Saving Seafood

Judge sets new hearing date for indicted fishing magnate Carlos Rafael, sheriff’s deputy

May 26, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The next scheduled court date for indicted fishing magnate Carlos Rafael is a June 22 status conference in Boston, and a trial would have to begin by early September should the case go that far, according to court documents filed this week.

The status conference also will include indicted Bristol County Sheriff’s Office deputy Antonio M. Freitas, a 46-year-old Taunton resident. The conference will be held at U.S. District Court in Boston, and signals the transfer of Rafael’s and Freitas’ cases from Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy to District Court Judge William G. Young.

This week’s documents also shed light on when potential trials for Rafael and Freitas could begin.

Prosecutors’ indictment of Rafael and Freitas was unsealed May 9, and Freitas appeared in court that day, meaning the Speedy Trial Act would require a trial to begin within 70 days of that initial appearance. Young ruled this week, though, to start the 70-day clock at the June 22 status hearing, rather than May 9. A motion requesting the extension had been agreed upon by prosecutors and defense counsel.

“They might want a little time to stall and delay in order to explore a plea bargain,” said Boston criminal defense attorney Peter Elikann, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bar Association and legal analyst who is not involved in either case.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

‘Codfather’ pleads not guilty to fish conspiracy

May 13, 2016 — New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael pleaded not guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Worcester to conspiracy, lying to NOAA Fisheries about the exact species of fish he landed through a four-year span, and illegally smuggling cash out of the country.

Rafael, know widely as “The Codfather,” remains free on the $1 million bond set after his February arrest for conspiracy and submitting falsified records. The arrests of Rafael and his bookkeeper Debra Messier capped an undercover sting operation by federal authorities, some of whom posed as Russian mobsters looking to buy his business.

The 64-year-old Rafael, who appeared before Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy, controls one of the largest commercial fishing fleets in the United States and has been a powerful force in Northeast commercial fishing circles through his ownership of 32 fishing vessels and a block of 44 federal fishing permits with a value estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Prosecutors in Rafael case: Carlos Seafood’s transaction reports didn’t match up

May 11, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The FV Hera II, a boat that prosecutors said fishing fleet owner Carlos Rafael owned through a shell corporation, reported catching 4,595 pounds of haddock on Jan. 25, then selling it to Rafael’s Carlos Seafood business, a registered dealer, according to the indictment of Rafael that was unsealed Monday.

Carlos Seafood also recorded acquiring 840 pounds of American plaice, or “dabs,” from the Hera II that day, prosecutors said.

But here’s the rub: Records of Carlos Seafood’s third-party sales Jan. 25, according to the indictment, cite about 200 pounds of haddock and 5,200 pounds of dabs.

In other words, prosecutors allege, a lot of the fish caught by the Hera II on Jan. 25 and reported as “haddock” actually were dabs, which are subject to stricter regulatory quotas. Those quotas are administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and limit how much of certain species commercial fishermen can catch.

Catching more of a protected species than allowed can bring significant value on the black market.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Sheriff’s deputy charged with smuggling in fishing scheme

May 10, 2016 — BOSTON — A Bristol County sheriff’s deputy has been indicted on charges he helped a New Bedford fishing mogul smuggle profits out of the country.

Antonio Freitas, of Taunton, was arrested Monday for bulk cash smuggling and related crimes.

Prosecutors say Carlos Rafael, who owns Carlos Seafood, Inc., lied to federal authorities for years about the quantity and species of fish his boats caught to evade federal quotas.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Boston Globe

Carlos Rafael, New Bedford’s ‘Codfather’, indicted on 27 counts

May 9, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Local fishing magnate Carlos Rafael has been indicted by federal prosecutors for lying about fish catches and smuggling cash to Portugal through Logan airport in Boston, in a multi-year scheme involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to records filed last week and unsealed Monday.

The indictment lists 27 counts against Rafael, for charges including conspiracy, false entries and bulk cash smuggling. Rafael is alleged to have falsely reported the species of more than 815,000 pounds of fish to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) between 2012 and January of this year, according to the Office of U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz.

“On a yearly basis, Rafael’s routine falsification of dealer reports he submitted to NOAA created substantial discrepancies between the fishing activity he reported and the fish caught by his fishing vessels and acquired by Carlos Seafood,” the indictment states.

Bristol County Sheriff’s Office deputy Antonio M. Freitas, a Taunton resident, also is named in the indictment. Freitas is charged with two counts, one for bulk cash smuggling and one for international structuring.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Prosecutors get extension of deadline to indict New Bedford fishing magnate

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (March 28, 2016) — Prosecutors have received an extension of the deadline to indict local fishing magnate Carlos Rafael, a U.S. District Court spokesperson confirmed Friday.

The length of the deadline’s extension was not disclosed.

