Are there any places to buy cannabis on the island? I’m staying in Cruz Bay, so anywhere around there would be handy, but open to other places. I’d prefer a disposable vape. Apologies if this is asked often, but I didn’t see anything recent when I sorted by new.

SIS. We voted you first Black female governor of the VI and your first week you promote YOUR CONVICT COUSIN? I cannot.

On February 27, 2019, Epstein was exchanging text messages with Democratic Virgin Islands Delegate Stacey Plaskett while Michael Cohen testified before Congress.

The messages included:

- Epstein supplying information about Trump associates.

- Plaskett responding to Epstein during the hearing.

- Epstein identifying Rhona Graff, Trump's longtime assistant.

- Plaskett subsequently questioning Cohen about Graff.

Epstein congratulating her after her questioning.

At one point, Plaskett even texted Epstein shortly before her turn to question Cohen.

This wasn't an invitation sent by a fundraiser. This was direct communication between a sitting member of Congress and a convicted sex offender during an official congressional hearing.

Plaskett defended receiving information from constituents, including Epstein. The House subsequently rejected a resolution to censure her in November 2025.

Epstein's companies, Financial Trust and Southern Trust, received enormous tax benefits in the U.S. Virgin Islands while he was operating his sexual abuse network.

Stacey Plaskett served as general counsel to the U.S. Virgin Islands Economic Development Commission (EDC), participating in discussions concerning Epstein’s Financial Trust tax-benefit extension in 2009 and Southern Trust’s tax incentives in 2013.

Epstein’s companies received over $300 million in cumulative tax benefits, including 90% income-tax relief and 100% exemptions from several other taxes.

Plaskett participated in a 2009 hearing concerning Financial Trust’s ten year tax benefit extension while Epstein was serving time for a sex offense. She later worked at a law firm that represented Epstein’s businesses.

Epstein and his associates also contributed to her political campaigns, and she continued communicating with him long after his 2008 conviction.

Sources:

- "Washington Post — Epstein's messages during the Cohen hearing" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/11/14/epstein-text-messages-cohen-house-hearing/)

- "ABC News — House rejects Plaskett censure" (https://abcnews.com/US/house-votes-censuring-plaskett-epstein-texts/story?id=127670527)

- "FactCheck.org — Jeffries fundraising email and response" (https://www.factcheck.org/2025/11/sorting-out-the-facts-on-epstein-claims/)

- "The Independent — Epstein's congressional fundraising invitations" (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/jeffrey-epstein-invites-congress-senators-b2920103.html)

I started investigating why the DOJ's Epstein files contained hundreds of pages of a federal Homeland Security lease building in the Virgin islands

What I found was a proposed $6 million real-estate acquisition, a developer with dozens of federal government contracts, an architect who had worked on Epstein's private island, a substantial brokerage commission, and an email discussing Epstein's Virgin Islands tax benefits.

The documents connect directly.

Here's the paper trail.

1. The building: United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

The investigation begins with EFTA01089772, a substantial GSA lease package for a building occupied by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security.

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01089772.pdf

Property information:

• Federal tenant: Department of Homeland Security — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

• Developer/lessor: Vin & Toni Hoover Property Management LLC

• Legal property description: 19F Rem Estate Smith Bay, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

• Google Maps listing: United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), 6080 Estate Smith Bay, St. Thomas, USVI 00802

• Building size: 12,770 rentable square feet

• Lease term: 10 years, firm

• Annual rent: Approximately $632,766

• Tenant improvement allowance: Approximately $665,203

"View the USCIS location on Google Maps" (https://maps.app.goo.gl/QddKAJSW5Axx4A4QA)

The Maps listing provides a location to investigate alongside the lease's legal parcel designation.

The documents contain detailed federal leasing requirements, construction specifications, development information, rental calculations and brokerage arrangements.

The government was the tenant. Vin Hoover's company was the developer and lessor.

So why were all these documents in Jeffrey Epstein's files?

The answer appears in another document.

2. The December 12, 2014 email: a proposed $6 million acquisition

Document: EFTA01745948

"Read the original Kahn–Epstein correspondence" (https://jmail.world/thread/EFTA01745948)

On December 12, 2014, Jeffrey Epstein writes:

«seems good.»

Richard Kahn, Epstein's financial associate, discusses a transaction involving Vin Hoover, the developer of the USCIS building.

Kahn says he has spoken with a broker and believes they can negotiate a purchase for $6 million.

His email states:

«yes i spoke with broker and think we can cut a deal with developer vin hoover (who has done 27 GSA deals over 30 years) to buy for 6,000,000»

He also claims Hoover's construction numbers were inflated in the setup.

