The Airfield: Epstein's Control of Aviation Infrastructure at St. Thomas
A forensic analysis of the EFTA corpus reveals that Jeffrey Epstein built and maintained a comprehensive private aviation ecosystem at Cyril E. King Airport (STT) in St. Thomas, USVI. Through a network of shell entities, informants, the USVI governor's wife, and a sitting senator, Epstein controlled fuel supply chains, hangar facilities, and real-time intelligence about competing aircraft movements at the airport that served as the sole gateway to his private islands.
The Airfield: Epstein's Control of Aviation Infrastructure at St. Thomas
Executive Summary
A forensic analysis of the EFTA corpus reveals that Jeffrey Epstein built and maintained a comprehensive private aviation ecosystem at Cyril E. King Airport (STT) in St. Thomas, USVI. Through a network of shell entities, informants, the USVI governor's wife, and a sitting senator, Epstein controlled fuel supply chains, hangar facilities, and real-time intelligence about competing aircraft movements at the airport that served as the sole gateway to his private islands.
When a potential competitor — Black Diamond Capital Management, led by Stephen Deckoff — was identified as trying to acquire the Jet Center FBO in May 2014, Epstein activated this intelligence network within hours: his employee surveilled the competitor's aircraft, identified its tail number, and offered to physically approach Black Diamond's personnel at Epstein's direction.
Nine years later, Deckoff's SD Investments LLC purchased both of Epstein's islands for $60 million (PR Newswire). As of February 2026, nearly three years after the acquisition, no resort has been built and only one permit — for a warehouse — has been filed (VI Daily News).
Two documents relevant to this investigation have been removed from justice.gov.
Part 1: The Aviation Empire
Epstein operated a fleet of aviation entities registered in the USVI, collectively providing end-to-end control of his air travel infrastructure at STT:
| Entity | Purpose | Value (at death) |
| -------- | --------- | ----------------- |
| Plan D, LLC | Gulfstream G-550 (N212JE) | $17,000,000 |
| Hyperion Air, LLC | Bell 430 helicopter + Sikorsky S-76C | $4,200,000 |
| Thomas World Air, LLC | Airport hangar lease at Cyril E. King Airport | $25,000 (cash only) |
| Freedom Air Petroleum, LLC | Fuel operations | $22,512 |
| Freedom Air International, Inc. | Aircraft registration/management | — |
(EFTA00076491, Estate Verified Inventory, DS9, 100pp)
Thomas World Air LLC maintained a hangar at the airport's General Aviation area, registered at 9053 Estate Thomas, Suite 101, Charlotte Amalie (EFTA00076491, p.52). Darren Indyke, Epstein's attorney, served as manager before resigning — his resignation letter is indexed in the attorney files (EFTA00298036, DS9, p.3, item 8 under "Thomas World Air LLC").
The employee roster for LSJE (Little St. James Enterprises) explicitly listed the airport infrastructure as part of Epstein's island operation:
VI Port Authority: Roy Romney — VIPAA
Jet Center: St. Thomas Jet Center FBO (Fix Base Operation)
Airport: Thomas World Air Hanger — Jet Center STT / Cyril E. King Airport — St. Thomas
(EFTA00003150, DS1, 1p; EFTA01304255, DS10, 1p; EFTA01342151, DS10, 1p)
Part 2: The Three FBOs
As of 2014, Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas had three Fixed-Base Operators (FBOs) serving private aviation:
A USVI Port Authority Request for Proposals confirmed all three operators:
Fixed-Base Operators: Alliance Aviation / Execujet (Hairoun Aviation) / St. Thomas Jet Center
(EFTA01116037, DS9, 31pp, p.5)
Part 3: The ExcuJet Acquisition Attempt (2009)
Epstein attempted to acquire ExcuJet Flight Services (operated by Hairoun Aviation) through a formal purchase process. His attorney file index reveals the full scope of the transaction:
Acquisition of Execujet (MISSING AS OF AUG. 14, 2009 WHEN I MOVED FILES FROM CAB.#1))
1. Correspondence
2. Attorney Notes
3. Research
4. Memorandum
5. Contacts
6. Purchase Agreement
7. Assets
8. Wire Instructions
9. Corporate Documents of Hairoun
10. Lease agreement and Amendment b/w VI Port Authority and Hairoun
11. Assignment of Lease between Port Authority and Hairoun
12. Terms of Leasehold with VIPA and Hairoun
13. Spill Prevention Plan and Addendum
14. Small Business Administration Loan Eric Williams
15. Due Diligence ( ALSO SEE BINDER)
16. Hairoun Complaint
(EFTA00298036, DS9, 17pp, p.3; see also EFTA00299850, DS9; EFTA00300480, DS9)
The acquisition failed and escalated into litigation. On July 1, 2009, Epstein filed suit:
Jeffrey E. Epstein v. D. Eric Williams a/k/a Eric Williams, Hairoun Aviation Services, Inc., R. Pearlitha Williams and Josephine Simmons
Case No. ST-09-CV-307
Nature of suit: Breach of contract, specific performance, material misrepresentation, fraud and declaratory relief.
