August 30, 2016 — Three New Jersey fishermen could soon be $2.3 million richer thanks to some failed polygraph tests.
Earlier this month, Trenton police sergeant Brian Suschke, Trenton firefighter Rich Kosztyu, and boater Damien Romeo took home $767,091 from the White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Md., for their 236.5-pound bigeye tuna catch. That fish set records for both weight and payout in the tournament’s tuna category.
Now, as NJ.com reports, that amount could increase significantly, with the tournament announcing last week that the winners of its white marlin category may forfeit their $2.8 million winnings over violating tournament rules. That fish was the only qualifying entrant into the competition’s white marlin category.
To settle the situation, the White Marlin Open has filed a court action in Maryland alleging that fishermen on that $2.8 million-winning boat failed polygraph examinations conducted after their catch. The tournament requires anglers receiving prize money in excess of $50,000 to go through a polygraph examination, and has not taken this type of legal action since 2007, as Delaware Online reports.
If the court decides against the other boat’s fishermen, then Kosztyu, Suschke, and Romeo could collect slightly more than $2.3 million more in prize money thanks to special stipulations from the group’s tournament sign-up. The remaining $500,000 would be split among other winning boats, court documents indicate.