A U.S. District Court jury has convicted former Public Works official George Patrick of defrauding the government when he provided illegal security services in the aftermath of Hurricane Marilyn in 1995.
The jury returned the verdict late Friday night after nine hours of deliberations, finding Patrick guilty of eight counts of making false claims against the government and nine counts of furthering the fraud through the postal system.
Prosecutors said throughout the trial that Patrick was not licensed to provide the services to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at various emergency staging areas across the island. They further charged he hired inexperienced guards who were not licensed to carry firearms, and that Patrick did not provided the number of guards contracted for.
Patrick remains free on bail pending his sentencing which is set to take place in about three months. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugh Mabe and presided over by District Court Judge Thomas K. Moore.
Patrick, a retired Solid Waste Director at Public Works, was represented by attorney Treston Moore.
