Thursday, March 26, 2009

A Cudjoe Key couple accused of spearheading the Florida Keys' largest lobster poaching operation are due in a Miami court today, ostensibly to hammer out a plea agreement.

An agreement between federal prosecutors and David and Denise Dreifort, alleged masterminds of Operation Freezer Burn, fell apart Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald said. If an agreement is not reached today, the Dreiforts are scheduled to appear in court Monday to schedule a trial date, he said.

Key West charter boat captain Mike Delph, who also was indicted, is due in court Monday to set a trial date.

Meanwhile, three other crew members are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty.

Robert Hammer, 45, a Key West charter captain, and Sean Reyngoudt, 25, a Summerland Key semi-pro kiteboarder, are free on bond and set to be sentenced June 1. They each pleaded guilty Friday to one charge of conspiracy to illegally harvest lobster.

Each faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and as much as $250,000 in fines, but their plea agreement calls for the state to recommend they be sentenced below the maximum range, according to court documents.

Hammer admitted participating in the illegal harvest of more than 1,000 lobsters worth more than $59,000, according to court records. Reyngoudt admitted to being paid in cash for helping Dreifort harvest illegal lobsters in protected waters.

John R. Niles, 50, of LaBelle, is to be sentenced on April 2. He pleaded guilty in August to one count of conspiracy to illegally harvest as many as 1,200 lobster from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Niles admitted playing a smaller part in the alleged lobster collection ring, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors allege the operation was led by 41-year-old David Dreifort. Hammer allegedly told an undercover agent that Dreifort was the largest harvester of illegal lobster habitat in the Keys, earning enough to buy his Lookdown Lane home, a federal arrest warrant states.

Hammer allegedly admitted he and Dreifort illegally harvested 1,000 pounds of lobster out of season from the Dry Tortugas, according to Dave Blackburn, a fisheries officer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who was working undercover.

Hammer allegedly told Blackburn that Dreifort had placed "thousands" of illegal habitats, called lobster condos or casitas, in Keys waters over the past 20 years.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers found 41 plastic bags filled with lobster tails, totaling 650 pounds and worth between $15 and $20 a pound, according to Blackburn.

Video surveillance that agents taped one night near the Dreiforts' home allegedly showed Dreifort placing nine bags of lobster tails, weighing 140 pounds and worth $2,500, into a freezer at his home.

Agents later dived Dreifort's eight sites, all within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary boundaries, and found illegal casitas and discarded lobster bodies there, they said.

Federal agents confiscated three boats -- a 28-foot Whitewater, 21-foot Wahoo and 18-foot Action Craft -- as well as a 2004 Ford Excursion, 2003 Chevrolet Suburban and 2002 Ford pickup truck.

Prosecutors said they may ask the court to order the Dreiforts to forfeit some of their property.

alinhardt@keysnews.com