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Worcester Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Turtles, Salamanders

By TWIW Staff | June 10, 2020
Last Updated: March 23, 2021

WORCESTER – A 27-year-old Worcester man plead guilty on Monday in connection with unlawfully importing and exporting salamanders and a protected turtle species.

 

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Nathan Boss pleaded guilty to two counts of smuggling wildlife into the United States, two counts of smuggling wildlife out of the United States, and making a false statement to a federal agent.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2020. Boss was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in October 2019 and indicted in November 2019.

Court records show that on Sept. 19, 2019, federal investigators intercepted a package from Hong Kong addressed to a “Shelton Boss” at a Mildred Avenue residence in Worcester.

Inside the package, there were four black-breasted leaf turtles, a species that’s 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 designated wildlife.

Any black-breasted leaf turtle imported into the United States must be declared and approved by Fish and Wildlife Service before any shipment can be received.

The following day — Sept. 20 — Boss picked up the package at a post office in Worcester. Boss allegedly told the postal clerk that he goes by the alias “Shelton Boss.”

Following an investigation, federal agents discovered evidence of Boss’s involvement in the unlawful importation of wildlife prior to September 2019.

He was found to have illegally imported an injurious species of salamander which can carry a fungal disease and is prohibited from importation into the United States. It was also found that Boss illegally exported undeclared wildlife destined for locations in Hong Kong and Sweden.

Boss faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

 

Lead photo credit: neil.dalphin on Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-ND

 

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