FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Long Island Companies and Owners Charged With Falsely Labeling Squid as Octopus
A federal grand jury indicted two Long Island corporations and their owners for their scheme to falsely label seafood that was later sold across the country. The indictment accuses Roy Tuccillo Sr., 58, and his son, Roy Tuccillo Jr., 31, both of Jericho, and two of their Westbury food processing and distribution companies, Anchor Frozen Foods Inc., and Advanced Frozen Foods Inc., of importing giant squid from Peru and marketing and selling it to grocery stores as octopus. The four defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and violate the Lacey Act, as well as four substantive Lacey Act violations.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Director James Landon of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) announced the indictment today.
“NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is dedicated to enforcing federal marine resource laws, including the Lacey Act and its provisions on mislabeling,” said James Landon, OLE’s Director. “This investigation is a great example of how we collaboratively work with other federal partners, such as the Food and Drug Administration, to combat seafood fraud.”
Octopus and squid are distinct species of fish with great variance in their taxonomy, habitat, and physical characteristics. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration permits that food companies selling squid market it by its name or as calamari, while octopus is the only acceptable name when selling octopus. In general, octopus has a greater retail price than squid. The indictment alleges that for over three years the defendants fraudulently imported, processed, marketed, sold, and distributed over 113,000 pounds of octopus that was actually squid.
The Lacey Act prohibits submitting false descriptions of fish that were transported and sold in interstate commerce. The defendants are charged with four counts of defrauding grocery stores in New Jersey and Massachusetts.
This case was investigated by the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement with assistance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ryan Connors and Senior Trial Attorney David Kehoe of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Business Owners Sentenced For Stealing $120K From Workers
The men failed to adequately pay workers at their Long Island food-processing plant for five years.
By Paige McAtee, Patch Staff
May 23, 2018
Westbury meat-processing facility owners were sentenced on Tuesday for their involvement in to failing to properly pay workers and falsifying payroll records to conceal up to $120,555 in wage theft, according to the New York Attorney General's Office.
Roy S. Tuccillo Sr. who owned and operated Diversified Processors, Inc. and Processors Inc., located at 32 Urban Ave., alongside Roy Tuccillo Jr. failed to adequately pay workers overtime and minimum wages from 2012 to 2017.
Roy Tuccillo Sr., was sentenced to three years of felony probation, the restitution payment of $120,555 and an additional $500 fine.. Roy Tuccillo Jr., Diversified Processors, Inc., and Processors, Inc., were each sentenced to conditional discharges and a $500 fine.
An Attorney General's investigation revealed the men exploited workers in several ways:
Telling workers that they would be paid only for their first 40 hours of work per week, even though they often worked 60 or more hours.
Failing to maintain workers' compensation insurance despite the many work hazards and history of workers injuries at the facility. The Worker's Compensation Board issued a Stop-Work order in 2016 because the facility did not have worker's compensation insurance.
Failing to retain the time cards that workers used to punch in and out, and then deliberately falsifying those workers' hours by using several different payroll provider companies.
"Workers are entitled to a fair day's pay for a fair day's work," Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in a press release.
Roy S. Tuccillo Sr., Diversified Processors, Inc., and Processors Inc., pleaded guilty on March 27 to fourth-degree grand larceny and failure to pay wages. Roy Tuccillo Jr. also pleaded guilty on March 27 to failure to pay wages for his involvement.