Four Depoe Bay Harbor Commissioners Facing Criminal Charges
Theft and racketeering charges were made against owners and employees of Tradewinds Charters in Depoe Bay, including four members of the Depoe Bay Harbor Commission, which advises the city council on harbor related issues. (Photo by Larry Coonrod)
By Larry Coonrod
DEPOE BAY—Four out of seven Depoe Bay Harbor Commission members are under felony indictment stemming from racketeering and theft charges against the owners and several employees of Tradewinds Charters.
Oregon State Police fish and wildlife troopers arrested 10 people associated with Tradewinds Charters of Depoe Bay on July 7 and 8.
Among those taken into custody were Noelie Achen, Dan Zimmerman, Roman Smolcic, and Eva Harmon. All four serve as appointed members of the Depoe Bay Harbor Commission.
The Harbor Commission serves as an advisory board to the city council on harbor issues ranging from dock maintenance to dredging needs.
Achen and Harmon are the daughters of Tradewinds Charters owners Tim and Julie Harmon. Zimmerman and Smolcic are independent charter boat captains who operated under the Tradewinds banner.
The Depoe Bay City Council appoints members to the Harbor Commission.
“The appointments are made by the council at the discretion of the council,” said Depoe Bay City Recorder Pery Murray. “And un-appointments are made by the council at the discretion of the council.”
The city council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Tuesday, July 21. Murray said the agenda items for discussion at that meeting are not yet set.
Arrests Stem from License Sales Allegations
The Tradewinds arrests followed a yearlong investigation into allegations that Tradewinds personnel conspired to charge customers for one-day fishing licenses without providing the license or remitting the license fee to the state.
An Oregon one day fishing license costs $16.75, which includes a $2 fee for the merchant. Charter companies pre-pay for one-day licenses in books of 25. Unlike a seasonal license, one-day licenses are not tracked electronically at the point of sale.
The investigation into the license sales involved undercover operations in 2014 and 2015 where officers posing as anglers say they received a cash register receipt as proof of a one-day angling license but not the license itself.
Oregon State Police served a search warrant on Tradewinds of Depoe Bay in March of 2015.
According to the search warrant affidavit, troopers were looking to seize documents, records and registration books of Tradewinds customers between March 20, 2012 through March 20, 2015 including bank records, computers, cash registers, credit card machines and other documents.
According to an indictment issued by a Lincoln County Grand Jury on July 2, 2015, the state is alleging Tradewinds collected a minimum of $48,000 from license sales that it did not turn over to ODFW.
As a condition of release, several of the defendants are barred from conducting business with Tradewinds, including Achen, Zimmerman and Smolcic.
An early resolution conference is scheduled on Aug. 17 in Lincoln County Circuit Court.
Contact Reporter Larry Coonrod by emailing editor@lincolncountydispatch.com
