FLORIDA SNAKE TRADER PLEADS GUILTY TO TRADING ILLEGALLY CAUGHT SNAKES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Friday, August 7, 2015

FLORIDA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MULTIPLE LACEY ACT VIOLATIONS FOR TRADING ILLEGAL SNAKES

Gerard Kruse, 42, a social worker who lives in Oviedo, Florida, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to 13 Lacey Act violations for his role in the trade of illegally caught snakes, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced.

Kruse pleaded guilty to seven counts of illegal transport of wildlife and six counts of illegal receipt of wildlife, which under the facts of the case are misdemeanors under the Lacey Act.  At the time of the crimes, Kruse was living in Douglaston, New York.  In court documents, Kruse admitted that between 2008 and 2012, he knowingly participated in violations, which involved the illegal collection, transport and receipt of 59 snakes that were collected from and protected by various states, such as New Jersey, California and Oregon.  Under the Lacey Act, it is illegal to knowingly ship or receive snakes in interstate commerce that were taken in violation of state law.  During the course of his conduct, Kruse personally collected protected snakes and shipped them to collectors in other states.  Sometimes he received money for the reptiles; other times he bartered snakes.  In addition, Kruse would solicit snakes from out-of-state collectors, while knowing that those collectors had procured their snakes illegally.  The last charge of the information deals with Kruse’s involvement in the shipment of a diamondback rattlesnake from Texas to Douglaston in a coffee can, in violation of U.S. Postal regulations.

The Lacey Act is an important statute for protecting our nation’s wildlife against those who make enforcement of state laws difficult by crossing state lines with protected species,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “All of our protected species, including reptiles, are important to our ecosystems and must be shielded from such illegal trafficking. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously support efforts against domestic wildlife trafficking.”

According to the terms of the pela agreement, the government will seek 13 months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, a request which is unopposed by the defense.  In addition, Kruse has agreed to be placed on probation and subject to special conditions such as forfeiture of his snakes and being banned from the collection, sale and trade of reptiles and amphibians.  Terms of Kruse’s sentence that the parties could not agree on will be decided at a sentencing hearing set for Dec. 15, 2015.

The case was investigated by agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of Operation Kingsnake.  The case is being prosecuted by Christopher L. Hale of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division.

ACTING ASSISTANT AG WEST'S STATEMENTS ON COMBATING WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Statements of Associate Attorney General Tony West and Acting Assistant Attorney General of Enrd on the National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking

Today, the White House released the National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking.  The Department of Justice, along with the Departments of State and the Interior, are co-chairs of the U.S. Task Force established by President Obama to lead the implementation of this strategy.  On Thursday, Associate Attorney General Tony West will lead the U.S. Delegation’s participation at the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade.

"The Department is pleased to be a part of this interagency approach to combating illegal wildlife trafficking,” said Associate Attorney General West.  “Record high demand for wildlife products, coupled with inadequate preventative measures and weak institutions, has resulted in an explosion of illicit trade in wildlife in recent years, with the increasing involvement of organized transnational criminal syndicates.  This trade undermines security, fuels corruption and contributes to the spread of disease, and it is decimating iconic animal populations.  The National Strategy identifies priority areas for interagency coordination, with the objectives of harnessing and strategically applying the full breadth of U.S. government resources.  Combating this problem will also require the shared understanding, commitment, and efforts of the world’s governments, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, corporations, civil society and individuals.   At this week’s London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, we hope other countries will join us in taking ambitious action to combat wildlife trafficking.”
The Department of Justice has long worked to protect threatened and endangered wildlife species through its enforcement of the Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act, as well as related criminal statutes.

“The president has called upon DOJ and more than a dozen other federal agencies to combine forces to more effectively battle this pernicious trade, which is growing at an alarming rate and threatens the survival of protected species both at home and abroad,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Robert Dreher for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “The release of today’s National Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking is a welcome next step in our longstanding efforts to protect threatened and endangered wildlife species.  Strong enforcement is critical to stopping those who kill and traffic in these animals, whether on land or in the oceans.  At the same time, the Strategy recognizes that enforcement alone is not enough to stop traffickers.  We must also work to reduce demand for illegal wildlife products.  This is not a fight that the United States can win alone; under the Strategy, we will build relationships with local and global partners who share our commitment to ending wildlife trafficking.”

The Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country bring criminal prosecutions under these laws against, for example, people who are found smuggling wildlife and plants into the United States. There is a major worldwide black market for some endangered species or products made from them.  The main federal agencies that the Division represents in this area are the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

BIG GAMER GETS CONVICTION FOR BAITING

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, September 20, 2012

Colorado Big Game Outfitter Convicted of Six Lacey Act Violations

WASHINGTON – Big game hunting outfitter Dennis Eugene Rodebaugh, 72, of Meeker, Colo., was convicted by a federal jury in Denver today of six charges of violating the Lacey Act, announced the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

According to the indictment, Rodebaugh operated a Colorado big game outfitting business called "D&S Guide and Outfitter" beginning in 1988, offering multi-day elk and deer hunts to many non-resident clients in the White River National Forest for between $1,200 and $1,600. The indictment alleged that each summer between 2002 and 2007, the defendant outfitted numerous clients, on hunts in which deer and elk were shot from tree stands near which Rodebaugh placed hundreds of pounds of salt each spring and summer as bait. The placement and use of bait to aid in the taking of big game is unlawful in Colorado. The interstate sale of big game outfitting and guiding services for the unlawful taking of big game with the aid of bait constitutes a felony violation of the Lacey Act.

Each of the six felony counts on which the defendant was convicted carries a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine. Rodebaugh also agreed to forfeit two all terrain vehicles and a utility trailer used in the commission of the six Lacey Act crimes.

This case was investigated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney J. Ronald Sutcliffe and Trial Attorney Mark Romley, of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.