Dockside monitor charged with taking bribes in crab, falsifying catch records
CBC
A dockside monitor in Newfoundland is being accused of accepting crab as a bribe and falsifying documents to undercount the quantity of product being harvested.
Scott Fortune, 33, of St. David's has been charged with five criminal counts: two counts of fraud, one count of breach of trust by a public officer, and two related to forged or falsified documents.
The criminal charges were laid in October.
According to documents obtained by CBC News, Fortune is alleged to have accepted pans of crab from fishermen "to omit actual quantities of crab being harvested."
The alleged offences took place in Stephenville and Crabbes River, on Newfoundland's west coast, over a period of nearly 2½ years, between Jan. 1, 2021, and June 7 of this year.
In addition, three charges were filed in August against Fortune under the Fisheries Act.
Court filings allege that Fortune, while employed as a dockside monitor, made a false or misleading statement to a fishery officer around May 25, 2023, near Little Port Harmon and gave the fishery officer records that contained false or misleading information. Fortune is also accused of possessing snow crab that was caught in contravention of the Fisheries Act.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Fortune, who is being represented by a legal aid lawyer, is due in court in Stephenville on Nov. 20. CBC News left messages with Legal Aid N.L.'s Stephenville office but did not hear back before publication.
DFO also did not respond to requests for comment.
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