Office of Law Enforcement

TWO KEYS RESIDENTS SENTENCED ON CONSPIRACY TO ILLEGAL LY HARVEST SPINY LOBSTERS

Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Hal Robbins, Special Agent in Charge, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division, Eddie McKissick, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), and Sean Morton, Superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), announced that defendants John Buckheim , 23, and Nick Demauro , 24, of Baypoint in the Florida Keys, were sentenced yesterday in federal District Court in Key West for having conspired to illegally harvest spiny lobsters from artificial habitat placed in the FKNMS and various federal wildlife refuges. Their convictions arose from an anti-poaching investigation, called Operation Frost Bite.

Buckheim and Demauro were each sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge James Lawrence King to prison terms of a year and a day, to be followed by two years of supervised release. The Court also ordered the defendants to make a payment of $10,559.58 to the United States Marshall's Service, representing costs to secure and deploy previously seized assets for use in dive support operations in the FKNMS and elsewhere, identifying, documenting, and investigating illegal activities associated with the use of artificial habitat sites and other wildlife resource violations. Additionally, the defendants were ordered to make a payment in the amount of $12,187.30 to the Miami-Dade Police Department Intergovernmental Bureau, representing the costs for personnel, equipment, and travel for dive operations in the FKNMS that identified and documented the illegal artificial habitat sites employed by the defendants.

Defendant Buckheim was also ordered to forfeit a 1999 Pathfinder vessel and a 2006 GMC pick-up truck, which were used in the commission of the criminal offenses charged. Due to an intervening sale of the vessel, Buckheim was ordered to forfeit the proceeds of that sale, $1,000.00.

Judge King also ordered the defendants, at the request of the government, to continue to remove the artificial habitat they had placed in the FKNMS. Since October 2009, as part of their plea agreements, the defendants at their own expense have been removing the illegal habitat under the supervision of FKNMS personnel. Thus far, approximately 300 sites have been removed.

According to the Indictment, Court records, and statements at the sentencing hearing, the two defendants were involved in the illegal harvest of more than 8,500 pounds of spiny lobster over six months, beginning in the early summer of 2008.

FKNMS regulations implemented in 1977, at Title 15, CFR §922.163(a)(3), prohibit any alterations of, or construction on the seabed of the Sanctuary. Constructing, placing, or abandoning any structure, material, or other matter on the seabed is prohibited as part of the effort to preserve the marine environment. Defendants admitted constructing, placing and using more than 500 of the artificial structures, and that defendant Buckheim sunk a vessel in October 2008 as part of their effort to place artificial habitat in the FKNMS.

Florida Administrative Code, Section 68B-24.006, which in part addresses gear that may be employed in harvesting lobster, and “Prohibited Devices,” states “ No person shall harvest any spiny lobster from artificial habitat.” The regulation defines artificial habitat as “any material placed in the waters of the state that is reasonably suited to providing cover and habitat for spiny lobster. Such material may be constructed of, but is not limited to, wood, metal, fiberglass, concrete, or plastic, or any combination thereof, and may be fabricated for this specific purpose or for some other purpose....” Other regulations in Chapter 68B prohibit any person from commercially harvesting, attempting to harvest, or having in their possession, regardless of where taken, any spiny lobster during the closed season. The sanctioned commercial season runs from August 6 through March 31 of the following year. An exception exists for the annual lobster sport mini-season.

According to Court records, the defendants made more than 32 trips to illegally harvest lobster by diving on artificial habitat. The defendants received payments made by check to Buckheim of more than $45,000 from a Key West fish house for the illegally harvested spiny lobster. The illegal lobster, including frozen lobster tails harvested in advance of the legal season, had a retail value exceeding $155,000. To reduce the risk of detection, the defendants acquired and displayed a commercial dive placard on Buckheim's vessel during the legitimate dive season although they were not entitled to use the commercial dive endorsement under Florida law. The defendants acquired the placard by paying $4,000 to another individual who legitimately held the required licenses. However, a false “lease” agreement was filed with State authorities to conceal the illegal scheme.

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) is a 2,800 square nautical mile area that surrounds the entire archipelago of the Florida Keys and includes the productive waters of Florida Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean. The FKNMS encompasses coastal and oceanic waters, and the submerged lands thereunder, surrounding the Florida Keys, and extending westward to include the Tortugas islands, but excluding Dry Tortugas National Park.

Mr. Sloman commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the NOAA Office for Law Enforcement, the FWS, Office of Law Enforcement, and the technical assistance of the crew of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission vessel Peter Gladding, a United States Coast Guard Dolphin helicopter aircrew, the FWS Southeast Regional Dive Team, and the Miami-Dade Police Department Underwater Recovery Unit for their assistance in this matter. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald.

