Posted by John M. on August 05, 2002 at 12:57:54:
Here's a story on the lobster poacher from the OC Register:
DFG takes aim at poachers
August 1, 2002
By DAVE STREGE
The Orange County Register
The evidence seems overwhelming, appearing to be an open-and-shut case, at least as far as the prime suspect is concerned.
"All the evidence suggests that he's a poacher with a capital `P,'" game warden Mike Norris said. "He stands for all that sportfishing isn't. He's taking something set aside for sportfishermen and taken it for his own monetary gain.
"It's insulting to everybody that buys a fishing license and tries to go by the rules."
Norris is talking about the case of two lobster poachers, but one in particular. The one who allegedly sold 1,194 lobsters at $10 to $20 apiece for a total of more than $18,000 - a big-time no-no for a recreational fisherman.
Now, the enforcement branch of the DFG waits to see if a court not used to trying fish-and-game violations will recognize its efforts and throw the book or give a slap on the wrist.
After three months of surveillance and sting operations involving 18 game wardens, the DFG arrested the two men in March, compiled a case against them in subsequent months and filed the case last week.
Next Thursday, Jon Michael Hand and Edward Gary Wolf, both of Downey, will be arraigned on misdemeanor charges at Los Cerritos Municipal Court in Bellflower.
Hand, the prime suspect, is charged with four counts of selling sport-caught lobster and three counts of unlawful possession of more than the legal limit of seven.
Wolf, an accomplice, is charged with two counts of selling sport-caught lobster and two counts of unlawful possession of an over-limit.
According to Norris, the evidence on Hand includes:
A chest freezer filled to capacity with 62 lobster tails and six packages of lobster legs, all vacuum packed.
A check for $175 for the purchase of lobster from John Halco of Indiana. He said he had gone out with Hand on an earlier dive and was instructed to buy a fishing license even though he didn't dive himself.
From Hand's computer, the DFG seized a photograph of Hand laying in front of an estimated 27 lobsters with a caption reading, "Don't kid yourself. ... it's a job!!"
Another photo showed Hand in his back yard holding an estimated 50-pound black sea bass (a protected species) with the caption reading, "I swear officer, I thought it was a white sea bass!!!"
At Hand's home, wardens found an envelope labeled "Jon's Lobster $'s." It contained $760 in cash and a note with numbers on it. Later, an anonymous informant said the numbers represented 1,194 sold lobsters.
On Hand's answering machine was a message from a buyer saying she wanted to come over and pick up the lobsters. The buyer was observed at the residence and 13 lobsters were later recovered from her home. She said she paid $200.
An unsent e-mail from Hand to Jane Hand reads in part, "I have to admit, it is convenient with you gone by being able to use your bed for the lobster in storage for the next days sales ... they seem more relaxed and comfortable when laying on your waterbed for a few days."
An address book was found with a list of people under the heading "Lobster Nurses," several of whom were interviewed.
Most of the lobsters were taken off Marina del Rey in an area reserved for recreational sportfishers, Norris said. Hand allegedly sold the lobsters to co-workers at a local hospital.
The investigation is complete and the ball is in the district attorney's court.
"We haven't necessarily seen substantial fines and penalties out of L.A. County in recent years," Patrol Lt. Marty Maytorena said. "I don't know that the current D.A. (Steve Cooley) has been presented with Fish and Game cases of this magnitude since he's been in office. It'll be a test of the current D.A."
Incidentally, Hand had two previous citations. Two times in three days in 1998, he was cited for undersized lobsters at Dana Point, Maytorena said.
When contacted Wednesday, Hand indicated there is another side to the story but said he couldn't discuss it.
He did say the DFG is "trying to make an Osama bin Laden-lobster connection here," adding, "There are axe murderers and murderers out there, and I'm not one of them."
Asked about the allegation of 1,194 poached lobsters, he replied, "The limit is seven per night and there are 180 nights" to a season.
Wolf could not be reached for comment, but he told the Los Angeles Times in March that he was innocent of the over-limit charges, adding, "I don't know anything about selling them. I went diving with the guy, and that's it."