Pesticide Smuggler Sentenced to 90 Days in Custody; Ordered to Pay $10,000

SAN DIEGO –Felix Gutierrez Valencia of Perris, California, was sentenced in federal court today to 90 days in custody for attempting to smuggle pesticides into the United States.  In addition, Gutierrez was ordered to pay a fine of $2,500 and restitution of $8,807 for the cost of disposal of the pesticides, and perform 100 hours of community service during three years of supervised release. 

In pleading guilty, Gutierrez admitted that, on April 16, 2020, he entered the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, where 48 containers of undeclared Mexican pesticides were discovered in his truck.  Gutierrez had concealed some of the containers of pesticides in cereal and cookie boxes.  The pesticides included Furadan, Monitor, Bayfolan, Biomec, Ridomil Gold, Kanemite and Rodentox.  Gutierrez later acknowledged that, after his arrest in April, he offered to pay another individual to smuggle pesticides into the United States. However, that person was also caught at the border with 37 containers of Furadan, Biomec, Biozyme and Tetrasan.

Two of the pesticides smuggled by Gutierrez contain active ingredients that are cancelled in the United States, and thus are not permitted to be imported or sold. Furadan contains the cancelled pesticide carbofuran, which is a highly toxic insecticide that affects the central nervous systems by the same mechanism as chemical warfare nerve agents. It is highly toxic to birds, fish and mammals and is classified by the EPA as Toxicity Category I, the highest category, based upon its lethal potency. Monitor contains the cancelled pesticide methamidophos, which is one of the most acutely toxic organophosphate pesticides, also related to chemical warfare nerve agents. Rodentox contains zinc phosphide, an extremely toxic rodenticide.  Ingestion of 7 drops to one teaspoons of zinc phosphide would likely kill a 150-pound person.

According to the sentencing documents, all of the chemicals smuggled by the defendant are commonly found at locations where marijuana is illegally cultivated.  Exposure to these pesticides during eradication efforts has cause law enforcement officers to be hospitalized, has polluted soils and streams, and has killed wildlife.  Cannabis users are also at risk,  In one study, the pesticide transfer rate into the blood stream of a cannabis smoker using a glass pipe was as high as 70 percent.

“Trafficking in illegal pesticides is big business, and we are aggressively prosecuting many of these smuggling cases in order to protect the public,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “The toxic chemicals are extremely dangerous, with the power to poison people, wildlife, water sources and soil.  Smugglers like this defendant are attempting to sneak banned pesticides across the border as if they are illicit narcotics, and they are getting caught and going to prison. That’s how serious these offenses are.” Grossman praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie Pierson for her excellent work prosecuting environmental crimes, and he also commended agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division.    

“There’s a reason the federal government prohibits the importation of certain types of pesticides,” said Cardell T. Morant, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego. “Some of the chemicals may be toxic and exposure can be dangerous or fatal to both humans and wildlife. This individual not only disregarded the hazards associated with improperly handling these types of chemicals, he attempted to smuggle the chemicals into the U.S., which is a very serious crime. HSI and its partner organizations will continue to pursue, arrest, and bring to justice, anyone who tries to smuggle these highly toxic chemicals into the U.S.”

“The pesticides involved in this case pose serious public health and environmental dangers,” said Special Agent in Charge Scot Adair of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in California. “The sentence in this case demonstrates that individuals who intentionally violate smuggling and environmental protection laws will be held responsible for their crimes.”

DEFENDANT                                               Case Number 20cr2058-JLS                            

Felix Gutierrez Valencia                                Age: 40                                   Perris, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Smuggling – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 545

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

AGENCY

Homeland Security Investigations

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division

Brainerd Man Sentenced To Prison For Wildlife Trafficking, Trespassing After Removing The Head Of A Black Bear On The Red Lake Indian Reservation

 ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Brainerd, Minnesota, man was sentenced in federal court today for wildlife trafficking and trespassing on Indian land after removing the head of a 700-pound black bear on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

Brett James Stimac, 41, was sentenced by Judge Susan Richard Nelson to 15 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and a $9,500 fine.

