‘Codfather’s’ Plea Hearing in Federal Court Delayed

BOSTON - New Bedford fishing magnate Carlos Rafael's plea hearing has been postponed.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts says "The Codfather's" next scheduled court appearance is March 30 at U.S. District Court in Boston. Rafael was originally scheduled to appear on March 20. The U.S. Attorney's Office did not provide the reason for the scheduling change.

Rafael has agreed to plead guilty to evading fishing quotas and smuggling profits to Portugal. That includes one count of conspiracy, one count of bulk cash smuggling, and 25 counts of lying to federal fishing regulators.

Rafael is accused of falsely reporting the species and amounts of fish his boats were catching to sidestep catch limits set by fishing regulators.