This year's 16th annual convention was hosted by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, on the celebration of that department's centennial anniversary. Attendees numbered 525 with a parallel number of spouses and guests. The convention was preceded by the first annual North American Wildlife Investigators Association Training Seminar (NAWITS) which gathered the Midwest, Western and Southeastern Investigators members together in what is believed will evolve into a semi-annual event. Colorado GOVERNOR ROMER, prefaced the week by declaring it the State of Colorado Wildlife Law Enforcement Officers Week via proclamation in salute to our profession.

Keynote speaker PETER F. MICHAELSON, Prosecuting Attorney of the 5th Colorado Judicial District, positively stimulated the gathering with his perspective on the profession's future role in conservation and preservation of wild things.

TERRY GROSZ of Region 6 gave a thought provoking presentation entitled ``The Buffalo Are Gone'' regarding the changes he has observed during his long tenure with the Service.

Meetings included Critical Incident Response from A Legal Perspective by California Highway Patrol Officer/ Attorney GORDON GRAHAM (by far the most interactive, important presentation of the the conference); Cultural and Sociological Factors of Hunting and Fishing in America (A USFWS grant project must-read document--- contact your regions for copies) and ``Psychotics, Neurotics and Psychopaths: How to Pick Them Out of the Crowd'' by Judge KIM GOLDBERY of the Colorado Jefferson County Court, were well attended.

The Eagle Repository's BERNADETTE HILBOURNE, accompanied by a wildlife suitcase display also put the Service on the map officially.

Unofficially, the yearly NAWEOA warden exchange trip sent a Saskatchewan representative to Louisiana where he marveled at the size of FWS's floating armada and viewed ``water, water, everywhere'' from aloft with  Pilot BILL MELLOR. His counterpart traveler, a New Jersey ,CO lived out a lifelong dream and traveled to the Yukon Territories, winding up her trip in an FWS cabin on Kodiak Island.

We are a very visible presence in this organization. For those of you who don't realize how well NAWEOA is perceived in the profession, the Pennzoil Corporation took the occasion of the officers' luncheon to announce a nationwide initiative for preserving and promoting the diversity of outdoor lifestyles in America entitled Responsible Outdoor Education. This educational program will campaign to teach every American how to enjoy all outdoor activities while practicing personal safety and outdoor responsibility through video tapes covering ethics in the outdoors---something we know needs all the impetus it can gain.

At the Region 6 meeting, of which we are a part, Kevin O'Brien provided me with a copy of our Association's written position on the potential MBTA regulatory changes to present to the body which will assist it in making its official stand on the issue.

The next NAWEOA convention is scheduled at Sandusky, OH, June 19-23, 1998. This event is a mix of social and professional interaction between warden families with many planned family activities and free babysitting. If you can't make it to Sandusky, see you in St. Louis in 2000!

California Warden BILL PETERS, again, has graciously donated a set of limited edition prints to the FWOA to assist in our fundraising efforts. These Lark Bunting and Mountain Bluebird prints brought $385 at auction here. Be prepared at our next meeting to add these beautiful additions to your home through our raffle.

A copy of a FMC video re: Safe Handling of Pesticides will be distributed to the regional reps for redistribution; a copy will also be sent to Bonnie Bell at FLETC.

FWOA is also in receipt of a NAWEOA video created in support of the fundraising efforts for the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Museum, as well as a letter of request for support from outgoing President RICK PALLISTER. In that we are members of the broad community of Wildlife Enforcement Officers, any donations we can make, however small, will be put to good use.

I was able to address the need for support by NAWEOA for our position on the baiting issue. RICK PALLISTER indicated that the board felt this was a very important threshold for NAWEOA (being contacted to be a part of this process) and that they understood the gravity of the ultimate Ad Hoc Committee's decision and the international ramifications of the possible reduction in the scienter requirement and the change re: ''moist soil management''. I believe a conference call may come to pass very soon from the board to assure they are totally in tune to the proposed regs.

Submitted by Frank Kuncir, , Ft. Meyers, FL

MBTA CASE, BOSTON, MA

Following a tip from a concerned sportsman, BOSCO and DOWD initiated a Class III covert investigation of William P. PITRONE in March 1993. PITRONE was the operator of BILL's TAXIDERMY in Medford, MA, and was suspected of selling numerous mounted specimens of waterfowl which he had killed in Massachusetts and Alaska.  GARABEDIAN and the informant contacted PITRONE, posing as customers and documented evidence relative to the illegal sale, and offer for sale, of migratory birds. Also documented was the fact that PITRONE asked if they were ``Game Wardens'' prior to the illegal bird sales.

On January 25, 1994, Service Agents and Massachusetts Environmental police executed a Federal search warrant at the PITRONE residence/taxidermy business. Forty-eight mounts and twenty-one carcasses of migratory birds were seized along with business records. Upon examination of the seized evidence, additional witnesses, including hunting associates, bird carvers and other taxidermists were identified and contacted, resulting in the seizure of an additional sixty-five mounts, carcasses and parts of migratory birds.

