Mississippi
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
GULFPORT, Miss. — The largest seafood distributor on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and two of its managers have been sentenced on federal charges of mislabeling inexpensive imported seafood as local premium fish, weeks after a restaurant and its co-owner were also sentenced.
“This large-scale scheme to misbrand imported seafood as local Gulf Coast seafood hurt local fishermen and consumers,” said Todd Gee, the U.S. attorney for southern Mississippi. “These criminal convictions should put restaurants and wholesalers on notice that they must be honest with customers about what is actually being sold.”
Sentencing took place Wednesday in Gulfport for Quality Poultry and Seafood Inc., sales manager Todd A. Rosetti and business manager James W. Gunkel.
QPS and the two managers pleaded guilty Aug. 27 to conspiring to mislabel seafood and commit wire fraud.
QPS was sentenced to five years of probation and was ordered to pay $1 million in forfeitures and a $500,000 criminal fine. Prosecutors said the misbranding scheme began as early as 2002 and continued through November 2019.
Rosetti received eight months in prison, followed by six months of home detention, one year of supervised release and 100 hours of community service. Gunkel received two years of probation, one year of home detention and 50 hours of community service.
Mary Mahoney’s Old French House and its co-owner/manager Anthony Charles Cvitanovich, pleaded guilty to similar charges May 30 and were sentenced Nov. 18.
Mahoney’s was founded in Biloxi in 1962 in a building that dates to 1737, and it’s a popular spot for tourists. The restaurant pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to misbrand seafood.
Mahoney’s admitted that between December 2013 and November 2019, the company and its co-conspirators at QPS fraudulently sold as local premium species about 58,750 pounds (26,649 kilograms) of frozen seafood imported from Africa, India and South America.
The court ordered the restaurant and QPS to maintain at least five years of records describing the species, sources and cost of seafood it acquires to sell to customers, and that it make the records available to any relevant federal, state or local government agency.
Mahoney’s was sentenced to five years of probation. It was also ordered to pay a $149,000 criminal fine and to forfeit $1.35 million for some of the money it received from fraudulent sales of seafood.
Cvitanovich pleaded guilty to misbranding seafood during 2018 and 2019. He received three years of probation and four months of home detention and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
Mississippi
Thompson defeats Turnage to highlight U.S. House primaries in Mississippi – SuperTalk Mississippi
Political newcomer and Capitol Hill attorney Evan Turnage proved no match for longtime U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who defeated him and one other challenger to earn the Democratic nomination for Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday.
Some politicos thought Turnage – who went to Yale and later worked for some of Thompson’s Democratic colleagues, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) – wouldn’t necessarily win but could make waves as one of the more viable candidates to challenge Thompson in recent years. However, that wasn’t the case as Thompson garnered approximately 85% of the vote when the race was called.
Thompson, 78, is seeking an 18th term. The civil rights leader who chaired the Jan. 6 Committee was first elected in 1993 and serves as a ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee. He will face either Ron Eller or Kevin Wilson on the Republican side, a race yet to be called as of late Tuesday night, and independent Bennie Foster in November’s general.
All of Mississippi’s U.S. House seats are up for grabs this year.
In the 1st Congressional District, Republican Rep. Trent Kelly ran unopposed, while civil rights attorney and University of Mississippi School of Law professor Cliff Johnson beat former state lawmaker Kelvin Buck in the Democratic primary. Libertarian challenger Johnny Baucom awaits Kelly and Johnson in the general.
In the 3rd Congressional District, both Republican Rep. Michael Guest and Democrat Michael Chiaradio ran unopposed. They will meet Libertarian Erik Kiehle in the general.
In the 4th Congressional District, Republican Rep. Mike Ezell had over 80% of the vote when his race was called against former Mississippi Department of Marine Resources officer and political staffer Sawyer Walters. State Rep. Jeffrey Hulum easily won the Democratic nomination over Paul Blackman and D. Ryan Grover. Ezell and Hulum will face independent Carl Boyanton in the general.
Arguably the most watched races of the night occurred in the state’s lone U.S. Senate seat in this year’s cycle. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith had no problem with Ocean Springs doctor Sarah Adlakha, seeing her name bolded around 30 minutes after the polls closed. It wasn’t long after that when Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom was announced the winner of the Democratic primary over Priscilla Till and Albert Littell. Independent Ty Pinkins will meet Hyde-Smith and Colom in the general on Nov. 3.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mississippi
Mississippi First Congressional District Primary 2026: Live Election Results, Buck vs. Johnson
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Staff
Sunday, March 15, 2026
1. (tie) “The Irish Goodbye,” Beth Ann Fennelly, Norton; and “Vigil,” George Saunders, Random House
2. “Theo of Golden,” Allen Levi, Atria Books
3. “The Widow,” John Grisham, Doubleday
4. “The Correspondent,” Virginia Evans, Random House
5. “When It’s Darkness on the Delta,” W. Ralph Eubanks, Beacon Press
6. “Eradication,” Jonathan Miles, Doubleday
7. “Neptune’s Fortune,” Julian Sancton, Random House
8. “The Dean,” Sparky Reardon, The Nautilus Publishing Company
9. “Kin,” Tayari Jones, Random House
10. “Brawler,” Lauren Groff, Riverhead
Children and young adults
1. “The Bear and the Hair and the Fair,” Em Lynas, Little Brown
2. “The Hybrid Prince,” Tui T. Sutherland, Scholastic Press
3. “One Mississippi,” Steve Azar,Sarah Frances Hardy (Illustrator), The Nautilus Publishing
4. “If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone,” Gideon Sterer, HarperCollins
5. (tie) “Fancy Nancy: Besties for Eternity,” Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator), HarperCollins; and “The Dark is For,” Jane Kohuth, Simon and Schuster
Adult events (Sunday, March 15–Saturday, March 21)
Amy McDowell in conversation with Jodi Skipper for “Whispers in the Pews,” 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Off Square Books, 129 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2262
Tayari Jones on Thacker Mountain Radio Hour for “Kin,” 6 p.m. Thursday, Off Square Books, 129 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2262
Children’s events (Sunday, March 15–Saturday, March 21)
No Cap Book Club (kids 10-13) will be reading “A Kid’s Book About…,” 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Storytime, “Clifford: Dream Big,” 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Chapter Captains Book Club (kids 6-9) will be reading “Princess in Black: Bathtime Battle,” 6:00 p.m. Thursday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Storytime, “What a Small Cat Needs,” 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Square Books Jr., 111 Courthouse Square, Oxford, 662-236-2207
Story Time, “Very Hungry Caterpillar” Day! 10 a.m. Saturday, Lemuria Books, 202 Banner Hall, 4465 I-55 North, Jackson, 601-366-7619
— Sales and/or Events Reported by Lemuria Books (Jackson); Lorelei Books (Vicksburg); Square Books (Oxford).
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