Former Internal Revenue Bureau director Louis "Lolo" Willis celebrated his 55th birthday in magistrate court Friday, where he was advised of his rights on charges of tax evasion after turning himself over to authorities earlier in the morning.

This Valentine’s Day was also difficult for Balbo Construction owner Gerard Castor, who joined Willis in court and was advised of his rights on charges of tax evasion, willful failure to collect or pay over gross receipts taxes and perjury.

According to government prosecuting attorney Denise George-Counts, both men received phone calls about their pending arrest Thursday evening after an official warrant had been signed by V.I. Superior Court Judge Douglas Brady.

Both Willis and Castor turned themselves in early Friday and still had not been fully processed by the time they arrived in front of Magistrate Judge Henry Carr, who wasted no time in upholding the charges against them, citing "more than enough evidence."

Both men were quiet and spoke softly or just nodded their heads when Carr addressed them during the advice of rights. Many times during the hearing, Willis could also be seen putting his head in his hands and rocking back and forth.

According to the judge, both men are looking at sentences of fines of no more than $10,000 and/or five years in prison for each tax charge, and similar fines and/or no more than three years in prison for the fraudulent statements/perjury charges.

Some of the tax evasion charges date back to Willis’ time as IRB director, when he allegedly helped issue Balbo Construction a tax clearance letter even though the company was delinquent on its filings and payments, according to an affidavit filed with the court. The documents state that Balbo had not filed a corporate tax return from 1997-2000, owed a balance on its 1998 gross receipts tax returns, and had not filed gross receipts tax returns in 1999 and 2000.

After leaving IRB, Willis was also allegedly hired by Castor to prepare Balbo’s delinquent returns – dating back to 1998. According to the affidavit, Willis "understated" 27 returns – for a total $2.9 million, leaving the government with a more than $118,000 liability.

Responding during Friday’s hearing to Carr’s call for bail recommendations, George-Counts asked for both to be held on $75,000 bail – while both defense attorneys said that their clients’ substantial ties to the community and long working history should allow them to be released on their own recognizance.

Carr made it clear early on that he would be asking for some kind of money to be posted and eventually ruled that both Willis and Castor could either post 10 percent of the recommended amount (or $7,500) or a property bond that could satisfy the bail requirement.

Willis’ defense attorney, Treston Moore, concerned about having his client sitting in jail over the holiday weekend, asked for "a couple of days" to allow Willis to get the paperwork needed for him to post his house in Estate Solberg as collateral. Moore also said that Willis, who was asked to surrender his passport, would like to fly out of the territory Monday to be with his mother-in-law as she has a brain tumor removed.

Carr, who said that Willis would have to put his travel request in writing, pushed Moore to file most of the paperwork by the end day, and said the same for Castor, even though Castor’s attorney, Darren John Baptiste, said his client did not have the cash and couldn’t show at the time of the hearing that he had property valued at more than $75,000.

It was not clear by 5 p.m. Friday if either Willis or Castor had made bail or were released.

Both men will be arraigned on Feb. 27 at 9 a.m.