Keys Treasures Blog » Lobster

More Lobster Mobsters Sentenced to Prison

Keys — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:23:11 +0000

By ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff

Two Bay Point men were sentenced to a year in prison on charges that they conspired to poach lobster, a judge ruled Monday, closing the last chapter on two illegal lobster harvesting cases that snared eight people.

John Buckheim, 23, and Nick Demauro, 24, both apologized to federal Judge James Lawrence King, their friends, family and wildlife officers.

“I acknowledge and take full responsibility for what I did,” Buckheim said. “I was young and stupid and I’m not implying that I’m old or wise now, only that I’m heading in the right direction. … I’m sorry for this major mistake and you won’t find me in this position again.”

Demauro told the judge he had “taken everything for granted.”

Both men pleaded guilty in October to harvesting lobsters by diving on illegal artificial habitats, called casitas, primarily in the Content Keys area north of Big Pine Key, from July 2008 through October 2008, according to court documents.

The judge granted U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald’s request to delay their prison sentence 100 days so both men can continue their work removing as many as 600 casitas from Florida Keys waters. The judge ordered both to surrender to corrections officials on May 12.

The judge also allowed both men to resume legal commercial fishing immediately upon their release from prison, despite the prosecutor’s recommendation that both be prohibited during the two years of supervision that is to follow their release.

Miami defense attorneys Bruce Alter and Steven Potolsky urged the judge to consider the defendants’ ages, their clean criminal histories and their desire to make amends as mitigating factors at sentencing, but the prosecutor was unmoved, painting the men as astute fishermen who knew the risks involved.

“These were not youths who stumbled into this,” the prosecutor told the judge, describing taped conversations between the two men, and the hundreds of casitas they fished.

Buckheim and Demauro worked for David and Denise Dreifort of Cudjoe Key at one time. The latter were sentenced in July for spearheading a large lobster poaching ring that involved four other people, in a separate but related case. David Dreifort was sentenced to 2¬½ years in prison in July. His wife was sentenced to seven months in prison. Prosecutors found thousands of lobsters at one of their homes on Lookdown Lane last year.

Buckheim and Demauro began their own illegal operation after their stint with the Dreiforts, and they sold lobster to a Stock Island seafood company in 32 separate incidents for a total of $45,974, records say. The company has not been charged in the case, the prosecutor said.

Both men were warned by David Dreifort to cease their operation after he was indicted, but they continued, the prosecutor said. Federal agents began visual and electronic surveillance of Buckheim and Demauro during the larger investigation that involved the Dreiforts, reports say.

Both pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors dropped two charges that could have added at least 10 years to their sentences.

alinhardt@keysnews.com

Another Lobster Mobster Trial Begins

Keys — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:11:26 +0000

Jury selection began Monday and open arguments are expected today in the lobster trap molesting trial of three Key West residents. Harry Bethel Jr. faces two felony counts of lobster trap molesting for allegedly pulling fishermens traps near Mayland Shoal in the Atlantic Ocean off Sugarloaf Key in January 2008. Bethel, Lawrence Pinder, 59, and M. Shamus Davis, 30, rejected a plea agreement that called for a year in prison.Bethel is the namesake of a former Key West city commissioner and current Key West Bight Board chairman.

via Mile Markers | KeysNews.com.

Adios Lobster Casitas & Lobster Mobsters

Keys — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:40:30 +0000

Restorative justice may include casita removalOperation Freezer Burn, a multiyear investigation by state and federal law enforcement agencies, took down two of the most legendary lobster poachers in the Florida Keys, Dave Dreifort, and his wife, Denise. Sentenced to 30 months and seven months respectively, the couple also was ordered to forfeit more than $1 million in property.

