When is Fishing a Crime?
“If I got the means to do it, I will do it,” Phillip said. “Even if you are breaking the law?” asked his lawyer, James Davis Jr. “Well, if it comes down to feeding my family, yes,” Phillip answered. A radio report from KYUK in Bethel made me pull over the Subaru this week. I was listening to the story of Bethel fishermen being prosecuted by the state of Alaska for subsistence fishing during a state-ordered closure. This was Les Misérables, Alaskanized. Last summer these Native fishermen defied a fishery closure to catch salmon to feed their families. The…
Oyster Roundup – “Freedom,” “Shame,” and Crimes of the Sea
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Here are five on the half shell. Links in the titles. Slurp! Doing Time for Fishy Crimes Arne Fuglvog, the corrupt fisheries aide of Lisa Murkowski will be serving jail time for fish crimes. He called his transgressions a “grand misjudgment.” Yes. Quite grand indeed. Back when he was charged, and confessed, his boss Lisa Murkowski reminded us that despite his confession, he was still innocent until proven guilty. He confessed to overfishing, falsifying reports, and selling his ill-gotten aquatic gains for almost a million dollars over…
Fuglvog Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Fish Records – Heads for Canada
For background on this story, read The Mudflats’ previous post HERE. What better way to spend a sunny summer morning in Anchorage, than to attend a nice arraignment in the Federal Courthouse. Today’s defendant is the man who is quickly becoming known as Alaska’s most infamous fish crook – Senator Lisa Murkowski’s top fisheries adviser, Arne Fuglvog. There were about a dozen observers in the courtroom, mostly media, and Fishermen’s News Magazine was hooked up via telephone. No electronics are permitted in the court room, so you’ll have to rely on the drama and accuracy of my courtroom sketch. I think…
Something’s Fishy in Senator Murkowski’s Office
In the light of Anthony Weiner resigning over a personal problem affecting his professional life, it would seem that someone actually guilty of a professional misdeed affecting her professional life might be called to account. If Mark Begich had been faced with the situation Lisa Murkowski was faced with this week, we’d likely hear the monkeys howling for his resignation. It’s not uncommon for me to get an email or phone call from someone punctuated with “Have I got a story for you!” December 2008 was no different. I was resting up after a particularly busy and historic election year….