Search Results for: Carlos Rafael

Lawsuit filed by Quinn Fisheries and Blue Harvest Fisheries against Carlos Rafael’s trustee and three arbitrators

Quinn Fisheries and Blue Harvest Fisheries filed a lawsuit last week against Carlos Rafael’s trustee and three arbitrators, alleging they are blocking a multimillion-dollar transaction of vessels and permits that was scheduled to happen April 16. The permits are for scallops and multi-species fish. The fishing seasons have already started or will soon start and because the transaction cannot be finalized, Quinn Fisheries and Blue Harvest state they will experience serious and irreparable financial harm. According to the 19-page complaint, Quinn Fisheries planned to transfer certain vessels and permits to Blue Harvest, and then purchase vessels and permits from Blue Harvest. >click to read< 11:08

Five Years After His Indictment, Carlos Rafael’s Fishing Vessels Are Part of a New Era in New Bedford

It’s been a little more than a year since this vessel was among the last big group of fishing boats sold off from the fleet of Carlos Rafael, the man known in the New Bedford fishing industry as “the Codfather.” Rafael went to prison in 2017 for dodging catch limits, smuggling profits overseas, and evading taxes. Some of his former vessels have become part of a new era on the New Bedford waterfront that started before he was indicted but has accelerated in the five years since, Blue Harvest Fisheries bought 12 of Rafael’s groundfish boats, including the Glaucus, last year. >click to read< 09:01

From surf to turf – ‘Codfather’ Carlos Rafael nets real estate deals

Carlos Rafael used to own one of the largest commercial fishing operations in the US before he was taken down in 2016 by federal agents disguised as Russian mobsters. He sold the last of his fishing fleet in February as part of a settlement with the federal government keeping him out of the industry for good. Now the Dartmouth resident says he is planning to restore the Hawthorne Country Club on Tucker Road to its former glory as a function hall, and has already set plans in motion for a new 149-unit apartment complex for residents over 55 on Hathaway Road. “Actually, the government did me a favor by putting me out,” Rafael said. “I ended up with a bucketload of money out of the deal, and instead of having the money in the bank, I’m investing it.” >click to read< 10:42

Bureau of Prisons: ‘Codfather’ Carlos Rafael transferred from prison to ‘community confinement’

Community confinement indicates Rafael, 68, is either in home confinement or a Residential Reentry Center (RRC, or halfway house), according to Taylor, which is overseen by the BOP’s Philadelphia Residential Reentry Management Office. According to the BOP’s inmate database, the projected date of his release from custody is March 4, 2021. Rafael was sentenced to 46 months in prison in September 2017 after pleading guilty to 28 offenses, including conspiracy, false labeling of fish, bulk cash smuggling, tax evasion and falsifying federal records. At the time his attorney William Keating requested he serve his sentence at FMC Devens, which is a federal prison for male inmates that need specialized or long-term medical or mental health care. >click to read< 15:30

Carlos Rafael: Twelve fishing vessels sold to Blue Harvest Fisheries to stay in New Bedford

“Today’s acquisition by Blue Harvest represents a level of investment in New Bedford and the groundfish fishery we haven’t seen in years,” said Port of New Bedford Director Ed Anthes-Washburn. “The Port is pleased to see that Blue Harvest is continuing to invest in vessels, processing and facilities.”
Rafael, dubbed ‘The Codfather,’ controlled a significant portion of New Bedford’s fishing fleet before a federal investigation and ensuing guilty plea led to a 46-month prison sentence for falsifying fishing quota, cash smuggling, and tax evasion which he started in November 2017. >click to read<  11:02

BASE withdraws its bid to buy Carlos Rafael’s boats

An attempt to gain control of a large portion of Carlos Rafael’s fleet by the local seafood auction has been withdrawn after a fight over the vessels made its way to court.,, The fight is an important one as New Bedford is trying to keep the fishing and scallop boats, as well as their federal permits, in the city. Though both entities have pledged to do that, Blue Harvest would consolidate ownership and BASE has said it would resell the boats to individual owners. >click to read< 16:12

Your View: Turning fishery into police state won’t stop fraudsters like Carlos Rafael

First, I want to point out that none of this is to defend Carlos Rafael. The nicest thing he ever said about honest, small boat fishermen like me was to compare us to mosquitoes to his elephant. (“The maggots screaming on the sidelines, they’re done. They can scream all they want. Nobody can save them,>click to read<) I do, however, think this case has one notable shortcoming in that the New York dealer who delivered his “bags of jingles” was never charged. Why? Maybe it is because enforcement used a crooked dealer as its star witness,,, by David Goethel >click to read< 22:23

