"He was doing exactly what they wanted him to do," [union attorney] Hirn said in an e-mail to the Times. "It was Office of General Counsel management who wanted to destroy these peoples' livelihoods. They rewarded Chuck [Juliand] in full knowledge of the consequences of the case."
Moreover, Hirn pointed to the narrative description of Juliand's work in Kuruc's "recommendation for recognition" as further evidence that NOAA "full well knew that (the case) would ultimately put the fisherman out of business and patted Chuck on the back in very flip terms for the impact it would have."
The case [in question] the first to be based primarily on VMS — vessel monitoring system — technology required on scallop boats beginning in 1998, was triggered by a scalloping trip that Yacubian and his crew took on the Independence in December 1998, and tracked by the VMS system into closed areas of the Gulf of Maine.
"If NOAA obtains a favorable ruling on the use of VMS evidence, it will be precedent-setting worldwide," [a senior NOAA official wrote at the time.]
The bonus and commendation were given to Juliand in July 2001, just days after the trial before an administrative law judge, and months before the finding, which upheld Juliand's case.
Yacubian's attorney, Pamela Lafreniere, said she was "perplexed" by the claim that the bonus award to Juliand exonerated him.
"There is no exoneration of anyone," she said in an interview Monday. "It's a condemnation of the entire system."
Lafreniere added that the timing of the award leads to "a bigger question — Did they have a crystal ball? They're celebrating a victory before it came. How did they know it? Did they have special insights?
"They're doing a victory dance and handing out rewards before the case was decided, or was it?" she noted. "The decision wasn't written until December."
Yacubian appealed the administrative law judge's finding, which affirmed the entire case brought by Juliand, and won a partial victory in U.S. District Court in Boston. Judge Nathanial M. Gordon upheld the VMS-based evidence and charges of illegal fishing, but threw out a finding that Yacubian had made "false statements" to the Coast Guard when they boarded the Independence.
Gordon also found that "considering the nature of the offenses and other relevant circumstances, the severity of the monetary penalty and the permanent revocation of (Yacubian's) fishing permits are deemed excessive."
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.