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USCG Administrative Law Judge Case

U.S. Coast Guard vs. John Christopher Merrone

In the complaint served against John Christopher Merrone, the Coast Guard charged him with misconduct in docket 2022-0319 and proposed revocation of his Merchant Mariner Credential. After being charged, Merrone voluntarily surrendered his credential. Under 46 C.F.R. § 5.203, voluntary surrender lets a credential holder surrender a credential or endorsement instead of appearing at a hearing, permanently relinquishing rights to the credential and waiving hearing rights. DOJ later brought separate federal criminal charges related to the same alleged events.

Review Case Details

Disposition

Withdrawn

Posture

Dismissal

Sanction

Voluntary surrender of MMC

Judge

Brian Curley

What the Record Shows

Case Summary

In the complaint served against John Christopher Merrone in docket 2022-0319, the Coast Guard charged him with misconduct and proposed revocation of his Merchant Mariner Credential. The complaint alleged misconduct aboard the M/V LIBERTY GLORY on or about September 9, 2019, including allegations that Merrone administered or provided intoxicants to two cadets and engaged or attempted to engage in sexual acts with them while they were impaired.

After being charged, Merrone voluntarily surrendered his credential. Under 46 C.F.R. § 5.203, a credential holder may surrender a credential or endorsement to the Coast Guard in preference to appearing at a hearing. The regulation requires a written statement that the surrender is voluntary, that rights to the surrendered credential or endorsement are permanently relinquished, and that hearing rights are waived. Merrone was later criminally charged by the U.S. Department of Justice in a separate federal case. The federal indictment is included here as a supporting document because it concerns the same alleged events, but it is separate from the Coast Guard administrative Suspension and Revocation proceeding.

Based on public docket metadata and available source documents. Allegations are described as allegations, not findings of fact or admissions.

Outcome

Voluntary surrender of credential after Coast Guard complaint. The complaint documents are allegations, not ALJ findings.

Sanction: Voluntary surrender of MMC

Case Metadata

Docket Number
2022-0319
Enforcement Activity Number
7507018
Dispositive Order Date
Aug 3, 2022
Dispositive order
Judge
Brian Curley
Source Era
1999–2022 Published Decisions
Dispositive Order Type
Notice of Withdrawal / Voluntary Surrender under 46 C.F.R. § 5.203
Allegation
The Coast Guard complaint alleged misconduct under 46 U.S.C. § 7703(1)(B) and 46 C.F.R. § 5.27. The complaint alleged that, on or about September 9, 2019 aboard the M/V LIBERTY GLORY, Merrone administered or provided intoxicants to two cadets and engaged or attempted to engage in sexual acts with them while they were impaired. These are allegations stated in the Coast Guard complaint.
Source wording: Factual allegations - Misconduct; proposed order: revocation.
Alleged conduct dates: September 9, 2019
Authorities Cited
46 U.S.C. § 7703(1)(B)46 C.F.R. § 5.2746 C.F.R. § 5.61(a)(3)18 U.S.C. § 2241(b)18 U.S.C. § 2242(2)
Sources
Source links have not been added yet.
Coast Guard Representative
LCDR Orlando Hernandez
Mariner / Respondent Counsel
Charles George, Esq.

Sources, Context, and Method

What This Record Does and Does Not Show

Coast Guard suspension and revocation cases are administrative proceedings about a merchant mariner credential. They generally begin when a Coast Guard investigating officer files a complaint with the ALJ Docketing Center. Unless the case goes to a hearing and an ALJ finds the complaint allegations proved in a written decision and order, the allegations should be understood as allegations, not findings.

A settlement agreement or consent order can end the proceeding without an admission of the alleged conduct. This page therefore separates what the Coast Guard alleged from what an ALJ, Commandant appeal decision, default order, settlement order, dismissal, or other public record actually decided.

MLAA builds these pages from public Coast Guard ALJ docket data, official Coast Guard source documents, preserved docket-source proof, and available orders or decisions. We preserve source records where we can, label allegations as allegations, avoid treating docket categories as factual findings, and invite source-backed corrections when a record needs to be fixed.

Coast Guard S&R overview33 CFR Part 20

Media Coverage

Reporting on this case

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