August 4, 2015 — After Labor Day, as the weather cools off, a lawsuit against the state filed by local fishing industry tycoon Carlos Rafael will begin heating up in Bristol Superior Court, his attorney predicts.
Rafael retained attorney John Markey Jr. to sue the Division of Marine Fisheries in December over the agency head’s decision to cap the monetary award Rafael is entitled to in the disaster relief program created by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Congress early in 2014
A motion to dismiss the suit was filed by the state on Monday; Markey said he will oppose it.
The suit contends that Paul Diodati, then-director of the state Division of Marine Fisheries, exceeded his authority by deciding behind closed doors that much of Rafael’s relief money would be better diverted to another part of the relief program.