MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — Something smelled fishy, and authorities went to investigate.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said a top executive at a Miami-based seafood wholesaler pleaded guilty Tuesday to orchestrating a multi-year price-fixing conspiracy that federal prosecutors say cheated Florida fishermen out of fair wages and distorted the market for stone crab claws and spiny lobster.
Dennis Dopico, vice president of a seafood processing company, admitted in federal court to colluding with competitors between 2023 and 2025 to fix the prices paid to fishermen for their catch. The scheme, according to court documents, involved coordinated phone calls and text messages in which Dopico and others agreed to suppress competition and manipulate pricing throughout harvest seasons…