{"id":5174,"date":"2014-08-01T11:32:29","date_gmt":"2014-08-01T18:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=5174"},"modified":"2014-08-01T11:32:29","modified_gmt":"2014-08-01T18:32:29","slug":"prosecutors-fishermen-admit-systematically-plundering-chesapeake-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=5174","title":{"rendered":"Prosecutors: Fishermen Admit to “Systematically Plundering” Chesapeake Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chesapeake<\/a>MARYLAND<\/strong> – Two fishermen plead guilty Friday to conspiring to violate federal laws by illegally harvesting and selling striped bass, and both are now facing up to five years in prison, federal officials said.<\/p>\n

Michael D. Hayden,<\/strong> 41, and William J. Lednum,<\/strong> 42, both of Tilghman Island, Maryland, of “systematically plundering” \u00a0Chesapeake Bay of a protected resource, according to officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese defendants admitted to systematically plundering the Chesapeake Bay of an important and protected natural resource, and at the expense of the many honest fishermen who play by the rules,\u201d said Acting Assistant Attorney General Sam Hirsch.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Officials said Hayden and Lednum shipped and sold $498,293 worth of striped bass to wholesalers in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. None of the fish was properly reported at check-in stations or on the permit allocation cards of daily catch records submitted to the state of Maryland, officials said.<\/p>\n

Maryland in turn submits such paperwork to numerous federal and interstate agencies responsible for setting harvest levels all along the eastern seaboard.<\/p>\n

The defendants have agreed to pay restitution to the state of Maryland of between $498,293 and $929,625. The defendants have further agreed to forfeit the monetary equivalent of 80 percent of the value of the vessel primarily used during the conspiracy.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett scheduled sentencing for Hayden and Lednum in November.<\/p>\n

According to their plea agreements, \u00a0these are the facts:<\/p>\n