Post by LSDeep on Apr 29, 2006 21:09:45 GMT -5
Oak Harbor man denies items seized by agents are illegal
By TRACY JOHNSON AND FRANKLIN SONE BAYEN
P-I REPORTERS
A whale aficionado with a home in Washington state is among at least eight people who could soon face criminal charges for allegedly buying and selling the teeth of endangered sperm whales.
Federal investigators say a yearlong investigation has unraveled an international racket for the hefty teeth, which collectors often display or engrave with ornate artwork.
Documents filed in Seattle's U.S. District Court for investigators' recent search of an Oak Harbor home allege that its owner, a 60-year-old man, bought dozens of the teeth from someone who smuggled them from Britain.
The man, who for 17 years directed the Whalers Village Museum in Lahaina, Hawaii, is accused of selling most of the teeth to a Maui businessman who now runs the museum gift shop. Investigators say six sales totaled more than $45,000.
The Oak Harbor man, whom the Seattle P-I is not identifying because he hasn't been indicted, said he understood the allegations against him, but "it remains to be seen whether or not that actually happened."
He said he is cooperating with investigators and fighting to get back the collection of teeth and ivory items they seized from his home, contending none of those items is illegal.
Agents from three federal agencies -- the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Fish and Wildlife Service -- are investigating the two men and six other suspects across the country and abroad. Only the Maui man has been arrested so far.
"There are a lot of people out there who are still being looked at by our agency," said NOAA law enforcement spokesman Mark Oswell. "Every door we open leads down another passageway."
Because sperm whales are protected as an endangered species, trafficking any part of them without federal approval violates several laws aimed at discouraging poachers.
Violating a federal anti-smuggling law or the Lacey Act against trafficking illegally obtained wildlife are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, said Chris Hall, the Philadelphia-based assistant U.S. attorney who is handling the case.
Violating the Endangered Species Act or the Marine Mammal Protection Act is a misdemeanor.
NOAA agent Mike Henry, a lead investigator in the case, said trafficking sperm whale teeth is "an activity that we believe occurs a lot, but it's difficult to find and investigate."
Some people believe owning items made from endangered species is prestigious, according to Sam Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington.
"In this kind of wildlife trade, people are notorious for using these products to an extreme without any regard for the species that are at risk," Wasser said. "People can't seem to restrain themselves. ... It can quickly lead to the demise of the species."
Federal agents have searched homes and businesses in at least a half-dozen states. At the suspect's home in Oak Harbor, they seized a large whale tooth, a jaw section with four teeth, assorted ivory artifacts and tools, and baleen March 29. They also seized banking records related to the Internet auction site eBay, Seattle NOAA enforcement agent Alan Wolf wrote in search-warrant documents.
The man told agents he sold products made from endangered species parts on eBay, Wolf wrote.
That may not be illegal, however. Trading or owning endangered species parts is not generally against the law if they were harvested or found before the laws restricting them were enacted.
Sperm whale teeth are ivory and can measure up to 9 inches in length and 3 inches in diameter, Henry said.
A big one is about the size of a 16-ounce bottle of water. A single tooth can fetch from $350 to $5,000, he said.
Owners of Whalers Village Museum did not return a phone call seeking comment on the allegations, nor did the man who runs the gift shop.
Agents are still looking into whether any of the teeth were sold at the museum, Henry said. They arrested the gift-shop manager this week but have not arrested the owner of the Oak Harbor home, he said.
That man also owns homes in Florida and Texas, where he is currently residing.
Federal agents say that between July 2002 and February 2005, he paid more than $27,775 to buy dozens of sperm whale teeth from a seller in Pennsylvania.
He made seven separate transactions, ranging from a $330 purchase of two sperm whale teeth carved to look like penguins to spending $11,750 to acquire 25 other teeth, Wolf wrote.
Last month, agents recorded a phone call between the man and the seller. During their conversation, Wolf wrote, the man sympathized with the seller's concerns about getting busted by airport customs officials, saying, "Whenever we would come back from New Zealand bringing ivory, we went through the same thing."
Agents found documents that suggest the seller had smuggled $550,000 worth of whale teeth from Russia through Britain, Henry said.
