Worcester Man Pleads Guilty To Turtle Smuggling
WORCESTER (AP) — A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to illegally importing and exporting turtles and salamanders in violation of federal law and international agreements, federal prosecutors said.
Nathan Boss, 27, of Worcester, pleaded guilty Monday to smuggling wildlife out of the U.S., smuggling wildlife into the U.S., and lying to federal investigators, according to a statement Tuesday from the U.S. attorney's office in Boston.
During an investigation that started 2017, authorities intercepted a package from Hong Kong intended for Boss that contained four black-breasted leaf turtles, a species included in the Convention for Trade in Endangered Species and Wild Fauna, an international agreement joined by the U.S. that governs the importation of certain wildlife, prosecutors said.
Black-breasted leaf turtles cannot be imported unless approved by the federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Boss also imported a species of salamander that can carry a fungal disease and is prohibited from importation into the U.S., prosecutors said.
The investigation also found that Boss had on multiple occasions exported undeclared wildlife to Hong Kong and Sweden. He was arrested and charged last October.
Boss faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing scheduled for Sept. 24.
(© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
