EDITORIAL: Tierney's right, fisheries cop must go
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Congressman John Tierney is right in demanding the resignation of the
federal fisheries official accused of destroying evidence and other
abuses.
Dale Jones, who has served as director of law
enforcement for the National Marine Fisheries Service over the last
decade, is currently the subject of an investigation by the inspector
general of the NMFS' parent agency, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. Tierney, joined by Sen. John Kerry and
fellow Congressmen William Delahunt and Barney Frank, on Thursday
called for Jones to resign or at least step down while the probe is
under way.
"Our fishing families do not deserve to be
treated like common criminals as they have been on Mr. Jones' watch,"
Tierney declared. During Jones' tenure, fines levied against fishermen
here in the Northeast have been more than twice those in other areas of
the country.
Jones, who honed for his top-level federal
law enforcement job serving as police chief of Hagerstown, Md., has
stocked his agency with criminal investigators to handle civil,
administrative violations. He has also been accused of using the money
raised from fines to send himself and members of his staff to
conferences in exotic destinations.
Read the complete editorial at The Salem News Online.
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