(EFTA00307081, DS9, 2pp)
The case was settled in March 2010 with a mutual General Release (EFTA00725953, DS9, 3pp).
Notably, Epstein's relationship with Hairoun/ExcuJet appears to have been rehabilitated by 2015, when Cecile de Jongh brokered a meeting between Epstein and ExcuJet's president Britt Harrington through USVI Senator Carlton Dowe regarding hangar space (see Part 6).
Part 4: The Fuel Wars (2010–2012)
Per Visoski's report to Epstein, Michael Hancock set aviation fuel prices at STT — originally $5.67 per gallon, later reduced to $4.82. Epstein built an independent fuel supply chain to bypass these rates.
In February 2011, Visoski reported to Epstein:
"I had a conference call with Emad, Dan Tomlinson (Chairman of Caribbean Petroleum) and John Iola (Dan's salesman for CP). Dan formally own Alliance Aviation (other STT FBO). He has a 'non compete' valid until Jan 2012, however, he is still interested in supplying fuel to us, via our own fuel truck... Hancock's temporary fuel price: $4.82 (original price was $5.67)."
Visoski noted that the goal was to match competitor Bohlke's price of $3.50 per gallon, and added:
"Dan indicated that Hancock will lower his price in the 23rd hour of our negotiations when he hears of what we are trying to accomplish."
(EFTA01779681, DS10, 1p)
By December 2011, Epstein had deployed his own fuel infrastructure. Richard Kahn forwarded photos of the solution:
"See attached photo of our ISO container and wheels. ISO fuel tank is full of Jet fuel and located on St Thomas Jet Centers fuel storage area, ready to pump! 6000 gallons... fuel price $3.15 per gallon. Total cost per gallon $3.30."
(EFTA00416998, DS9, 2pp)
Freedom Air Petroleum, LLC — the entity holding Epstein's fuel operations — was valued at just $22,512 in cash at the time of his death (EFTA00076491, p.2).
Part 5: The Informant Network
Epstein maintained multiple intelligence sources embedded within the STT aviation ecosystem:
Roy Romney — Jet Center Insider
Roy Romney worked at St. Thomas Jet Center and appears on Epstein's employee roster as the VI Port Authority contact. He fed information to Visoski about airport operations, competitor movements, and internal Port Authority politics. He offered to leverage a Haiti humanitarian flight to improve Epstein's airport access:
"Roy thought this would help us get ramp priviages [sic] at the airport."
(EFTA00765384, DS9, 2pp)
Romney appears in Visoski's LinkedIn connections, confirming the professional relationship (EFTA01141951, DS9).
Danny Vicars — Island Intelligence
Danny Vicars served dual roles as LSJE's Boat Captain and Maintenance Supervisor (EFTA00003150). He was the "Danny" who first alerted Epstein that the Jet Center was for sale, and who later tipped off Kahn that Black Diamond was trying to buy it.
Cecile de Jongh — The Governor's Wife
Cecile de Jongh, wife of USVI Governor John de Jongh Jr. (2007–2015), served as Epstein's primary USVI fixer. JPMorgan Chase lawyers described her, per the VI Daily News, as:
"Epstein's primary conduit for spreading money and influence throughout the USVI government."
(EFTA00129016–EFTA00129017, DS9, 2pp — VI Daily News article quoting JPMorgan court filing)
She was a named director of Financial Trust Company, Inc. (alongside Darren Indyke), an Epstein entity (EFTA00155209, DS9, 44pp). Per the same VI Daily News article quoting JPMorgan's filing, she received "a salary, bonuses, and other benefits, including $200,000 in 2007 alone" from Epstein (EFTA00129017, DS9).
Her aviation-specific activities are documented in detail in Part 6.
Part 6: The Hangar Campaign (2011–2015)
Cecile de Jongh served as Epstein's primary agent in securing hangar space and fuel infrastructure at the airport, working through VIPA officials and a sitting senator.
March 2011: Fuel Dump and Hangar
De Jongh reported to Epstein:
"Hangar — I spoke to Dale Gregory yesterday and he promised to let me know this afternoon which option worked best for the FAA... Fuel dump — I was dealing with Kenn Hobson but he is in the hospital in the states."