In addition to the Dreiforts, the investigation secured four other convictions with sentences ranging from 10 months in prison to a year on parole.A subsequent investigation, dubbed Frost Bite, successfully nabbed two more men who had worked with the Dreiforts in the past, John Buckheim and Nick Demauro, both 23 years old. Each of these men has pleaded guilty and now await their sentences.In the latter case, we have seen something a bit different. Buckheim and Demauro have taken it upon themselves to start undoing some of the harm they have done.In addition to poaching lobsters, much of the case made by the government revolved around illegal lobster habitats, or “casitas.”

These are man-made structures — often old oil drums or discarded appliances — intended to attract lobsters so they can be easily, and illegally, harvested.Tens of thousands of these casitas scattered throughout Florida Keys waters create what many experts consider an ecological disaster, disrupting natural migration patterns and tearing up the sea floor. Removal of the artificial lobster habitats is a major priority for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, but hiring commercial salvors for the job is very expensive.While awaiting their sentencing, Buckheim and Demauro, with the permission of sanctuary officials, have been removing hundreds of the illegally placed casitas from the Gulf of Mexico.

Their motivation is simple: to show they have taken responsibility for their actions and are helping repair the harm they and others have done. And, of course, they hope to curry favor with the judge who will be handing down their sentences.In legal circles, this behavior is referred to as restorative justice.These young men are far from role models, and they certainly should experience consequences for breaking the law. But we cannot help but note that their pre-emptive corrective action contributes to a sense that justice has been better served in this case than in others where the criminals are serving jail time.The debris littering the ocean floor must be removed. It can be done by contractors at considerable taxpayer expense or it can be done at little to no cost by Buckheim and Demauro. We hope the court considers this when considering what sentence best fits the crime — and the public good.–

The Citizen

via Editorial | KeysNews.com.

More Lower Keys Lobster Mobsters Arrested

Keys — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:50:17 +0000

Federal authorities arrested two Lower Keys commercial lobster divers Friday on charges of illegally harvesting more than 1,000 pounds of lobster worth at least $17,000.

John Buckheim and Nick Demauro, of 79 Palm Drive in the Saddlebunch Keys, were arrested by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration law enforcement agents. The pair are accused of sinking a boat to create an artificial habitat, known as a casita, south of Sammy’s Creek Bridge on Sugarloaf Key on Oct. 29, 2008, according to a federal indictment.

Prosecutors allege the poaching began in 2008 and continued into this year, reports say.

Both men are scheduled to appear in a Miami courthouse today.

The arrest comes a week before the start of the commercial lobster season.

Are You Ready For The Spiny Lobster Sport (Mini) Season?

Keys — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:59:51 +0000

Diving for lobster in Florida’s upcoming mini-season can be deadly, warns a leading dive-safety organization.

“Divers get excited and rush to dive without preparation, and most of them are out of shape,” said Petar Denoble, a physician who serves as senior research director for the Divers Alert Network. ”They underestimate the level of exercise required for diving, particularly lobster diving,” said Denoble, author of a recent report published in DAN’s Alert Diver magazine. The past four years have seen 14 divers die during Florida’s annual two-day mini-season — 10 of them in Florida Keys waters, the leading destination for lobster hunters.

In contrast, only six divers died while hunting lobster statewide in the regular eight-month lobster season in the same 2005-08 period. This year’s lobster sport-diving season arrives July 29 and 30.

“Why the higher percentage of deaths in the two-day preseason? Our best guess is that mini-season may be the time many divers take their first plunge of the year,” Denoble wrote. “Or they’ve made relatively few dives thus far and haven’t gotten up to speed on their skills and conditioning…. The underwater chase, frequent ascents and many repetitive dives over the two-day season can take a toll, even on the most experienced divers.” He pointed out that most of the mini-season deaths can be traced to heart problems in divers in their late 40s and older.

There was no evidence that air embolisms, typically responsible for about a third of all diving deaths, caused any of the 20 lobster-related deaths that DAN staff studied. Denoble called that finding “interesting,” but cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from the relatively small number of case studies.

