$1.4M attachment ordered in Trenton lobster racketeering case
Federal District Court Judge Lance Walker last week issued a $1,438,181 pre-trial attachment against defendants of a racketeering lawsuit brought by Lobster 207, a Trenton lobster wholesale co-op owned by members of the Maine Lobstering Union.
Lobster 207 last December filed suit against its former CEO, Warren B. Pettegrow of Trenton, over allegations of racketeering.
Also named as defendants were Pettegrow's company, Poseidon Charters Inc., Anthony D. and Josette G. Pettegrow of Trenton and their company Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound Inc., and Stephen M. Peabody of Addison.
In his June 3 decision, Walker said the order of attachment was appropriate in the case with respect to Anthony Pettegrow, Josette Pettegrow, Warren Pettegrow, Poseidon Charters, Inc. and the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound, Inc.
“As to those defendants, I find it is likely that Lobster 207 will be able to substantiate its claims that they abused Warren Pettegrow’s position of trust as CEO of Lobster 207 to deprive Lobster 207 of revenue in the amount of $1,438,181.23,” Walker wrote in his decision.
The sum represented most of the schemes alleged by Lobster 207.
Walker wrote that he wasn’t persuaded that Lobster 207 would be likely to recover damages from Peabody. Accordingly, the order doesn’t grant an attachment against Peabody.
The suit claims the defendants systematically embezzled funds, submitted fraudulent invoices, up-charged for lobster products and competed with the wholesale lobster business that they had sold to Lobster 207. In a news release, the co-op said those actions, from 2017 to 2019, violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law and also constituted fraud, breach of contract and other charges.
In 2017, the Maine Lobstering Union purchased the wholesale operations of the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound from Anthony and Josette Pettegrow. As part of the transaction, Warren Pettegrow was named as CEO of Lobster 207 and the Pettegrows agreed they would withdraw from the wholesale business and not compete with Lobster 207’s operations.
Warren Pettegrow was fired as Lobster 207’s CEO in April.
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