(EFTA00664094, DS9, 2pp)
May 2011: Thomas World Air Hangar Application
De Jongh submitted a formal application for Thomas World Air LLC to take over the General Aviation hangar space being vacated by Air Center Helicopters, Inc.:
"Please find attached a Letter of Interest in a hangar space at the airport from Thomas World Air, LLC (TWA). This space is currently occupied by Air Center and it is our understanding that they do not intend to renew their lease with the Virgin Islands Port Authority."
(EFTA00640679, DS9, 8pp)
June 2011: Air Center Space and Fuel Depot
"Spoke to Kenn Hobson and I told him that we would like to get the Air Center space AND the fuel depot spot approved at the same time next month."
(EFTA00628430, DS9, 1p)
Undated Operations Document: EDC Risk Warning
A multi-page operations to-do list reveals Cecile's airport role and a telling detail about regulatory entanglements:
Cecile:
1. Kenn Hobson and new hanger — Will setup meeting when she knows date of JE's return
2. Jermaine — Post job in newspaper for IT counterpart next week
3. Leon — Cecile will speak to Darren about this. The request that JE made regarding written warning will cause major problems at Department of Labor and put EDC status at risk
(EFTA00304462, DS9, 27pp — REMOVED from justice.gov)
This document has been removed from the DOJ's public production. It reveals that Epstein's EDC tax benefit status was potentially vulnerable to labor complaints — the same EDC program that Black Diamond used.
January 2015: Senator Dowe Brokers Hangar Deal
In a remarkable example of political facilitation, Cecile de Jongh brokered a meeting between Epstein, USVI Senator Carlton Dowe, and ExcuJet's Britt Harrington to circumvent the normal permitting process:
"Carlton Dowe came out to the office to speak to me re the RFP on the proposed hangar facility. He said that Larry V has been speaking to Britt Harrington and Harrington, in turn, spoke to Dowe. Dowe thinks that something can be done to get you the hangar space that you need without you having to be the one to go through the permitting process. Apparently this Harrington person is willing to do that. Dowe would like to have a meeting with you and Harrington. Is that possible?"
Epstein replied: "Yes"
(EFTA02512299, DS11, 2pp; EFTA02512664, DS11, 2pp)
This was the same Hairoun Aviation/ExcuJet that Epstein had sued for fraud five years earlier.
Part 7: The May 2014 Jet Center Battle
In May 2014, all of Epstein's aviation control mechanisms converged around a single event: the potential sale of St. Thomas Jet Center.
May 14, 2014 — The Tip
At 6:48 AM, Epstein emailed Visoski and Darren Indyke:
"danny tells me jet center is for sale. hancock, sick, .lets snoop . we are not supposed to know"
(EFTA00663070, DS9, 2pp)
"Danny" is Danny Vicars, LSJE's boat captain and maintenance supervisor. Within hours, Epstein's intelligence network produced a detailed dossier.
May 14, 2014 — Visoski's Intelligence Report
Visoski replied with intelligence gathered from Roy Romney at the Jet Center:
"Roy at Jet Center confides in me, Roy informs:
-Port Authority board supposedly found proof that Hancock owns controlling shares in Alliance Aviation in STT as well as STT Jet Center. This has always been a rumor, but no proof existed. Hancock was rumored to have a silent partner out of New York who owns Alliance FBO in STT.
-Port Authority board told Hancock he has to sell one of the FBO's in STT, he can't maintain a monopoly in SIT.
-Hancock has invested several Millions into The Jet Center, Hanger, Fuel Farm and West Hanger bay next to our Heli hanger... chances are, he would give up Alliance before he would STT Jet Center.
-Late March, Hancock was in meeting in Miami, during the meeting, he experienced a light seizure, He didn't know were he was at the time. Susan Hancock his wife, may have skin cancer since she's had several badges on her nose last month."
May 14, 2014 — The Governor's Wife Weighs In
Cecile de Jongh — still serving as Epstein's USVI fixer while her husband was governor — replied:
"I think you should buy Jet Center."
She followed up minutes later with a critical admission:
"BTW, what happened at the board meeting is all true not rumor but please do not say that to Larry."
(EFTA00663077, DS9, 2pp)
De Jongh was confirming that the Port Authority board proceedings Visoski had reported — about which private citizen should own which FBO — were accurate, and instructing Epstein not to share her confirmation with "Larry" (Visoski).
May 16, 2014 — Black Diamond Enters
Two days later, Richard Kahn activated Visoski to gather intelligence on a competitor:
"Can you poke around tonight about Black Diamond Trading as Danny says they are trying to buy Jet Center. They appear to be an nyc hedge fund with an office in stt as an EDC company as well. who are principals? type of plane? tail? anything else relevant.."
