SANDWICH – Joe’s Lobster Mart in Sandwich has 14 days to sell off its merchandise, according to a Suffolk Superior Court Judge’s ruling this week.
Joseph A. Vaudo,63, of Sandwich. the owner of the fish market, was indicted last spring for buying stolen oysters.
Michael E. Bryant, 38, who is serving time for stealing oysters from grants in Barnstable and Dennis, told police he sold the stolen product to Vaudo.
Bryant was indicted for six counts of larceny of property, shellfish sales violation, shellfishing in a contaminated area and a commercial fishing license violation.
Vaudo was charged with receiving stolen property, directly and willfully misleading a police officer or investigator who is furthering a criminal investigation and failure or refusal to file statistical reports of wholesale and retail shellfish dealers.
Vaudo pled guilty on April 1 in Barnstable District Court and paid $6,250 in fines and court costs.
The police investigation into Bryant’s connection to the stolen oysters began a year ago when officers saw him raking oysters in a closed area in Yarmouth and found he was not properly permitted.
Vaudo received a fine for the offense, but the State Department of Public Health then stepped in to revoke his license to sell fish.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Connors this week denied Vaudo’s attorney’s motion for a preliminary injunction. He further gave Vaudo 14 days to sell off his inventory at the fish market.
Vaudo claimed he did not sell any of the stolen oysters to the public.
