Who are these people?

Shady Enviro Puppet Group led by odd cast of characters

Bullsugar -- one of the phony astroturf protest groups secretly founded by New York Billionaire hedge fund hustler Paul Tudor Jones to put farmers out of business - popped up out of nowhere in 2015 and left many South Floridians wondering, just who are these people?

Public records show the group is led by inherited oil and gas money, an energy company executive and . . . well . . . a criminal

Here's their background . . .

Their President is a guy named Kenny Hinkle - Here's a mugshot of Mr. Hinkle from a crime he committed just last year.  Kenny filed for Bankruptcy 4 years ago and was sued by American Express for not paying his bills in 2011.  President Hinkle was also arrested for "Violating Marine Rules and Regulations" in the Florida Keys in 2000.

Kenan Siegel, one of the group's "Directors" made a fortune in the oil and gas business.  He once owned a company called "GASAHOLIC" and had a little trouble paying his Florida taxes in 2009. Siegel owns a $2.6 million mansion in Stuart.

The other "Director," a guy named Christopher Maroney, was a former executive with California energy giant SEMPRA ENERGY.

You will excuse us, bullsugar, if we don't take our environmental advice from puppets, criminals and polluters.

[Sources:  Florida Department of State - Division of Corporations, Martin County Clerk of Court, Martin County Property Appraiser and Monroe County Clerk of Court]

Hijacked!

"Environmental Terrorists" find 'host' organism to spread fear

'Outsider' Anglers group makes deal with leftist radicals to build membership base in Florida

For 25 years Florida's most trusted voice for anglers and sports fishermen has been the the Coastal Conservation Associaiton of Florida (CCA) - formerly known as the Florida Conservation Association (FCA)

But there's a new kid on the block in the Sunshine State - New Jersey's "Recreational Fishing Alliance" (RFA)

Headquartered in New Jersey, founded by a yacht company and funded by Bass Pro Shops and Yamaha outboard motors, the RFA is led by a serial skirt chaser with at least 2 lawsuits for sexual harassment on his resume  and a research scientist who was arrested for defrauding taxpayers by faking research.  Their claim to fame?  Leading a (so far) unsuccessful boycott of Wal-mart.

Under the guise of an "offer to help" save Florida from its own people, the RFA has jumped in bed with a network of environmental leftists, professional protesters and trust fund liberals to establish legitimacy and, more importantly, a membership base in Florida.  They are now actively engaged in recruiting members, trashing their rivals in the CCA and unwittingly pushing the views of a wacko environmental group on otherwise-occupied, hard-working, everyday Floridians.  All in a play to run Florida's Coastal Conservation Association out of business.

The playbook:  First, the RFA joined up with the militant environmental group "Bullsugar" - a group formed with the help of a hedge fund billionaire to advocate for the annihilation of agriculture in South Florida.  Then they formed (conned) a group of gullible millennial aged fishing guides and named them "Captains for Clean Water" to give their new friends' radical agenda a voice in Southwest Florida.

Next on their list (and most likely their top priority) - use all this to propel a take over of the tried, true and trusted CCA in Florida and become the new voice of of the Florida Fisherman?

Here's hoping the Florida's CCA joins the fight to save their organization and rid our state of this 'invasive species' from New Jersey before its too late.

We're from New Jersey and We're Here to Help

Last month a group from New Jersey called the "Recreational Fishing Alliance" (RFA) made it their business to come to Florida to tell us how to solve the very difficult and complex problem how to handle discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

Now, anytime a group from New Jersey shows up out of nowhere telling our legislature what they should do with our water . . . well . . . it gets our attention.

And any group seeking to shut down a 100 year old Florida Industry, flood a major portion of our state, uproot families who have been here for generations and relocate entire communities deserve a closer look - especially if they have virtually no connection to the state or its people

So, we've decided to learn more about the RFA and their business down here in the Sunshine State.

We start with the lead researcher and head scientist for the Recreational Fishing Alliance - John Depersenaire . . . He's their resident smart guy.  Presumably he provides the data and the basis for RFAs positions on complex issues like Lake "O"

Mr. Despersenaire has been with the group since 2002 – his bosses say  “his background has made him an invaluable member of the RFA team and the RFA Executive Director, Jim Donofrio called Depersenaire "one of the most honest people I know."

RFA lead scientist John Despersenaire

So how do they explain this ...

Depersenaire, was paid by the federal government to collect data used to manage fish stocks off the New Jersey coast (he was not with RFA at the time).  Depersenaire was paid to collect data on 59 trips at sea from ports in New Jersey between October 2001 and February 2002. 

Funny thing though . . . He lied.  He never left the dock. He never made the trips. He stayed at home. . .  He defrauded the Federal Government and ripped off the taxpayers - all in the name of science and research.

The current head scientist and researcher for the RFA  pleaded guilty falsifying RESEARCH DATA.  He was sentenced to five years probation while agreeing to pay restitution of $29,541, which is the salary he was paid to collect the data.  The case is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States . The data he was supposed to collect is used to assess the health and abundance of fish populations. 

Depersenaire even tried to make the reports look authentic by marring them with coffee stains and blood. He was caught when NOAA agents interviewed fishing vessel captains and they did not know who Depersenaire was. After being confronted, Depersenaire "spilled his guts" and admitted he went on only one of the 60 trips he was paid for.

But wait, there's more . . . Depersenaire blamed it all on 9/11 . . . "After 9-11 things got so bad I couldn't get trips anymore. I'd call and ask them and they wouldn't talk to me. It got to be a real hostile situation," Depersenaire said.  "It's scary to go out 30 or 40 miles in a boat with somebody that doesn't want you," Depersenaire said.  A NOAA spokesman said other observers went out and he never heard anybody use the excuse that the terrorist attacks caused a problem.

We found this excerpt from a 2012 article written for RFA by Depersenaire particularly ironic “The careful monitoring of landings data is important . . accuracy and timeliness of this information is critical.” 


And these people are telling us what to do with our water, and our economy, and our natural resources . . . in our state?

Next up, a look at the leader of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, Jim Donofrio

Stay tuned . . . 

Sources:
- joinfra.org
- The Press of Atlantic City, October 28, 2006

- Recreational Fishing Alliance, “Making Waves” August/September 2012