Local Rockfish Poacher Sent to Prison

[Spot77]

It's from last month....Am I the only one that missed this?





"William J. Lednum, 41, of Tilghman Island, Maryland, was sentenced Dec. 17, 2014 in federal court in Baltimore to a year and day in prison, respectively followed by six months of home detention as part of three years of supervised release, for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and to defraud the United States through their illegal harvesting and sale of 185,925 pounds of striped bass. Lednum was also ordered to pay $498,293.40 in restitution to the State of Maryland for the damage caused to the Striped Bass fishery. In addition, Judge Bennett ordered Lednum to pay a fine of $40,000."

Read the entire article here:

http://www.the-chesapeake.com/2015/0...ockfish-heist/

[Chessie27]

They covered it extensively on tidalflush. A step in the right direction towards "crime doesn't pay" but he can't possibly live long enough to pay back everything. Still should open a few eyes and make people think twice hopefully. Kudos to the Judge for stepping up!!

[Spot77]

To put it in perspective.....that's 10,000 18.5 pound fish.

or 18,500 10 pound fish.

or 23,125 8 pound fish.

[Skip]

FWIW: When the judge gave him a year and one day - basically the judge was saying - F&@K YOU.

If sentenced to a year or less - he could have served time in county detention center. By adding just the one day - he must now serve time in a prison. Totally different environment and not the best place to be a redneck

IMHO - the fine payment schedule should be upped around $2,500.00 a month.
Trust me - that guy made big money off those fish , cash money. It is hidden somewhere.

[reds]

Originally Posted by Skip

FWIW: When the judge gave him a year and one day - basically the judge was saying - F&@K YOU.

If sentenced to a year or less - he could have served time in county detention center. By adding just the one day - he must now serve time in a prison. Totally different environment and not the best place to be a redneck

IMHO - the fine payment schedule should be upped around $2,500.00 a month.
Trust me - that guy made big money off those fish , cash money. It is hidden somewhere.

He was sentenced by a federal judge for committing a federal crime. State jails don't enter into the equation. The year and a day has something to do with parole for good behavior.

[Skip]

My mistake. Guess judge really cut him some slack.


A year and a day is a minimum incarceration sentence for felonies in many jurisdictions, and is one of the main features distinguishing felonies from misdemeanors. For some crimes, this is the minimum penalty, as traditionally in English-speaking, common law countries, misdemeanors may not entail a sentence of more than a year (hence, "eleven months and twenty-nine days") whereas felonies are traditionally punished by incarceration of over one year, hence "a year and a day." Furthermore, in many jurisdictions, prisoners are eligible for parole only if their sentences are longer than a year; by imposing a sentence of a year and a day, judges can offer defendants a chance at parole.[citation needed] In the United States federal system, only sentences of more than one year allow prisoners to obtain early release for good time while incarcerated. [7] As a result, a sentence of a year and a day can lead to less time served than a sentence of a year.