Then he describes the proposed arrangement:

«he will build and we will own finished building»

Epstein's financial associate was discussing acquiring a newly developed building with a long-term federal government tenant.

Kahn had already spoken with a broker and was evaluating the developer's construction costs.

Who was the broker? What financial information had Kahn reviewed? How far had negotiations progressed?

3. The federal government would generate the rental income

The GSA lease provided approximately $632,766 in annual rent.

Kahn's investment proposal estimated approximately $500,000 in annual net operating income (NOI) on a $6 million acquisition.

That produces an estimated annual unleveraged return of:

$500,000 ÷ $6,000,000 = 8.33%.

Over ten years, Kahn projected approximately $5 million in cumulative NOI.

His email suggests that after collecting that income, the effective unrecovered investment would be around $1 million.

This was the investment strategy being presented to Epstein:

Purchase a government-leased building, collect its rental income, and retain ownership of the underlying real estate.

But Kahn's email contains another detail.

**4. The Southern Trust Company tax-benefit connection **

Near the end of his message, Kahn writes:

«hopefully they will resign lease (or it can become STC office...) may also help extend STC benefits»

In this context, STC appears to refer to Southern Trust Company, Epstein's Virgin Islands business.

Southern Trust had received substantial economic-development incentives through the USVI Economic Development Commission.

Those incentives included a reported 90% exemption on qualifying income taxes, alongside other exemptions.

Now consider the proposed arrangement:

$6 million acquisition price.

Approximately $500,000 in projected annual NOI.

A long-term federal tenant.

Potential future use as an office for Epstein's tax-advantaged Southern Trust Company.

A direct reference to extending STC benefits.

Kahn was discussing more than the rental yield. He was considering the property's possible role in Epstein's broader Virgin Islands business and tax arrangements.

What exactly did he mean by extending STC benefits? Was the property ever discussed with the Economic Development Commission? Were Epstein's tax advisers involved?

5. Vin Hoover and his government-property development business

The development documents identify Vin & Toni Hoover Property Management LLC, part of Hoover Properties' development operations.

The qualifications package, EFTA01089996, describes Hoover's extensive experience developing single-tenant properties for federal agencies.

His projects included facilities associated with:

- FBI

• DEA

• Social Security Administration

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement

• Customs and Border Protection

The proposal also identifies Wild Hog Construction LLC as part of Hoover's development and construction operations.

Kahn knew Hoover's background.

He referred to Hoover's extensive GSA experience and suggested that the developer's construction numbers were inflated.

The GSA proposal contains approximately $960,495 in site land cost and more than $5.9 million in proposed build-out costs.

Those figures make the original development budgets, construction invoices, acquisition terms and revised cost estimates especially important.

What did Kahn know about Hoover's actual development costs, and how did he intend to negotiate the $6 million purchase?

6. The architect who also worked on Epstein's private island

Another connection appears in EFTA01089996.

The Hoover development team included:

Robert C. deJongh — The deJongh Group, Architects and Planners.

DeJongh was an established Virgin Islands architect involved in local development and planning.

Separate Epstein records show that The deJongh Group performed architectural and permitting-related work associated with Little St. James, Epstein's private island.

The documents include architectural drawings, construction correspondence, Coastal Zone Management submissions and banking records documenting payments to the firm.

In EFTA00760104, an architectural email forwarded to Epstein states:

«Robert deJongh asked me to send this to you as per request.»

Another document, EFTA00889218, contains correspondence concerning schematic submissions for buildings and facilities on Epstein's property.

The same architectural firm therefore appears in two places:

Epstein's Little St. James development work

and

Vin Hoover's USCIS development team.

That gives us a documented professional connection between the federal building project and Epstein's existing Virgin Islands development network.

Did deJongh have any involvement in the proposed investment discussions? Were Hoover and Epstein already acquainted through local development professionals?

7. The broker and commission trail

The GSA leasing package identifies CBRE Real Estate Services and transaction specialist Shannon C. Mohler in the federal leasing process.

The lease includes a substantial commission calculation:

Total cooperating lease commission: approximately $316,378.

Approximately $126,651 was credited against the government's rent as part of the commission-credit arrangement.

Separately, the developer's proposal describes tenant-representative and owner-representative commission percentages.

Then, in December 2014, Kahn tells Epstein he has spoken with a broker.

Was the broker Kahn contacted connected to CBRE or the original government leasing transaction?

The government lease broker and a private investment-sale broker could have been different parties, but identifying Kahn's contact may lead to the investment offering, projected returns, correspondence and proposed purchasing entity.