NANTUCKET SCRIMSHAW ARTIST GUILTY OF SMUGGLING SPERM WHALE
AND ELEPHANT IVORY, CONSPIRACY, AND LYING TO FEDERAL AGENTS

BOSTON, MA - A Nantucket man was convicted today in federal court of multiple felony counts resulting from his participation in an international conspiracy to smuggle wildlife parts, specifically sperm whale teeth and elephant ivory, into the United States.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Andrew Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office for Law Enforcement, Northeast Enforcement Division; Salvatore Amato, Special Agent in Charge, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement; and Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Investigation in Boston, announced today that CHARLES MANGHIS, age 54, of 44 Somerset Lane, Nantucket, Massachusetts was convicted by U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner of one count of conspiracy to smuggle wildlife, six substantive counts of smuggling wildlife and two counts of making false statements to federal agents. He was acquitted of one count of smuggling and one count of making a false statement.

Evidence presented during the four day bench day trial proved that MANGHIS was a commercial scrimshaw artist living and working on Nantucket. He was in the business of making and selling scrimshaw - ivory pieces that are artistically etched -- for forty years. His wares were offered for sale at a well known antique shop on Nantucket and also displayed on his website. Evidence showed that MANGHIS bought ivory from persons outside the United States using the internet auction site, EBAY, to use for his scrimshaw items. Additionally, evidence showed that he conspired with a Ukranian national and others to smuggle large amounts of sperm whale ivory into the United States. Importation of sperm whale ivory into the United States has been banned since the early 1970's.

In June of 2005, Federal agents seized a large quantity of ivory pieces - many with Russian writing and pictures - from MANGHIS's home and a well known antique shop in Nantucket. Previously, during a prior search, MANGHIS's computer was also seized from his home. A NOAA Special Agent, trained in computer forensics, testified that he located numerous emails on MANGHIS's computer between the Ukranian national and MANGHIS which detailed MANGHIS's multiple purchases of sperm whale ivory. During the trial, forensic scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forensic laboratory testified that the items located in MANGHIS's home were, in fact, sperm whale teeth. Additionally, they provided the court with photographs which showed that MANGHIS had removed the prior carvings from the pieces, carvings which had included Russian writing and pictures.

During the course of the investigation, MANGHIS lied to federal agents by claiming that he purchased the sperm whale ivory from a person in California and not from anyone located outside the United States. When federal agents questioned him about having Russian origin teeth in his home, he falsely claimed that he had none.

MANGHIS was indicted and arrested at his home on Nantucket in April of 2008.

After the verdict, Acting U.S. Attorney Jack Pirrozolo commented that "unfortunately the United States is a significant marketplace for the exploitation of illegal wildlife. It is important that we take every step to eliminate the illegal commercial trade in these endangered and protected species. This is a fine example of multi-agency cooperation focused on the reduction and elimination of this illegal trafficking."

Judge Gertner scheduled sentencing for May 6, 2010. MANGHIS faces up to five years imprisonment on each of the nine felony counts, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and a $ 250,000 fine on each count.

The case was investigated by NOAA, Office of Law Enforcement, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Also providing support was the Nantucket Police Department and the Massachusetts Environmental Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini, Chief of Ortiz's Major Crimes Unit.

THREE INDIVIDUALS INDICTED FOR FALSE LABELING, SMUGGLING, AND MISBRANDING OF SEAFOOD PRODUCTS

WASHINGTON–A federal Grand Jury in the Southern District of Alabama returned today a twenty-eight count indictment against Karen L. Blyth, David H. M. Phelps, and John J. Popa. Blyth, Phelps and Popa were charged with conspiracy to: (1) falsely label fish and shellfish, including a type of catfish commonly called basa, swai, or sutchi, Lake Victoria perch, grouper, oysters, and shrimp, in violation of the Lacey Act; (2) receive, buy, sell, and transport merchandise after importation, specifically frozen fillets of fish of the genus Pangasius, a type of catfish, commonly called basa, swai, and sutchi, knowing it to have been imported contrary to law; and (3) misbrand seafood products, including a type of catfish commonly called basa, swai, or sutchi, Lake Victoria perch, grouper, oysters, and shrimp sold in interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead. The charge describes over 325,000 pounds of falsely labeled seafood involved in a conspiracy spanning from January 1, 2004 to November 8, 2006.