Rafael, 63, was arrested Feb. 26 on charges of conspiracy and submitting falsified records to the government, after federal authorities raided the Carlos Seafood building on New Bedford’s waterfront.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford fishermen face ‘devastating’ cod cut

March 23, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The city’s commercial fishing industry — battered by last month’s arrest of magnate Carlos Rafael on federal conspiracy charges, last week’s drug raids on the waterfront and ongoing monitoring costs — took another punch to the gut this week, as government regulators proposed new cuts to cod catches that could take effect May 1.

“Those cuts will be devastating to the groundfishing fleet of New Bedford, and the whole New England coast,” said John Haran, manager of groundfish Sector 13.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in conjunction with the New England Fishery Management Council, released a proposed update Monday to the federal management plan for the northeastern fishery.

The proposal includes updated catch quotas and fishing limits for the fishery’s 20 groundfish stocks — including cod, flounder, haddock and more — for the next three years. The 2016 groundfish year starts May 1.

The proposal includes a new, 62-percent reduction from last year in the allowable catch for Georges Bank cod, a key species for the New Bedford fishing industry.

“Our fleet is entirely concentrated on Georges Bank West cod,” Haran said, referring to boats not only in his sector, but also in New Bedford-based sectors 7, 8 and 9.

“We also fish for Georges Bank East cod, but not as much,” said Haran, who is running for Select Board member in Dartmouth.

The proposal allows a total catch limit of 762 metric tons of Georges Bank cod in the 2016 fishing year. The total catch limit for Georges Bank haddock, by comparison, is 56,068 metric tons — an increase of 130 percent from a year ago.

Haran said the problem is that cod is a “choke species,” because once a crew reaches its quota for cod, it can no longer fish for other species, such as haddock, because everything is caught at the same time.

Read the full story at The New Bedford Standard-Times

Coast Guard hopes hotline leads to fishing scofflaws

March 5, 2016 —  This week, as the Carlos Rafael saga unfolded in New Bedford and in federal court in Worcester, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a release asking anyone with information on illegal fishing activity to report it to a confidential hotline.

Coincidence? Hardly.

A Coast Guard spokeswoman said the hotline has been used in the past, but the Coast Guard is publicizing it more extensively now and one of the reasons is the Rafael case. The New Bedford fishing mogul is facing federal charges of conducting illegal fishing operations, conspiracy and falsifying fish-reporting documents.

“Is it partly because of the case? Definitely,” Lt. Karen Kutkiewicz said Friday.

Kutkiewicz said the hotline, which is manned by Coast Guard personnel, already has received numerous tips on illegal fishing from callers in the New Bedford area and Boston. She did not specify if any related directly to the Rafael case.

She also said the hotline will continue operating as long as tips keep coming in.

“We really want to make sure that the guys that are out there fishing legitimately have the best shot,” she said. “We want the playing field to be level.”

She urged anyone with information on illegal fishing activities to call the line at 1-844-847-2431.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

SLADE GORTON: NOAA must monitor all fishing boats

March 4, 2016 — What is happening in the waters of the Northeast — the disappearance of cod, the warming of the ocean, and the gradual decline of a way of life that has been a staple of our economy and culture for centuries — is a national disaster, and it needs a national response. There is no silver bullet, but one critical step above all others can put the New England groundfishery on the path to recovery: Congress and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration must move immediately to monitor every boat at sea.

The recent arrest of New Bedford fishing boat owner and wholesaler Carlos Rafael, for allegedly evading federal fishing quotas, clearly indicates the need to protect honest fishermen, and our fish species, with better monitoring.

Unfortunately, the opposite is happening. NOAA is planning to reduce the number of observers when they are needed most, so that only 10 percent of boats will carry an observer on board. This action, driven by conflict over whether fishermen should pay for the monitoring program, will move the fishery in the wrong direction.

My interest in saving fishing in New England is both personal and professional. As a Gorton, I am the descendant of people who made their livelihoods at sea, catching and selling cod for generations. Slade Gorton & Co. is headquartered in Boston. As a former US senator from Washington state, I worked countless hours on complex policy questions meant to help the fishing industry.

Read the full opinion piece at the Boston Globe

Carlos Rafael released on $1M bond, puts home and business up for collateral

March 2, 2015 — New Bedford fishing magnate Carlos Rafael will be allowed to return to his Dartmouth home under strict bond conditions and to continue working while facing federal conspiracy and falsification charges, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Rafael and his wife agreed to place their home on Tucker Road in North Dartmouth and the Carlos Seafood building, on South Front Street in New Bedford, as collateral for the $1 million bond. Prosecutors said the total value of the two properties is about $900,000.

Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy warned Rafael sternly during his detention hearing in U.S. District Court in Worcester that any violation of his bond could result in a warrant for his arrest and the loss of his home and business property.

“If you fail to comply with any of these conditions, the government can take that property away from you,” Hennessy said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times