After three divers died in Monroe County waters during the 2005 mini-season, authorities called for increased caution. All three were out-of-county residents; the youngest was 49.

But the 2006 season was even deadlier, with four fatalities.

There were two lobster diving deaths in the Keys last year, after one death in 2007.

Many of the deaths could be linked to those with known medical problems, or who had undiagnosed conditions.

A lobster-season safety campaign was launched this spring to warn divers to check their equipment and be aware of physical demands. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association and DAN prepared the program.

“People who live a sedentary lifestyle must assume they are out of shape,” Denoble said. “Divers may try to chase lobster the same way they did it when they were 25. But at 50, it doesn’t work that way any more.”

Denoble recommended that older divers have regular checkups, and exercise throughout the year.

“Get prepared. You cannot go out and play a game without practice,” he said. “This is your game, and you need to win.”

An estimated 30,000 divers go out for lobster in a typical mini-season, with about 60 percent of them planning to do it in the Keys.

Lobster-poaching ring leader gets 2.5 years in federal pen

Keys — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:05:46 +0000

Admitted Lower Keys lobster poacher David Dreifort was sentenced Friday to two and a half years in prison, and his wife [Denise D. Dreifort] to seven months in jail, for leading what’s been called the Key’s largest lobster poaching operation ever. Their sentencings by U.S. District Court Judge Jose Martinez put the lid on a case the feds dubbed Operation Freezer Burn. According to evidence presented through pleadings, trial and other in-court statements, the six defendants in Operation Freezer Burn were directly involved in illegally taking 1,197 lobster on the opening day of Florida’s commercial lobster season in August 2008, and stockpiling approximately 1,700 pounds of wrung lobster tail harvested during the closed season. The operation was based out of Cudjoe Key.

In addition to prison, David Dreifert was ordered to serve three years of probation following his release, and is prohibited from fishing for five years in South Florida. [That's NOT long enough] His wife follows her jail time with seven months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, and is also banned from fishing South Florida waters for five years. The Dreiforts also forfeited to the U.S. government their three vehicles and three vessels, used in the lobster poaching operation. On June 11, Robert Hammer was sentenced to two months in jail, home confinement for six months with electronic monitoring, and supervised release for two years. In a parallel civil action, they were ordered to pay $1.1 million toward restoration of the marine sanctuary, including removing 700 casitas. The couple is expected to raise the money by selling their Cudjoe Key home and another property on Little Torch Key.

On June 10, Sean Reyngoudt was sentenced to home confinement for four months with electronic monitoring, four years of probation and 300 hours of community service. He’s banned from fishing South Florida waters for four years.

On June 2, Key Wester Michael Delph was sentenced to 10 months in jail, home confinement for six months with electronic monitoring, 100 hours of community service and supervised release for two years. Delph is the only one who went to trial. [This is the saddest case, local fishing legend's son.]

John Niles, the first to enter a guilty plea, cooperated in the case, and testified against Delph. He received a year of probation.

via Lobster-poaching ring leader gets 2.5 years in federal pen.

Lobster Season PSA

Keys — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:44:07 +0000

A few other safety tips from DAN:

Remember that an underwater hunt strains your body much more than a typical recreational dive.
If you do not exercise vigorously and frequently on land, do not dive if you are not fit for it. Do not hunt underwater.
Do not lobster hunt on your first dive. If you did not have a chance to make some dives before the mini-season, remember that full lobster season starts in August and lasts through March. Use the preseason time to refresh your skills and improve your fitness. By doing this, you will be ready for many safe lobster hunts during the regular season.
Lobster hunting is a serious dive operation, even at a depth of 10 ft (3m). Ensure that the diver in you maintains control over the hunter in you.
Remember, you caught nothing if you did not bring it to the surface and cook it.

For a more in-depth look at dive safety during the mini-lobster season, visit alertdiver.com.

