$3 Million Sushi? Failed Polygraph May Increase Prize For Winning Tuna

OCEAN CITY, MD — Three New Jersey friends who won $767,000 for catching a 236-pound tuna in a tournament earlier this month could find themselves a whole lot richer after members of another fishing crew failed two polygraph tests following the event.

Damien Romeo of Forked River and longtime friends Rich Kostzyu of Hamilton and Brian Suschke of Chesterfield, celebrated after the 236-pound bigeye tuna reeled in by Kostzyu aboard Romeo's boat, the Hubris, captured the top prize for the heaviest tuna at the 43rd White Marlin Open two weeks ago.

The top prize in the tournament — more than $2.8 million — was expected to go to the crew of the Kallianassa, a boat from Naples, Florida, that caught a 76.5-pound white marlin, the only qualifying white marlin caught in the tournament.

Until last Friday that is. That's when officials from the White Marlin Open filed a court action in Maryland asking a judge to decide who should receive the money, after the angler and captain of the winning boat both failed polygraph tests administered at the conclusion of the tournament.

The tournament, known as the biggest billfish tournament in the world due to the number of teams that participate, has long had a rule requiring any angler and team that wins $50,000 or more in the tournament to take a polygraph exam.

According to the complaint filed by the tournament, Phillip Heasley, the angler of record, and David Morris, the captain of the Kallianassa, both failed an initial polygraph exam after the tournament. Heasley and Morris as well as two crew members on the boat also failed a second polygraph exam administered to the entire crew, the complaint says, and tournament officials said pre-polygraph interviews with one of the crew members revealed the team had started fishing before the official start time. The complaint also accuses the crew of altering the time of the catch of the white marlin on the official catch report.

Heasley is contesting the findings, resulting in the court filing, according to the complaint.

The $2.8 million prize that Heasley was to have won has been put in escrow pending the outcome of the court action, the tournament directors said.

"The sole purpose in filing the interpleader with the court is to preserve the integrity of the tournament, its rules and awards," the tournament directors said in a statement on the White Marlin Open Facebook page, "and due to the circumstances of the matter at issue, the directors and the tournament judges believed that the best way of resolving all controversies was to seek a judicial determination of the matter. This way, a judge can consider the matter in its entirety and make an official judgment as to the award of the prize."

The $2.8 million prize is the first one in excess of $2 million in the tournament's history. If Heasley's claim to the money is upheld, the money will go to him.

If a judge rules against Heasley, the $2,818,662 would be divided among the other prize winners, based on the tournament's payout rules. Romeo, Kostzyu and Suschke would receive the bulk of it, $2,312,152 million, according to the complaint. Eight other teams that won money in the tournament would receive varying shares of the remaining $506,510, based on the tournament's payout rules.

Romeo, who owns a construction company, Kostzyu, a firefighter, and Suschke, a police officer, are not talking about the potential windfall. Last week the trio fished in another high-stakes billfishing tournament, the MidAtlantic Tournament in Cape May, where the docks were buzzing with talk of the court filing. But they changed the subject when others brought it up.

The $767,091 already was the largest payout in the tournament's history for a tuna. If the trio — who are splitting the proceeds — receive the additional prize of $2,312,152, the total of $3,079,243 would make that tuna worth $13,047.64 per pound, or $815.48 per ounce — nearly as valuable as an ounce of gold.

Damien Romeo, Rich Kostzyu and Brian Suschke pose with their winning tuna at the White Marlin Open after weighing it on Aug. 9. The fish could end up being worth $3 million. White Marlin Open photo