minority group in the City Council in Montescudaio, Italy. As you probably know, the mayor of my village, Aurelio Pellegrini, has signed with Sen. Wayne James the twin city agreement between VI and Montescudaio.
I, like everybody in Montescudaio, don’t know absolutely nothing about (the) Virgin Island(s), its politicians or its economy and I suppose it is a beautiful country full of smart and beautiful people. But we strongly opposed the twin city agreement because nobody, (neither) Mr. Pellegrini (nor) Sen. James was able to give a plausible explanation of the reasons behind it.Â
I was interested in reading the article you published about the expenses made by Sen. James in his last trip to Montescudaio. I am as well tracking the expenses made by the Mayor of Montescudaio in supporting Mr. James and his delegation which so far amount to $13,500 USD (United States dollars) paid by Montescudaio’s taxpayers and so composed:
Food, Lodging and Transportation
Accommodation in agriturismo (a farm with some rooms acting also as an hotel):Â $754 USD
Food and beverages: $3,936 USD
Bus rent: $1,701 USD
Expenses connected to the ceremony
Mounting of the stand: $4,174 USD
Cecina Philarmonic Orchestra exhibition: $1,547 USD
Airing of commercials on local TVs: $1,160 USD
Electricity: $226 USD
To clarify: the sums were spent by the Montescudaio municipality for the hospitality of the entire VI delegation.
Reading Sen. James’ expense list I was surprised by some items:
Why did Sen. James (fly) from Pisa to Rome and from Rome to Florence spending so much money? It is a short trip usually made by train and does not cost more than $130 USD.
How could Sen. James spend $370 USD per day for his accommodation in Montescudaio where there are no hotels so expensive? Note how cheap the accommodation for the rest of the delegation was.
Why did he spend money for ground transportation when there were at his disposal a couple of minibuses paid by Montescudaio taxpayers?
A further question regards the promised support of $50,000 USD to the soccer team of Montescudaio. I think I should clarify some aspects. This money will bring absolutely no benefit to the VI tourism as it is a small team playing in the 6th division with a small public composed exclusively of some citizen(s) of Montescudaio and his match(es) are not aired on TV. The money will be used to pay for the soccer players’ wage – not to improve VI image. In Italy it is considered scandalous to pay a salary (also if small ) to amateur players and so this cannot be done directly by the municipality.
I have read that the transfer of the funds has been vetoed by the Governor and Sen. James replied that it is a pure matter of time and we will get the money. Can you confirm this? I hope that the money will be used for sport related activities in VI, not in Montescudaio, and a governor’s veto is not so easy to bypass.
I hope to collaborate in order to avoid further waste of people money on both sides of the ocean.
You can find more information about me and my party on this page (it is Italian but you can translate with Google):
http://insiemepercambiare.montescudaio.com/
Fabio Tinelli Roncalli
Capogruppo Consiliare Insieme per Cambiare Montescudaio
As always, CIF welcomes any clarification Sen. W. James would care to submit concerning this information and from what we can see, some explanation is definitely required.
And if all is at it appears here, we are amazed that this man believes he is worthy of reelection.
(Editor’s Update: After posting this morning, Mr. Roncalli sent us the following information: “I just discovered another thing: Sen. James promised (reported on 07/14/2010 by Il Tirreno, our main local newspaper) on behalf of the USVI tourism department to pay a nine days trip to VI for two persons in November. The trip is the prize for the winner of a  beauty/sympathy trophy  called “Mr/Miss Smile” organized by the same newspaper. The winner will be personally accompanied by Sen. James in his trip.”)
Expense Report from Italian Government (in Italian)
Capehart is too closely aligned with deJongh.
Capehart supports deJongh is is supported by deJongh. I prefer to take a chance with Brad for the primary because his brother is Winston Nugent who is not for sale.
What about voting for Russell and Weber in the primary? How do they stack up in comparison to the freshmen who replaced them?
Vote them in for the primary. Do what you want for the general.
My plan is to vote out the three stooges in the primary to send a clear message that the senators are answerable to the voter and not to deJongh or any governor. So I MUST Vote for SEVEN. To leave seats open you will not be voting against anyone. If you bullet vote it is to get someone in but to vote seven is to vote certain ones out.
St. Thomas DO NOT VOTE FOR Carlton “Ital” Dowe, Louis Patrick Hill, Celestino White, Craig Barshinger, and Sprauve.
Vote everyone of these NO GOOD law dealers out of the senate. St. Thomas it is time for us to once and for all show the world that we mean business.
VOTE THEM OUT!
St. Croix DO NOT VOTE FOR Sanes, Thurland, and Wayne James.
They have been key enablers of Governor deJongh.
