Senator to demand that funds from sales be used to help Northeastern fishermen who were excessively fined.
The Senator's New York office issued the following;
In Wake of Bombshell Report That NOAA Misused Forfeiture Funds:
SCHUMER CALLS FOR NOAA TO IMMEDIATELY SELL UNAUTHORIZED BOATS, CARS AND OTHER ASSETS AND USE PROCEEDS TO HELP FUND NORTHEASTERN FISHERMEN WHO WERE EXCESSIVELY FINED AND WHOSE FISHING SEASONS WERE SHORTED
Audit of Federal Fisheries Shows Fines in Northeast Region Substantially Higher Than Elsewhere; Forfeiture Funds Were Used for Unauthorized Purchases Such as Cars, Boats, and International Travel
Schumer Demands NOAA Sell Unauthorized Assets, Return Proceeds to Fund, and Return Arbitrary and Excessive Fines to Fishermen Who Committed No Wrong Doing or Were Excessively Fined
Schumer: NOAA Already Goes Overboard and Makes It Hard for Fishermen to Make a Livelihood; Funds Could be Used to Help Them Through Hard Times Until Fishing Stocks are Replenished
TOMORROW, MONDAY, JULY 12 AT 2:00PM, United States Senator Charles E. Schumer will call on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to immediately begin selling off unauthorized purchases it made with forfeiture money and return the proceeds to the fund and fishermen who committed no wrong doing or were excessively fined. A bombshell report issued by the Commerce Department Inspector General's office revealed that over the course of the last four years, forfeiture funds, obtained through fines levied against fishermen and through selling seized property, were used against regulation to purchase vehicles, boats, and international travel for employees of the Northeast Region of the Marine Fisheries Agency. The Inspector General's report stated that regional offices of the Marine Fisheries Agency were acting autonomously and fines for the Northeast Region were way out of line with those levied in other regions throughout the country.
DATE: TOMORROW, MONDAY, July 12th
TIME: 2:00PM
PLACE: Town of North Hempstead: Town Dock 347 Main Street, Port Washington, NY 11050-2705