PALMETTO MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL OFFENSES AFTER DUMPING DECEASED PERSON’S BODY INTO OCEAN WATERS

TAMPA, FLORIDA — A 37-year-old Palmetto man has pleaded guilty to two federal offenses involving the unlawful disposal of a deceased person’s body in ocean waters. Matthew Edward Zoladz admitted to violating the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships after transporting the body aboard a vessel and disposing of it at sea in December 2022, according to an announcement issued November 3, 2026, by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida.

According to federal court documents, the incident began on or about December 7, 2022, when Zoladz and another individual, identified in court records as Victim 1, were using drugs together. During that encounter, the individual suffered a fatal overdose. Zoladz drove around with the individual’s unconscious or deceased body positioned in the front passenger seat of his vehicle. Investigators also determined that he recorded video footage of the individual during that period.

On or about December 8, 2022, Zoladz was scheduled to work as a deckhand aboard a vessel. Before the ship departed, he wrapped the deceased individual’s body in a plastic trash bag and brought it aboard. The body remained on the vessel as it traveled into ocean waters, where Zoladz later carried out the unlawful disposal.

That evening, while the vessel was at sea, Zoladz dumped the plastic bag containing the body into the ocean. The disposal occurred without lawful authorization and formed the basis of the federal offenses to which he pleaded guilty. The Justice Department’s announcement did not identify the deceased individual, specify the vessel involved, or disclose the precise offshore location where the body was discarded.

The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act establishes federal restrictions governing the transportation and dumping of materials into ocean waters. The Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships provides additional federal requirements concerning the discharge and disposal of certain materials from vessels. Zoladz’s guilty plea involves violations of both statutes arising from his actions following the individual’s death.

Federal prosecutors have not announced charges alleging that Zoladz caused the fatal overdose. The criminal proceedings described in the Justice Department’s release concern his conduct involving the transportation and disposal of the deceased individual’s body.

Zoladz faces a maximum combined penalty of 15 years in federal prison for the two offenses. His sentencing is scheduled for January 20, 2027, when the court will determine the appropriate punishment after considering the applicable federal sentencing guidelines and statutory factors.

The FBI conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abigail K. King and E. Jackson Boggs Jr. are prosecuting the case on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

The guilty plea establishes Zoladz’s responsibility for unlawfully disposing of human remains at sea in violation of federal law. The case demonstrates how the unlawful transportation and disposal of a deceased person’s body can result in federal prosecution under statutes governing ocean dumping and pollution from vessels, even when the underlying death is not charged as a homicide.

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