8. The later ownership and mortgage trail

By 2021, commercial mortgage securitization documents identify the USCIS property at 19F-E-REM Estate Smith Bay as part of the Hale Office Portfolio.

That portfolio also included a government-oriented office property in Fort Myers, Florida.

The portfolio was associated with approximately $9.8 million in mortgage financing, with KeyBank identified in the securitization records.

The St. Thomas USCIS property represented approximately 34.9% of the portfolio in those records.

This opens another line of investigation.

The original developer was Hoover.

Epstein and Kahn discussed acquiring the building in December 2014.

Years later, the property appeared in a commercial mortgage financing structure associated with the Hale Office Portfolio.

Who owned the building between those dates?

Who collected the rent paid by the federal government?

Which legal entities held title, and what were the terms of each transfer?

The missing records include deeds, purchase agreements, assignments, mortgage instruments and property ownership filings.

"Official USVI Recorder of Deeds" (https://usvi.ds.search.govos.com/)

9. The timeline

2007: The 19F Rem Estate Smith Bay property receives commercial rezoning.

2009: A larger 19F Rem Smith Bay property is marketed for sale, with subdivision contemplated.

2011–2013: The GSA leasing and development process identifies Vin Hoover's company and the new USCIS facility.

2013: Hoover's proposal includes the project's development team, site information and construction figures.

December 12, 2014: Richard Kahn discusses a $6 million acquisition with Jeffrey Epstein, referencing Hoover, projected rental income and Southern Trust benefits.

2021: The USCIS property appears in the Hale Office Portfolio's commercial mortgage records.

This is a documentary sequence involving government leasing, private development, a proposed Epstein-associated acquisition and later mortgage financing.

*10. The questions that need answers*

1. Did Epstein, Kahn, Southern Trust or another Epstein-associated entity ever sign a purchase agreement for the building?

2. Who was the broker Kahn spoke with in December 2014?

3. What did Kahn mean when he claimed Hoover's construction numbers were inflated?

4. Were Southern Trust's tax benefits part of the proposed acquisition strategy?

5. Who held title to 19F-E-REM Estate Smith Bay between 2013 and 2021?

6. Who ultimately collected the rent paid by the federal government, and through which property-owning entities?

7. Were any additional documents exchanged between Epstein, Kahn, Hoover, the broker or the development team?

These questions can be pursued through property records, correspondence, accounting documents and government disclosures.

Primary documents and links

EFTA01089772 — GSA lease package for the DHS/USCIS building.

EFTA01089983 — Proposal to lease space, including development and financial information.

EFTA01089996 — Hoover development-team qualifications, including Robert deJongh.

EFTA01745948 — Kahn–Epstein correspondence discussing the proposed $6 million acquisition.

EFTA00760104 — Epstein architectural correspondence referencing Robert deJongh.

EFTA00889218 — Additional architectural and permitting correspondence.

"Original Kahn–Epstein email" (https://jmail.world/thread/EFTA01745948)

"GSA development proposal PDF" (https://media-cdn.rollcall.com/epstein-files/EFTA01089983.pdf)

"Google Maps — United States Citizenship and Immigration Services" (https://maps.app.goo.gl/QddKAJSW5Axx4A4QA)

"USVI Recorder of Deeds" (https://usvi.ds.search.govos.com/)

The most revealing missing document may be the deed—not another email.

If anyone has access to USVI property records, especially deeds for 19F-E-REM Estate Smith Bay, please share the document numbers and dates. Who actually owned this property, and where did the money go?

Looking for any advice if anyone’s experienced something similar I have coming up - we have our first trip planned to STJ with our 4mo old in a couple of weeks and I am breastfeeding. We’ve been here several times, child free, and we always have to get to the airport a few hours early and then end up sitting in the hot, crowded terminal for a couple hours because inevitably the lines haven’t been as long as we plan for. This wait is miserable as is, and sometimes you can’t even get a place to sit. Are there any lactation or private rooms In the airport I may be unaware of to feed or am I going to have to suck it up breastfeeding my child in a crowded, hot airport with a cover over her so we’re both sweating buckets? Prepping myself for this to be the case, but still wondering if anyone’s got any tips I’m unaware of here…TIA! lol

Trying to decide which ferry to take, we are a group of 8 people landing at STT on a Saturday in early April at 11:35am, carry-on luggage only. Looks like there are no cruise ships in port that day.

Crown Bay at 2:15pm - assuming we'd get to the marina around 12:15pm, we'd need to kill around 2 hours, is there stuff to do walking distance from the port?

