Latest
Charleston, SC (AP) – The star of “Tiger King” Bhagavan “Doc” Antle goes to prison, but not for as much time as the prosecutors would like, after admitting that he broke the federal law buying animals in danger of extinction to keep in his zoo in South Carolina.
Antle, 65, was sentenced to one year and one day after bars and fined $ 55,000 on Tuesday, almost two years after he declared himself guilty of exotic animal trafficking and money laundering. He entered his plea in November 2023.
It was probably the end of the legal dramas that surrounded “Tiger King”, the Netflix documentary True Crime that captivated a country closed by COVID-19.
Via News
The star, Joe Exotic, meets a 21 -year federal prison sentence for trying to hire two different men to kill the other star, Carole Baskin. Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was a collector and a private zoo of Oklahoma and Baskin, directs Big Cat rescue in Florida.
Antle appeared in the first season with Exotic and Baskin and was the star of the third season of the program.
Prosecutors say that Antle bought animals on the black market
Antle’s crimes were not related. Wash for the money used in a human smuggling scheme because I needed large amounts of cash quickly to buy animals such as chimpanzees, lions, tigers, cheese and other creatures, said prosecutor Patrick Duggan. These animals are illegal to sell because they are in danger, and their high prices could encourage poachers to steal them from nature, Duggan explained.
“I knew them and illegally as part of a black market that drives another black market for poaching and smuggling,” Duggan said in court on Tuesday.
Antle’s lawyers requested a alone probation sentence or domestic confinement, saying that their client needed to take care of the 150 exotic animals consumed by 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) of meat a day in their Safari of Myrtle Beach. They said that many of the animals only respond to Antle.
Friends and family ask for mercy for the Antela
Around 25 friends and family packed a Federal Court Chamber in Charleston. Several told Joseph Dawson III that Antle was generous and affectionate. They said he raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight poaching and preserve wild habitats for tigers, lions and chimpanzees.
The judge was influenced. Federal guidelines requested approximately two years in prison, to which prosecutors agreed. But Dawson said that, although Antle broke the federal law, the whole evidence pointed out to take care of animals.
Antle apologized at the end of his sentence hearing for causing problems for the work of his life.
“I made a mistake, I did stupid things,” said Antle, adding: “I hope to gather it for everyone.”
Antle needed animals so that Myrtle Beach Safari could offer experiences
Myrtle Beach Safari de Antle was known for loading hundreds or thousands of dollars to let people caress and hold baby animals such as lions, tigers and monkeys that were so young that they were still being fed with bottle. Customers would pay $ 200 for five minutes and photos with a baby chimpanzee or $ 7,000 for a pijamada. Antle sometimes traveled to tours of an elephant.
The zoo remains open only by reserve.
Prosecutors said Antle sold or bought cheese, lions, tigers and a chimpanzee without the right paperwork for a decade. They said that it also washed more than $ 500,000 so that it could quickly get effective to buy more animals.
Antle knows the federal law well and could avoid prosecution for years, prosecutors said. He would accept a great “donation” for an animal to its conservation foundation. He would claim to keep the animal in the same state that bought it, but then transferred it to its Myrtle Beach zoo, prosecutors said.
The FBI took advantage of telephone calls, led to several prosecutions
The FBI was listening to Antle’s phone calls with an informant when he explained that a baby chimpanzee could easily cost $ 200,000. Private zoperators can charge hundreds of dollars for photos with young primates or other animals, but the earning window is only open for a few years before growing animals can no longer be handled safely.
“I had to get a monkey, but people won’t receive a check. They just take effective. So what are you doing?” Antle said according to a transcription of the phone call in judicial documents.
Antle will have to give up three chimpanzees who bought as part of his plea agreement.
Two of Antle employees have already been sentenced for their roles in their schemes.
Meredith Bybee received a year of probation for selling a chimpanzee, while Andrew “Omar” Sawyer, who, according to prosecutors, helped money from the anterior washing, received two years of probation.
Jason Clay, owner of a private Texas zoo, declared himself guilty of selling a primacy and was sentenced to four months in prison, while the charges were removed against the owner of the Rancho de California, Charles Sammut.