The Codfather: Inside A $175 Million Fish Fraud
Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
Milk Street Radio
4.2 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 February 2026
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Carlos Rafael ran one of the biggest fishing operations in New England. He was successful. Almost too successful. Probably because his seafood empire was built through fraud. This week, reporter Ian Coss brings us to the story of The Codfather. Plus, Natasha Pickowicz invites everyone to hot pot, and Christopher Kimball and Sara Moulton answer your questions on Norwegian pancakes, Julia Child’s Gâteau de Crêpes, and more.
Want to hot pot at home? Get the blog post featuring Natasha's equipment recommendations and shopping guide here.
Listen to Catching the Codfather on the Big Dig Podcast from GBH here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Milk Street Radio from PRX. I'm your host, Christopher Kimball. |
| 0:08.5 | Carlos Rafael owned the biggest fleet of boats in America's most valuable fishing port. |
| 0:13.8 | He was successful, almost too successful. And that's because his seafood empire was built on fraud. |
| 0:20.5 | We're talking about falsifying paperwork, unloading thousands and thousands of pounds of fish, moving it across state lines. |
| 0:30.2 | And so the question is who knew who actively participated in the fraud. |
| 0:34.8 | Not just fraud, but cash smuggling as well. |
| 0:45.2 | Carlos developed this system for bringing cash to Portugal that involved several members of the local sheriff's department. Later on the show, we'll find out how Carlos Raphael became the codfather. |
| 0:52.9 | But first, we'll have a hot pot feast. I'm joined now by Natasha |
| 0:57.0 | Pickowitz. Her new book is called Everyone Hot Pot. Natasha, welcome to Milk Street. |
| 1:03.3 | Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here. So every recipe going back to its creation sort of solves a problem or is particularly |
| 1:14.7 | well suited to its place and its time. |
| 1:18.2 | So when it comes to a hot pot, what was it about that approach to cooking that made it eminently, |
| 1:26.2 | I don't know, practical or appropriate for a particular time and |
| 1:29.8 | place? Yeah, I mean, it's a great question. And I think one of the fascinating things about |
| 1:35.1 | hot pot to me is that it actually embodies this incredible range of utility. So it's this great |
| 1:43.4 | meal sort of on the go that you can set up anywhere. Maybe you're |
| 1:47.4 | outside, you're camping. Maybe you don't have access to a kitchen. You're just gathered around |
| 1:52.7 | this sort of open flame. But it also kind of represents, or it can, you know, incredible |
| 1:58.2 | opulence and sort of a buffet of all kinds of ingredients and splendor. |
| 2:02.9 | And so I think the unique thing about Hot Pod is that it can be parlayed into just such a wide range of human experiences from, you know, Table for Two to massive groups. |
| 2:15.3 | And I was personally always just so fascinated at this kind of |
| 2:19.6 | flexibility in the meal, it's sort of modular approach. So let's talk about the problem with hot pot. |
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