A commercial fisherman convicted of federal crimes in 2023 has been released from an upstate minimum-security prison less than eight months into his 30-month sentence, but his plan to make court-ordered restitution is hitting a roadblock.

Christopher Winkler, 65, the veteran Montauk fisherman who was convicted in a scheme to catch and sell nearly $900,000 in over-the-limit fluke and black sea bass, this week was released to a halfway house in Brooklyn, his lawyer Daniel Rodgers of Southampton said.

But Winkler is facing a new order from the Town of East Hampton to remove his fishing vessel from the town dock, where it's been moored for the past 40 years, because of his conviction.

In March, East Hampton’s senior harbormaster Timothy Treadwell wrote to Winkler telling him the town would not renew his $2,070 slip at the dock because "you were found guilty in a federal court of law" of crimes involving the New Age. "Based on the foregoing, the town board will not be renewing your commercial dock slip permit."

Winkler in 2023 was convicted of five counts of mail fraud, obstruction and conspiracy tied to the illegal harvest of more than 220,00 pounds of fish, which took place between 2014 and 2017. His one-time co-defendants in the case, Bryan and Asa Gosman, who pleaded guilty in the case and testified against Winkler, received sentences of $247,000 each in restitution and no prison time. 

Town rules for commercial boat slips say they can be revoked based on a vessel-owner’s failure to "comply with any federal, state, county, and/or municipal laws."

Rodgers said if the town were to enforce that rule, "it could potentially wipe out half the commercial fishing fleet in New York state," not just Montauk, and could be applied not just for federal fishing violations but citations as small as a parking ticket.

Reached by phone, Treadwell declined to comment.

East Hampton Town spokesman Patrick Derenze, in an emailed statement, noted Winkler’s crimes "directly involved the use of his vessel ... while it was docked at the town-owned facility."

"The decision reflects both the seriousness of the offenses and the fact that town-owned dock space, which is provided to commercial fishermen at a subsidized rate, was used in connection with those crimes," Derenze wrote. "The town is of the opinion that town resources should not be utilized to supplement Mr. Winkler’s business ventures."

Asked if Winkler were the first boat-owner to have his slip revoked under those rules, Derenze said Winkler was the first "in recent memory."

Each case of renewing boat slips is based on "its own circumstances," Derenze said, who added the town is "not aware of any prior instance in which a slip owner was convicted of similar federal crimes tied directly to the use of town property." He said the town was "not in a position to comment" on Winkler’s federal restitution obligations.

Rodgers accused the town of "piling on" after Winkler paid his debt with prison time and while attempting to make court-ordered restitution, which is more than $725,000, Newsday reported. He said Winkler intends to fight the town’s demand, has asked for a review hearing and is considering legal action.

Any potential legal challenge by Winkler, Rodgers said, would be based on the town’s failure to afford Winkler "due process or any right to defend himself."

"This is selective, it’s unconstitutional, it’s arbitrary, capricious, vindictive and quite frankly, petty," said Rodgers.

Winkler’s wife, Tracy Stoloff, in a letter to the town last week, said Winkler was requesting a grant of formal review of the matter and a hearing for the slip he’s maintained for more than 40 years.

She noted Winkler is "currently being considered for a full pardon related to this case," without elaborating, and noted that the federal judge in the case "specifically allowed Mr. Winkler to maintain his fisheries permits, enabling him to earn a living and fulfill his financial obligations to the federal government."