Chapter 8 - The Poachers
Victor Gage was arrested three days after his brother-in-law.
He was arrested by the FBI and the New Jersey State Police at his home in Cape May Court House. He was charged with murder, conspiracy, smuggling, and fraud. He was also charged with witness intimidation, because in the three weeks between the death of Marcus Dawson and his own arrest, he had called Maria Dawson four times and had offered her fifty thousand dollars to sign a statement saying her son had been drinking on the night he died.
Maria Dawson had recorded the calls. She had given the recordings to Nakamura. Nakamura had given the recordings to the FBI.
The recordings were played at Gage's trial. They were, by all accounts, the most damaging piece of evidence in the case.
Gage was convicted on all counts. He was sentenced to life in federal prison without parole. He is currently serving his sentence at a federal penitentiary in Pennsylvania.
May you like
The two poaching vessels — the Marlene and the Two Brothers — were seized by the Coast Guard and the state of New Jersey. They were auctioned. The proceeds went to Maria Dawson and to a scholarship fund established in Marcus Dawson's name at the Cape May County Technical School.
The fund pays for one student per year to attend a two-year marine technology program. The student is selected by a committee that includes Maria Dawson and Eli Dawson and, every year, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer from Station Cape May.
