Saving Seafood

Carlos Rafael settles Coast Guard oil violations; feds auction boats

August 14, 2019 — Carlos Rafael, the longtime New Bedford industry figure now serving a 46-month sentence in federal prison, settled water pollution complaints for $511,000 in civil penalties, as the U.S. Marshals Service offered two of his boats at auction.

Rafael, manager Stephanie Rafael DeMello, and captain Carlos Pereira agreed to the penalty and making improvements to the Vila Nova do Corvo II. The Coast Guard charged that the vessel discharged oily bilge waste overboard at sea while harvesting scallops and that its used fuel filters were likewise dumped over the side.

Rafael pleaded guilty to falsifying landing reports, fish labeling and other records, tax evasion and cash smuggling. He was arrested in February 2016 after federal investigators, posing as Russian immigrants with sketchy organized crime connections, recorded Rafael bragging about how he routinely faked landing reports and fish tickets to evade quota limits.

In the original sentencing, Rafael had been ordered to forfeit four vessels to the government, but a final settlement allowed two of those, the Bulldog and Southern Crusader II, to be released to his wife Conceicao Rafael and other New Bedford fishermen in shared ownership.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

‘Codfather’ Rafael to pay $500,000 for dumping oily bilge

August 9th, 2019 — Carlos Rafael and his daughter will pay a $500,000 fine for the dumping of oily bilge and fuel filters from one of his fishing vessels, the Vila Nova do Corvo II.

The vessel captain, Carlos Pereira, will pay $11,000.

The proposed settlement for violations of the Clean Water Act and Coast Guard regulations was filed in federal court on Friday. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court approval.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times 

Carlos Rafael vessel captain sentenced for thwarting Coast Guard inspection

November 30, 2018 — A former captain of one of Carlos “Codfather” Rafael’s fishing boats has been sentenced in Boston federal court for interfering with a U.S. Coast Guard vessel inspection off the coast of Massachusetts.

South Portland, Maine’s Thomas D. Simpson, 57, was sentenced to two years of probation – with the first four months to be served in home confinement with electronic monitoring – in U.S. District Court this week, after pleading guilty in August 2018 to one count of destruction or removal of property subject to seizure and inspection. Simpson was also ordered by the court to pay a USD 15,000 (EUR 13,195) fine, according to a report from WBSM.

The former captain of Rafael-owned fishing vessel Bulldog, Simpson and his crew were engaging in commercial fishing practices on 31 May, 2014, when the U.S. Coast Guard came onboard to conduct a routine inspection of the boat and its equipment.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

New Bedford Fishing Boat Captain Sentenced

November 29, 2018 — The former captain of a New Bedford fishing boat owned by Carlos Rafael, a/k/a “The Codfather,” was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for interfering with a U.S Coast Guard (USCG) inspection of a fishing boat off the Massachusetts coast.

Thomas D. Simpson, 57, of South Portland, Maine, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to two years of probation, with the first four months to be served in home confinement with electronic monitoring, and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. In August 2018, Simpson pleaded guilty to one count of destruction or removal of property subject to seizure and inspection.

Simpson was the captain of the fishing vessel Bulldog, a New Bedford based commercial fishing vessel and one of several fishing vessels owned by Carlos Rafael. On Sept. 25, 2017, Rafael, often referred to as “The Codfather,” was sentenced in federal court in Boston to 46 months in federal prison on a variety of charges related to the operation of his commercial fishing business.

On May 31, 2014, the Bulldog was engaged in commercial fishing off the cost of Massachusetts when the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) boarded the vessel to perform a routine inspection of the Bulldog and its fishing equipment. At the time of the boarding, the Bulldog’s net was deployed in the water and the crew was actively fishing. The USCG Boarding Officer encountered Simpson in the Bulldog’s wheelhouse and instructed Simpson to haul in the fishing net for inspection. The fishing net is controlled from the wheelhouse by an electric winch, which Simpson activated, but instead of hauling the fishing net onto the vessel, he let out more of the cable which attaches the net to the vessel. When the USCG Boarding Officer realized that Simpson was letting the net out, he instructed Simpson to stop and to haul the net in. Simpson ignored the order and continued to let out cable until the net became detached from the Bulldog and sank.

