Mississippi seafood distributor pleads guilty to decadeslong fish mislabeling scheme

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi seafood distributor and two managers have pleaded guilty to conspiring to mislabel seafood and commit wire fraud by marketing frozen imported fish as more expensive local species. The Justice Department says Quality Poultry and Seafood Inc. agreed Tuesday to forfeit $1 million and pay a $150,000 fine. QPS is the largest seafood wholesaler on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Sales manager Todd A. Rosetti and business manager James W. Gunkel also pleaded guilty to misbranding seafood. In May, Mary Mahoney’s Old French House restaurant in Biloxi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to misbrand seafood and wire fraud. A co-owner/manager of Mary Mahoney’s, Anthony Charles Cvitanovich, also pleaded guilty to misbranding seafood.