Two West Springfield Men Sentenced For Lacey Act Crimes

BOSTON - Two West Springfield, Mass. men were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Springfield for dealing in live bait fish without the required state permits and health certifications.

Paul Zombik, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor to one year and one day in prison, two years of supervised release, and to pay a $50,000 fine to the Lacey Act Reward Fund. Michael Zombik, 70, was sentenced by Judge Ponsor to six months in prison, two years of supervised release, to pay a $50,000 fine to the Lacey Act Reward Fund. In November 2012, the Zombiks pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the federal Lacey Act by importing into Massachusetts and exporting from Massachusetts live fish without obtaining the required permits.

Between October 1, 2005, and February 25, 2009, Paul Zombik and his father, Michael Zombik, ran Michael's Wholesale Bait (MWB) in West Springfield. During that time, WMB purchased and sold in interstate commerce millions of dollars of live bait fish. Almost all of those transactions were without the necessary Massachusetts state permits and required health certifications. The Zombiks' failure to follow state regulations increased the likelihood that invasive diseases and organisms would be introduced into Massachusetts' waters and ecosystem.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Honora Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region; and Wayne F. MacCallum, Director of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, made the announcement today. The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement; the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife; the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs; the Massachusetts Environmental Police; and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Kevin O'Regan of Ortiz’s Springfield Office.