PITRONE was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in September 1995, on eight felony counts of Title 16 USC Sections 703 and 707(b)(2) for the sale of migratory birds. After several pre-trial conferences and suppression motions, the case went to a jury trial before a District Court Judge in Boston, MA, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney NADINE PELLEGRINI. PITRONE was found guilty of one court and acquitted of the others subsequent to a five-day trial. This was the first Federal wild life felony conviction by trial in the District of Massachusetts.

As for the seven other counts, the defense successfully argued that PITRONE was only selling his taxidermy services and not the ducks. They further confused the jury with a State law in Massachusetts that allows a taxidermist to sell a mount that had been abandoned by a customer to recoup his losses. Even though it was shown the birds sold were not abandoned but killed by the taxidermist himself and that the state law did not apply to migratory birds. Hence, the risk of a jury trial!

The count on which PITRONE was convicted involved the sale of a mounted harlequin duck to a Connecticut wood carver. PITRONE had told undercover officers that he had killed forty-two (42) harlequins and other ducks on the Alaskan hunting trip, and boasted that he had paid for his trip by selling all but one of the harlequins to wood carvers.

Other mounts, carcasses and a shotgun used to kill the harlequins, were forfeited to the government through the Regional Solicitor's office. This civil forfeiture action was initiated to gain custody of illegal items that were not related to the felony count for which PITRONE was convicted.

PITRONE contracted a life threatening condition after the investigation was completed. He was sentenced on July 30, 1996, by Judge NANCY GERTNER. He received one year probation with a special condition banning him from hunting, mounting migratory birds and possessing a firearm or other dangerous weapon.

PITRONE appealed his conviction, basing it, in part, that the Government should have been required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew his conduct was unlawful and that he knew the birds were protected by the MBTA. The U.S. court of Appeals examined the degree of scienter required for a felony conviction under the MBTA.

On May 22, 1997, the court affirmed the judgment of conviction. This was the first decision where the scienter element was challenged since the most recent MBTA amendments. Hence, the First Circuit upholds the Government's position that the felony provisions of the MBTA are general intent crimes and not specific intent crimes.

The migratory birds seized have been transferred to various institutions for educational purposes including the USFWS Division of Refuges, Massachusetts and Connecticut State wildlife agencies, Roger Williams Natural History Museum in Rhode Island, the University of New Hampshire and the Branch of Training and Inspection in Glynco, GA.

Submitted by Pat Bosco, , Boston, MA.

I always wait until the last minute to put my Newsletter remarks together. As always, I procrastinated again. This time, however, as I was starting to think about my submission, a tragic event occurred in New Hampshire that made any last minute message seem terribly insignificant.

On the 19th of August, two New Hampshire citizens were brutally murdered by an individual who had finally had enough of our system of law and order. These two individuals had chosen to dedicate their lives to preserving that system of law and order---they were NH state troopers. After snuffing out their young lives, this animal proceeded to calmly drive one of the squad cars into town where he sought out and murdered a local judge/ attorney and the editor of the local newspaper. This deranged individual then went to his home where he shaved and plotted additional destruction.

He led a local NH game warden on a low speed chase, pulled over and proceeded to fire multiple rounds from an AR-15 into the warden's vehicle, leaving the warden with a splintered arm from a deflected round. A group of state police, wardens and border patrol followed him into the North country. Two state officers fell wounded and a border patrol officer lay critically hit. NH wardens braved repeated gunfire to pull their wounded to cover and in the ensuing firefight, the killer was mortally shot through the mouth.

While standing with the 4,000 law enforcement officers gathered to pay tribute to our fallen comrades, I pondered the choice one makes to dedicate one's life to enforcing the law. It is by choice that we, as Federal Wildlife Officers, dedicate ourselves to protecting the precious resources that make up this earth. Dedicate yourselves, my friends, to surviving. Let nothing prevent you
from returning home safely each and every day. Do whatever is necessary to survive. Those who think this job is easy need only spend a second looking down the barrel of a hunter's gun and feeling that they will never see or hold his/her wife/husband or children again to fully understand the gravity of the choice we've made. We do it because we care, because we're dedicated and believe in that which we do.

As an insert to this Newsletter, we have included a special supplement on the proposed changes to the migratory bird hunting regulations. ( See the Association Home Page) Those who came before us risked their lives every day to establish what we have today. To change it for the benefit of the privileged few who would benefit at the expense of the waterfowl resource is wrong and the FWOA is firmly against any change or modification of the current regulations. Prepare yourself to respond to the proposed regulations that will appear in the Federal Register in the near future.

NOTES FROM ED SPOON, SECRETARY-TREASURER

National Election Results:
President KEVIN O'BRIEN, Vice President MIKE LUCCKINO and Secretary-Treasurer ED SPOON were reelected to their second two-year terms.

