A legal dispute over the sale of fishing boats once owned by a disgraced former fishing magnate nicknamed “The Codfather” is headed to state court in
It’s the latest development in a waterfront saga that has dragged on for years in one of busiest fishing ports in the country.
Rafael was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in 2017 for dodging quotas and smuggling profits overseas. The result of the government's case against Rafael included forced divestiture of his assets and a permanent ban from commercial fishing.
Rafael complied, but a
But Rafael, who is on home confinement near the end of his sentence, maintains he did nothing wrong. His lawyer,
The case was slated for a pretrial hearing Monday that was postponed by snow, and it is awaiting a new date this month, Markey said.
“The Rafaels needed to defend themselves because they were being sued,” Markey said. “When you engage in litigation, all the facts are going to come out."
Rafael was once one of the most successful fish magnates in
The boats claimed to catch fish such as haddock or pollock when they had actually brought ashore species that are subject to stricter quotas. Rafael then smuggled proceeds from sales to
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