July 6, 2014 — Joseph Murray says his friend made a terrible mistake, but not one so bad he should lose his license to sell seafood.
Murray's friend is Joseph Vaudo, owner of Joe's Lobster Mart in Sandwich. Vaudo, 63, pleaded guilty in March to receiving stolen oysters in the market located next to the Cape Cod Canal, willfully misleading police during an investigation and failure or refusal to file required statistical reports of wholesale and retail dealers.
"Joe didn't kill anyone," Murray said. "He's a wreck. His blood pressure is off the charts. They're going to lose an icon."
Tuesday is the deadline for lawyers for the state Department of Public Health to file a motion for summary disposition with the state Division of Administrative Law Appeals. Vaudo appealed to the state agency when health officials filed notice they intended to revoke his license to sell seafood.
If the state files the motion, Vaudo's attorney has 20 days to respond. A magistrate will then decide if the state has made its case or if there are any disputed facts that need to go to a hearing, complete with witnesses, scheduled for Sept. 4.
For now, Vaudo's fish market, located on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property along the Cape Cod Canal, remains open for business.
A spokesman for the Corps said the agency would have no comment on its internal review of the fish market, which has been in business for 43 years.
Vaudo has a powerful voice behind his appeal: the man whose office prosecuted him has written a letter at the request of Vaudo's attorney, John Kiernan.
Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times