Tag Archives: convicted
A massive fine for fishing in an MPA off the coast of Haida Gwaii
Michael Bullock, captain of the commercial halibut fishing vessel Hopefull, has been hit was fines totalling $45,000 after he was convicted of illegally fishing in the protected sponge reefs off the coast of Haida Gwaii. Bullock was ordered by the court to pay $20,000 for illegal activity prohibited under the Hecate Marine Protection Act and ordered an additional fine, under the Fisheries Act of $25,000 for possessing illegally caught fish. The final conviction on Oct. 15, 2019 made it the first such case under the Oceans Act. >click to read< 16:14
Lobster fisherman who stole his boss’s pug dog Franky, took it for a joyride, tortured it, shot it in the throat before dumping it at sea is jailed
A man who tortured and killed a dog in Winter Harbor last year has been sentenced to a year in prison. Justin Chipman, 24, appeared in court Wednesday afternoon in Ellsworth. He was convicted in November of a string of charges including aggravated cruelty to animals, burglary and theft in connection with the death of Franky the pug. Chipman and 38-year-old Nathan Burke, of Hancock, were both arrested in the case. >click to read< 15:41
Smuggling the “Codfather” Profits: Bristol County Sheriff Captain Convicted
A Captain with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office was convicted today by a federal jury in connection with helping Carlos Rafael, known as the Codfather in the fishing industry, and the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing businesses in the U.S., smuggle the profits of his illegal overfishing scheme to Portugal. Jamie Melo, 46, of North Dartmouth, Mass., was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States and one count of structuring the export of monetary instruments. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Oct. 24, 2018. The jury acquitted the defendant of one count of bulk cash smuggling. >click to read<22:30
Newport News man convicted for drunken fake distress call to Coast Guard
A Newport News man who drunkenly cried wolf out on the open water now faces up to 12 years in prison. 39-year-old Justin P. Stahmer was convicted by a federal jury on Monday for issuing a fake distress call to the U.S. Coast Guard. According to United States Attorney Dana J. Boente, Stahmer initially denied making the call, before saying he called the Coast Guard because he ran out of gas. When Coast Guard Boarding Officers inspected his boat, Stahmer became belligerent, which led to an arrest for boating under the influence of alcohol. click here to read the story 10:47
Deputy sheriff convicted of ‘Codfather’ cash smuggling
A former Bay State sheriff’s deputy has been convicted in a cash-smuggling scheme connected to a New Bedford fishing mogul known as “The Codfather” during which he took thousands in profits from overfishing and deposited them into a Portuguese bank. Antonio Freitas, 47, of Taunton, a Bristol County sheriff’s deputy and a longtime Immigration and Customs Enforcement task-force officer, was convicted yesterday by a jury in U.S. District Court in Boston of one count of bulk cash smuggling and one count of structuring the export of U.S. currency. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 12 click here to read the story 08:07
Fish plant fined in court for tampering with weighing scales
A Donegal fish processing plant which was found to be tampering with its weighing scales has been fined a total of €45,000. Killybegs based Norfish Ltd and director Tony Byrne were convicted at Donegal Circuit Court. Byrne of Roshin Road, Killybegs was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay €10,000 to a local hospice and a further €10,000 to the Donegal Branch of the RNLI. Norfish Ltd was given three months to pay a €25,000 fine. This prosecution followed a joint investigation by the NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland) and the Sea Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA). They found an electrical switch fitted to the company’s flow scales used to weigh incoming fish catches. It could be used to turn off the scales, allowing the fish to pass over without being weighed. read the rest click here 11:27Fisherman convicted after driving at fishery officer
A Tauranga commercial fisherman has been convicted and fined $3000 for deliberately driving his vehicle at a fishery officer who had signalled for him to pull over. Bruce William Clifford Roberts, a 50-year-old commercial fisherman, was driving his 4×4 from Port Ohope in March this year when a fishery officer, who was standing approximately 100m away from Roberts’ car, indicated to him to pull over. Roberts was convicted for behaving in a threatening manner towards a fishery officer and fined $3000 plus $130 courts costs when he appeared in the Whakatane District Court on August 3. He also had to pay a $1500 redemption fee for the return of the forfeit vehicle used in the offence. The sentencing judge took into account Roberts’ early guilty plea and other mitigating factors including a restorative justice conference at which Roberts apologised to the fishery officer involved. Read the rest here 19:30
Twillingate fishermen received fines totalling more than $24,000 on charges laid during the 2013 crab fishery.
The charges include failing to fully and accurately complete their fishing logs and exceeding the crab pot limit during the 2013 snow crab fishery. Gary Stuckless, Roger Legge and Elvis Pelley were convicted on March 3 in provincial court in Gander. Read more here thetelegram 14:11
A Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and commercial fishing boat owner defends crew (subcontractors)
“They absolutely will remain the subcontractors on my boat,” said Martin Fisher, the chairman of two advisory panels with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council — the Reef Fish Advisory Panel and the Coastal Migratory Pelagics panel. “They’re positions are no way in jeopardy.” The men were fishing in a no-take, protected area just north of the Dry Tortugas National Park. “They were basically fishing in a zoo,” Hubicki said. Read [email protected] 06:34
