Press Release
MIAMI SEAFOOD BROKERS CHARGED FOR UNDERSIZED LOBSTER TRANSACTIONS
December 18, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Paul Raymond, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division, and Colonel Julie Jones, Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Division of Law Enforcement announced today that Milton L. Mecozzi, Sr. and Milton L. Mecozzi, Jr., of Cudjoe Key, Florida, were charged in separate criminal cases filed in Miami, resulting from their alleged involvement in an undersized lobster importing scheme featuring spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) from Brazil and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The criminal Information filed against Milton L. Mecozzi, Jr. charges him with violations of the federal Lacey Act, Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372(a)(2)(A) and 3373; the Information filed against Milton L. Mecozzi, Sr. charges him with a single violation of the Lacey Act and a violation of the federal bank fraud statute, Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344.
The defendants are scheduled to make their initial appearances on the charges in Miami before United States Magistrate Judge Peter R. Palermo on January 5, 2009 at 1:30 pm in Miami. Milton L. Mecozzi, Jr. faces possible imprisonment of up to five years on each of the two Lacey Act violations, as well as criminal fines on each count of up to $250,000, or twice the relevant gain from the criminal conduct. Milton L. Mecozzi, Sr. also faces a possible prison term of up to five years on the Lacey Act charge against him, as well as a criminal fine of up to $250,000, or twice the relevant gain from the criminal conduct. The bank fraud charge Against Milton L. Mecozzi, Sr. carries a possible prison sentence of up to thirty years, a criminal fine of up to $250,000, or twice the relevant gain from the criminal conduct, and restitution to the victim of the offense.
According to the court documents, from December 2003 through August 2005 the Mecozzis were Directors and Officers of Bobbery Enterprises, Inc., a Hialeah-based seafood brokerage firm. Milton L. Mecozzi, Jr. is charged during the relevant time period with knowingly importing, receiving, acquiring and purchasing spiny lobster in foreign commerce, knowing it was possessed, transported, and sold in violation of foreign law.
Specifically, the laws of Brazil and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas each specify minimum sizes for harvesting of their spiny lobster stocks. Brazilian Decree No. 90-N of July 2, 1998, effective July 3, 1998 through May 2, 2004, prohibited, inter alia, the capture, processing, transport, commercialization, and export in any form, and in any location, of lobster of the species Panulirus argus, shorter in tail length than 13.0 cm (5.1 inches). Thereafter, the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Renewable Resources (IBAMA) implemented Normative Instruction No. 28, which continued in effect the same 13.0 cm limit for Panulirus argus.
The Statute Law of the Bahamas, Revised Edition 2000, Chapter 244 Fisheries Resources, (Jurisdiction & Conservation), prohibits the take, possession, or sale of any lobster which, if the tail is severed from the head, has a tail measurement of less than five and one-half inches.
Milton L. Mecozzi, Sr. is also charged with a Lacey Act violation predicated on the laws of Brazil. Additionally, the Information charges that Milton L. Mecozzi, Sr., as President of Bobbery, executed and delivered a revolving promissory note to CITIBANK in the original amount of $18 million, later amended to $25 million. Under the terms of the Credit Agreement, the amount available to Bobbery under the agreement was determined on a monthly basis by reports to CITIBANK reflecting Bobbery’s aged Accounts Receivables, Bobbery’s inventory, and a signed “Borrowing Base Certificate” warranting the accuracy of the information being provided to the bank. In January 2007, in order to secure funds from CITIBANK, at the direction of Milton L. Mecozzi, Sr., Bobbery provided records that mis-represented the relevant financial data, claiming accounts receivables of more than $22 million when in fact an accurate rendition would have entitled Milton L. Mecozzi, Sr. and Bobbery to advances of less than $6 million.
Spiny lobsters, which occur in the waters ranging from Brazil to Florida, are a significant economic resource for both commercial and non-commercial harvesters. In order to insure that spiny lobsters are not extirpated or driven to extinction over part or all of their range, many countries and jurisdictions have enacted conservation measures, including the State of Florida, the Bahamas, and Brazil, involving the imposition of size and/or weight limits. Lobster must reach a certain size and age before they are able to reproduce. Harvesting of the species in significant quantities before that size is reached can cause the stocks to “crash” and eventually lead to extinction. Brazil and the Bahamas are two of the largest exporters of Red Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) in the world and the U.S. is the major importer of this valued seafood resource.
U.S. Attorney Acosta stated, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will prosecute these cases aggressively to help protect our environment and our endangered species from those who would exploit our natural resources for money.”
“We are pleased that some of the U.S.-based individuals responsible for importing these undersized lobsters into the U.S. have been identified and charged, but we realize that we have only scratched the surface of this profitable illegal trade,” stated NOAA Special Agent Paul Raymond. Raymond noted that in light of the multi-jurisdictional problems posed by the illegal trade, NOAA is prepared to cooperate with foreign officials in this investigation and other international cases.
Mr. Acosta commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the NOAA Office for Enforcement and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, which brought the matter to a successful conclusion. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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