A ‘captain’ for hire took a job during Gasparilla. But he wasn’t a captain at all.

It has been revealed that a “captain” during the Gasparilla Invasion last weekend in Tampa wasn’t a captain at all.

According to a report by WFLA, a “captains for hire” website apparently missed that one of its skippers had a DUI arrest and a violation of probation last year. The company is contemplating reimbursing customers for what turned into a nightmarish Gasparilla evening.

Anchorrides.com offers captains for hire for about $50 per hour, and 24-year-old Nathan Lee Stasio was one of many people advertised as a captain on the website. But WFLA found through Coast Guard records that he was never a captain.

When Stasio was hired for an 8-hour shift during the Gasparilla Invasion, the boat’s owner said he performed his duties well, at first.

But after the owner, who was not identified, paid him extra to take the boat back to Clearwater, Stasio was arrested. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission officer spotted him speeding in an idle zone and said he was found boating under the influence. He also faces a drug charge of manufacture of cannabis.

Anchorrides.com told WFLA the captains are well vetted and have to go through criminal background checks, and didn’t know how company officials missed Stasio’s previous criminal history.

In response, the organization said it plans to re-run background checks on all captains on the website.

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 1:49 PM with the headline "A ‘captain’ for hire took a job during Gasparilla. But he wasn’t a captain at all.."