P-I reporter Tracy Johnson can be reached at 206-467-5942 or tracyjohnson@seattlepi.com.
By TRACY JOHNSON AND FRANKLIN SONE BAYEN
P-I REPORTERS
A whale aficionado with a home in Washington state is among at least eight people who could soon face criminal charges for allegedly buying and selling the teeth of endangered sperm whales.
Federal investigators say a yearlong investigation has unraveled an international racket for the hefty teeth, which collectors often display or engrave with ornate artwork.
Documents filed in Seattle's U.S. District Court for investigators' recent search of an Oak Harbor home allege that its owner, a 60-year-old man, bought dozens of the teeth from someone who smuggled them from Britain.
The man, who for 17 years directed the Whalers Village Museum in Lahaina, Hawaii, is accused of selling most of the teeth to a Maui businessman who now runs the museum gift shop. Investigators say six sales totaled more than $45,000.
The Oak Harbor man, whom the Seattle P-I is not identifying because he hasn't been indicted, said he understood the allegations against him, but "it remains to be seen whether or not that actually happened."
He said he is cooperating with investigators and fighting to get back the collection of teeth and ivory items they seized from his home, contending none of those items is illegal.
Agents from three federal agencies -- the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Fish and Wildlife Service -- are investigating the two men and six other suspects across the country and abroad. Only the Maui man has been arrested so far.
"There are a lot of people out there who are still being looked at by our agency," said NOAA law enforcement spokesman Mark Oswell. "Every door we open leads down another passageway."
Because sperm whales are protected as an endangered species, trafficking any part of them without federal approval violates several laws aimed at discouraging poachers.
Violating a federal anti-smuggling law or the Lacey Act against trafficking illegally obtained wildlife are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, said Chris Hall, the Philadelphia-based assistant U.S. attorney who is handling the case.
Violating the Endangered Species Act or the Marine Mammal Protection Act is a misdemeanor.
NOAA agent Mike Henry, a lead investigator in the case, said trafficking sperm whale teeth is "an activity that we believe occurs a lot, but it's difficult to find and investigate."
Some people believe owning items made from endangered species is prestigious, according to Sam Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington.
"In this kind of wildlife trade, people are notorious for using these products to an extreme without any regard for the species that are at risk," Wasser said. "People can't seem to restrain themselves. ... It can quickly lead to the demise of the species."
Federal agents have searched homes and businesses in at least a half-dozen states. At the suspect's home in Oak Harbor, they seized a large whale tooth, a jaw section with four teeth, assorted ivory artifacts and tools, and baleen March 29. They also seized banking records related to the Internet auction site eBay, Seattle NOAA enforcement agent Alan Wolf wrote in search-warrant documents.
The man told agents he sold products made from endangered species parts on eBay, Wolf wrote.
That may not be illegal, however. Trading or owning endangered species parts is not generally against the law if they were harvested or found before the laws restricting them were enacted.
Sperm whale teeth are ivory and can measure up to 9 inches in length and 3 inches in diameter, Henry said.
A big one is about the size of a 16-ounce bottle of water. A single tooth can fetch from $350 to $5,000, he said.
Owners of Whalers Village Museum did not return a phone call seeking comment on the allegations, nor did the man who runs the gift shop.
Agents are still looking into whether any of the teeth were sold at the museum, Henry said. They arrested the gift-shop manager this week but have not arrested the owner of the Oak Harbor home, he said.
That man also owns homes in Florida and Texas, where he is currently residing.
Federal agents say that between July 2002 and February 2005, he paid more than $27,775 to buy dozens of sperm whale teeth from a seller in Pennsylvania.
He made seven separate transactions, ranging from a $330 purchase of two sperm whale teeth carved to look like penguins to spending $11,750 to acquire 25 other teeth, Wolf wrote.
Last month, agents recorded a phone call between the man and the seller. During their conversation, Wolf wrote, the man sympathized with the seller's concerns about getting busted by airport customs officials, saying, "Whenever we would come back from New Zealand bringing ivory, we went through the same thing."
Agents found documents that suggest the seller had smuggled $550,000 worth of whale teeth from Russia through Britain, Henry said.
P-I reporter Tracy Johnson can be reached at 206-467-5942 or tracyjohnson@seattlepi.com.