Florida man indicted for ship certification fraud

   The U.S. Justice Department and Coast Guard said a Florida man had been charged with fraudulent certification of cargo ships.
   An indictment issued last week charges Alejandro Gonzalez, 60, of Miami-Dade County, with making false official statements and obstructing agency proceedings. If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in jail.
   According to the allegations in the indictment, the defendant was a naval engineer and classification surveyor and was authorized by the governments of Panama and Bolivia to perform classification surveys.

Cala Galdana

   The charges involve Gonzalez’s survey and certification of two ships: the Cala Galdana, later rechristened the New Wave, a 68-meter cargo vessel; and the Cosette, a 92-meter cargo vessel.
   The indictment alleges that on several occasions Gonzalez asserted to the Coast Guard that the Cala Galdana had visited a drydock for maintenance to the bottom of its hull when in fact the work never occurred.
   The indictment further alleges Gonzalez obstructed the Coast Guard’s port state control examination of the Cosette by issuing a fraudulent safety certificate without proper survey of the ship’s equipment and ensuring its seaworthiness.