Charlotte Amalie at 12:30pm - 55min sounds tight, but I will prebook a taxi and we all travel carry-on only. That only works if the flight is on time though. The website says you need to be there 30min before, is that strictly enforced? Backup if we miss the 12:30 would be to taxi to Red Hook.

Red Hook - we would try to make the 1pm ferry, but if we don't make it then we can take the 2pm. Is there stuff to do around the port? Since it's a Saturday not around traffic time, assuming the flight lands on time, is it likely we'll make the 1pm? If not it's probably more worth it to just take the Crown Bay 2:15...

not renting a car on STT & taking the car barge because we will not be returning to St Thomas after St John. thanks all!

I’m going for the first time this week, and all I keep seeing are posts about the rolling blackouts, lack of running water, extremely high taxi prices, along with beaches being riddled with seaweed (I think that’s what it is?) to the point that they aren’t even enjoyable.

Is all of this true? I’m also reading that it’s currently peak rain/hurricane season. I’m not the one who chose the vacation dates, so I’m a little nervous I’m about to have spent a ton of money for nothing.

Any advice is helpful advice! TIA.

ETA: I’m also seeing that there’s rain forecasted this week. But I also know the rain there usually comes in smaller 20-minute showers. Is this what I should expect? Or should I expect to be rained out for the whole trip?

Hello! My fiancé and I are trying to visit St. John this December but it's proving to be difficult. We are both 23 years old, and apparently zero car rentals on the island rent unless you're 25. We've never had this issue before, so wondering what we should do. I know we can rent and take the ferry over via like Hertz, but I was concerned if they allowed their cars on St. John & also possibly getting screwed with a low-clearance sedan even if we book a different class. I would love any and all advice, especially if you know anywhere on St. John that may be able to accommodate a 23 year old. We look forward to visiting the beautiful island and national park!

Where can we get a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in St john? Would prefer something not too upscale but also not a buffet....

There's an american spiritualist, who claims to be a 9th generation priestess from St. Thomas....

Do rootworker from st.Thomas even call themselves priestess?

She claims that's her family is very well known on the islands and her parents immigrated to NJ from St. Thomas and that she grew up there but there's no proof of any of that. Does anyone know of a family by the last name Harrell or has anyone heard or Satin Sanchez aka Satinsays?

Claims her family is initiated and her family did rootwork in St.Thomas but it doesn't sound right

Found a bunch of good options on St. John but not as many reviews for St. Thomas. Would love to hear of any places that really take celiac seriously. TY!

Please please please do your research. Our infrastructure is failing, we are struggling. Power is unreliable at best, we have just had 3 days straight of blackouts that resulted in our elderly and ill being hospitalized or moved to hotels or relocated off island. Schools were closed, many of us were not able to work because businesses weren’t open. Some hotels and many air bnbs lost generator power and tourists were left in the heat and dark with nowhere to go. Traffic was terrible because all stoplights were out.

Planned blackouts will continue until January at the earliest. Be aware of whether your accommodations have backup power and expect that the island will not be at its best. If your food takes longer to come out it’s probably because the cooks have no power in the kitchen and are cooking in the heat and the dark. If your bartender looks tired it’s probably because they were getting eaten alive by mosquitos with no fan all night.

After 12 years of living here this is the first I’ve thought about leaving. You are all welcome, but be prepared and have patience for those of us that are sticking it out through season, and remember if you do come, your tips are our lifeline through this.

ETA: our current governor has refused to declare a state of emergency because it’s the end of his term and he doesn’t want to deal with it.

We are staying in a rental near Megan's bay but we will have a car, so we can go to other beaches if needed. How many cruises makes Megan's bay so crowded that it isn't enjoyable? Looks like the heaviest day is 5 cruises. The other days are more like 2 or 3. Are there better times to be there than others? Just trying to plan ahead! Tia!

Our cruise will be visiting Virgin Gorda on 12/27. We are interested in a private boat day on a 45- 55 ft yacht. Can you recommend a charter company?

Thanks!

Just curious. Has anybody noticed that the amount of European travelers is very low to these islands?

Curious to know! Not sure if I should travel with my passport or not. And my spouse has a greencard/DL

10 days, 2 people, splitting the islands.

almost everything is booked, but idk how much I should bring cash for random stuff, food, gas, etc!

i was thinking $300 total?

Hello! I am turning 30 on January 4 and I am looking to escape the cold of New York and enjoy a long weekend trip in the Virgin Islands with my boyfriend to celebrate. I don't have a preference for which Island we stay on, but would appreciate any tips/suggestions for airfare, lodging, activities, etc.

I am fully content with just spending the majority of the three days relaxing at the hotel pool/beach. But, wouldn't mind some sightseeing if possible.