Belle Chasse Man Pleads Guilty to Misuse of a Mariner License

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that WILLIE ENGLISH, age 41, of Belle Chasse, pled guilty today to one-count Indictment, charging him with misuse of a federal license.

According to the court record, in November 2008, ENGLISH used a fake U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner’s License purporting to be a Master of vessels not more than 100 gross tons, to maintain employment as a vessel captain at Bud’s Boat Rental in Belle Chase, Louisiana.  ENGLISH admitted he made the license while he was a deckhand onboard another vessel for another employer.

ENGLISH faces not more than five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon set sentencing for May 14, 2015.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Coast Guard Investigative Service in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Greenfield is in charge of the prosecution.