Migitskiy Sank Boat, Lied to Coast Guard – Gets Time Served

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Vyacheslav S. Migitskiy, 34, a Ukrainian national residing in Rochester, NY, walked out of court a free man today after being sentenced to time served for deliberately sinking a boat on Lake Ontario and then compounding the offense by lying to federal investigators. U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. also ordered Migitskiy to pay $15,442 in restitution for the massive, unnecessary search and rescue operation his actions triggered.

The scheme unfolded on August 25, 2022, when Migitskiy towed a 25-foot Bayliner onto the lake with the clear intention of sending it to the bottom. He succeeded, but failed to report the sinking – a decision that immediately launched a full-scale panic. Civilian witnesses spotted the partially submerged vessel the following day and alerted the United States Coast Guard.

What followed was a wasteful and dangerous expenditure of resources. The Coast Guard, New York State Police, and other agencies mobilized surface vessels, aircraft, and even SCUBA teams, assuming – rightfully, but due to Migitskiy’s recklessness – that someone might be in distress. The Coast Guard alone racked up $14,194 in costs during the search, while the New York State Police spent another $1,248. All for a boat Migitskiy *intended* to sink.

The lies began when a Coast Guard Special Agent interviewed Migitskiy on October 4, 2022. He claimed he’d “donated” the boat to unnamed individuals, spinning a fabricated tale of how they removed the vessel from his property and what they supposedly did with its trailer. It was a clumsy attempt to cover his tracks, and it failed spectacularly.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who prosecuted the case, secured the conviction. The investigation was a collaborative effort, involving the Coast Guard Investigative Service (led by Special Agent-in-Charge Joshua Packer), the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff Todd Baxter), New York State Police (Major Miklos Szoczei III), Gates Police Department (Chief Robert Long), Rochester Fire Department (Chief Stefano Napolitano), Irondequoit Police Department (Chief Scott Peters), and the Greece Police Department (Chief Michael Wood).

While Migitskiy avoids further jail time, he’s still on the hook for the $15,442 restitution. This case serves as a stark reminder that intentionally creating a false emergency and then obstructing the investigation carries serious consequences – even if those consequences, in this instance, feel remarkably light given the scope of the wasted resources and potential danger.