A five-year joint investigation by state and federal wildlife agents into illegal clamming activities in the Midwest ended today with the sentencing of two Mississippi Valley Shell Company (MVS) officials of Muscatine, Iowa, and five other defendants. Fines and restitution charges levied against the defendants totaled more than $380,000. In addition, two defendants were sentenced to jail terms, two received lifetime prohibitions against clamming, and all were placed on probation.
Included in the sentencing for their part in the illegal harvest and interstate transportation and sale of freshwater mussels were Darwin Lee Butch Ballenger, 59, President of the Mississippi Valley Shell Company; Cheryl Roate Ballenger, 4l, Vice President of the Mississippi Valley Shell Company; Craig Smith, 31, Erie, Illinois; Terry Althiser, 48, Hilledale, Illinois; Jeremie Cooper, 24, Patch Grove, Wisconsin; Harry Schultz, 40, Muscatine, Iowa; and Greg Meyers, 36, Brownsville, Minnesota. An eighth defendant, Don Vizzini, 39, of Gold Hill, Oregon, is currently awaiting sentencing in February.
Cooper was sentenced to a jail term of eight months, and Darwin Ballenger a sentence of 24 months. A total of $257,500 was assessed in fines, and $126,000 in restitution. The largest fine, of $250,000, was assessed against the Mississippi Valley Shell company. All defendants were also placed on probation for terms of two to five years. Meyers and Althiser received lifetime prohibitions against future clamming activities.
The convictions are the result of an investigation which began in the spring of 1995 when Illinois wildlife authorities received information about the unlawful take of freshwater mussels from the Rock River. A subsequent joint investigation by state and federal agents in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin revealed freshwater mussels from the Rock River in Illinois and other closed waters in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan, and Ohio were being taken in violation of state and federal laws. The mussels were then sold to MVS, formerly the second largest shell buying/exporting company in the United States, and then exported to Japan for use in the cultured pearl industry.
The Federal Lacey Act prohibits interstate commerce in wildlife protected under state or federal law.
A Federal Grand Jury, convening in Des Moines, had indicted the defendants on a total of 72 felony violations of the Lacey Act in April 1998. These counts included a total value of mussels exceeding $1 million dollars. Special Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Lang led the prosecution team.
Freshwater mussels are among the most endangered species of animals in North America. Of the approximately 300 species of known mussels, 30 are already extinct and another 70 are either threatened or endangered.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprising more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries and 78 ecological services field stations.
The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/
