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.
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.
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.–
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.
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.
Sharks play a vital role in maintaining the health of marine ecosystems but their stocks are in serious trouble. More than one hundred million sharks are killed by fisheries every year. They are intentionally harvested for their fins, meat or liver oil, and they are incidentally caught as bycatch in fisheries targeting other species.
Sharks are highly migratory and regularly cross national boundaries. However, outside of Antarctica, there are no international limits on shark harvest. With increasing demand for shark fin soup, and little protection, sharks worldwide are at great risk.
Oceana is working in U.S. waters to protect and restore shark populations. Through our policy, science, legal and communications work, Oceana is pushing for true finning bans, species specific shark management and reduced shark bycatch, as well as decreasing the demand for shark products such as shark fin soup and cosmetic products containing squalene. The loss of sharks, many of which are top predators, will have devastating and unpredictable consequences for ocean ecosystems. Immediate action is needed to protect sharks.
Oceana is also working in other parts of the world to protect sharks. Check out what Oceana is doing in Europe and South America. Please visit http://oceana.org/scaredforsharks.
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.” Read more »
The Fourth Annual Florida Keys Seafood Festival, in Key West, presented by the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, celebrates the bounty of the sea on Jan. 17, 2009. The event, at Bayview Park on Virginia Street, is free and will feature seafood caught and cooked by local fishermen. Proceeds benefit the association and student scholarships for children of fishermen. For details, call 305-292-4501.
Groups hoping to show the governor a good day of fishing and the bad algae bloom threatening Florida Bay.
January 10, 2008 Tavernier FL -A coalition of leading angling and conservation organizations today formally invited Florida Governor Charlie Crist to come down to the Keys for a day of fishing and to witness firsthand a destructive algae bloom threatening the region’s recreational and commercial fishing industry.
This is the third consecutive year that a persistent blue-green algae bloom has compromised the health of Florida Bay with potentially disastrous consequences for the region’s fishing industry, including die-offs of fish, and the seagrass and invertebrates upon which they depend. Conservative estimates in October, 2007 placed the extent of the bloom at 300 square miles. Over the summer there were reports of the bloom at the reef line off Islamorada and Long Key, and as far south as Vaca Cut in Marathon. Read more »
The Keys celebrate the bounty of the sea — Florida lobster, yellowtail, sweet pink shrimp, grouper, stone crab claws and more — during the third annual Florida Keys Seafood Festival from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Jan. 19. The event, at Key West’s Bayview Park at Truman Avenue and Eisenhower Drive, features music and children’s activities as well as such specialties as conch chowder and conch fritters. All the seafood available for purchase will be prepared by fishermen and their families. Admission is free. Proceeds benefit the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association and scholarships for college-bound children of commercial fishermen. Call 800-527-8539.
