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Miami Man Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison for Obstruction of Justice and False Statements
Alejandro Gonzalez, a 60-year-old Miami-based ship surveyor, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for lying to the Coast Guard and falsifying documents to certify ships safe for sea.
On May 24, 2012, a federal jury found Gonzalez guilty of obstruction of justice and making false statements to a Coast Guard inspector and a federal agent about the drydocking of the M/V Cala Galdana, a 68-meter cargo vessel, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in April 2009 and December 2009.
Gonzalez concocted a false story about the vessel being drydocked in Colombia in 2006 when he knew it was not. He repeatedly claimed the vessel had been drydocked in Cartegena, Colombia, in March of 2006, while evidence at the trial proved conclusively that the vessel was never in Colombia during 2006.
Gonzalez was also convicted of falsifying documents for the M/V Cosette, a 92-meter cargo vessel. As the surveyor on behalf of Bolivia, Gonzalez certified the ship as safe for sea while the vessel was docked in Fort Pierce, Florida, in November 2009. When the vessel shortly thereafter arrived in New York City harbor, Coast Guard inspectors discovered exhaust and fuel pouring into the engine room, endangering the crew and the ship.
“Mr. Gonzalez is being held accountable today for making false statements and certifications to Coast Guard inspectors whose job it is to ensure the safety of ships at sea,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Ship surveyors serve a crucial public safety role, and when they abdicate their responsibility they put mariners in danger and our nation’s waters at risk of contamination. Mr. Gonzalez’s prosecution should send a message that we will not tolerate this type of egregious behavior.”
Gonzalez was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to 21 months in prison. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime Raich and Trial Attorney Kenneth Nelson, of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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