WASHINGTON – The tranquil U.S. Virgin Islands are basking in a homeland-security funding windfall – raking in almost three times more federal dollars than New York per capita, The Post has learned.
Unlike the Big Apple, the tropical paradise hasn’t been hit by terrorists or threatened in tapes by Osama bin Laden, but the feds have steadily doled out about $29 million over the last four years fortifying the islands.
Under a federal formula set by Congress, the Virgin Islands gets a set share of homeland-security funding each year.
Given the islands’ tiny population of about 110,000, the pot of anti-terror cash is a staggering amount per person – $42 last year for each resident, compared to just $15 for each New Yorker.
“I want to protect the sandy beaches and the palm trees as much as anyone, but I don’t see why they get any homeland-security money,” fumed Brooklyn/Queens Rep. Anthony Weiner.
There are serious questions about how the resort islands used the much-sought-after largesse – a federal probe revealed the island government has failed to properly account for much of the aid and racked up “questionable charges.”
The Homeland Security Department’s inspector general uncovered cases in which salaried employees billed Washington extra for work that was part of their job, according to a recent audit.
The local government reached multiple verbal contracts with workers, then submitted invoices that didn’t show how long they worked, what days they worked or what services they provided, the inspectors found.
The government said it used the money to buy hazardous-materials protective gear and state-of-the-art communications equipment, while preparing weapons of mass destruction training courses.
The inspector general concluded that territorial bureaucrats were guilty of sloppy accounting and poor management of the anti-terror dollars.
Among those receiving funding were The Sea Star Line, which runs cargo ships between the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. It got $65,000.
The HOVENSA refinery – which had 2005 revenues of $2.5 billion and is a subsidiary of the Amerada Hess Corp. and the Venezuelan national oil company – got a $1.3 million grant.
Donna Christensen, who represents the Virgin Islands in Congress and has a seat on the House Homeland Security Committee, defended the grants, noting that St. Thomas has one of the busiest cruise-ship ports in the country, with as many as 10,000 Americans there at once.
“I’m sure the U.S. wants them protected, and we want to be able to respond if something happens,” she said.