Owner of unlicensed charter boat pleads guilty to fatal capsizing

The owner and operator of an unlicensed and overcrowded charter boat that capsized in the Hudson River in 2022, killing a woman and her nephew, faces 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to misconduct and neglect.

Richard Cruz, 32, admitted causing the deaths of a 48-year-old woman and a seven-year-old boy after the speedboat capsized Stimulus money in July 2022 in the Hudson River. Cruz is scheduled to be sentenced in January next year and faces up to 10 years in prison.

Cruz had purchased the boat about three months earlier and had conducted boat tours for paying customers on multiple occasions. However, he did not have a US Coast Guard (USCG) license or certificate of inspection, which are required to operate a vessel with paying customers on board.

On July 12, 2022, Cruz took Stimulus money on the Hudson with 13 people on board, exceeding the small boat’s maximum capacity. Despite a small warning about strong winds and waves, he drove the boat at high speed and it capsized.

When Stimulus money overturned and all 13 people were thrown overboard. 11 survivors were rescued by the NYPD, FDNY and Good Samaritan ships. The woman and her nephew were trapped under the capsized ship and found unconscious 25 minutes later. They were pronounced dead and the coroner determined they had drowned.

Cruz has pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct and neglect of a ship’s officer resulting in death. “This prosecution should send a message to all captains and operators of commercial vessels that there will be consequences if they do not follow federal regulations and safety protocols designed to protect passengers,” said Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.