@Anon 7:22
You got that right! And they do not vote pro-STX in the senate. They all vote whatever Hill, Dowe, White want them too.
I am looking forward to an Independent or ICM led majority. I have had enough of the STT crowd leading us by the nose and giving us nothing.
I will not and cannot vote for Kent Bernier until he can tell me why he attends DeWolf campaign meetings and are in photos at his functions and giving speeches. Yet, he is coming in public telling people, while shaking hands, that he does not support this administration and the corruption. Kent needs to cone clean and stop fooling the people. How can I believe what he’s saying?
Please let’s not vote for candidates that we only know their mother’s or other family members.
KNOW the candidate you are voting for and what they stand for and WHAT PLAN THEY HAVE to turn these islands around.
I con’t care if so in so is a good guy….the question is can they do the job!
Kent is a big part of the DeWolf cabal.
sen. james, i am amazed at the level of your stupidity! it seems as though on both sides of the atlantic ocean, fools are talking……but fools aren’t listening. wah sweeten goat mouth, does sour he bambam. obviously you have no shame, cause here you are running for office again with absolutely no remorse. you have ruined your credibility in your own homeland, and for what……was it worth it? the first time around, shame on you……..to expect another term, the shame would then be on us!!
“a promise is a comfort to a fool”, so they say. mr./mrs. smile and the entire italian population will be able to validate this expression of wisdom. time will tell! trj
I feel the Gov. knows his “stooges” in the senate will be kicked out in the primary, therefore he has sent Kent Bernier to take one of their places just in case. There is something about him i don’t trust, therefore, he will not get my vote.
Right now the only sitting senator tha will get my vote is Shawn Michael Malone. My other votes will go to all new people.
I also don’t like what the Democratic Party did to Horace Brooks, by not selecting him to replace Basil Ottley when he left. That was a political move and very unfair.
I see that Jimmy Webber is doing well in the CIF polls. DO NOT FORGET THAT HE WAS ONE OF THE FEW ST. CROIX SENATORS WHO VOTED FOR THE DIAGIO DEAL!!!!!! For generations Virgin Islanders will be asking who were the corrupt politicians who voted for this abusive deal. Although I like the man, I could never vote for him as a senator again.
Based on the CIF poll for the democratic primary, I say we need to toss two votes in: one for Waynie, and the other for Verdel. If these polls are representative of the population, then we don’t need to be concerned with either of them getting out of the general. I would rather cast two wasted votes than be forced to cast for Sanes or Thurland. Let’s knock those two out in the primary, yes?
Can a senator making $85,000 a year afford to build a $10 million house overlooking the taxpayers with the lights from his house beaming in the lone darkness serving as a lighthouse/beacon during/after Earl while almost everyone else was sitting in darkness. Can I hear anyone say energy office money for generators for the most enslaved supporters?
There are others who sing the right tune who will have light, showers, refrigeration, etc. while the taxpayers plod along with a broken system. The US Gov. foots much of the cost for these select few and the rest of us suffer under the burden of the LEAC, etc., instead of using the ARRA money to assist us in making WAPA more efficient and investing in alternative/renewable technologies.
OMG, I knew it from the very beginning all Wayne James wanted was to stack up on his 100% italian linens…… Wow, how can he play around not just with our money, but with our culture, our history, our ancestors!!!! Don’t worry de jumbie dem gon tek care of he……
I’m sure Wayne James will have plenty more time to travel, because by the end of the year, he will probably get voted OUT. Maybe he can move to Italy to spend more time with his new friends.
Maybe Wayne can go back to designing flocks for the Pope. Like he EVER did! His whole life is one big lie.
If Hill approved any money for his last trip, he should be fired. And if Hill approves anymore money in a lame duck session for Wayne, we will remember. I am still not over Act 6905 and the arrogance of Hill and his sidekicks that reaped the benefits of a huge raise and added retirement benefits over and above HARD working government employees.
Self serving jackass is what Hill is and Wayne for that matter.
Sanes, Thurland and Wayne need to be booted out in the primary to send a strong message to the legislature we are sick and tired of their arrogance and not listening to us. Not to mention their careless spending on themselves while we are just barely getting by.
Ditto for Dowe, Hill, Williams, Sprauve……..and in the general election, 7 term Donna needs to go. We need real change and not someone stuck in the system we only hear from two month’s before an election.
Vote appropriately in the primary Saturday!
So when will we get our money back from this senator? Has anyone in the Senate questioned Wayne about this situation? Are we gonna sit back and let this happen and not do anything? That’s how come our Governor hasn’t paid back the $490,000.00 because he knew no one would do anything to him and he would be reelected as he will be.