Police searched four locations, including a seafood business in Eliot, this week as part of a local, state and federal investigation into an alleged theft at one of the state’s largest lobster cooperatives.
Robert Thompson, 51, of St. George was arrested Wednesday and charged with felony theft. He was released from the Knox County Jail in Rockland on USD 100,000 surety bail Wednesday afternoon.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office, which has been looking into the case since the beginning of the year, announced Thursday that it executed four search warrants across the state — three on Wednesday and one on Thursday. On Wednesday, Knox officers searched Thompson’s residence in St. George, his camp in Rockwood and a local bank that the department would not identify. On Thursday morning, along with the Eliot Police Department, Knox officers conducted a search at J.P. Shellfish.
Thompson had been the wharf manager for the Spruce Head Fishermen’s Cooperative on Spruce Head Island in South Thomaston for approximately 20 years.
The Knox office has received assistance from the Maine Marine Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, National Marine Fisheries Service and Internal Revenue Service.
