President Of St. Pete Yacht Company Obstructed Coast Guard Investigation: DOJ

TAMPA, FL — Five years after two people died while swimming on a chartered yacht trip near St. Petersburg, the president of the company that owned the vessel was found guilty by a federal jury of obstructing the U.S. Coast Guard's investigation into their deaths.

Patrick Dines, 74, of St. Petersburg, was found guilty of endeavoring to obstruct a proceeding, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida announced Tuesday. Dines, the president of FYC Yachts in St. Petersburg, was indicted in March.

According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, an overcrowded FYC-chartered yacht set sail from Maximo Marina in St. Petersburg on March 14, 2017, and anchored in Pass-a-Grille Channel to allow passengers to swim.

Authorities said strong outgoing currents pulled swimmers away from the yacht, and two could not return to the boat. While other passengers assisted one swimmer, a crew member jumped into the water to help the second passenger. Authorities said the swimmer and the crew member were overcome by the current and swept out to sea.

Search and rescue efforts to find the victims were unsuccessful, authorities said.

When the yacht returned to Maximo Marina that night, Dines approached the remaining passengers and encouraged one to pretend to be a crew member to mislead Coast Guard investigators about the number of passengers onboard.

Dines also asked the remaining passengers to sign a charter contract to clear him of any responsibility for the incident.

According to authorities, the Coast Guard investigated reports a year earlier that claimed FYC Yachts was overcrowding charters in violation of federal boating safety laws. During the investigation, authorities said Dines assured officers the company was complying with the law.

Dines faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for March 1.