Quinn Fisheries buys six of Carlos Rafael’s scallop boats

Mayor Jon Mitchell announced the purchase at a hastily announced 3:30 press conference Wednesday afternoon. The mayor had sought to keep the bulk of Rafael’s boats in New Bedford,,, “With the Quinn family’s acquisition of Carlos Rafael’s scallopers and related permits, New Bedford can be assured that a major piece of Rafael’s fishing business will remain here,,,  BASE’s seafood auction owners Richie and Raymond Canastra attempted to block the agreement as part of an apparent attempt to acquire the same vessels,,, >click to read< 08:16

NOAA to vet buyers, Carlos Rafael divesting fleet as part of civil settlement, serving time in criminal case

Charles Green, the acting chief of the enforcement section of NOAA’s office of general counsel, told the New England Fishery Management Council that Rafael has closed on three vessels and their associated permits. The enforcement section of the agency’s general counsel’s office negotiated the final settlement with the fishing mogul, once known as the Codfather, in the civil case brought by NOAA,,, As part of the settlement that resolved all civil charges, Rafael agreed to a full divestiture of all vessels and associated permits, $3.3 million in civil penalties and a lifetime ban,,, >click to read< 21:24

Carlos Rafael Has Been Banned From Fishing Forever! ‘Codfather’ Civil Case Settlement

The federal government says it has settled its civil case against a fishing magnate known as The Codfather, saying he will never be allowed to return to U.S. fisheries. Carlos Rafael, based out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was sentenced to prison for shirking fishing quotas and smuggling profits overseas.   >click to read< 13:59

Carlos Rafael to be banned from fishing, pay $3 million – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it settled with Rafael and his fishing captains on Monday.,,, Under the terms of the settlement, Rafael is required to: >click to read<

The Carlos stories leading to this moment in New England Commercial Fishing History>click here<

What About Carlos Rafael, His Permits and His Boats? [OPINION]

There has been little public talk about “The Codfather” and his fishing empire since he was sentenced to federal prison for crimes related to fishing. In September of 2017, Judge William Young sentenced Carlos “The Codfather” Rafael to 46 months in federal prison. Additionally, Judge Young fined him $200,000 and three years supervised probation after his release from prison.,,, hearing rumors that two big players have emerged as the buyers of the boats and the all-important federal permits. One buyer wants the groundfish operation and one wants the scallop operation. There is concern locally that “Wall Street money” is coming in to buy up the local operations. >click to read<08:21

Drag Net – New Bedford shocked by NOAA’s latest move in Carlos Rafael case

Jim Kendall sees fingerprints on NOAA’s most recent allegations that go beyond Carlos Rafael and loop 22 of his captains into the agency’s non-criminal civil action. “I’ll tell you right now, you can print it or not, but I think John Bullard still has his thumb on the scale,” the former fishing captain and executive director of New Bedford Seafood Consulting said. Kendall backed up his claims by saying, “because I know John. He’s a vindictive SOB.” Bullard is the former mayor of New Bedford, but in this case more importantly acted as the regional administrator for NOAA when Rafael was criminally indicted, pled guilty and was sentenced. Bullard also imposed a groundfishing ban on Rafael-owned vessels. “A comment like that is insulting to all the people who do very important and hard work in the enforcement arena,” Bullard said. >click to read<20:12

NOAA Seeks $3 Million in Civil Fines against Carlos Rafael, Takes Aim at 20 Captains

NOAA hasn’t removed Carlos Rafael from its crosshairs. It’s requesting more than $3 million from the fishing tycoon and also took aim at 20 additional Rafael captains in a civil action filed last week, the governing agency told The Standard-Times on Thursday. NOAA issued superseding charging documents in its civil administrative case involving Rafael on Sept. 10, which added charges and included more respondents than the original document NOAA issued Jan. 10. The new document seeks to revoke 42 of Rafael’s federal fishing permits, prevent Rafael or his agents from applying for NOAA permits in the future, and increase the total monetary penalties sought from $983,528 to $3,356,269.,,, The documents, which are non-criminal, also increased the number of alleged violations of federal fishery laws from 35 to 88 in addition to lassoing 20 of Rafael’s captains into the civil action. The original documents included only two captains. NOAA also is seeking to revoke operator permits of 17 fishing vessel captains for Rafael. >click to read<20:48

American Greed: ‘Something’s Fishy’: CNBC the latest to tell Carlos Rafael story

“Carlos Rafael makes millions as the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing businesses on the East Coast but will his big mouth get him hooked in an undercover IRS sting with agents posing as Russian mobsters?” SPOILER ALERT: Yes, it will. CNBC is the latest media outlet to zero in on the story of New Bedford’s “Codfather” with an American Greed episode airing at 10 p.m. Monday called “Something Fishy.” Rafael’s downfall started with a conversation between the fishing mogul and undercover agents in his New Bedford office. You can hear it all here … >click to read< 12:02

