Todd H. Lantz of Cape Girardeau, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, a felony. The maximum penalty for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act, a federal wildlife protection law, is five years in prison and/or fines of up to $250,000. Vicki L. Lantz, pleaded guilty to aiding in the sale of the four tigers, a misdemeanor violation of the Endangered Species Act. Freddy M. Wilmoth pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the transportation of an endangered species into commerce, also a misdemeanor violation of the Endangered Species Act. The maximum penalty for misdemeanor violations of the Endangered Species Act is one year confinement and/or fines up to $100,000.
Sentencing for all three defendants is scheduled for May 20.
The three are among five individuals indicted for their roles in the illegal trafficking of six endangered tigers and five leopards protected by federal law. The indictments were unsealed Nov. 8, 2001 by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis following a lengthy undercover investigation by agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The five were alleged to have illegally purchased, transported and sold federally-endangered tigers and leopards between January and August 1998. The indictments alleged that in February 1998, Todd Lantz, purchased four tigers from Freddy Wilmoth in Gentry, Ark., and transported them to the 5H Ranch in Cape Girardeau, Mo., with the knowledge the tigers were to be killed. After the tigers were killed and sold, Vicky Lantz prepared federal forms (USDA Form 720) falsely stating the transaction was a donation.
No hearing dates have been set for Stoney Elam of Fort Gibson, Okla., and Tim Rivers of Citra, Fla., the two others charged in the indictments. Indictments allege that in June 1998, Stoney Elam sold two tigers and three leopards in violation of federal wildlife laws. Timothy Rivers, owner of Animals in Motion in Citra, Fla., is alleged to have illegally sold two leopards in August 1998.
Service investigators, working closely with the U.S. Attorneys Offices in Missouri, Illinois and Michigan, uncovered a group of residents and small business owners in the Midwest that allegedly bought and killed exotic tigers, leopards, snow leopards, lions, mountain lions, cougars, mixed breed cats and black bears with the intention of introducing meat and skins into the lucrative animal parts trade. Tigers and snow leopards are listed as "Endangered" under the federal Endangered Species Act. The law also protects leopards, which are classified as either "endangered" or "threatened" depending on the location of the wild population. Although federal regulations allow possession of captive-bred tigers, the regulations stipulate activities involving their use must be to enhance the propagation or survival of the species. It is unlawful to kill the animals for profit, or to sell their hides, parts or meats into interstate commerce.
Service agents were also assisted in the Missouri investigation by law enforcement officers from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
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 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 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.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | | | | | | |
