{"id":13423,"date":"2015-07-07T13:34:53","date_gmt":"2015-07-07T20:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=13423"},"modified":"2015-07-07T21:29:22","modified_gmt":"2015-07-08T04:29:22","slug":"fish-market-dealer-admits-marketing-for-illegally-caught-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=13423","title":{"rendered":"Fish Dealer Admits Marketing Illegally Caught Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW JERSEY<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Lou\u2019s Fish Market Inc<\/strong> and its company president, Mark Parente,<\/strong> of Englishtown, New Jersey, plead guilty today to jeopardizing U.S. fisheries by providing a market for illegal caught fish, according to officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who jeopardize our nation\u2019s fisheries by providing a market for illegally caught fish,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden.<\/strong> \u00a0\u201cIn this case, the crime is all the more aggravated because the participants took advantage of a federal program designed to study fish populations and enable law-abiding fishermen to increase their catch.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The federally-licensed fish dealer located in the Bronx, New York admitted to systematically covering up purchases of illegal fluke (summer flounder), scup and black sea bass that were being harvested in violation of the federal Research Set-Aside or RSA Program, the Justice Department\u2019s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced.<\/p>\n

Parente plead guilty to two counts of wire fraud, one count of aiding and abetting mail fraud and one count of falsification of federal records for fraud schemes that ran from May through December 2011, officials said.<\/p>\n

As part of the plea deal, the two defendants agreed to pay $932,000 in combined fines and restitution.<\/p>\n

The defendants also agreed to make a $110,000 community service payment for the enhancement of seagrass and fluke habitat around Long Island.<\/p>\n

The case was investigated by agents of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA\u2019s National Marine Fisheries Service.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is how Parente’s schemes worked:<\/strong><\/p>\n