Visoski identified the aircraft within 25 minutes:
"LearJet 60 / N114BD / Is Blackdiamond"
Kahn forwarded the intelligence to Epstein:
"after speaking with Danny it appears these are the black diamond guys trying to buy aircraft [sic — Jet Center]... should larry meet the aircraft and poke around with them tonight at 7:30pm? please advise"
At 10:35 PM, Epstein authorized the physical approach:
"yes why not?"
Visoski followed up:
"Here you go Rich ask and ye shall receive, They arrived this evening at 7 PM in the Learjet, can you ask if you want me to introduce myself?"
(EFTA02583238, DS11, 3pp; EFTA02383246, DS11, 2pp)
June 2014 — Epstein Contacts Hancock Directly
Epstein's schedule for early June 2014 includes a specific reminder:
"Reminder: Call Michael Hancock"
(EFTA00284949, DS9, 7pp)
The same schedule includes a June 3 "Appt w/Nathan Myhrvold" and "Gate's Office" in Seattle, and a second "JE to call Michael Hancock" entry on June 9 from New York.
Part 8: Black Diamond Capital Management and Stephen Deckoff
The Business Card
A single-page document in the EFTA production contains Stephen Deckoff's business card:
BLACK DIAMOND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.L.C.
Stephen H. Deckoff
Managing Principal
One Sound Shore Drive, Suite 200
Greenwich, CT 06830
(EFTA01204007, DS9, 1p — REMOVED from justice.gov; OCR text)
This document has been removed from the DOJ's public production, along with thousands of others. The removal is confirmed by the presence of a Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Sep 2025 header on the 404 error page, a signature of genuine removal predating the EFTA production date.
Who Is Stephen Deckoff?
Stephen H. Deckoff holds a B.S. in Operations Research from Cornell University's College of Engineering. He began his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert before positions at Chemical Securities, Bear Stearns, and Kidder Peabody, founding Black Diamond Capital Management in 1995 (BDCM website; KVH Industries board bio). BDCM currently manages over $11 billion in assets (BDCM website). Deckoff's net worth is approximately $2.8 billion (Forbes).
The USVI Timeline
| Year | Event | Source |
| ------ | ------- | -------- |
| 2011 | Deckoff purchases Presidio del Mar, Peter Bay, St. John for ~$12M | St. John Tradewinds |
| 2012 | Black Diamond Advisors LLLP (Cat. IIA) and Black Diamond Holdings LLLP (Cat. IV) receive USVI EDC tax benefits | USVIEDA beneficiary list.csv) |
| 2014 | Deckoff's business card is in Epstein's physical files; Black Diamond's Learjet surveilled at STT | EFTA01204007; EFTA02583238 |
| 2018 | Signature Flight Support acquires St. Thomas Jet Center from Michael Hancock (phased: 49% initially, remainder within 14 months) | Aviation Pros |
| 2023 | Deckoff's SD Investments LLC purchases Great St. James and Little St. James for $60M | PR Newswire |
| 2024–2026 | No resort built; one warehouse permit filed (incomplete — no environmental assessment) | VI Daily News, Feb 6, 2026 |
The Same Building
A separate document in the corpus reveals an additional coincidence. In January 2014 — four months before the Black Diamond surveillance — David Stern emailed Epstein a pitch deck for Regent Street Energy:
"I met him, solid guy, geologist, will put his own money in. US$ 100m."
(EFTA02691628, DS11, 1p)
The pitch deck lists Regent Street Capital's address as:
One Sound Shore Drive, Suite 102, Greenwich, CT 06830
(EFTA02691629, DS11, 20pp)
Black Diamond Capital Management's address, per Deckoff's business card, is One Sound Shore Drive, Suite 200. Same building.
This does not establish a direct connection between Deckoff and Epstein. It establishes that Epstein was receiving investment pitches from someone in the same small office building as BDCM in early 2014.
What Is NOT in the Corpus
A comprehensive search of the full text corpus reveals:
- Zero direct communications between Deckoff and Epstein
- Zero mentions of "Mark Deckoff," "SD Investment," or "Black Diamond Capital" as an exact phrase
- Zero references to Deckoff purchasing or visiting either island before 2019
- The business card could have arrived through any intermediary
- Kahn's May 16 email calls them "Black Diamond Trading" — suggesting he may not have initially known the correct entity name
Part 9: Removed Documents
Two documents in this investigation have been confirmed removed from justice.gov:
| EFTA | Content | Pages | Last-Modified |
| ------ | --------- | ------- | --------------- |
| EFTA01204007 | Deckoff's business card | 1 | Tue, 02 Sep 2025 |
| EFTA00304462 | Operations to-do list documenting Cecile de Jongh's airport infrastructure coordination and EDC risk warning | 27 | Tue, 02 Sep 2025 |
Both removals have the characteristic Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Sep 2025 header that predates the EFTA production, confirming genuine removal (0% false positive rate per statistical analysis).