A by-law change received membership approval, changing the term of office of the Secretary-Treasurer to one four-year term, beginning in 1999.

Delinquent Dues
Secretary-Treasurer ED SPOON has begun reviewing membership records of Charter members, as called for in the new dues policy. A review of Regions 1-3 resulted in five (5) members being dropped from the rolls after they failed to pay back dues owed to the Association. Ed will review records of Regions 4-9, then begin work on Associate rolls.

All Members
Please make note the expiration date on your newsletter and keep your membership up-to-date!

Regional Representatives Needed There are Regional Representative vacancies in Regions 1, 8 and 9 at the present time. Elections will be held soon. If you're in one of these Regions, give serious thought to throwing your hat in the ring. It's an excellent way to advance important issues and keep on top of things affecting our profession.

GERMAN REPTILE SMUGGLERS CAUGHT

German authorities have arrested two men for their roles in an international reptile smuggling ring. FRANK H. LEHMEYER, 34, of Speyer, Germany, is allegedly the ring leader of the smuggling operation according to a United States indictment.

Investigations revealed that the ring was smuggling hundreds of rare and endangered tortoises and snakes out of Madagascar into Germany, and from there to the United States and Canada where they were sold to wildlife dealers and private collectors. All of the species that were smuggled were protected by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The commercial value of the animals smuggled in this conspiracy was estimated at more than $250,000.

The arrests were part of an international cooperative law enforcement effort involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Justice, and Authorities in Germany and Canada. ``This kind of international law enforcement cooperation demonstrates to those who would engage in illegal wildlife trafficking that they will be caught, and they will be prosecuted,'' said LOIS SCHIFFER, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. ``Trafficking in rare and endangered species violated laws around the world, and it will not be tolerated.''

In August 1996, the Federal Grand Jury in Orlando, FL, issued an eighteen count indictment against six individuals for their roles in the smuggling operation. Three of the six individuals are citizens of Germany who were not apprehended in the United States, two of whom remain at large. Two others were arrested and prosecuted last year in the U.S., and one other is being held by Canadian authorities. The second German arrested was not named in the August indictment.

In an effort to round up all the individuals under indictment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with the assistance of the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, provided to German authorities the information obtained from the undercover investigation. German authorities responded by establishing a joint task force involving several police and customs authorities to fur their investigation. The two men were arrested after the task force investigation uncovered evidence of violations of German as well as U.S. laws.

Cooperative efforts are also ongoing with Canadian authorities. Extradition proceedings were initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice against ENRICO JOSEPH TRUANT, 31, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, one of the six indicted last August. On June 4, 1997, Canadian authorities arrested TRUANT, who is currently awaiting extradition hearings.

Two of the six individuals indicted by the Federal grand jury were arrested in the United States and pleaded guilty in October 1996. WOLFGANG MICHAEL KLOE, 33, of Rauenberg, Germany, was sentenced to 46 months in jail and fined $10,000 for his role in the multi-year conspiracy. SIMON DAVID HARRIS, 25, of Blairgowrie, South Africa, was sentenced to three years' probation for his role in smuggling 61 Madagascan Tree Boas and four Spider Tortoises that he had concealed in a suitcase on the flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Orlando on Au-
gust 13, 1996.

The animals smuggled during the course of the conspiracy include more than 120 Madagascan Tree Boas, 25 Spider Tortoises, 50 Radiated Tortoises, and 6 Madagascan Ground Boas. The Radiated Tortoise is classified as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Submitted by Terry Tarr, DARD, Region 5.

OPERATION RENEGADE
SENTENCING OF PARE
ADOLPH ``BUZZ'' PARE of Miami, FL, who operated Gators of Miami, Inc., was sentenced to one year and one day confinement for conspiring to smuggle African grey parrots into the United States. He plead guilty to filing false import documents in violation of the Lacey Act, 16 USC 3372(d) and to smuggling 18 USC 545. PARE was also ordered to pay fines and restitution totaling $300,000, THE LARGEST SUM EVER in a Federal wildlife smuggling case.

Gators of Miami, Inc., was the largest U.S. importer of African grey parrots from 1988 to 1990. They imported approximately 24% of all African grey parrots. Between February 1988 and August 1991, PARE conspired to smuggle over 4,000 ``Congo'' African grey parrots which had been illegally taken in Zaire, where the trade is banned, into the U.S. via Senegal. False CITES permits were obtained, stating that the birds came from Guinea or the Ivory Coast, countries where the ``Congo'' does not occur in the wild.

PARE was essentially the last person remaining to be prosecuted under ``Operation Renegade'', an undercover investigation conducted by the Branch of Special Operations. As a result of the investigation, which focused on the illegal commercial trade in live parrots and macaws and their eggs, thirty-eight (38) defendants have been convicted. Thirty-three (33) defendants received sentences totaling over 47 years in prison and over a half-million dollars in fines and restitution.

Submitted by Ernie Mayer, , Region 9 and Mitch Snow, Region 9

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