Blyth and Phelps were also charged with six felony counts of false labeling of approximately 283,500 pounds of imported Pangasius fillet, a type of catfish, as sole, in violation of the Lacey Act; two felony counts of the receipt, sale, and transportation of this falsely labeled fish, which was imported falsely labeled and without applicable tariffs having been paid; and one felony count of misbranding of this catfish as sole.

In addition, Blyth, Phelps, and Popa were charged with:

one felony count of falsely labeling and purchasing or selling approximately 34,100 pounds of imported catfish fillet as sole, in violation of the Lacey Act; one felony count of the receipt, sale, and transportation of this falsely labeled fish, which was imported contrary to law; and one felony count of misbranding of this fish as sole.
two felony counts for purchasing and creating false labels describing approximately 2,800 pounds of imported Pangasius fillet as grouper; and one felony count for misbranding this fish as grouper.
five felony counts of falsely labeling and selling to customers in southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle region approximately 18,350 pounds of an imported catfish as grouper and sole, in violation of the Lacey Act; and two felony counts of misbranding of this catfish as grouper and sole.
three felony counts of falsely labeling and selling Lake Victoria perch as grouper and/or snapper to customers in Alabama and the Florida panhandle region, in violation of the Lacey Act, and one felony count for the misbranding of this falsely labeled fish.

Finally, Popa was charged with three felony counts of falsely labeling live and shucked oysters in violation of the Lacey Act, resulting from his changing the harvest date on the oyster tags and labels to falsely indicate a more recent harvest date.

The case was investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Law Enforcement; the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations; the Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama.

Charges in the indictment are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

SAN FRANCISCO MAN PLED GUILTY TO ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT VIOLATIONS AND MAKING FALSE STATEMENTS TO INVESTIGATORS

President of Brugnara Corporation Admits to Harming Steelhead

First Federal Criminal ESA Case for Blocking Steelhead Migration

SAN FRANCISCO - Luke D. Brugnara pleaded guilty today to four counts of "taking" steelhead trout, a listed threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and two counts of making false statements in the course of the investigation, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.

Brugnara, 46, of San Francisco, admitted that he intentionally blocked the flow of Little Arthur Creek, a critical habitat for steelhead, through his private dam on property in Gilroy, Calif., that he purchased in 2001.

Steelhead, an anadromous species of trout, migrate from freshwater to ocean water and back. They are found in the Pacific Ocean, along the west coast of the continental United States and Alaska. As part of their natural life cycle, they are born in streams, creeks, and rivers and then migrate to the Pacific Ocean where they live up to three years before they migrate back to the same river, creek and stream in which they were born to spawn.

It is critical to the steelheads' survival that they be able to migrate upstream of the dam on Brugnara's property to spawn in suitable habitat, the indictment states. The population of steelhead in the Little Arthur Creek, running through Brugnara's property, is threatened with extinction and is listed under the ESA as a threatened species. One of the reasons for the decline in steelhead populations is that their access to historic spawning and rearing areas upstream of dams has been blocked.

According to the indictment, from at least January 2007 through at least April 2007, Brugnara closed off the opening or portal in his dam that had allowed the steelhead to migrate upstream. State and federal investigators located and observed numerous trapped adults downstream of the dam that were unable to migrate upstream to suitable spawning habitat. A federal fisheries biologist determined the trapped adult steelhead were of paramount importance to the survival of the species due to the low number of steelhead found in the Pajaro River watershed and recommended the adults be rescued and moved upstream. When the rescue team arrived to move the steelhead upstream, investigators found that the steelhead were gone and located significant evidence of poaching activities. An affidavit filed by a special agent with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement (NOAA OLE) in connection with this criminal investigation details Brugnara's alleged poaching and trapping activities.

Brugnara also admitted to making false statements to the California Department of Fish and Game Wardens who interviewed him during the investigation.

This is the first federal criminal case charging an individual with the take of steelhead through blocking access to upstream habitat.

"The protection of steelhead and other threatened species is of paramount importance," U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello said. "We will utilize all available means to preserve such species for future generations."

"The loss of adults, returning to Little Arthur Creek to spawn, is especially devastating to the population and to our recovery efforts," said Dick Butler, Santa Rosa Area Office Supervisor, NOAA Protected Resources Division.

"Safeguarding ESA-listed fish and wildlife populations is one of this Department's top priorities," said Nancy Foley, Chief of Enforcement, CDFG. "The collaboration and dedication exhibited in this multi-agency investigation, should be a clear message to everyone that our agencies are serious about enforcing laws designed to protect and restore the public's natural resources.

"This successful prosecution comes at a time when the importance of protecting critical habitat for steelhead as well as salmon is paramount on the minds of all Californians, especially those following the collapse of numerous salmonid runs throughout California," said Special Agent in Charge Don Masters, NOAA-OLE.