The removal of a single business card is notable because business cards are among the most innocuous documents in the production. Of 1.38 million documents, only ~64,000 were removed. The business card's removal may reflect automated batch processing rather than targeted deletion.
Assessment
What the Corpus Proves
What the Corpus Does NOT Prove
The Broader Pattern
The Black Diamond surveillance episode is best understood not in isolation but as one data point in Epstein's systematic treatment of St. Thomas aviation as personal territory. He attempted to acquire FBOs, built independent fuel supply, planted informants at the Jet Center, used the governor's wife to secure hangar space through political channels, and ordered physical surveillance of competitors — all documented in the EFTA corpus.
The question is not whether Epstein knew Deckoff. The question is what kind of person treats a public airport as a private intelligence operation.
This analysis relies on Claude Code running Opus 4.6, which can make mistakes. Every factual claim is cited to a specific EFTA number. Readers are encouraged to verify against the primary documents.
Cited Documents
| EFTA | DS | Pages | Description |
| ------ | ----- | ------- | ------------- |
| EFTA00003150 | 1 | 1 | LSJE employee roster (Danny Vicars, Roy Romney) |
| EFTA00076491 | 9 | 100 | Estate Verified Inventory (aviation entities, Thomas World Air) |
| EFTA00129016–EFTA00129017 | 9 | 2 | VI Daily News article: JPMorgan calls Cecile "Epstein's primary conduit" |
| EFTA00155209 | 9 | 44 | Financial Trust Company corporate docs (Cecile de Jongh, director) |
| EFTA00284949 | 9 | 7 | Schedule: "Reminder: Call Michael Hancock" (June 2014) |
| EFTA00298036 | 9 | 17 | Attorney file index: "Acquisition of Execujet" |
| EFTA00299850 | 9 | 9 | ExcuJet acquisition supporting documents |
| EFTA00300480 | 9 | 59 | ExcuJet acquisition supporting documents |
| EFTA00304462 | 9 | 27 | Operations to-do list: Cecile/hangar/EDC risk (REMOVED) |
| EFTA00307081 | 9 | 2 | Litigation summary: Epstein v. Williams/Hairoun |
| EFTA00416998 | 9 | 2 | ISO fuel tank at Jet Center (Dec 2011) |
| EFTA00628430 | 9 | 1 | Cecile: "Air Center space AND fuel depot" (Jun 2011) |
| EFTA00640679 | 9 | 8 | Thomas World Air hangar application (May 2011) |
| EFTA00663070 | 9 | 2 | "lets snoop" email + Visoski intel + Cecile "buy Jet Center" |
| EFTA00663077 | 9 | 2 | Cecile: "board meeting is all true, don't say that to Larry" |
| EFTA00664094 | 9 | 2 | Cecile: hangar/fuel dump status with Kenn Hobson |
| EFTA00725953 | 9 | 3 | General Release: Epstein v. Williams/Hairoun (Mar 2010) |
| EFTA00765384 | 9 | 2 | Roy Romney: Haiti humanitarian flight / "ramp priviages" |
| EFTA01116037 | 9 | 31 | VIPA RFP listing all 3 FBOs |
| EFTA01141951 | 9 | 3 | Visoski LinkedIn connections (Romney listed) |
| EFTA01204007 | 9 | 1 | Deckoff business card (REMOVED) |
| EFTA01304255 | 10 | 1 | LSJE employee roster (duplicate) |
| EFTA01779681 | 10 | 1 | Fuel negotiations: Caribbean Petroleum/Dan Tomlinson |
| EFTA02383246 | 11 | 2 | Black Diamond surveillance email (Kahn's version) |
| EFTA02512299 | 11 | 2 | Cecile: Senator Dowe brokers Harrington/hangar meeting |
| EFTA02512664 | 11 | 2 | Epstein: "Yes" to Harrington meeting |
| EFTA02583238 | 11 | 3 | Black Diamond surveillance email (Visoski's version) |
| EFTA02691628 | 11 | 1 | David Stern: Regent Street Energy pitch to Epstein |
| EFTA02691629 | 11 | 20 | Regent Street Energy pitch deck (same building as BDCM) |