According to court documents, on the evening of September 1, 2019, Stimac, who is not an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, willfully, knowingly and without authorization or permission, entered the Red Lake Indian Reservation for the purposes of hunting a bear. The Government contends that Stimac, using a compound bow, shot and killed a large American black bear near the Reservation’s garbage dump.

According to court documents, on September 2, 2019, Stimac returned to the dump the following day and located the bloody carcass of the bear. Stimac posed for photographs with the bear’s carcass and later shared the photographs on social media. Because of the bear’s large size, Stimac was unable to move the bear from the Reservation. Instead, Stimac used a saw to remove the bear’s head for a trophy. Stimac brought the bear’s head to a taxidermist in Ironton, Minnesota, and left the remainder of the carcass to spoil.

The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians does not permit non-Indians to hunt bear, one of seven clan animals of the Band, within the boundaries of the Red Lake Indian Reservation, due to the bear’s cultural and spiritual importance to the Band.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Red Lake Department of Public Safety, the Red Lake Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with assistance from the Beltrami County Attorney’s Office.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina L. Allery and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Polachek prosecuted the case.

Retired Police Officer Sentenced to Prison for Illicit Trafficking of Protected Reef Creatures

 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Justice Department announced that a Puerto Rico man was sentenced to two months in federal prison for felony violations of the Lacey Act that involved the trafficking and false labeling of protected reef creatures as part of an effort to subvert Puerto Rican laws designed to protect coral reef organisms.

Luis Joel Vargas Martell (Vargas), a resident of San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty in November 2020 to export smuggling and two felony violations of the Lacey Act for collecting, purchasing, falsely labeling, and shipping protected marine invertebrate species as part of an effort to subvert Puerto Rican law designed to protect corals and other reef species.

After retiring from the Puerto Rico Police Department, Vargas opened an online aquarium business from his home. During 2014 through 2016, Vargas was the co-owner of the saltwater aquarium business, Carebbean Reefers (spelling error intentional) that also operated online through the EBay store “Redragon1975”. A large part of the business was devoted to the sale of native Puerto Rican marine species that are popular in the saltwater aquarium trade.

Vargas sent illegally collected live specimens to customers in the mainland United States and foreign countries by commercial courier services.  One of the most popular items that Vargas and his business sent off-island was an organism from the genus Ricordea. These animals are known as “rics,” “polyps,” or “mushrooms” in the aquarium industry.  Members of the genus form part of the reef structure and spend their adult lives fastened in place to the reef. These animals are colorful in natural light, but what makes them particularly interesting to aquarium owners is that they “glow” under the UV lights that are typically used in high-end saltwater aquariums.

It is illegal to harvest Ricordea, zoanthids, and anemones in Puerto Rico if the specimens are going to be sent off-island or otherwise sold commercially, nor is there a permit available to do so. Vargas personally collected much of the Ricordea and other reef creatures that he sold off-island.  On multiple occasions, he would accompany his business partner, and they would snorkel from the shoreline in search of Ricordea. Because Ricordea are attached to the reef substrate, the pair would utilize a chisel to break off the animals, and in doing so, take chunks of the reef with them. This was detrimental to the marine environment as it caused physical degradation of the underlying reef structure.

In order to cover up the nature of his shipments and to avoid detection from governmental inspection authorities, the scheme included falsely labelling many of the live shipments as inanimate objects.  From January 2014 to March 2016, Vargas sent or caused to be sent at least 40 shipments of marine species that were illegally harvested in the waters of Puerto Rico. While there is some variation in the price of Ricordea depending on coloration, size, and other factors, the aggregate retail value of illegal Ricordea shipped by Vargas was worth at least $90,000.

In addition to the prison time, Vargas was sentenced to a supervised release term of three years and three hundred hours of community service. The court also banned Vargas from collecting or procuring marine life, shipping marine life off-island and scuba diving and snorkeling in Puerto Rico. He was also required to surrender his fishing permits and to pay a criminal fine of $10,000 and restitution of $15,000. In a related matter, in December 2020, Raymond Torres was sentenced to five years of probation with similar bans on marine activity, 300 hours of community service, and financial penalties of $35,000.

