Donald B. Hamper, a former reptile dealer from Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced today in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, to one year and one day confinement and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and a $300 special assessment after pleading guilty earlier this year to illegally buying, selling and transporting Blanding’s turtles and other wildlife protected by federal and state laws. U.S. District Court Judge Algenon L. Marbley also ordered Hamper to pay $7,000 in restitution to Michigan’s Fish and Game Protection Fund.
Hamper, a former co-organizer of the monthly All Ohio Reptile Show in Columbus, bought and sold turtles and other reptiles during the show and similar venues in Michigan and Indiana. He also sold reptiles over the Internet. As part of his sentence, Hamper will also be placed on three years supervised probation following his release from prison during which time he is prohibited from possessing or handling any reptiles or amphibians.
Hamper pleaded guilty in federal court in February to three felony Lacey Act charges involving the illegal interstate purchases and sales of 53 Blandings turtles. At that time, Hamper also acknowledged his involvement in illegal activity involving other protected wildlife, including additional Blandings turtles, spotted turtles, wood turtles, and several species of snakes. The wildlife involved in Hampers charges and other illegal conduct has been valued between $30,000 and $70,000. Hamper’s trade in the rare turtles is prohibited by various wildlife laws in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. The interstate trade in wildlife obtained in violation of state laws is a violation of the Lacey Act, the nation’s oldest federal wildlife protection law. Maximum penalties for felony violations of the Act include imprisonment of up to five years, and fines of up to $250,000 for each offense.
Hamper is one of 58 individuals convicted in federal, state and municipal courts as a result of “Operation E&T” (Endangered and Threatened) a joint investigation into the illegal reptile trade by special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and investigators of the Ohio Division of Wildlife and Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The lengthy investigation was conducted in cooperation with Operation Slither, a separate investigation conducted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The joint investigations resulted in the prosecution in federal court of seven defendants from four states.
An additional 58 individuals were charged with felony and/or misdemeanor violations of various wildlife laws by state, county and municipal courts in Ohio (37); Michigan (14); Indiana (5); Nebraska (1) and Arizona (1). In Ohio and Michigan -- states with the majority of defendants -- courts assessed a total $90,801 in fines and restitution ($32,801 in Ohio and $58,000 in Michigan)
Hamper’s sentence resulted from a negotiated, global agreement between the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Ohio, the Department of Justice, and the Franklin County, Ohio, Prosecutor’s Office. Hamper also faced prosecution in Franklin County, on violations of Ohio Revised Code and Columbus city codes involving record keeping, tagging and harboring numerous venomous Gila monsters and beaded lizards. As part of a separate plea agreement with Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, Hamper agreed to relinquish ownership of all wildlife seized from him during the course of the investigation. In addition to rare turtles, the seized wildlife includes venomous Gila monsters and beaded lizards. As part of his plea agreement with the government, Hamper also published a public apology in Reptile Magazine, and donated $2,500 to Ohio’s Wildlife Education Fund.
The Blandings turtle is a medium sized freshwater turtle with an average shell length of approximately 7 to 10 inches. Blanding’s turtles are easily identified by their bright yellow chin and throat and numerous yellow speckles on its domed upper shell. The turtle is found primarily in the Great Lakes region and extends from southern Ontario west including Michigan, Wisconsin, northern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, southern Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. It is protected from commercialization in most of its range. The turtle is State-listed as Endangered in Indiana and Missouri, and Threatened in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Blanding’s turtle is a species of Special Concern in Michigan and Ohio. It is also highly prized by those in the reptile 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 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 545 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.
