Beermaster
TAKE SPECIAL NOTE of the comment (quote) by Port Clinton Fish Co. owner Mr. Stinson in the article below!
Somewhat like saying WE STOLE TV sets but gave the buyers a good deal !!
__
Perch-poaching case ends in guilty pleas
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
James F. McCarty
Plain Dealer Reporter
Cuyahoga County prosecutors on Tuesday wrapped up a felony perch-poaching case they called the largest in U.S. history.
State wildlife officers said, however, that they hope to present an even bigger Lake Erie commercial fish-poaching case to a grand jury later this year.
"We're halfway home," said Kevin Ramsey, head of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources enforcement unit based on Sandusky Bay. "We expect to bring more cases within the next month or two."
Father and son Orville and Richard Stinson, owners of the Port Clinton Fish Co., pleaded guilty to theft charges. They also pleaded guilty on behalf of their company to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, commonly known as racketeering.
Common Pleas Judge Brian Corrigan sentenced them to pay $160,000 in sanctions, and to donate 250 pounds of perch fillets to the food kitchen at the Harvest Baptist Temple in Clyde, where Richard Stinson is a deacon.
Orville Stinson, 67, of Port Clinton, and Richard Stinson, 41, of Castalia, agreed to cooperate with investigators in the prosecution of future fish-poaching cases.
"These are good people," said defense lawyer Bud Doyle. "They were wrong, they shouldn't have done it and they won't do it again. They've learned an expensive lesson."
Orville Stinson said he has owned Port Clinton Fish for 31 years, and it's a good company with loyal employees and customers.
"They say we took tons" of illegal yellow perch, he told the judge. "But we sold that to someone. It's good food, it's not drugs."
The guilty pleas concluded a two-year investigation by Ramsey and his team that started in 2002 and resulted in the indictments of five fishing companies and 14 commercial fishermen on racketeering, theft and money laundering charges.
State wildlife officers documented 40 tons of yellow perch, with a value of nearly $1 million, being caught and sold -- and unreported to state regulators -- in excess of the quotas allotted to commercial fishing companies in 2002 and 2003.
The total amount of fines, fish and property forfeited by the perch-poaching defendants exceeded $360,000.
The guilty pleas marked the first time ever in the United States that defendants were convicted of the felony theft of wildlife, investigators said.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jmccarty@plaind.com, 216-999-4153
|
|
Weather Powered by Accuweather.com |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Logged
'> You seem to have signed up at a bit of a contravercial time. Lots of crap going on. Most of the guys have been voicing their thoughts and opinions on this subject alot recently. Don't forget to have some fun on the site too. Great group of guys! 
We fed 16 people with that 30 lb bird and all the trimmings.
Have a great day all.
© 2008 Great Lakes Forum