Long Island Seafood Marketer Sentenced for Illegally Selling Over $100G in Fish, Shellfish

A Westbury seafood marketer was sentenced to pay $100,000 for trafficking shellfish without the proper permits and licesnes, Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced Wednesday.

Richard Scores, Jr., 57, of Commack, illegally sold more than $100,000 in fresh fish and shellfish to Long Island restaurants through his company Westbury Fish Co., authorities said.

Scores reportedly sold shellfish to restaurants in Garden City, Carle Place, Port Washington, New Hyde Park and Westbury, as well as in Commack in Suffolk County.

He was arrested in February for the illegal actions that occurred from January 2014 to February 2015.

Scores and Westbury Fish Co. pleaded guilty to one count each of Failure to Possess Shellfish Shipper’s and Processor’s Permit/Illegal Commercialization of Fish, Shellfish Crustacea and Wildlife as a misdemeanor and to one count each of Trafficking in Marine Food Fish and Crustacea for resale to other than the final consumer without a valid Food Fish and Crustacea Dealer and Shipper License/Illegal Commercialization of Fish, Shellfish Crustacea and Wildlife as a misdemeanor.

Scores must pay the $100,000 fine within the next two and a half years. Additionally, Scores and Westbury Fish Co. were ordered to no longer sell, trade, deal, process, transport and/or ship shellfish and are forbidden from conducting any business involving shellfish under another name, company name, corporate name or permit of another.

Consumer safety is paramount in Nassau County, Singas said. “When a consumer goes to a restaurant they should not have to worry if the fish they are eating is unsafe,” she said.

Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Marc Gerstman said it is imperative that the shellfish industry complies with the law to protect public health and to maintain consumer confidence in the shellfish industry.

No incidents of food-borne illness from fresh fish or shellfish transported and sold by Westbury Fish Co. have been reported, the DA’s office said.