Brugnara is set to be sentenced on May 5, 2010, in federal court in San Francisco before U.S. District Court Judge Maxine Chesney.

The maximum statutory penalty for each False Statement charge in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 is five years and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of violating the Endangered Species Act, in violation of 16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(G) and 1540(b)(1) is six months imprisonment, a $25,000 fine, one year supervised release and a $10 special assessment. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Thomas Newman and Maureen Bessette are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted the case with the assistance of Kathleen Turner and Kathy Tat. The prosecution is the result of a year long investigation by Special Agent Roy Torres with the NOAA-OLE and Warden Kyle Kroll with the CDFG.

Further Information:

Case #: CR08-00236MMC

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's Web site at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges' calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court's Web site at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Jack Gillund or by e-mail at Jack.Gillund@usdoj.gov. mailto:Josh.Eaton@usdoj.gov

Bahamian National Pleads Guilty in International Seafood Smuggling Operation

Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, H. Jeff Radonski, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Law Enforcement, Eddie McKissick, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Investigations, announced that defendant Robbie Franklin Smith , 45, of Bimini, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, pled guilty today in Fort Lauderdale District Court, on charges related to the illegal importation of quantities of queen conch and spiny lobster from the Bahamas to the United States, which had been harvested and exported in violation of Bahamian law, all contrary to the Lacey Act, Title 16 , United States Code, Sections 3372(a)(2)(A) and 3373(d)(1)(A) and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.

According to the allegations in the Indictment, court records, and statements in Court, in December 2005 a vessel operated by a Miami-based seafood dealer, James Hanson, was intercepted by a Coast Guard patrol vessel. During a boarding and inspection, officers found more than 1,000 pounds of undeclared spiny lobster and approximately 340 pounds of queen conch, which had been supplied to Hansen in the Bahamas by Smith. Hanson planned to land the seafood in the United States and market it through Hansen Seafood, Inc., a company which he owned. According to records in the related cases, between June and December 2005, on approximately a dozen occasions, Hanson purchased spiny lobster and conch from Smith and imported it illegally into the United States using boats owned through his companies, and employees of his companies. According to Court documents, the total fair market value of the trips exceeded $87,000.

United States District Court Judge William J. Zloch, who accepted the guilty plea from the defendant, set sentencing in this matter for April 6, 2010 at 10:00 am. On the single count to which Smith pled guilty, he faces a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and a three-year period of supervised release. Smith's associate, Hanson, was previously convicted and sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $75,000, perform 300 hours of community service, and to serve a period of three years' probation. He was also ordered to relinquish any claim to the proceeds of the seized product, which was valued at $13,930. Additionally, Hanson was ordered to forfeit the boat used in the commission of the offense, a 2000, 37.8' fiberglass hulled sport fishing vessel, "REDEEMED."

Statute Law of the Bahamas, Revised Edition 2000, Chapter 244 Fisheries Resources (Jurisdiction & Conservation), Section 21(1)(a), prohibits the sale and export of any fishery resource from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas except under and in accordance with the terms of a license granted by the Government of the Bahamas. None of the individuals or corporations involved in this matter ever received or possessed a lawfully issued licence from the Government of the Bahamas, to export spiny lobster or queen conch.

Queen conch (Strombus gigas) is a commercially valuable seafood product, which falls within the taxonomic phylum Mollusca. Queen conch is a protected species under the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), 16 U.S.C. § 1533©, and is a species listed for protection since 1992 in Appendix II of an international treaty known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ("CITES"). A purpose of CITES is to monitor and restrict trade in certain species of fish, wildlife, and plants to protect them from commercial exploitation that might diminish the ability of the species to survive in the wild. More than 170 countries cooperate in the enforcement of the provisions of CITES, including the United States and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, by implementing domestic laws to effectuate its underlying goals.

CITES classifies protected species in its Appendices. Appendix II includes all species "which although not necessarily now threatened with extinction may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival." Accordingly, the importation of queen conch, alive or dead, and its parts and derivatives, is subject to the requirements of CITES, the ESA, and the regulations thereto. To engage in trade in queen conch, all imports or exports must be accompanied by a CITES export certificate from the country of origin, or a re-export permit from a country of re-export.

Mr. Sloman expressed his appreciation for the assistance provided in this matter by the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, Department of Marine Resources, of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the NOAA Office For Law Enforcement, U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and ICE's Office of Investigations in Miami, which brought the investigation to a successful conclusion. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas Watts-FitzGerald.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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