I haven't really kept up with recent postings but didn't see this so here
it is.
SEVEN SENTENCED IN CLAM POACHING OPERATION
Over $380,000 levied in fines and restitution
A five-year joint investigation by state and federal wildlife agents into
illegal clamming activities in the Midwest ended today with the sentencing
of two Mississippi Valley Shell Company (MVS) officials of Muscatine, Iowa,
and five other defendants. Fines and restitution charges levied against
the defendants totaled more than $380,000. In addition, two defendants
were sentenced to jail terms, two received lifetime prohibitions against
clamming, and all were placed on probation.
Included in the sentencing for their part in the illegal harvest and
interstate transportation and sale of freshwater mussels were Darwin Lee
"Butch" Ballenger, 59, President of the Mississippi Valley Shell Company;
Cheryl Roate Ballenger, 4l, Vice President of the Mississippi Valley Shell
Company; Craig Smith, 31, Erie, Illinois; Terry Althiser, 48, Hilledale,
Illinois; Jeremie Cooper, 24, Patch Grove, Wisconsin; Harry Schultz, 40,
Muscatine, Iowa; and Greg Meyers, 36, Brownsville, Minnesota. An eighth
defendant, Don Vizzini, 39, of Gold Hill, Oregon, is currently awaiting
sentencing in February.
Cooper was sentenced to a jail term of eight months, and Darwin Ballenger a
sentence of 24 months. A total of $257,500 was assessed in fines, and
$126,000 in restitution. The largest fine, of $250,000, was assessed
against the Mississippi Valley Shell company. All defendants were also
placed on probation for terms of two to five years. Meyers and Althiser
received lifetime prohibitions against future clamming activities.
The convictions are the result of an investigation which began in the
spring of 1995 when Illinois wildlife authorities received information
about the unlawful take of freshwater mussels from the Rock River. A
subsequent joint investigation by state and federal agents in Illinois,
Iowa, and Wisconsin revealed freshwater mussels from the Rock River in
Illinois and other closed waters in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota,
Michigan, and Ohio were being taken in violation of state and federal laws.
The mussels were then sold to MVS, formerly the second largest shell
buying/exporting company in the United States, and then exported to Japan
for use in the cultured pearl industry.
The Federal Lacey Act prohibits interstate commerce in wildlife protected
under state or federal law.
A Federal Grand Jury, convening in Des Moines, had indicted the defendants
on a total of 72 felony violations of the Lacey Act in April 1998. These
counts included a total value of mussels exceeding $1 million dollars.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Lang led the prosecution
team.
Freshwater mussels are among the most endangered species of animals in
North America. Of the approximately 300 species of known mussels, 30 are
already extinct and another 70 are either threatened or endangered.
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 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System
comprising more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national
fish hatcheries 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 wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and
activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big
Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/
-FWS-
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Kevin S. Cummings
Illinois Natural History Survey
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Champaign, IL 61820
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http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cbd/collections/mollusk.html
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