Minor intrigue on the Presidential pardons front.
One of the more serious offenders pardoned by the White House was James Anthony Bordinaro. The Gloucester, Massachusetts man had been found guilty of “conspiracy to restrain, suppress, and eliminate competition in violation of the Sherman Act,” and “conspiracy to submit false statements.”
According to the Washington Post, Bordinaro “was among a half dozen New England fishing industry executives who pleaded guilty to such scams, according to a 1991 report by the Boston Globe.”
“They were charged with falsifying documents in their contracts with the Department of Defense certifying that Canadian fish were caught by U.S. fishermen in U.S. waters, a requirement of government contracts, according to the Globe.”
According to the Post, he also appears to have ties — albeit loose ones — to the GOP.
“Last year, members of the Bordinaro family introduced Republican congressional candidate Richard Tisei at a fishing-themed campaign event at the docks in downtown Gloucester.”
According to Tisei’s still functioning campaign website, a “Jim Bordinaro” introduced the then-candidate, describing the man as “a lifetime resident of Gloucester, whose family has been in the Gloucester fishing business since the 1930s.”
“Bordinaro is the Vice President of Channel Fish Processing Co. in Gloucester,” the description continued.
At the event, Tisei described federal regulation of the fishing industry as “out of control.”
Nothing terribly fishy (sorry), but on a scale (again, sorry) comparing it to the other pardons, the Bordinaro decision is relatively interesting.
