https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr...dangered-species-act



Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 1, 2021


Man Pleads Guilty to Violating Endangered Species Act

A New York man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to selling a mounted leopard, which is an endangered species.

Michael T. Merisola, 62, of Buffalo pleaded guilty Jan. 29 to one count of violating the Endangered Species Act before U.S. Magistrate Judge Chelsey M. Vascura.

According to his plea, in August 2019, Merisola posted a photograph on his Instagram page that included a mounted leopard in the background. An undercover special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service communicated with Merisola about buying the leopard from the defendant. The two discussed the illegality of buying/selling a leopard across state lines.

Merisola said he wanted $4,200 for the leopard, and the undercover agent traveled from Ohio to Buffalo to see the mounted animal and make a down payment to purchase it. Merisola later accepted the remaining payment and shipped the leopard from New York to Ohio.

Leopards are classified under federal regulations as threatened or endangered wherever they are found.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous of the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Adam C. Cullman from the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division are prosecuting the case.

Topic(s):
Wildlife
Component(s):
Environment and Natural Resources Division
USAO - Ohio, Southern
Press Release Number:

Ridiculous! If the leopard was taken legally this should not be criminalized.


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(Ridiculous! If the leopard was taken legally this should not be criminalized. JTEX)
Totally! Truth be known, USF&W has no idea what the status/actual numbers of Leopard are. South Africa crawls with Leopard, but since no group, organization, wildlife study has the funds, manpower or will to take this under research, it's all guesswork. Big cats mean big money to the anti's and the feeble minded pull out those check books and credit cards every time an ad runs on TV. They believe the hype and eat BS like it's a seafood feast. This is similar to our native Bobcat. I've seen around six in my lifetime, but with today's technology (Trail camera's) I get to see them 24/7. They are secretive animals, just like the Leopard. There are way more in numbers than people believe. LDK

Crap, When I die I've got elephant tusks that can't be sold, now the leopard too. My heirs will be left holding the bag.

Dave

I know about rhino and elephant. I have no clue about the leopards.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/e...les-and-auctions/amp


Mike

So if I read this correctly, the guy posted a photo on Instagram and in the photo, there just happened to be a leopard in the background?

As a result of the photo, the USFWS contacted the guy out of the blue and asked if he was interested in selling the leopard mount, discussed the legalities of doing so, encouraged him to complete the sale, then nailed him?

I'm missing something here. Was the photo on instagram part of an ad purporting to want to sell the leopard mount, or did the USFWS just see a photo on a social media platform and target the guy to see if they could get a hunter to sell an animal he legally possessed in his trophy room? If the latter, that seems like entrapment. Seriously, what am I missing here?

Normally, legally taken species can be sold, but only within that States borders. Same for Zoo animals. Animal dies and is sold to taxidermist who mounts for display. Customer wishes to buy it. Can only be sold within that State. All State and Federal laws can change with the wind (politics) so one must be positive they're within the law before selling wild game. Sadly, some States allow local agencies to interpret law as they see fit.

Wild migratory birds can't be sold anywhere, period. Domestic raised waterfowl can be sold with proper paperwork from a licensed breeder.

https://www.reportdoor.com/ny-...gal-mounted-leopard/



NY antique dealer admits to selling illegal mounted leopard

February 1, 2021 2 Min Read

James Thompson



An upstate New York antique dealer — whose rare collections have been featured in Hollywood hits — has pleaded guilty to selling an illicit mounted leopard to an undercover agent.

Michael Merisola, who owns Buffalo luxury vintage store CooCooU27, pleaded guilty Friday in Ohio federal court to one misdemeanor count of violating the Endangered Species Act by selling the 100-year-old specimen.

“I bought this out of a gallery in New York City, and I was under the impression it was grandfathered in,” Merisola, 62, told The Post on Monday. “I’ve never been in trouble in my life. It was poor judgment.”

An undercover special agent with the US Fish and Wildlife Service spotted the taxidermied cat on Merisola’s Instagram account

in 2019 and posed as a customer interested in purchasing it, according to court papers.

Merisola sold the animal to the agent for $4,200 — which landed him in handcuffs.

He now faces up to one year in prison, but he said his lawyers are trying to negotiate a probation-only plea bargain that would require him to pay a $7,500 fine.

Hollywood set decorator Shane Vieau told Architectural Digest that Merisola’s sprawling Buffalo warehouse is one of his favorite sources for pieces from the 1950s to 1980s.

Merisola’s extensive midcentury collection was featured in the 2017 Academy Award-winning film “The Shape of Water” and his antique medical lighting and scientific props were used in the horror flick “A Quiet Place.”

“I’ve done a lot of major motion pictures,” Merisola said.

It should be noted that without the inquiry of the Feds, NONE of these mounts would have been sold or offered for sale!

My own brother was nailed for selling a rhino horn - it had been my uncle’s since the ‘50s - to an old high school friend who was used by the feds to lessen a drug charge.
Hounded him to sell for a year and my brother finally relented - $2500
$140K in fines and more in attorney fees.
A cash cow for the feds.

I recall a Bald Eagle sting that the feds were operating years ago that resulted in the poaching of something like 50 birds.
50 dead Eagles in an area that had seen almost zero poaching prior to that.
The feds built the illegal market, just as they generally do in the trafficking of all endangered species!

If this represents the kind of thing that Undercover Special Agents of USFW have time to do, that entity should have it's personnel numbers cut in HALF overnight.

And then be given 3 months to provide a written report justifying anyone who ISN'T GOING TO BE CUT IN THE 2ND PASS.

It sounds like entrapment. It sounds like the agent initiated the illegal act(assuming the guys wasn't advertising the mount for sale). I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see how these charges can stick.

Having said that, I also have a hard time believing that a dealer in such items wouldn't know the law.

Hard to imagine this was not entrapment. But I would guess the guy took the plea to avoid the expense and risk of fighting it.