East Naples boat captain sentenced to six years for smuggling immigrants

An East Naples charter captain who was caught in March with 10 undocumented immigrants below the deck of his boat in the Florida Keys was sentenced Wednesday to six years in federal prison.

U.S. District Court James Lawrence King in Miami also sentenced Richard Karl Mork, 65, to three years' probation after his prison term. 

Under federal sentencing guidelines Mork could have faced 97 to 120 months in prison, said Sherry Rydberg, a legal assistant for Doug Molloy, Mork's lawyer. 

"We were able to argue it down to 72," she said.

Previously:East Naples boat captain accused of smuggling immigrants in Florida Keys

Mork — who has addresses listed for Palm Drive and Apple Tree Lane in East Naples — pleaded guilty in late June to four charges of encouraging and aiding aliens to enter the United States.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents said they arrested Mork after coming across his 33-foot center-console boat “Scout” while on patrol about 3 p.m. March 12 in Tavernier Creek in the Upper Keys.

The federal agents said they saw two personal watercraft approach the disabled boat, each with two cans of gasoline.

When agents boarded Mork’s boat, they found 10 passengers — five each from Jamaica and Haiti — below deck, court documents state. Authorities also found a fully loaded 9 mm firearm and $20,000 in cash on board, court documents state.

One of the undocumented immigrants told investigators he paid $5,000 to "an intermediary for passage to the United States," according to court records.

One of Mork's passengers, O’Neil Anthony Harris, of Jamaica, had been deported from the U.S. in September 2016 after he was convicted of possessing and intending to sell marijuana in Illinois, court records state.

Mork told investigators he left Bimini, Bahamas, with the intention of bringing the 10 immigrants to the U.S. He said he knew they were undocumented, court documents state.

Mork told authorities he ran out of fuel and asked the people on the personal watercraft for help.

Mork most recently ran Blueocean Expeditions Inc., according to the Florida Department of State's online business entity index. The company’s website no longer is active, but a Facebook page describes it as an eco-tour agency and scuba diving center based in Fort Lauderdale.