Disgraced Massachusetts fishing mogul Carlos “Codfather” Rafael’s sentencing may not take place until at least late September 2017, but that hasn’t stopped fishermen in New Englandfrom sharing their suggestions about what should come of the magnate’s empire.
According to a report from the Cape Cod Times, many area fishermen hope that the courts and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will make an example of the Carlos Seafoods owner, who pleaded guilty to falsifying fish quotas, false species labelling, conspiracy and tax evasion in March.
John Pappalardo, chief executive officer of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance and a member and former chairman of the New England Fishery Management Council, told the Cape Cod Times that he and the members of his alliance plan to watch the outcome of the sentencing – scheduled for 25 and 26 September – closely.
“I’ve said before, there is no place in fishing for Mr. Rafael. If that’s part of the global solution (the larger deal being worked out between NOAA and Rafael’s attorneys) every fisherman I’ve spoken to up and down the coast feels that’s a good outcome,” Pappalardo said.
Currently, Rafael’s attorney William Kettlewell is in negotiations with the defense and NOAA counsels, attempting to iron out the logistics of possibly banning Rafael from the fishing industry for life, per a statement released by Kettlewell on 11 July. As part of his plea deal, Rafael has already agreed to forfeit 13 fishing vessels, along with their permits, and make a restitution of USD 108,929 (EUR 92,249) to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to answer for the USD 17,500 (EUR 14,820) he attempted to smuggle out of the United States via Logan Airport with the help of his recently convicted accomplice, former Bristol County sheriff’s deputy Antonio Freitas.
Rafael’s sentencing guidelines originally had him facing between 63 and 78 months in prison. However, his guilty plea opens up the possibility of a lighter sentence, between 47 and 56 months' imprisonment. Many within the U.S. fishing industry and legal system, including Conservation Law Foundation Senior Counsel Peter Shelley, think Rafael should face the maximum – if not more.
“From our perspective, and that of many others, someone who has been so openly contemptuous of the laws and other people in the fishing industry, and of the whole fishery, he should get the maximum,” Shelley told the Times. “A lot of people think the fines and penalties need to be worse.”
“[If the punishment is lenient], some could look at it as the cost of doing business. But if they see him really getting wiped out of the fishery by this with a significant penalty and delicensing, that would send a pretty clear message to others that they should continue to take the law very seriously,” Shelley added.
NOAA has the power to impose much harsher fines on Rafael, prompting him to sell off even more of his assets as an answer to his crimes. With a long history of violations – 19 from 1994 onward – Rafael could have all his permits revoked by NOAA, including for fisheries not stipulated within the court case (Rafael owns 10 vessels with scalloping permits, and 43 with lobster permits).
It is the hope of Pappalardo and Maggie Raymond, executive director of the Associated Fisheries of Maine, that all quota permits forfeited to NOAA as a result of the case be redistributed to fishermen across New England.
“Rafael has harmed the entire groundfish industry, and fishermen from Maine to New York deserve to be compensated,” Raymond wrote in a recent editorial.
Pappalardo’s fishermen’s alliance wishes for some of the money generated by the Rafael case to go toward building and overseeing better enforcement measures, including electronic monitoring for vessels and more population assessments to gauge stock health.
“Part of my message around this case is that we need to use it to repair the damage this fishery has experienced,” Pappalardo said.
