A man from Missouri on Tuesday admitted to smuggling regulated wildlife into the United States.
Michael Amato, 68, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to a felony charge of fraudulently importing protected wildlife. He also agreed to forfeit more than six dozen taxidermy bird mounts that were seized from his home on Sept. 1, 2021, as well as bird mounts still in his possession, including owls, buzzards, hawks, eagles, harriers, and cranes.
Amato admitted as part of his plea that he and unnamed associates smuggled wildlife into the United States from Malta, England, Germany, and other countries without declaring that wildlife and without obtaining the permits required by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). From February 2018 through September 2020, Amato smuggled in 67 different birds.
Some are listed as threatened with extinction, others could become so if their trade is not regulated.
Amato told his international associates how to fill out export/import forms and list the wildlife to avoid law enforcement detection, his plea says.
Amato is scheduled to be sentenced on August 8. Both sides have agreed to recommend three years of probation and a $5,000 donation to the World Bird Sanctuary to represent a portion of the market value of the protected wildlife seized from his home.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Collins is prosecuting the case.
