LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge heard arguments Thursday over whether a boat captain should pay restitution to the families of 34 people killed in a California scuba dive boat fire in 2019, with prosecutors seeking reimbursement for funeral expenses and more.
Jerry Boylan, the captain of the Conception, was convicted last year of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer following a 10-day trial in federal court in downtown Los Angeles. The charge was a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters.
Boylan, who was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release, was also ordered to pay restitution for what was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history.
During a hearing Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, however, his attorney attempted to argue that restitution should not be paid because it had not been established that the loss of life was a direct result of Boylan’s actions the night of the fire.
Federal judge George Wu disagreed, saying it was “clearly shown that the defendant did not meet the safety regulation” of having an overnight roving patrol that could have caught the fire, a fact that was already established during Boylan's criminal trial.
Boylan's attorney, Gabriela Rivera, also argued that only specific expenses such as funeral costs should be eligible for restitution and should have documentation such as an invoice. She added that Boylan had no significant assets and would not be able to pay restitution, saying he is living off Social Security payments and has a negative cash flow from his bank account.
“He doesn't have any family,” Rivera said. “He has no meaningful job prospects.”
Prosecutors disagreed, arguing that Boylan in fact had assets totaling six figures and that paying restitution would mean if he ever came into money in the future, he would have to pay the victims.
Kathi Mcllvain, whose son Charles died aboard the Conception, said it was “heartbreaking” to hear the lawyers argue over line-item costs. She and her husband Clark held each other during the hearing and shook their heads as the attorneys went back and forth.
“To nitpick over $700,” said Mcllvain, referring to one amount the defense disputed in their argument. “There’s no price you can put on someone’s life.”
Even if Boylan could not pay restitution now, “at least it should be on the record that he owes that, if he ever does come into money. He shouldn’t have killed 34 people. Then he would have been able to make a living,” Mcllvain said.
McIlvain found it distressing that Boylan was only sentenced to four years and would likely not serve it until his appeal, which could take years.
“Our son’s life was worth a lot more than that,” she said.
The judge said he will have a final decision on restitution amounts at the next hearing July 29.
Boylan is currently out on bond and must report to the Bureau of Prisons by Aug. 8. He was present at Thursday's hearing but did not speak.
Thursday's proceeding came nearly five years after the Sept. 2, 2019, tragedy off the central California coast, which prompted changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and several ongoing civil lawsuits.
The Conception was anchored off Santa Cruz Island, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Santa Barbara, when it caught fire before dawn on the final day of a three-day excursion, sinking less than 100 feet (30 meters) from shore.
Thirty-three passengers and a crew member perished, trapped in a bunkroom below deck. Among the dead were the deckhand, who had landed her dream job; an environmental scientist who did research in Antarctica; a globe-trotting couple; a Singaporean data scientist; and a family of three sisters, their father and his wife.
Boylan was the first to abandon ship and jump overboard. Four crew members who joined him also survived.
Although the exact cause of the blaze remains undetermined, prosecutors blamed Boylan for failing to post the required roving night watch and never properly trained his crew in firefighting. The lack of the roving watch meant the fire was able to spread undetected across the 75-foot (23-meter) boat.
But Boylan's federal public defenders sought to pin blame on boat owner Glen Fritzler, who with his wife owns Truth Aquatics Inc., which operated the Conception and two other scuba dive boats, often around the Channel Islands.
They argued that Fritzler was responsible for failing to train the crew in firefighting and other safety measures, as well as creating a lax seafaring culture they called “the Fritzler way,” in which no captain who worked for him posted a roving watch.
The Fritzlers have not spoken publicly about the tragedy since an interview with a local TV station a few days after the fire. Their attorneys have never responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press, including on Thursday.
Three days after the fire, Truth Aquatics filed suit under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability to the value of the remains of the boat, which was a total loss. The time-tested legal maneuver has been successfully employed by the owners of the Titanic and other vessels and requires the Fritzlers to show they were not at fault.
That case is pending, as well as others filed by victims’ families against the Coast Guard for what they allege was lax enforcement of the roving watch requirement.
FILE - Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the dive boat, Conception, leaves federal court in Los Angeles, May 2, 2024. Prosecutors are seeking restitution for the families of 34 people killed in the boat fire in 2019 off the California coast. A judge will determine the amount on Thursday, July 11, during a hearing in federal court in Los Angeles. Boylan's criminal negligence as the captain of the boat led to the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
FILE - A photo collage of the victims of the Sept. 2, 2019 fire aboard the dive boat Conception, at Santa Cruz Island, is held by a family member at federal court in Los Angeles, Oct. 25, 2023. Prosecutors are seeking restitution for the families of the 34 people killed in the fire that was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. A judge will determine the amount on Thursday, July 11, 2024, during a hearing in federal court in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
The leaders of France, Germany and Britain have endorsed calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, the return of scores of hostages held by Hamas and the “unfettered” delivery of humanitarian aid.