This case was investigated as part of Operation Rock Bottom and Operation Borinquen Chisel by Special Agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with support from the USFWS Inspectors. The case is being prosecuted by Christopher L. Hale of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Marquez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico.

Albuquerque woman pleads guilty, sentenced to probation for violating Migratory Bird Treaty Act

               ALBQUERQUE, N.M. – Ruth Grande Olguin, 55, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty in federal court on April 6 to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Grande Olguin was sentenced to one year of probation.

              In the plea agreement, Grande Olguin admitted that on April 27, 2019, she unlawfully possessed feathers and other parts of the crested caracara. She also admitted that on May 22, 2019, she unlawfully possessed sharp-shinned hawk feathers as well as feathers and other parts of the crested caracara. Finally, Grande Olguin admitted that on November 12, 2019, she unlawfully possessed feathers and other parts of the crested caracara. Both birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. On each occasion, Grande Olguin was in possession of the feathers and other parts in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. These laws prohibit the possession, use, and sale of the feathers or other parts of federally-protected birds, as well as the unauthorized killing of these birds, to help ensure that the caracara, hawk, and other bird populations remain healthy and sustainable.

              As part of her plea agreement, Grande Olguin agrees to pay a fine of $2,000 payable to the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund Account. Grand Olguin forfeits any interest in feathers, parts, and products thereof, of bald eagles, golden eagles, sharp-shinned hawks, American kestrels, greater roadrunners, red-tailed hawks, northern flickers, white-winged doves, crested caracaras, Cooper’s hawks, barred owls, turkey vultures, and a falcon seized during the course of the investigation of this case.

              The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with assistance from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson.

              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 545 national wildlife refuges as well as thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 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 and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts.

Texas Man Sentenced for Trafficking in Wildlife

 A Texas man was sentenced to 20 months in prison for trafficking protected species and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and be placed on supervised release for a period of two years after completing his prison term.

Alejandro Carrillo, 62, of El Paso, pleaded guilty on July 9, 2020, to a two-count information charging him with one count of conspiracy to traffic wildlife and one count of smuggling. Carrillo admitted to being part of a conspiracy to smuggle wildlife from the Mexico into the United States via El Paso since May 2016. Carrillo was the middleman between several Mexico-based suppliers of wildlife and their U.S.-based customers. Carrillo’s role as middleman was to pick up wildlife from a co-conspirator in Juarez, Mexico, and transport (smuggle) that wildlife in his car into the United States at an El Paso border crossing. His status as a U.S. citizen with a Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection card made his transits easy. Once in the United States, Carrillo would ship the wildlife via FedEx or U.S. Postal Service to the U.S.-based customers. On many occasions, animals died during transport.

The sentencing was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jean Williams of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Edward Grace, Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Office of Law Enforcement. 

“Trafficking in protected species in violation of U.S. and international law is harmful to the animals and their native habitats,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Justice Department remains determined to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that these endangered animals are protected.”

“Wildlife trafficking is decimating much of the world’s natural resources,” said the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement Assistant Director Edward Grace. “It is paramount to deter and dismantle wildlife traffickers in order to ensure the sustainability of our natural resources, protect against zoonotic diseases from spreading, and so that future generations will be able to benefit from the world’s diverse species of wildlife and plants.”

Between April 2015 and December 2019, Carrillo illegally transported wildlife across the U.S.-Mexico border with a market value of over $3,500,000. Carrillo received a “crossing fee” for each border crossing, the amount of which depended on the number of animals transported, the size of the packages, and, in some cases, the level of risk of being detected by the authorities. In that time period, Carrillo was paid more than $198,000 to transport wildlife across the U.S.-Mexico border.

On Sept. 22, 2016, Carrillo picked up several reptiles from a supplier in Juarez, including a Central American river turtle (Dermatemys mawaii), which is a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)-protected and endangered species, and transported them across the U.S.-Mexico border to his residence in El Paso. He then re-packaged the animals and sent them to a buyer in Oklahoma. The total value of the shipment was $1,650. Carrillo did not have a CITES import permit for any of the smuggled animals, nor were any permits issued in the name of any of the suppliers. In addition, Carrillo did not submit the necessary import wildlife declaration form to the USFWS.