Opinion: Revitalizing waterfront is still up to sectors and Carlos Rafael

Carlos Rafael misreported his groundfish catch, and in its piece, “Time for NOAA to let Sector IX fish again,” the times is misreporting facts. First, NOAA didn’t calculate, as the piece states, that Rafael misreported just 72,000 poiundes of grey sole. He openly admitted to stealing over 10 times that amount, of several different fish stocks. Rather NOAA has apparently calculated that all but some remaining grey sole has been repaid, with quota seized earlier to cover the debt. Second, neither Sector IX has submitted a plan to return to fishing. Hank Soule >click to read<19:20

EDF tells NOAA Get multiple buyers for Carlos Rafaels assets, more monitoring

Jim Kendall chuckled as he attempted to grasp the words to describe a letter crafted by Environmental Defense Fund, which it sent to NOAA.,,, The letter pitches two strategies to NOAA in handling the permits and punishment linked to Rafael,,, EDF suggests that NOAA should require multiple buyers of Rafael’s assets and require monitoring of his vessels while also establishing funding for the monitoring. >click to read< 18:41

Carlos Rafael’s boats to be raised on Thursday

Carlos Rafael’s two fishing vessels, Dinah Jane and Nemesis, which sank at the dock earlier this week, will be raised Thursday morning, according to the Mattapoisett company doing the work. Tucker Roy Marine Towing and Salvage plans to start the job bright and early,,, Roy said the boats are entangled under the water,,, >click to read< 00:43

UPDATED: Two Carlos Rafael Vessels Sink Overnight in New Bedford Harbor – will remain submerged until at least Tuesday

Two Carlos Rafael vessels sank early Monday morning by Leonard’s Warf, according to Ed Anthes Washburn, the executive director of the Harbor Development Commission, Washburn said the fishing vessels the Dinah Jane and the Nemesis sunk at around 1:30 am with no one on board.  The vessels were tied to each other. Crews from the Coast Guard and the HDC are on site now investigating the incident. The Massachusetts Environmental Police seized 120 pounds of scallops off the Dinah Jane last week. Story will be updated. >Link< 11:24

Two vessels will remain submerged until at least Tuesday – >click to read the updated story< 14:05

Mass Environmental Police confiscate Scallops over permitted limit on Carlos Rafael vessel

The Massachusetts Environmental Police confiscated 120 pounds of scallops off a Carlos Rafael fishing vessel on Sunday, according to Major Pat Moran. The scallops at being held with their final destination to be determined by the National Marine Fisheries Service, environmental police said. Officers boarded the fishing vessel Dinah Jane, owned by Rafael, on Sunday to conduct a marine fisheries inspection. >click here to read< 14:17

The government is what created Carlos Rafael

Bill Straus saw the writing on the wall years ago. In 2009 -eight years before Carlos Rafael went to prison – the representative of Bristol’s 10th District spoke out during the establishment of the current catch-share system in the Northeast fishery. And even with Rafael behind bars, Straus says the threat of another Codfather emerging is ever present. “The risk is still there,” Straus said. “And that’s why what comes out of the different remedies is so important. >click here to read< 22:52

SouthCoast fishermen call NOAA’s civil action against Carlos Rafael ‘overkill’

New Bedford- Current and former area fishermen balked at NOAA’s reach in its civil action against Carlos Rafael. “It’s total overkill,” said Stephen Lozinak, captain of fishing vessel Marsheen Venture and who has been fishing for more than five decades. “The whole thing is overkill. All it’s doing is hurting the workers in the city of New Bedford.” >click here to read <21:01

NOAA’s civil action against Carlos Rafael involves scallop permits

NOAA seeks $900M, all permits from Codfather in civil action – On Wednesday, the federal agency responsible for managing the nation’s fisheries issued the charging documents against Rafael, his seafood company, Carlos Seafood Inc., and 28 other businesses entities related to the New Bedford fishing mogul — including two unnamed scallop captains from his fleet. >click to read the story< 20:28

NOAA’s civil action against Carlos Rafael involves scallop permits – new allegations involve misreporting in the scallop fishery >click to read the story<

Judge denies feds’ motion for Carlos Rafael to forfeit more vessels, permits

Judge William Young didn’t waste any time denying the United States’ motion for reconsideration in the case of Carlos Rafael. The government filed the reconsideration on Wednesday, the same day Young filed his judgement. The government sought Young to reconsider the forfeitability of Rafael’s vessels and permits. Young ordered four vessels and the accompanying permits to be forfeited on Oct. 11. U.S. Marshals seized the vessels the Lady Patricia, Olivia & Rafaela and the Southern Crusader II on Oct. 18. The reconsideration stated, “the court may correct a sentence that resulted from arithmetical, technical or other clerical error” within 14 days. click here to read the story 19:13

