GLOUCESTER, Mass – 6 March 2012 – The chief judge of the court system for NOAA Fisheries pleaded unsuccessfully with special investigator Charles B. Swartwood III last November to retract his written finding of "at least the appearance" of a judicial conflict of interest in the case against a fisherman, notes of the secret meeting show.
Taken by Swartwood's assistant Tony K. Lu, the notes were obtained by the Times from the Commerce Department via the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
After reviewing the notes of the meeting, Congressmen John Tierney and Barney Frank said Tuesday they would refer the matter to Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser, whose 2010 investigation uncovered widespread abuse of authority at the expense of the fishing industry. His probe was the foundation of Swartwood's more detailed casework.
"I am deeply concerned about these latest accusations," said Sen. Scott Brown. "The Special Master is supposed to be an unbiased and objective investigator and any attempts to influence him are wrong."
"This is an outrageous example of defiance," Congressman Frank said Tuesday. "The meeting with Swartwood is a caricature of law enforcement. There are laws against witness intimidation. This episode removes the last vestige of doubt that fishermen face one of the most unfair and corrupt law enforcement systems in America."
"Assertions that the Coast Guard Administrative Law Judges lobbied Special Master Smartwood in an attempt to convince him to make public statements on their behalf raises serious concerns of appropriateness," added Tierney. "The fishing community deserves to know more about the circumstances of this meeting."
Read the complete story in the Gloucester Times