A jury found former Ferry Division Director Jerry Gaskill guilty on Thursday of making a material false statement to a federal agency in connection with an investigation of the illegal dredging, or “prop washing,” of a channel in an essential marine habitat in the Currituck Sound.

Gaskill, whose sentencing date has not been set, could receive a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The guilty verdict also means that the State of North Carolina will not be paying for his attorney.

Evidence presented by federal prosecutors showed that Gaskill submitted false statements to the United States Army Corps of Engineers in connection with the investigation of illegal dredging. Gaskill’s false statements obstructed the effort to determine the violator so that remediation efforts could begin at the site.

The jury found him not guilty of another charge involving a conspiracy with another person to lie about the incident.
U. S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle dismissed two other charges earlier in the trial.

Four other Ferry Division workers pleaded guilty last year to participating in the dredging activity. The Ferry Division is part of the N. C. Department of Transportation. Department spokesman Ernie Seneca did not return a phone call seeking comment on the verdict.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation, the U. S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted the investigation.

In a prepared statement U. S. Attorney Frank Whitney stated, “There must be strict adherence to the environmental regulations protecting the natural resources in the Eastern District of North Carolina. This case reflects our office’s ongoing commitment to pursuing those persons and entities who willfully disregard those regulations or otherwise interfere with a regulatory investigation.”

Fred Burnside, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s Atlanta Criminal Investigation Division stated, “This conviction sends the clear message that no violator — public or private — is above the law.”

The illegal dredging was associated with the state’s efforts to establish a passenger ferry service across the Currituck Sound. Previous stories by Carolina Journal revealed the new ferry service faced several obstacles. Plans for the project were initiated soon after the Currituck County Board of Commissioners asked State Sen. Marc Basnight in July 2002 to help establish a ferry service to transport about 40 school children from the Outer Banks to the mainland.

Although proponents of the ferry said it was needed for school children, documents suggest that the service was intended to transport resort workers and tourists.

The 2002 budget bill ordered DOT to do a feasibility study. Gaskill conducted a study and submitted it to the General Assembly in May 2003. The proposed route would have been about 12 miles across the shallow Currituck Sound from the Currituck community to the Corolla community.

“The proposed ferry service is feasible, assuming the appropriate permits can be obtained,” Gaskill concluded in the study. But he failed to address two previous unsuccessful attempts by Currituck County to obtain a dredging permit for the very shallow Corolla location.

State and federal environmental agencies had ruled that the area was a sensitive marine habitat that needed to be protected. At the time of the illegal dredging, neither DOT nor Currituck County had applied for a permit.

The 49-person, 50-foot pontoon boat ordered for the service was delivered in August 2004 to the State Shipyard in Manns Harbor where it is still sitting unused.

Don Carrington is executive editor of Carolina Journal.