Read the full story at WBSM

 

Judge returns two vessels to Carlos Rafael’s wife

November 29, 2018 — The wife and another business partner of Carlos Rafael will retain ownership of two of the four fishing vessels seized by the federal government as part of the penalties for the array of crimes committed by the man known as “The Codfather.”

U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young, in his final order of forfeiture, said the F/V Lady Patricia and the F/V Olivia & Rafaela — and all federal fishing permits associated with each vessel — will be forfeited to the federal government as part of the final seizure agreement.

Young also ordered the forfeiture of $306,490 to the federal government in addition to the $17,500 judgment already paid by Rafael as part of his plea agreement.

Two of the other forfeited vessels — the Bulldog and Southern Crusader II — will be released to corporations that include Rafael’s wife, Conceicao Rafael, as an owner.

The 75-foot Bulldog will be released to B & D Fishing Corp. and Conceicao Rafael. The 81-foot Southern Crusader II is set to be released to R and C Fishing Corp. The corporation, according to the order, includes Conceicao Rafael and Joao Camarao as owners.

The convicted and currently incarcerated Carlos Rafael, according to the order, ceases to hold any “right, title or interest” in either the forfeited or released vessels. The order, however, retains Carlos Rafael’s ability to defend himself against any future claims from NOAA Fisheries.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Feds will keep only two of Carlos Rafael’s seized vessels

November 23, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — More than a year after a judge ordered Carlos Rafael to forfeit four fishing vessels, the government will retain only two, according to court documents obtained by The Standard-Times.

Rafael, who is serving a 48-month prison sentence for falsifying fishing quota, tax evasion and bulk cash smuggling, and the government filed a settlement agreement last Friday. Judge William Young filed a final forfeiture order Monday.

According to the order, the Lady Patricia and all its permits as well as the Olivia & Rafaela and its permits must be forfeited to the United States. A total of $306,490 must also be paid to the United States.

As for the other two vessels seized by the government, the Bulldog will be released to B & D Fishing Corp. and Rafael’s wife, Conceicao, and the Southern Crusader II will be released to R and C fishing Corp., Joao Camarao and Conceicao Rafael. Each shared partial ownership with Carlos Rafael.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Former captain in Bristol sheriff’s department gets one year probation in Codfather smuggling case

November 6, 2018 — He got caught in the net, but he avoided prison.

A former captain with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office was sentenced Monday to a year of probation for helping the infamous New Bedford fishing magnate dubbed the Codfather smuggle profits from his overfishing scheme to Portugal, prosecutors said.

The convict and former captain, Jamie Melo, 46, of North Dartmouth, learned his fate during a sentencing hearing in US District Court in Boston, according to US Attoney Andrew E. Lelling’s office.

A jury in that courthouse convicted Melo in June of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States and structuring the export of monetary instruments, Lelling’s office said in a statement.

Melo was acquitted of bulk cash smuggling, the release said. He’ll be confined to his home during the first eight months of his yearlong probation, according to Lelling’s office.

“During the trial, evidence showed that while at Logan International Airport Melo asked his friends and travel companions to carry envelopes of cash for [Codfather Carlos] Rafael on a flight to the Azores in Portugal,” the release said. “At the time, Melo was an Administrative Captain with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office and was traveling to the Azores with Rafael for a charity event sponsored by the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to the flight, Melo asked three of his travel companions to follow him into the men’s bathroom at Logan Airport before going through the TSA Security Checkpoint.”

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Fish council to review catch share regulations

November 1, 2018 — In May 2010, the world of the Northeast groundfishermen experienced a seismic transformation, as federal fishery managers ditched days-at-sea as its primary management tool and implemented a sector system centered on an expanded catch share program.

Now, nearly nine years later, the New England Fishery Management Council said it will conduct its first comprehensive evaluation of the groundfish catch share program to determine whether it is meeting its goals and objectives to improve the management of the fishery.

The review, according to council Executive Director Tom Nies, is not connected to any specific event or issue within the fishery, such as the widescale cheating, sector manipulation and ultimate conviction of New Bedford fishing kingpin Carlos A. Rafael.

