PALMETTO, FL — A 37-year-old Palmetto man has pleaded guilty to federal charges after dumping the body of a person who allegedly overdosed while the two were using drugs together into the ocean, according to federal prosecutors.
Matthew Edward Zoladz pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act and one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
Zoladz faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 20.
According to court documents, he and the victim, identified only as Victim 1, were using drugs together on or about Dec. 7, 2022, when the victim overdosed and died.
Zoladz then drove around with the victim's unconscious or deceased body in the front passenger seat of his vehicle and recorded a video of the victim, prosecutors said.
The following day, Zoladz was scheduled to work as a deckhand aboard a vessel. Before the ship departed, he wrapped the victim's body in a plastic trash bag and loaded it onto the vessel.
Later that evening, while the ship was at sea, he threw the bag containing the body into ocean waters, the U.S. DOJ said.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abigail K. King and E. Jackson Boggs Jr. are prosecuting the case.
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