SANTA MONICA—Typhoon Restaurant Inc. and owner Brian Vidor have entered guilty pleas for the unlawful sale of Sei whale meat.
Vidor admitted that his sushi chefs, working at The Hump at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport, knowingly were serving Sei whale. The charges were levied after undercover investigators received the endangered marine mammal while at the restaurant.
Authorities were led to the restaurant after receiving a sample of the meat obtained by the same team responsible for the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove,” a film that utilized covert technology to document the mass-slaughter of dolphins by Japanese fishermen.
The restaurant’s sushi chefs have also pleaded guilty. If the judge accepts the plea agreement, Typhoon Restaurant Inc. and Vidor will pay a $27,500 fine and will be placed on probation.
