Michael Hegarty, 40, an Irish national, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami to fraudulently facilitating the transportation and concealment of a Libation Cup carved from an endangered Rhinoceros horn, that was smuggled from the United States to Great Britain contrary to the provisions of the Endangered Species Act, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 554 and 2.
Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, and Ed Grace, Acting Assistant Director of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), made the announcement. The prosecution of Hegarty is part of Operation Crash, a continuing effort by the Special Investigations Unit of the FWS Office of Law Enforcement in coordination with the Department of Justice to detect, deter, and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns.
The Endangered Species Act (“ESA"), Title 16, United States Code, Sections 1531 et seq., was enacted by Congress to conserve endangered and threatened species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. The term “endangered species" means any species, or part thereof, which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
All species determined to be endangered under the ESA are listed in Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 17.11. Various species of rhinoceros have been listed since as early as 1970, and at all relevant times, five of the six extant species were included within its protection, to include the Black, Great Indian, Javan, Northern White, and Sumatran rhinoceros.
The ESA makes it unlawful to knowingly deliver, receive, carry, transport, or ship in interstate or foreign commerce, by any means whatsoever and in the course of a commercial activity, endangered species, including rhinoceros; and to sell and offer to sell endangered species of wildlife, including rhinoceros, in interstate and foreign commerce, as set forth in Title 16, United States Code, Sections 1538(a)(1)(E) and (F) and 1540(b)(1). Federal regulations also require that, upon exportation of any wildlife, exporters or their agents must file with the FWS a completed declaration for Importation or Exportation of Fish and Wildlife (Form 3-177), and that all wildlife exports must be cleared by an FWS officer. 50 C.F.R. § 14.61.
According to the Plea Agreement, a Joint Factual Statement filed by the parties, other court records, and statements at the hearing, in mid-April 2012, Hegarty and his co-conspirator Richard Sheridan travelled to Miami, Florida from London, England. Later that month they joined a Miami resident to attend an auction in Rockingham, North Carolina. At the auction, Sheridan actually functioned as the bidder on behalf of the three individuals, and made the winning bid for a rhinoceros horn libation cup described as “Lot 463: Chinese Rhinoceros Horn Chilong Libation Cup," for $57,500.
On May 3, 2012, the Miami resident, acting at the direction of Hegarty and Sheridan sent a wire transfer from a bank account in Miami to the auction house in North Carolina, as payment for the Rhino cup. On May 4, 2012, Hegarty, who was then in Coconut Grove, called an employee of a Federal Express office in North Carolina and instructed the employee to pick up the rhinoceros horn libation cup from the auction house in Rockingham, and to ship the items to an address in Florida.
On May 7, 2012, Hegarty and his co-conspirator received the rhinoceros horn libation cup in Florida. They assured the Miami resident, who had funded the purchase of the cup, that it was an excellent investment and that they were experienced in such transactions. They further advised that a flaw in the cup could be repaired and that they were associated with individuals in the United Kingdom who could affect the repairs and enhance the value of the libation cup. Hegarty and Sheridan stated they would take the cup to the United Kingdom for that purpose. Hegarty further claimed that he would need to “make up documents" so that the rhinoceros cup would “make it through Customs and pay taxes." By cutting and pasting from several sources, a false invoice was created.
On May 16, 2012, Sheridan smuggled the libation cup out of the United States in his luggage, as he traveled from Miami, via Atlanta, to London. He failed to declare the export of the rhino horn libation cup as required by law to the FWS and neither applied for nor obtained the permit required under the Endangered Species Act.
On July 19, 2012, Sheridan, along with two other Irish nationals, was arrested by Metropolitan Police in Wandsworth, London, while attempting to sell the same rhinoceros horn libation cup to a Hong Kong native. Sheridan, who claimed ownership of the item, had the Lot tag from the auction house identifying the libation cup, as well as wrappings and other material from the North Carolina sales transaction in his possession.
After the arrest of Sheridan in London, Hegarty, who had developed a personal relationship with the Miami resident, told the resident not to discuss him (Hegarty) with law enforcement authorities, to never make mention of the Irish group with which he was associated, and to protect him in the event law enforcement authorities inquired about their activities.
Scientific analysis conducted at the National Fish & Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon determine that the Libation Cup was in fact fashioned from the horn of an ESA-protected Great Indian Rhinoceros.
Hegarty was arrested on the charges on an INTERPOL Red Notice and extradited to the United States from Belgium. Sheridan was convicted on unrelated charges in England and is currently incarcerated there; he is still wanted to face wildlife trafficking charges in the Southern District of Florida.
“Trafficking in endangered and threatened species is illegal" said Acting U.S. Attorney Greenberg. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we will strictly enforce the laws that protect our environment and our wildlife. The international community strongly supports these enforcement efforts and is capable of finding and holding accountable these criminals wherever they attempt to hide."
“By trafficking in wildlife products, such as items made from a rhinoceros horn, smugglers are fueling the illegal trade in endangered wildlife, which may ultimately lead to the species extinction," said Ed Grace, Acting Assistant Director of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “I am proud of our special agents who exposed this complex, international scheme that spanned many international borders. This case showed the direct link between wildlife trafficking and transnational organized crime and reinforced our commitment to continue working with U.S. and international partners to pursue these criminals who profit from the illegal trade in wildlife."
Hegarty will be sentenced by the Honorable Donald M. Middlebrooks, United States District Court Judge, who accepted the guilty plea. Sentencing will be held Nov. 14, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. Hegarty faces a maximum penalty of up to ten years in prison, followed by a term of supervised release of up to three years, and a maximum fine of $250,000, or up to twice the gross gain.
Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FWS Office of Law Enforcement. This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and Trial Attorney Gary N. Donner of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
