The operator of an Illinois exotic animal park pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges today in federal court in Chicago. Steven Galecki, 32, owner of the Funky Monkey Animal Park in Crete, Illinois, pleaded guilty to killing one endangered leopard and two endangered tigers and later selling hides and meat from the animals to buyers in Illinois, including a Chicago area meat market.
Galecki entered his plea before Judge Blanche Manning at the U.S. District Court in Chicago. He is scheduled to be sentenced September 6, 2002, and faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
Galecki is one of six Chicago area men, a Wisconsin man and a Lockport,Ill., meat store charged May 1, 2002 on a 28-count federal indictment on charges of conspiracy and violations of various federal wildlife protection laws. The indictments were the result of a lengthy undercover investigation into the illegal trade of tigers, leopards and other animals by agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 18- month investigation, called Operation Snow Plow, resulted in search warrants and interviews being executed in 10 states and the seizure of a warehouse full of wildlife mounts, hides, skulls, bones, weapons and documents. Federal wildlife charges were filed against 17 individuals and small business owners from Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan.
In his plea agreement Galecki admitted that in August 1997, he and co-defendant William Kapp of Tingley Park, Il., arranged for the sale of several exotic cats including an endangered black leopard, to co-defendant Robert Martinez, of Palos Heights, Ill., After paying Galecki and Kapp $7,000, Martinez shot two lions, a mountain lion and the black leopard while they were confined in cages. In an attempt to cover the illegal transaction, Galecki then falsified federal documents in to indicate the sale was a "donation." The cats were then skinned and the meat was sold to a meat market owned by co-defendant Richard Czimer of Lockport, Ill. Approximately one week later, Galecki said he arranged for the sale of two endangered Bengal tigers to Martinez and co-defendant David Woldman of Lombard, Ill. Martinez and Woldman shot the tigers while confined to a trailer. The meat from the tigers was then sold to Czimers meat market.
Tigers 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.
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 95 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 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.
For further information about programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, visit our website at " facehttp://midwest.fws.gov
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