From Local to Imported: The Shocking Reveal of Mary Mahoney’s Seafood Scandal

In 2013, Mary Mahoney’s Old French House, a Biloxi restaurant founded in 1962, began selling imported frozen fish as locally caught and advertising them as such on its menu. The restaurant pleaded guilty to misbranding seafood and wire fraud after genetic testing by the FDA confirmed that over 58,775 pounds of fish were imported from Africa and India but falsely advertised as local snapper and grouper from the Gulf of Mexico.

Anthony Cvitanovich, co-owner and manager of the restaurant, also admitted to one count of misbranding seafood. The maximum penalties for the restaurant include a $500,000 fine, while Cvitanovich could face up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine for his role in the scheme.

Despite their guilty plea and acknowledgment of wrongdoing, both Mahoney’s and Cvitanovich are described as respected establishments with good people who made a mistake and are now paying a hefty price for it. The lawyer for Cvitanovich stated that the misbranding was limited to two casserole dishes where fish was not the primary ingredient and that the menu was corrected in 2019. He attributed the misbranding to declining availability of red snapper but stressed that it was not an excuse for deceptive practices.