RAFAEL

Carlos Rafael, New Bedford's most prominent fisherman, is scheduled to be sentenced this week in federal court in Boston.

NEW BEDFORD - New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell says organizations bent on shutting down the fishing industry in the United States have expressed interest in Carlos Rafael's soon-to-be forfeited fishing permits. Rafael was found guilty this year of falsifying catch records in order to evade federal regulations...

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) - A leading U.S. fishing magnate known as "The Codfather" is scheduled to plead guilty to federal charges of evading fishing quotas and smuggling money to Portugal. The U.S. attorney's office says Carlos Rafael has a change of plea hearing scheduled for Thursday...

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...

NEW BEDFORD - Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson says it's "upsetting" that one of his deputies is facing federal charges in connection to the Carlos Rafael case. Deputy Sheriff Antonio Freitas is accused of helping the New Bedford fishing mogul smuggle large sums of cash through Logan International Airport so Rafael could deposit the money in an account in Portugal...

NEW BEDFORD - A New Bedford fishing magnate and a Bristol County Sheriff's Deputy will be tried separately in court next year. According to The Gloucester Times, lawyers for Carlos Rafael and Deputy Antonio Freitas filed separate motions in November to sever their cases from each other, allowing each of them to have their own trial...

Federal prosecutors are looking to dismiss charges against the bookkeeper of fishing magnate Carlos Rafael. In a motion filed today in U.S. District Court in Boston, prosecutors are seeking to drop charges against Debra Messier, who was arrested in February along with Rafael for lying to federal authorities about what species and the amount of fish Rafael's boats were catching in order to avoid fe