Tour boat captain gets prison after boat capsizes off NYC, killing woman and child

NEW YORK — The captain of an unauthorized tour boat that capsized in the Hudson River, killing a woman and a 7-year-old child, was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in prison, prosecutors said.

Richard Cruz, 33, pleaded guilty in October to a misconduct and neglect charge specific to boating. Court papers show he admitted that he overloaded his boat — called Stimulus Money — and didn't have the Coast Guard credentials needed to take paying customers aboard.

The boat flipped over and plunged all 13 people aboard into the water near Manhattan’s West Side on July 12, 2022, prosecutors said. The woman, 48, and the boy died after being trapped underneath the vessel.

Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon said in a statement that the case shows commercial boat captains “that there will be consequences when they fail to follow the federal regulations and safety protocols that exist to keep passengers safe.”

Her office said Cruz had the boat going fast, though operators of small boats had been warned of high winds and heavy seas.

A message seeking comment was sent to Cruz's lawyer.

Cruz, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, also was ordered to pay $50,000 for the victims' funeral expenses, prosecutors said.