Pollack Solomon Duffy LLP Announces Acquittal of Client on Federal Environmental Charges

BOSTON, July 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A 12-person federal jury acquitted a federally permitted Bluefin tuna dealer, North Atlantic Traders of Lynn, MA, and its principal Robert Kliss of Marblehead, MA, on all charges before United States District Judge William G. Young. The jury reached its not guilty verdict on all five counts in about an hour of deliberation.  Charges included smuggling, falsifying records and conspiracy, brought after a four-and-a-half year investigation by the Department of Justice and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

The case involved the landing of Bluefin tuna in December 2012 that had allegedly been caught by a longliner, the FV Hannah Boden (of fame from the book and movie, The Perfect Storm), after the quota for longliners had closed for the season.  NOAA enrolled two witnesses in a Confidential Informant program and reduced possible charges against several witnesses to misdemeanors in exchange for testimony.  At trial, witnesses acknowledged being pressured by government agents and attorneys to implicate North Atlantic Traders and its principal, including by the lead case agent running his first criminal investigation.  One of the federal agents had to admit in testimony that, when they brought charges, he and DOJ attorneys had not realized that Kliss had been 2600 miles away in British Columbia on dates he supposedly made false records in Massachusetts.  Character witnesses supported Kliss's longstanding compliance efforts and support for sustainable fishing.  

Stephen Ouellette of Gloucester, Massachusetts, attorney for North Atlantic Traders, said "the acquittal reflected decades of regulatory compliance by North Atlantic Traders and its dedication to a sustainable fishery."

Barry Pollack of Pollack Solomon Duffy LLP in Boston, Kliss's attorney, stated, "the jury could see how federal agents pressured witnesses to make exaggerated statements and engaged in other misconduct."  

During the trial, the government attempted to introduce testimony from a witness that was directly inconsistent with statements made by both the witness and the government in federal court proceedings in New York.  Pollack filed a motion during trial to block the government from taking inconsistent positions, which Judge Young granted.  

Pollack added, "based on the way the evidence came in, if the jury had the opportunity, I think it would have found the government guilty of serious misconduct for bringing such frivolous charges."  

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SOURCE Pollack Solomon Duffy LLP