August 28, 2024 — A Mississippi seafood distributor and two managers pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to mislabel seafood and commit wire fraud by marketing frozen imported fish as more expensive local species, federal authorities said.
Quality Poultry and Seafood Inc., the largest seafood wholesaler on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, agreed to forfeit $1 million and pay a $150,000 fine, the Justice Department said. The company’s sales manager Todd A. Rosetti and business manager James W. Gunkel, both of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, also pleaded guilty to misbranding seafood.
The developments Tuesday are the latest in a case tied to a well known Mississippi Gulf Coast restaurant, Mary Mahoney’s Old French House in Biloxi.
In May, the restaurant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to misbrand seafood and wire fraud. A co-owner/manager of Mary Mahoney’s, Anthony Charles Cvitanovich, also pleaded guilty to misbranding seafood.