A Westbury-based food distributor has been ordered to pay $100,000 for providing shellfish to various Long Island restaurants without having the required permits, county prosecutors said.
Westbury Fish Co. and its owner, Richard Scores, 57, of Commack, were found to have illegally sold shellfish to undisclosed eateries in Commack, Carle Place, Garden City, Port Washington, New Hyde Park and Westbury between January 2014 and February 2015, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.
Through their attorney, Edward McCabe of Bohemia, Scores and the company pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts related to the illegal commercialization of shellfish crustacea and wildlife, including the failure to possess permits and licenses.
McCabe could not immediately be reached for comment.
Scores was arrested in February following an investigation by the DA’s office and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which denied a permit request to Westbury Fish Co. in 2014 after an inspection of its facilities did not meet the agency’s health requirements.
“Consumer safety is paramount in Nassau County and it’s our job to make sure that everyone — including food wholesalers — is following the law,” Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement. “When a consumer goes to a restaurant they should not have to worry if the fish they are eating is unsafe.”
In addition to the fine — calculated based on the amount of shellfish the company sold during that period — Westbury Fish Co. was ordered to hire an engineer or engineering firm to conduct monthly inspections.
Westbury Fish Co. has also been barred from seeking permits to sell shellfish until 2018 and after the $100,000 fine has been paid.
The company has been given two-and-a-half years to pay the fine.
“Compliance with the law with regard to the sanitary requirements of our shellfish industry is imperative to protect public health and also to maintain consumer confidence in our important shellfish industry,” said Marc Gerstman, acting commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, who added the investigation “reflects the DEC’s commitment to assure compliance with the law and to deter unlawful trafficking of unregulated shellfish.”
