TENNESSEE MAN CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING ENDANGERED WILDLIFE THROUGH CHICAGO OHARE AIRPORT

A Federal grand jury has returned a four-count indictment against a suburban Nashville, Tennessee, man for illegally importing endangered wildlife products into the United States through O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. The items were discovered by inspectors at O’Hare upon his arrival from Paris.

Richard M. Bobbo, 39, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, was charged with attempting to smuggle skins of the endangered leopard and African dwarf crocodile, and products made from African elephant ivory. The skins and ivory were brought from Africa’s Ivory Coast.

Bobbo was charged with one count of violating the Federal Lacey Act, which prohibits transportation and importation of illegal wildlife products; one count of smuggling; and two counts of making false statements to U.S. Customs officials at O’Hare.

In response to the indictment, Bobbo entered a plea of not guilty on July 13, 1998, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. A hearing will be held on August 10, 1998, in U.S. District Court before Judge Blanche M. Manning.

Wildlife inspectors seized the illegal products on January 2, 1996, as Bobbo attempted to pass through U.S. Customs inspection at O’Hare. Products discovered included one full leopard skin, three African dwarf crocodile skins, four elephant tusk ivory statues, and seven strands of elephant ivory beads. He allegedly failed to report the products on customs declaration forms and denied to customs officials that he had acquired any animal products while abroad.

Bobbo will appear in U.S. District Court in Chicago in the near future to enter a plea to the charges. If convicted, he could face up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 on each count.

African elephants, leopards, and African dwarf crocodiles are recognized by the United States as threatened or endangered, a status that prohibits the import of such species along with parts or products made from these animals. In addition, all three species are recognized under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), an international treaty which restricts or prohibits trade in animals and plants whose wild populations are in jeopardy due to demands of commercial trade.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices 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 fish and 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://midwest.fws.gov