Ex-DLCA Officer Sues Over Dismissal, Claims Retaliation for Graft Report

Chelston Richardson, a former enforcement officer at the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Virgin Islands government and his union, claiming he lost his job in retaliation for exposing corruption.

Richardson began reporting alleged bribery within the agency's enforcement division in 2022. He says the division's leadership was taking money from businesses in return for advance warning before unannounced inspections. After he filed a whistleblower complaint in May 2022, Richardson alleges his supervisor targeted him for retaliation.

The suit names former DLCA Commissioner Richard Evangelista, current Commissioner Nathalie Hodge and Director of Enforcement Wilbur Francis. Richardson accuses them of having "supported, enabled, or turned a blind eye" to both the alleged corruption and the retaliation that followed.

In July 2023, Richardson was suspended. He says the agency gave him no advance notice, no written charges, no hearing and no chance to respond. He later challenged the suspension in Superior Court under the Virgin Islands Whistleblower Protection Act.

A disciplinary hearing occurred in May 2025. Richardson describes it as "fundamentally unfair and breached the provisions of the CBA." He claims the hearing panel included people who were defendants in his earlier lawsuit or subjects of his grievances. The panel also considered a 2022 use-of-force incident, which Richardson argues violated the collective bargaining agreement's rule against using discipline older than one year.

Richardson also alleges that Virgin Islands Police Department Internal Affairs Director Vivianne Newton gave false testimony at the hearing about an official report "she had caused to be altered."

Commissioner Hodge recommended his termination after the hearing. Governor Albert Bryan Jr. dismissed him in June 2025.

Richardson's union, United Steelworkers Local 8249, is also a defendant. He claims the union did not properly handle three grievances filed on his behalf, leaving them unresolved even though arbitrators had been assigned. He says union representatives falsely told him the arbitrators had not yet been named and that scheduling would take a long time. Richardson argues the union's representation of both supervisors and enforcement officers created a conflict of interest that harmed his case.

The lawsuit seeks his reinstatement and $1,189,005 in damages. The amount includes $2,000 in lost wages from his 2023 suspension, $52,000 in back pay since his termination, $795,000 in projected future earnings and $340,005 in attorney's fees and costs.