In a joint statement released Monday, they endorsed the latest push by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to broker an agreement to end the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war.
The mediators have spent months trying to get the sides to agree to a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release the remaining hostages captured in its Oct. 7 attack in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and Israel would withdraw from Gaza.
“The fighting must end now, and all hostages still detained by Hamas must be released. The people of Gaza need urgent and unfettered delivery and distribution of aid,” the statement said.
It was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The statement also called on Iran and its allies to refrain from any retaliatory attacks that would further escalate regional tensions after the killing of two senior militants last month in Beirut and Tehran.
Here’s the latest:
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says Israeli strikes over the past 48 hours have killed 142 people and wounded 150 others.
The fatalities announced on Monday bring the Palestinian death toll in Gaza to 39,897 since the start of the war, according to the ministry. It says over 92,000 people have been wounded.
The ministry does not say how many of the dead and wounded were combatants.
The Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and its casualty figures from previous wars have largely matched up with those of independent experts, the United Nations and even Israel’s own figures.
The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7. Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 others.
Around 110 hostages are still being held in Gaza after most of the rest were released during a cease-fire in November. Israeli authorities believe around a third of the remaining hostages are dead.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A hospital in southern Gaza has received the bodies of 13 people, including a child, who were killed in apparent Israeli strikes on Khan Younis.
The strikes came as Israel has ordered mass evacuations from Gaza’s second-largest city in recent days, saying Palestinian militants are firing rockets from the area. Khan Younis suffered heavy destruction earlier this year during a major Israeli air and ground offensive.
An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the nearby Nasser Hospital and saw funeral prayers being held Monday morning.
The dead include a medic who was killed along with two others in a strike on his house, according to the hospital records.
The Israeli military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and accuses Hamas of putting them in danger by fighting in dense, residential areas. The army rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is calling on Iran to refrain “in every way” from fueling the Middle East conflict.
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, appealed instead for Tehran to embrace dialogue, negotiation and peace, during a phone call Monday with Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Parolin spoke with Pezeshkian to congratulate him on the start of his mandate.
According to a Vatican statement, Parolin “expressed the Holy See’s serious concern about what is happening in the Middle East, reiterating the need to avoid in any way the widening of the very serious conflict underway and preferring instead dialogue, negotiation and peace.”
The Vatican has tried to maintain a balanced position on Israel’s war in Gaza. It has reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself and called for Hamas to release hostages taken Oct. 7 but has also demanded a cease-fire, an end to the conflict and for humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians.
BERLIN — Airlines are extending their suspension of flights to and from the Middle East as the region braces for possible Iranian and Hezbollah retaliation for the targeted killing of two top militants that were blamed on Israel.
The Lufthansa Group, which also includes Austrian Airlines and Swiss, said Monday that its flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman and Irbil will remain suspended until Aug. 21 inclusive. Its airlines also won’t use Iranian and Iraqi airspace during that time.
The company said passengers who aren’t affected by the current suspensions but have flights to or from those five destinations booked through Aug. 31 can cancel without cost.
Air France said it has extended the suspension of its flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut — as well as flights to and from Lebanon operated by its subsidiary, Transavia France – until Wednesday Aug. 14 due to the security situation in Lebanon.
Air France suspended flights to Beirut on July 29 after a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights killed 12 children and teens.
Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair said it was canceling all flights to and from Ben Gurion International Airport outside of Tel Aviv from Tuesday until Aug. 26 “due to operational restrictions which are beyond our control.” The airline did not elaborate.
JERUSALEM — The European Union’s top diplomat says it should consider sanctions in response to calls by Israel’s far-right national security minister to cut off aid to Gaza.
Writing on the X platform late Sunday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the recent remarks by Itamar Ben-Gvir constitute “incitement to war crimes,” adding that “sanctions must be on our EU agenda.”
In his own post on X and in media interviews, Ben-Gvir said that instead of agreeing to a potential cease-fire deal, Israel should block the entry of humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza until Hamas releases all of the hostages, saying that doing so would bring the militant group to its knees.
Ben-Gvir has also repeatedly called for Israel to permanently reoccupy Gaza, rebuild Jewish settlements there and encourage the “voluntary” migration of Palestinians from the territory.
Ben-Gvir, a key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, has threatened to bring the government down if it makes too many concessions in the cease-fire talks.
Borrell called on Israel’s government to “unequivocally distance itself from these incitements to commit war crimes,” and to engage “in good faith” with cease-fire negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
The United States and Israel’s other Western allies have repeatedly voiced concern about the killing of Palestinian civilians and Israeli restrictions on aid operations in the 10-month-old war. But they continue to provide vital military and diplomatic support for its offensive.
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A Palestinian displaced woman by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flees from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