“It’s not a response to Carlos, but it may help us identify areas related to his activities that we can address,” Nies said Wednesday.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s own catch share policy actually mandate that the councils periodically produce “a formal and detailed review … no less frequently than once every seven years” on catch share programs.

“This is the first review, really, since catch shares originally were implemented in 2004, and more importantly, expanded in 2010,” Nies said. “It’s been on our radar for a couple of years. The next step is to assemble a staff and get the report written.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Warren Urges Dept. of Commerce, NOAA to Ensure Carlos Rafael Fishing Permits Remain in New Bedford

October 17, 2018 — The following was released by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.):

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today sent a letter to the Department of Commerce and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to request that they do everything in their power to ensure that the 42 federal fishing permits held by disgraced fishing magnate Carlos Rafael remain in the Port of New Bedford.  The federal permits, which cover a significant portion of the ground fish industry and have an economic footprint that goes far beyond fish landings, are currently at risk of being revoked and distributed elsewhere under a civil administrative case brought by NOAA against Mr. Rafael.

Last year, Carlos Rafael, a New Bedford fishing magnate, pled guilty to 28 federal charges related to the management of his company, including falsifying fish quotas, mislabeling fish, conspiracy, and tax evasion. In a civil case filed in January 2018, NOAA called for the revocation of 42 federal fishing permits held by Mr. Rafael.

In her letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Acting NOAA Administrator Benjamin Friedman, and Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries at NOAA, Senator Warren expressed serious concern about the devastating impact that removing the permits-which support many unaffiliated businesses and jobs that were not part of Mr. Rafael’s operation-from New Bedford would have on the regional economy.

“Millions of dollars of regional economic activity depend on Mr. Rafael’s permits remaining in the City of New Bedford,” wrote Senator Warren.  “An innocent community should not be collateral damage for one business’s crimes.”

The senator’s letter also emphasized the importance of the groundfish industry to the Massachusetts economy as a whole and noted that New Bedford already has the experienced workforce, infrastructure, and proud tradition to best utilize and maximize the economic benefits of the groundfish industry.

“It is critical for the city and South Coast region that these permits and allocations remain in the port of New Bedford, and in the hands of law-abiding fishing families and businesses,” Senator Warren continued. “Removing these permits from New Bedford would do lasting damage to families and businesses that have already suffered greatly through no fault of their own.”

The senator requested that the agencies take any and all available actions within their discretion to ensure that these critical fishing permits remain in New Bedford.

Read the full letter here

MASSACHUSETTS: Warren again calls for Rafael’s permits to stay in New Bedford

October 17, 2018 — Elizabeth Warren repeated a call she voiced last year by sending another letter to NOAA regarding Carlos Rafael’s federal fishing permits.

The Massachusetts senator addressed her two-page letter to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, acting NOAA Administrator Benjamin Friedman and assistant Administrator for Fisheries Chris Oliver and asked that NOAA keep the 42 permits the agency is targeting in its civil action in New Bedford.

“These permits cover a significant portion of the ground fish industry and have an economic footprint that goes far beyond fish landings,” the letter reads.

Warren sent a letter to NOAA last October, too, echoing the same sentiment.

NOAA filed a superseding civil action last month. In it NOAA sought to revoke the operator permits of 17 of Rafael’s captains. It also listed more than $3 million in fines. The move built on a civil action first filed in January where NOAA targeted Rafael’s permits.

Warren said in the letter that the permits support many innocent third-party businesses such as fish auctions, seafood processors, gear suppliers, ice providers, welders, engine mechanics and restaurants.

“The Port of New Bedford is vital to the economic health of the region and the federal government has a duty and responsibility to not cause significant economic harm to this community,” her letter read. “Removing these permits from New Bedford would do lasting damage to families and businesses that have already suffered greatly through no fault of their own. I urge you all to do everything that is necessary to ensure that does not happen.”

Even before NOAA’s civil action, politicians and organizations have argued for the final destination of the permits. Mayor Jon Mitchell and the City Council have individually sent letters to NOAA asking that Rafael’s permits remain in New Bedford. Last week, Councilor-at-Large Brian Gomes brought a written motion on the topic to the Council Chambers.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times