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BAIT NETS 2 IN ABALONE STING PETALUMA LOT
TRANSACTION SITE
Published on July 15, 1996
© 1996- The
Press Democrat
BYLINE: Tom
Chorneau
Staff Writer
PAGE: B1
Using top-quality North Bay abalone as bait, state
game officials closed a monthlong sting operation Sunday,
arresting the owners of a San Francisco fish market for
illegally purchasing the mollusk.
The suspects could face fines of up to $40,000 and the
forfeiture of a $50,000 automobile.
Arrested was 57-year-old May Chang, owner of the S.F. Hong
Kong Market on Grant Street. She was taken into custody in the
parking lot of the Petaluma Marina after after authorities
said she gave $480 to an undercover game warden for 40 pounds
of illegal abalone.
California Fish and Game wardens also took Chang's
brother, Raymond, into custody after raiding the San Francisco
store following Chang's arrest in Petaluma.
Both were booked into the Sonoma County Jail on
suspicion of felony conspiracy to violate state game laws, but
Deputy District Attorney Brooke Halsey Jr. said no
determination has been made about what charges will ultimately
be brought against them.
The arrest is the second major enforcement action by
state and local officials within the past month aimed at
protecting the abalone found along the Sonoma County
coast.
``Abalone is a priority for the department,''
said Capt. Mike Wade of Fish and Game. ``And that means that
we will use whatever means necessary to enforce our laws,
either by checkpoints along the coast or with undercover
operations.''
The Chang case began just one month ago, when officials
working in conjunction with the Sonoma County District
Attorney's Office targeted the San Francisco market, which
appeared to be active in the abalone black market.
Acting on an informant's tip, Game Warden Dave Bezzone
said he went undercover, posing as a North Bay sport diver,
and sold small quantities of illegal abalone to Chang
in June and earlier this month.
Then, just a few days ago, he said, he received a call
from Chang saying she needed as much as 100 pounds of
abalone.
Using previously confiscated shellfish, Bezzone
arranged for Chang to meet him at the marina Sunday. After the
deal was consummated, two other game wardens and Halsey moved
in to make the arrest.
Bezzone said Chang knew the abalone were taken
from the Sonoma coast, an area where commercial abalone
operations is prohibited, and several of the abalone
she purchased were undersized and many were already out of the
shell. He said both are misdemeanor violations.
Most importantly, however, Bezzone said that because
Chang is registered with the state to sell and receive fish,
she is required to know all the laws governing commercial fish
sales and nonetheless she allegedly broke them.
``She knows the rules,'' said Wade. ``We don't go after
someone that might not understand what is going on here.
There's no question in our minds that she knew what chances
she was taking here.''
Bezzone said that the likely mark-up for the
abalone in San Francisco could be as much as 100
percent.
``Demand is that high,'' he said. ``When I came in with
the first box of abalone back in June, I had some of
the workers in her fish market trying to buy them off me.
Abalone is a delicacy, and abalone from the
North Bay is the top of the line.''
Because state law allows Fish and Game officials to
seize any equipment used in illegal activities, Wade said
Chang's new Mercedes could be seized by the government because
she drove it to the Petaluma transaction site. The car was
valued by one San Francisco dealer at about $50,000.
PHOTO: 3 color by Mark Aronoff/Press Democrat
1:
Mike Wade of the Department of Fish and Game watches an
abalone transaction Sunday in a parking lot at Petaluma
Marina. Two suspects from San Francisco were arrested.
2: Deputy District Attorney Brooke Halsey Jr., left,
and Mike Wade of Fish and Game talk to Mary Chang on Sunday
about illegal abalone purchases.
3: Mike Wade prepares to take photographs of an ice
chest filled with abalone.
Infobox: This
article also appeared on the Press Democrat Home page
(http://www.pressdemo.com).
Keywords: FISHING CRIME
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