Quality Seafood manager sentenced to prison. Judge calls him ‘driving force’ in conspiracy

Quality Poultry & Seafood sales manager Todd Rosetti was the only defendant sentenced to prison for his role in a conspiracy to mislabel seafood, passing off foreign fish as fresh Gulf catches.

U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden on Wednesday sentenced Rosetti to eight months in prison, followed by 180 days under house arrest. Ozerden noted that he was constrained by an earlier agreement Rosetti reached with prosecutors that allowed him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mislabeling seafood rather than a felony conspiracy mislabeling charge. Guidelines allowed a maximum sentence of one year and a fine of up to $1,000.

“He was the ultimate authority in this scheme,” Ozerden noted. “He was the driving force.” Ozerden also pointed out that the scheme started by Quality defrauded up to 300 customers at their retail and wholesale business on Division Street in Biloxi. The judge said the scheme started as early as 1999. Charges documented seafood mislabeling began no later than December 2013 and ran until November 2019.

Mary Mahoney’s Old French House restaurant, a nationally known establishment in Biloxi, was in on the conspiracy but many other restaurants, casinos and retail customers were unaware they were paying premium prices for fish from India, Africa and other counties.

Mahoney’s and one of its co-owners, Anthony “Tony” Cvitanovich, were sentenced in November on felony charges of conspiracy to mislabel seafood. Cvitanovich will serve four months under house arrest.

“Although the subject matter is fish, this is financial fraud,”Jeremy Korzenik, senior trial attorney in the U.S. Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, told the judge as the Quality defendants were sentenced. “It’s a way of making money by deceiving others . . . The conduct was long-standing and extensive.”

Judge hands down sentences

Ozerden also sentenced Quality, which previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to mislabel seafood, and company business manager James Gunkel, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor mislabeling of seafood.

The sentences came back-to-back, with Quality owner Clell Rosetti rising first, as his company’s corporate representative, to hear the judge’s sentence against his company. Rosetti said he was sorry. He said that he and wife Linda are taking a more active role in running the company.

“My wife and I will see that this will never, ever happen again,” he told the judge. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Quality had earlier agreed as part of its plea to forfeit $1 million, with a $150,000 fine recommended.

In addition, Ozerden sentenced Quality to five years’ probation and upped the fine to a total of $500,000.

In addition to prison and house arrest, Rosetti must perform 100 hours of community service and serve one year on supervised release for his misdemeanor crime.

Business manager James Gunkel, who initially tried to stop the mislabeling but ultimately became a willing participant, was sentenced to one year under home detention, two years’ probation, 50 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine.

Ozerden told Gunkel that he had “been given a break today. I think you understand that.” Gunkel agreed that he had.

Gunkel’s attorney, Joe Sam Owen, said Gunkel fully cooperated with investigators.

“He was absolutely 100% truthful in all that he told,” Owen said. “I think under the circumstances, what the judge did was fair.”

Seafood misbranding case wraps

The sentencings wrap up a seafood misbranding case that stunned the Coast. Mahoney’s and Quality are two of Biloxi’s oldest and most recognizable businesses. The Rosetti family, then headed by Bruno Rosetti, opened Quality in 1951, according the company website.

Mary Mahoney, her husband Bob and brother Andrew Cvitanovich opened Mahoney’s in 1964. Today, it is run by their children, Bobby Mahoney and Anthony “Tony” Cvitanovich. Bobby Mahoney was not charged with a crime.

Mahoney’s and Cvitanovich were sentenced in November for their part in the conspiracy.

Between December 2013 and November 2019, the charges in the case say, Quality mislabeled 58,750 pounds, or more than 29 tons, of imported fish sold at Mahoney’s as more popular local seafood. Lake Victoria perch, triggerfish, tripletail and unicorn filefish were all used in place of snapper advertised in two dishes on Mahoney’s menu.

Quality was raided in September 2018, but continued to sell misbranded seafood for more than a year. The conspiracy ended when U.S. Food and Drug Administration agents raided Mahoney’s in November 2019. Martin T. Holloway, a special agent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, investigated the case.