Vessels Seized – Feds stake claim on 4 of Carlos Rafael’s boats

The government staked its claim to four of Carlos Rafael’s vessels on Wednesday. U.S. Marshals and agents from the Coast Guard Investigative Service boarded the Lady Patricia by Leonard’s Wharf, Olivia & Rafaela and the Southern Crusader II beyond Homer’s Wharf around noon. The fourth vessel, the Bull Dog, was seized at another port. The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday the seized vessels will brought to an “undisclosed location.” For more than an hour after arriving, agents allowed anyone with personal property on the vessels to remove it. click here to read the story 08:25

NOAA has yet to determine fines and penalties in civil case involving Carlos Rafael

So far, New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael has lost a fraction of his fishing empire after pleading guilty to 23 counts of false labeling and identification of fish, as well as cash smuggling, conspiracy, falsifying federal records and tax evasion. He was found guilty and sentenced to nearly four years in jail last month. But there could be millions more in fines and penalties as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration decides what civil measures to impose on Rafael. Fishermen and environmental groups have been lobbying for that money to go toward restoring the fishery, and many would like to see it pay for better monitoring of what fishermen catch at sea and land on shore. click here to read the story 12:47

Civil penalities from NOAA could be next for Carlos Rafael

Judge William Young’s judgment filed Wednesday appeared to be the finish line to Carlos Rafael’s case. Young, though, by ordering the forfeiture of four vessels and every permit associated with the Bull Dog, the Olivia and Rafaela, the Lady Patricia and the Southern Crusader II began a new ripple effect throughout the commercial fishing industry revealing some questions but very little answers. It’s likely NOAA will take center stage now that the Department of Justice has closed its case. NOAA can bring civil penalties to Rafael. click here to read the story 09:47

BREAKING: Judge orders Carlos Rafael to forfeit 34 permits and 4 boats

Carlos Rafael must forfeit four fishing vessels with an appraised value of $2.2 million and 34 permits as ordered by District Judge William Young on Wednesday. In a 16-page Memorandum and Order Concerning Forfeiture, Young described the methods he used in determining forfeiture, which includes the “Bulldog” along with eight permits, the “Olivia and Rafaela” with its 11 permits, the “Lady Patricia” and its four permits and the “Southern Crusader II” and its 11 permits. click here to read the story 14:23

Codfather must forfeit 4 vessels, 34 permits – Young said he refrained from adding the 88-foot Athena and the 81-foot Hera II to the list of forfeited vessels because the two boats “have scalloping permits and scalloping is not involved in this wrongdoing.” click here to read the story 

Constitutionality of seizing Carlos Rafael’s permits in question

Judge William Young decided half of Carlos Rafael’s fate on Monday: The New Bedford fishing mogul was sentenced to 46-months in prison with three years supervised release and a $200,000 fine. The other half, which Young continues to take under advisement, involves the 65-year-old’s 13 groundfish vessels and permits. In court Monday, Young repeatedly questioned the constitutionality of the forfeiture, citing the excessive fines clause in the Eighth Amendment. “I have grave doubts given the value of the vessels and permits,” Young said. ”…That the appraised value doesn’t exceed four times a maximum guidelines fine.” click here to read the story 08:41

Headed for the Slammer! – Carlos Rafael sentenced to 46 months in prison

Judge William Young sentenced Carlos Rafael to a 46-month prison term, but he held off on a decision regarding the forfeiture of any permits or vessels. Rafael also received three years supervised release. His attorney William Kettlewell requested the sentence be served at Fort Devens. Rafael will have credit for the time he spent in jail earlier in his life, which equated to about nine days. He’ll also pay a $200,000 fine. click here to read the story 17:08 There will be updates to this story

Codfather gets nearly 4 yearsclick here to read the story 18:05

Day’s of Reckoning – Feds seek prison time for Carlos Rafael; sentencing Monday, Tuesday

More than a year and half after “The Codfather” was arrested, the fate of Carlos Rafael and 13 of his fishing permits will be decided Monday and Tuesday. In March, Rafael, 65, pleaded guilty to falsifying fishing quota, bulk cash smuggling and tax evasion. His sentencing was originally scheduled for June 27. A few delays later, the case is set to wrap up Monday and Tuesday in front of Judge William Young in U.S. District Court in Boston. The government and the defense each filed to the court Wednesday their recommendation for Rafael’s sentencing. Here’s a summary of the nearly 70 pages of documents. click here to read the story 07:51

‘The Codfather’ case puts federal fishing regulations to the test – For 30 years, Carlos Rafael, better known in New England fishing circles as “the Codfather,” has brazenly billed himself as the industry’s most successful outlaw. click here to read the story 13:19