Clam Poacher Gets 14 Years in Prison

(Seattle, Washington) Last year, Doug Tobin was sentenced to 14 years in the state penitentiary for a sophisticated Puget Sound clam poaching operation. Interestingly, Tobin went into the illegal geoduck business after learning all the tricks of the trade as an undercover federal agent. Ultimately, he was caught and found guilty of poaching nearly 100 tons of lucrative geoduck clams for distribution by Clear Bay Fisheries, a Canadian company. Now the state of Washington is going after Clear Bay, contending the company financed Tobin's illegal harvesting of geoducks and even helped him buy a boat, knowing full well that he was breaking the law. According to the Washington Attorney General's office, the state is seeking millions of dollars in civil damages and the boat, valued at $400,000.

Tobin's clam-poaching ring was estimated to be worth about $1.5 million and he got 14 years in the big house. By comparison, Michael Milken fraudulently netted hundreds of millions of dollars in his junk bond operation and got two years in the big house. Obviously, Tobin should have stolen dollars instead of clams.