Local Lobster Poacher Gets 10 Months in Prison

Keys — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:31:46 +0000

A judge sentenced the longtime Key West fishing guide and firefighter Michael Delph to 10 months in prison and two years on parole.

“From day one I never denied my involvement,” Delph told the court. “I decided to fight it because I’ll lose my job as a fishing guide and a firefighter. I’m very remorseful and I’m sorry for the hardship and humiliation this has brought to my family and my fellow firefighters. It’s a hard pill to swallow. I’ve let a lot of people down and I understand that.”

U.S. Judge Jose Martinez was swift when he finally handed down the sentence, far less than the maximum five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines Delph faced. Martinez did not impose any fines. “Mr. Delph, when I came into this courthouse today, my intention was to give you the upper sentencing guidelines,” Martinez said. “You have some very good friends and a good family, and family is always those that suffer the most. You seem to have led a good life and I’m sorry you are in this situation.”

Beware Lobster Mobsters

The judge said, “In this community, people need to know that if they do this and get caught, they’re going to be sorry.”

Also convicted in Operation Freezer Burn, after pleading guilty, were John R. Niles of LaBelle, who testified against Delph and was given one year of probation, Robert Hammer of Key West and Sean Reyngoudt of Summerland Key. The latter two are scheduled to be sentenced on June 10 in Miami. The ringleaders, David and Denise Dreifort of Cudjoe Key, are scheduled to be sentenced on July 17 in Miami.

The undercover federal sting caught them harvesting about 1,700 lobsters that had congregated in illegal artificial reefs, called casitas. The government said in court that the Dreiforts had put as many as 700 casitas in Keys waters.

FWC 2008 Lobster Report is In… Florida Keys Rules!

Keys — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:47:32 +0000

Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Fish & Wildlife Research Institute

Summary Report of the 2008-2009 Recreational Spiny Lobster Fishing Season

Dear recreational lobster fisher,

Thank you for your participation in recreational lobster fisher surveys for the 2008-2009 fishing season. You indicated on your questionnaire that you were interested in receiving a summary of the results of these surveys. We are providing you with the information we collected from more than 2,400 recreational lobster license holders who responded to our surveys about the 2008 Special Two-Day Sport Season and the first month of the regular recreational lobster fishing season.

Survey Respondents
Survey respondents were composed of people who were highly experienced as well as those who were relatively new to the sport. About 29% had been fishing for lobsters for five years or fewer, and 29% had been fishing for lobsters for 15 years or more. Five percent of respondents indicated that it was their first time lobster fishing. About 20% of respondents indicated they had not used their lobster license during the survey period.

Recreational Landings
Preliminary estimate of the numbers of lobsters landed by recreational lobster fishers in various regions of Florida during the 2008 Special Two-Day Sport Season and the first month of the regular lobster fishing season.

The Lobster Harvest
Our preliminary estimates indicate that approximately 356,000 lobsters were caught statewide during the Special Two-Day Sport Season. Approximately 230,000 of those were landed on Wednesday, and 126,000 were landed on Thursday. We estimate that about 55,000 licensed lobster fishers participated statewide in the Special Two-Day Sport Season this year.
Approximately 606,000 lobsters were landed statewide from opening day of the regular lobster fishing season through Labor Day (August 6 through September 1). Approximately 50,000 licensed lobster fishers fished at some point during that period. Most of the lobster harvest occurred in south Florida. Approximately 63% of the lobsters caught during our survey period were caught in the Keys. Most of the remaining portion of the lobster harvest occurred along the southeast coast of the state.

Opinions
Most survey respondents (59%) thought that the bag limit of 6 lobsters per person was “about right”, 6% thought it was “too high” or “much too high”, and 16% thought it was “too low” or “much too low”. Seventeen percent of respondents had no opinion.
We asked people what their opinion was of the Special Two-Day Sport Season. Forty-seven percent of survey respondents “like it” or “like it very much”, 15% “neither like it nor dislike it”, and 18% “dislike it” or “dislike it very much”. Eighteen percent of respondents had no opinion.

