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.