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snake trader is facing charges
Ty Milsom Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:20 pm
TORONTO — A Hamilton snake trader is facing charges in Ontario and New York state for allegedly poaching, smuggling and selling more than 30 rare, venomous rattlesnakes, U.S. officials said Thursday as they announced the arrests of 18 people following a two-year investigation into the black market trade of protected reptiles and amphibians.
Emanuele Tesoro, 42, was arrested shortly after he allegedly hid 33 Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes in compartments of his van and crossed the border in to Niagara Falls, N.Y. last October.
He allegedly traded the snakes to an undercover U.S. agent, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said.
Canadian officials allege Tesoro poached the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes from the Georgian Bay area, one of four remaining habitats for the rattlesnakes, listed as a threatened species by the province.
Two other Ontario residents also face charges in connection with the case, a spokesman for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) said.
American investigators allege Tesoro posted an ad last February on the website www.venomousreptiles.org seeking "trustworthy Americans" willing to ship venomous snakes to Ontario.
An undercover investigator made contact with Tesoro and according to court documents filed in New York state, Tesoro told the U.S. agent he was a corrections officer in Maplehurst prison who had a snake collection and sold snakes "on the side."
They arranged a meeting last May at a factory outlet parking lot in Niagara Falls, N.Y. and traded three Timber rattlesnakes for two Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes and a spotted turtle Tesoro said he had captured, according to an affidavit sworn by a special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Tesoro was arrested shortly after a second meeting with agents in October.
David Critchlow, a provincial enforcement specialist with the MNR said the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake is considered a prize in any snake collection because of its rarity.
It's the province's only venomous snake and there are 8,000 to 10,000 remaining, he said.
Andrew Lentini a curatorial keeper of amphibians and reptiles at the Toronto Zoo said removing even a handful of the protected species from its habitat could have "dire" consequences.
"In cases where you have small, isolated, populations just removing a handful of animals can cause the extinction of that population," said Lentini, a member of the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake Recovery Team, a group working to sustain the threatened species.
Tesoro's U.S. lawyer, Kimberly Schechter, of the U.S. Federal Public Defender's Office said he has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His Hamilton, Ont. lawyer did not return calls.
The snakes allegedly traded by Tesoro are being held at the Toronto Zoo.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/Technology/charged+illegal+trade+rare+rattlers/1406951/story.html
Emanuele Tesoro, 42, was arrested shortly after he allegedly hid 33 Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes in compartments of his van and crossed the border in to Niagara Falls, N.Y. last October.
He allegedly traded the snakes to an undercover U.S. agent, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said.
Canadian officials allege Tesoro poached the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes from the Georgian Bay area, one of four remaining habitats for the rattlesnakes, listed as a threatened species by the province.
Two other Ontario residents also face charges in connection with the case, a spokesman for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) said.
American investigators allege Tesoro posted an ad last February on the website www.venomousreptiles.org seeking "trustworthy Americans" willing to ship venomous snakes to Ontario.
An undercover investigator made contact with Tesoro and according to court documents filed in New York state, Tesoro told the U.S. agent he was a corrections officer in Maplehurst prison who had a snake collection and sold snakes "on the side."
They arranged a meeting last May at a factory outlet parking lot in Niagara Falls, N.Y. and traded three Timber rattlesnakes for two Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes and a spotted turtle Tesoro said he had captured, according to an affidavit sworn by a special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Tesoro was arrested shortly after a second meeting with agents in October.
David Critchlow, a provincial enforcement specialist with the MNR said the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake is considered a prize in any snake collection because of its rarity.
It's the province's only venomous snake and there are 8,000 to 10,000 remaining, he said.
Andrew Lentini a curatorial keeper of amphibians and reptiles at the Toronto Zoo said removing even a handful of the protected species from its habitat could have "dire" consequences.
"In cases where you have small, isolated, populations just removing a handful of animals can cause the extinction of that population," said Lentini, a member of the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake Recovery Team, a group working to sustain the threatened species.
Tesoro's U.S. lawyer, Kimberly Schechter, of the U.S. Federal Public Defender's Office said he has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His Hamilton, Ont. lawyer did not return calls.
The snakes allegedly traded by Tesoro are being held at the Toronto Zoo.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/Technology/charged+illegal+trade+rare+rattlers/1406951/story.html
Ty Milsom
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