Travel
The Florida Keys were the most popular lobster fishing destination for our survey respondents. Nearly 58% of all respondents who resided outside of the Keys and fished during either the Special Two-Day Sport Season or during the first month of the regular season traveled to the Keys. One hundred percent of our survey respondents who resided in the Keys and fished for lobster stayed in the Keys to do so.

Visit our Website
Additional information about Caribbean spiny lobster can be found at the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission’s website at http://research.MyFWC.com.

Again, thank you for participating in our mail survey. This past year marks the eighteenth consecutive season we have conducted surveys of recreational lobster fishers.
Florida’s spiny lobster fishery is one of the most valuable in the state. The information that you and other survey respondents have provided has been invaluable in helping us to understand and effectively manage this valuable fishery.

Kerry E. Maxwell
Marine Research Associate
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Fish & Wildlife Research Institute
2796 Overseas Highway, Suite 119
Marathon, FL 33050
(305) 289-2330
spinylobster@myFWC.com

Giant Islamorada Lobster “Betsey” May Return Soon

Keys — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:38:38 +0000

Big Betsey, once deemed the second-most photographed icon in the Florida Keys by Eastman Kodak, behind only the Southernmost Point, could soon migrate back into public view. Betsey, better known simply as The Giant Lobster of Islamorada, has been absent for months from her longtime post outside the former Treasure Village on Plantation Key. “We’re working on it,” Mia Berry said of plans for the re-emergence of the family-owned fiberglass sculpture.

With its former home having been transformed into a school, the lobster has been hidden away in a storage yard off the Overseas Highway. Within the next few weeks, however, the giant crustacean, 30 feet tall by 40 feet long, will re-emerge, luring passersby to the Rain Barrel Artisan Village on Plantation Key.

Rain Barrel Gallery LLC and Big Betsy owners Dennis and Mia Berry finalized a 10-year lease with a purchase option on Monday, Dennis Berry and Rain Barrel co-owner Mike Forster said. They did not disclose terms of the deal.

“We are doing this because we feel in this economy we need to generate more trips to the Rain Barrel for our tenants,” Forster said. “We figured that the lobster was a great draw. It always has been a great draw. It was a great draw at Treasure Village and it will be at the Rain Barrel.” The statue, 40 feet long and 30 feet high, is a detailed, biologically accurate depiction of a female spiny lobster. Betsey has appeared on television shows and in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. A Web site on roadside attractions declares it the largest non-inflatable crustacean statue in America.

In the 1980s, sculptor Richard Blaze spent five years assembling and painting the giant lobster at his workspace on Coco Plum in Marathon. By the time he finished, the business that had commissioned the lobster was out of business. The lobster then was acquired by Treasure Village owner Tom Vellanti and his family to be used as a landmark for the shopping plaza near mile marker 87.

When Treasure Village became a charter school in 2006, Betsey needed a new home. The lobster was disassembled and removed from public view for refurbishment and possible sale. Plans to move it to an Upper Matecumbe Key business stalled. Betsey even showed up on the eBay auction site last year. No suitable bids were received; the lobster once had a list price of $400,000.

Keys Treasures Blog » Lobster

More Lobster Mobsters Sentenced to Prison

Related posts

Another Lobster Mobster Trial Begins

Related posts

Adios Lobster Casitas & Lobster Mobsters

Related posts

More Lower Keys Lobster Mobsters Arrested

Related posts

Are You Ready For The Spiny Lobster Sport (Mini) Season?

Related posts

Lobster-poaching ring leader gets 2.5 years in federal pen

Related posts

Lobster Season PSA

Related posts

Local Lobster Poacher Gets 10 Months in Prison

Related posts

FWC 2008 Lobster Report is In… Florida Keys Rules!

Related posts

Giant Islamorada Lobster “Betsey” May Return Soon

Related posts