April 3, 2017 — Carlos Rafael’s journey to Judge William Young’s Courtroom 18 in U.S. District Court began as an underage teenage fish cutter on the city’s docks.
Rafael personified the American Dream in climbing the economic ladder from immigrant with nothing to becoming the face of fishing in a port historically known for its harvest of the Atlantic Ocean.
On Thursday he wore the cloak of a criminal after he pleaded guilty to nearly 30 federal charges that included conspiracy, falsifying fishing quotas, false labeling and tax evasion.
It wasn’t necessarily a new look for the 65-year-old Rafael, who served six months in federal prison in 1988, but his focus after the plea agreement turned to the port that in many ways assembled the man who sat emotionless in the courtroom.
“I have a single goal,” Rafael said in a statement after his guilty plea. “To protect our employees and all of the people and businesses who rely on our companies from the consequences of my actions. I will do everything I can to make sure that the Port of New Bedford remains America’s leading fishing port.”
The Port of New Bedford generates $9.8 billion in total economic value, according to the city’s Harbor Development Commission. It represents 2 percent of Massachusetts’ gross domestic product. The stalwart of this industry could be facing more than six years of prison time after pleading guilty.
Rafael’s guilty plea puts his groundfish fishing vessels in jeopardy due to the possibility of forfeiting assets as part of the plea deal. According to the mayor’s office, Rafael owns about 80 percent of the groundfish permits in New Bedford. Groundfish accounts for about 10 percent of the port’s revenue. Even still, those close to the port say no one person can affect the reputation of the nation’s most successful port.