Captain of Unlicensed, Uninspected, Overloaded Boat Pleads Guilty in Two Deaths
The owner and captain of an illegal charter boat that capsized in the Hudson River adjacent to Lower Manhattan in the summer of 2022 has been convicted in connection with the deaths of two of his passengers. Richard Cruz, who owned a vessel he named Stimulus Money, entered a plea of guilty in federal court to one count of misconduct and one count of neglect of a ship officer resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of up to ten years.
On July 12, 2022, Mr. Cruz charged 11 passengers as much as $200 each to board his 24-foot Yamaha AR 240 motor cruiser for a tour around the Statue of Liberty. The operating manual for this vessel states, “Your boat is designed for one operator and up to 11 passengers only. Never have more than 12 people in the boat.” The complement of 11 passengers, plus Mr. Cruz and his assistant, Jaime Gomez, meant the boat was overloaded.
More troubling, neither Mr. Cruz nor Mr. Gomez had the licenses required by the U.S. Coast Guard to operate vessels carrying paying passengers. Nor had the Stimulus Money been inspected by the Coast Guard for seaworthiness, as required by law.
Additionally, on the morning of July 12, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had issued a Small Craft Advisory for New York Harbor, warning of winds between 15 and 20 miles per hour, with gusts up to 25 miles per hour, and swells of three to four feet. As the federal charges against Mr. Cruz noted, the advisory stated that “ ‘conditions will be hazardous to small craft’ and that ‘inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.’”
Shortly after departing from Carteret, New Jersey, the vessel circled the Statue of Liberty, then began to move northward along the Hudson River. It was at this point that waves began crashing over the bow, “causing several inches of water to accumulate on the deck of the vessel,” according to a federal criminal complaint.
Moving at approximately 25 miles per hour and hitting waves head-on, the Stimulus Money began taking on more water over the front end. At this point, according to federal investigators, Mr. Gomez throttled back, cutting the engines. “The change in propulsion coupled with another swell caused the bow of Stimulus Money to completely submerge up to the windshield,” according to the findings of a Coast Guard investigation. Mr. Gomez tried to compensate by gunning the engine on the right side to maximum power, causing “a large plume of water [to shoot] into the air as a result of the rapid acceleration of the starboard throttle.” The vessel capsized to its port (left) side.
All 13 people aboard Stimulus Money were thrown into the water, with 11 of them floating nearby, but two trapped beneath the overturned vessel. They were Lindelia Vasquez, aged 47, and her nephew, Julian Vasquez, seven years old. Neither was able to break free of the overturned vessel.
Within minutes, boats from the harbor units of the New York Police and Fire Departments arrived, along with multiple NY Waterway ferries, all of which assisted in rescuing the 11 people floating near the hull of the upside-down Stimulus Money. But it took more than 25 minutes for scuba divers from one of the Fire Department’s boats to get inside the capsized vessel, and pull out the unresponsive woman and child. Despite efforts to revive them, both were declared dead at the scene.
After accepting Mr. Cruz’s guilty plea, federal prosecutor Damian Williams said that the defendant, “admitted that his misconduct and negligent actions caused the tragic deaths of a young boy and a woman when Cruz’s vessel capsized in the Hudson River. This prosecution should send a message to all captains and operators of commercial vessels that there will be consequences when they fail to follow the federal regulations and safety protocols that exist to keep passengers safe.”
Mr. Cruz is scheduled to be sentenced in January.