Crime & Courts

Owner of floating Kodiak strip club convicted of improperly dumping sewage

An owner of the floating strip club Wild Alaskan was convicted Wednesday of improperly dumping sewage into the Kodiak harbor and then lying to investigators about it, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Darren Byler, 55, was convicted of violating the Refuse Act and making false statements to investigators. His wife, Kimberly Riedel-Byler, was found not guilty of the same charges by a federal jury, the U.S. attorney's office wrote in a release Wednesday.

The Wild Alaskan was a strip club on a renovated 120-foot Bering Sea crabbing boat that opened in July 2014. The boat was anchored in Kodiak harbor, with water taxis shuttling passengers to and from it.

Byler told KTVA in November that year that the business had been "wildly successful."

Five months after opening, in December 2014, the club's liquor license was revoked. Two months later, Byler and his wife were indicted for the improper disposal of human waste.

During the five months it was in operation, more than 1,000 customers were on the boat, along with the Bylers, their 6-year-old daughter, a nanny and three to six dancers, the U.S. district attorney's office wrote in a release.

"Sewage from both bathrooms was piped to flow directly overboard into the waters of Kodiak Harbor," the release says. Investigators found that the ship lacked sewage storage and disposal systems.

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Byler gave false documentation of proper sewage disposal to the Coast Guard, the release says. He claimed to have disposed of 1,500 gallons of raw sewage at the disposal facility in Kodiak harbor in July 2014, and dumped more sewage at sea in September and October 2014.

Witnesses said that he had not dumped sewage at the facility during the days he claimed; one witness said the vessel had no equipment to carry or pump sewage.

Flight records and video evidence also showed Byler was also not in Kodiak during the days he said he had gone offshore to dump the sewage, the release says.

A cell phone number that had been previously used to contact Byler had been disconnected Wednesday.

Maximum penalties for violating the Refuse Act are up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $25,000 for each day of a violation and one year of supervised release.

Maximum penalties for making false statements are up to five years in jail, a fine of up to $250,000 and two years of supervised release.

Byler will be sentenced in March 2016.

Laurel Andrews

Laurel Andrews was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in October 2018.

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