By Patrick Anderson
Staff Writer
—
Gloucester's state lawmakers have launched a campaign for a special federal prosecutor to investigate possible criminal behavior by national fisheries enforcement agents, who seized assets from and fined fishermen and then spent the money.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder released Friday afternoon, Gloucester state Sen. Bruce Tarr and state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante said the findings of an internal Commerce Department investigation proved the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admirations's use of its Asset Forfeiture Fund was in "contravention of clear statutory limits" and required a criminal probe.
"The facts and circumstances of this case warrant the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate potential criminal and ethical violations," the letter from Tarr and Ferrante said.
"It is crucial that an investigation be conducted as quickly and independently as possible, while the evidence of misdeeds is fresh and the consequences of illegal actions can be rectified in a timely fashion," they added.
On Sunday, Mayor Carolyn Kirk endorsed the call for a special prosecutor.
"We are fighting for the survival of our fishing communities on two fronts," said Kirk. "The first front is the elimination of the heavy-handed enforcement tactics which treat fishermen like criminals, levy exorbitant fines on them, and then go on to use the proceeds to fund luxurious vessels, vehicles and travel for federal employees."
"The second front we are fighting is to allow our fishermen to fish," said Kirk. "Gloucester fishermen have spent years conserving the fisheries resource only now to be shut out of their livelihood at a time when the fish are rebounding."
The new management scheme put in place on May 1 of this year, known as catch shares, is forcing boats to stay tied up at the wharves and unnecessarily putting small fishing businesses out of business, leading to job loss and despair in fishing communities.
The three-page letter from Tarr and Ferrante calls for the special prosecutor to examine potential criminal behavior in NOAA offices throughout the country, but notes that allegations of abuses have been especially acute in the northeast.
Although carrying only the rank of state lawmakers, Tarr and Ferrante have been instrumental in drawing attention to the problems now acknowledged to have been rampant in NOAA law enforcement.
They called for an investigation of the system more than a year and a half ago while NOAA was in the middle of a protracted effort to shut down the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction.
Their request drew the support of New England congressional leaders, who called for an investigation by the Commerce Department to which NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco eventually agreed.
In a series of reports released over the past year, Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser found that NOAA had not clearly defined the purpose of the Asset Forfeiture Fund, appeared to have little record of how large it was or on what the money was being spent.
As cited by the Gloucester lawmakers, Zinser found that while NOAA had said the Forfeiture Fund had a balance of only $8.4 million, it actually had a balance of $47 million and had taken in $96 million over the past five years.
And when an independent firm audited the fund, it found law enforcement officers had used money in it to buy 22 vessels, including a $300,000 undercover vessel described by the manufacturer as "luxurious."
The report found that 62 percent of transactions for the fund lacked some level of documentation and 27 percent lacked any record of approval.
The use of fine money by NOAA agents "has created perverse incentives to encourage the imposition of unjust fines and impoundments against fishermen throughout the country but especially in the Northeast," Tarr and Ferrante wrote.
Since the release of the Zinser report and subsequent audit, NOAA has replaced Dale Jones as the head of its law enforcement division, but has not said whether he has been fired, transferred or faced any disciplinary action.
Tarr and Ferrante's call for a special prosecutor comes as Lubchenco late last week promised to rein in her law enforcement unit and has scheduled a national law enforcement summit for Tuesday.
Also on Friday, Salem Congressman John Tierney filed a bill designed to prevent the Asset Forfeiture Fund from ever being abused or turned into a slush fund in the future.
"The new bill would reform the Asset Forfeiture Fund to eliminate its use for some of the currently allowable uses deemed most likely to result in perverse incentives to target fishermen," according to a Tierney press release. "In addition, it would expand the allowable uses of the funds to include a process for fishermen to be reimbursed for certain legal fees, if the allegations against them are proven false."
Patrick Anderson may be contacted at 978-283-7000 x3455 or panderson@gloucestertimes.com.