The USFWS Office of Law Enforcement and the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Mary Dee Carraway and Gary Donner of the Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.

Former Owner of Aquarium Business Sentenced to Prison for Illicit Trafficking of Protected Reef Creatures

 The Justice Department announced today that a Puerto Rico man was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for felony violations of the Lacey Act that involved the trafficking and false labeling of protected reef creatures as part of an effort to subvert Puerto Rican laws designed to protect coral reef organisms.

In 2013 through 2016, Aristides Sanchez, of Arecibo, was the owner of the Arecibo-based saltwater aquarium business, Wonders of the Reef Aquarium. A large part of the business was devoted to the sale of native Puerto Rican marine species that are popular in the saltwater aquarium trade.

Sanchez sent live specimens to customers in the mainland United States and foreign countries by commercial courier services. One of the most popular items that Sanchez sent off-island was a coral-like organism from the genus Ricordea. These animals are known as “rics,” “polyps,” or “mushrooms” in the aquarium industry. Members of the genus form part of the reef structure and spend their adult lives fastened in place to the reef. These animals are colorful in natural light, but what makes them particularly interesting to aquarium owners is that they “glow” under the UV lights that are typically used in high-end saltwater aquariums.

It is illegal to harvest Ricordea, zoanthids, and anemones in Puerto Rico if the specimens are going to be sent off-island or otherwise sold commercially, nor is there a permit available to do so. Sanchez personally collected some of the Ricordea and other reef creatures that he sold off-island. Because Ricordea are attached to the reef substrate, Sanchez would utilize a hammer and chisel to break off the animals, and in doing so, take chunks of the reef with him. At other times, Sanchez would purchase the Ricordea from other sources, knowing or suspecting that the specimens had been harvested illegally.

In order to cover up the nature of his shipments and to avoid detection from governmental inspection authorities, Sanchez would falsely label each shipment. Sanchez would refer to living marine organisms as “pet supplies,” “aquarium supplies,” “LED lights,” or similar inanimate objects on shipping labels and invoices. At times, he used a fake name to cover his actions.

From January 2013 to March 2016, Sanchez sent or caused to be sent at least 130 shipments of falsely labeled marine species that were illegally harvested in the waters of Puerto Rico. While there is some variation in the price of Ricordea depending on coloration, size, and other factors, the retail value of Ricordea shipped by Sanchez typically ranges from $25 to $50 per item. From on or about Jan. 7, 2013, through on or about March 16, 2016, the retail value of the falsely labeled and/or unlawfully harvested marine invertebrates shipped personally by Sanchez or on his behalf with his knowledge, was at least $800,000.

In addition to the prison time, Sanchez was sentenced to a supervised release term of two years and 120 hours of community service. The court also banned Sanchez from collecting or procuring marine life, shipping marine life off-island and scuba diving and snorkeling in Puerto Rico.

To view pictures of the seized coral, click here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/992481/download.

This case was investigated as part of Operation Rock Bottom and Operation Borinquen Chisel by Special Agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with support from the USFWS Inspectors. The case is being prosecuted by Christopher L. Hale of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Marquez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico.

Man Pleads Guilty to Violating Endangered Species Act

 A New York man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to selling a mounted leopard, which is an endangered species.

Michael T. Merisola, 62, of Buffalo pleaded guilty Jan. 29 to one count of violating the Endangered Species Act before U.S. Magistrate Judge Chelsey M. Vascura.

According to his plea, in August 2019, Merisola posted a photograph on his Instagram page that included a mounted leopard in the background. An undercover special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service communicated with Merisola about buying the leopard from the defendant. The two discussed the illegality of buying/selling a leopard across state lines.

Merisola said he wanted $4,200 for the leopard, and the undercover agent traveled from Ohio to Buffalo to see the mounted animal and make a down payment to purchase it. Merisola later accepted the remaining payment and shipped the leopard from New York to Ohio.

Leopards are classified under federal regulations as threatened or endangered wherever they are found.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous of the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Adam C. Cullman from the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division are prosecuting the case.