Tribal members, SD dance family among 15 charged in dealing in eagle, migratory bird trafficking.2/24/17By Barry Amundson Today at 10:03 p.m.
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RAPID CITY, S.D. — A confidential informant purchased thousands of dollars worth of protected eagle parts, as well those from other migratory birds in danger, mostly from a group of three tribal members and also a Rapid City family in a two-year undercover operation that spread across four states, the U.S. attorney for South Dakota announced Monday, April 24.
Dubbed Project Dakota Flyer, the informant with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made the purchases starting in 2014 and lasting into 2016 involving 15 people in South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa.
The indictments by a federal grand jury for illegal trafficking of eagles and other migratory birds were unsealed in a news conference in Rapid City by U.S. Attorney Randy Seiler, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service special agent in charge Steve Oberholtzer and prosecutors Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman of Rapid City and Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges of Pierre.
Under federal law, American Indians alone in federally recognized tribes are allowed to own eagle feathers for use in their religious and cultural ceremonies.
The only legal supplier, however, is the federal government, which operates an eagle cool-storage facility called the National Eagle Repository in a suburb of Denver.
The repository operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can't keep up with demand from tribes, however. About 2,000 eagles each year are brought to the repository by federal wildlife agents or from other sources. Most of the eagles are victims of road traffic accidents, power lines or poachers.
In the wide-reaching case, the indictment states:
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The informant made most of his purchases from the three tribal members in South Dakota and Wyoming and also from a Rapid City family calling themselves the Buffalo Dreamers who perform Native American dances at public venues such as Crazy Horse Monument and Custer State Park in the Black Hills.
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The three tribal members who all knew each other and trafficked in eagle and migratory birds among themselves and with others are Alvin Brown Jr., 37, of Ethete, Wyo., Michael Primeaux, 32, of Parmelee on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and Juan Mesteth, 39, of Pine Ridge on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The informant started meeting with Mesteth at a gas station in Pine Ridge in summer 2015. That started their monthslong relationship after the informant bought a fan made of migratory bird feathers for $350. Exchanging texts, the two continued to meet, with several purchases made of eagle parts and those from other birds such as red-tailed hawks and a scarlet macaw.
During their talks, Mesteth told the informant he had "connects" in Wyoming who could get whole carcass eagles and would take him hunting for eagles. That's when the informant met Brown and Primeaux in Wyoming and they started making deals. At his home in Ethete, Brown showed the informant an immature bald eagle tail while the three discussed eagle and hawk parts that Brown had for sale.
Later in the fall, Brown told the informant about other species of protected and migratory bird feathers he had at his home, including a Philippine serpent eagle, woodpeckers, Malaysian hornbills, water birds and a caracara. Brown said prices for the bald eagle tail feathers were $400 and hawk tails were $50 each.
Mesteth told the informant during one of his meetings that he received most of his feathers from Primeaux and Brown.
The three all are charged with conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking, violations of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act, with prison terms of up to five years and fines up to $250,000.
The other main group the informant started making numerous purchases with and who face the most charges are Troy Fairbanks, 54, of Rapid City and his two sons, Troy Young Fairbanks, 24 and Majestic Fairbanks, 22, who make up the Native American dance troupe.
After meeting through another person at a campground in 2014, the informant was invited to the Fairbanks' home in Rapid City where he traded $5,415 of legal merchandise for eagle parts, namely wing and tail feathers, the indictment stated.
The relationship continued and the family started using "code words" to describe the different eagle parts, with at one point the informant buying a golden eagle head for $250, said the charges.
At one point, Troy Fairbanks said he had the ability to acquire 60 eagles and had 19 people in the Los Angeles area who wanted to buy eagle feathers or parts from him, said the indictment.
Troy Fairbanks also showed the informant numerous parts stored at his residence and said "he was very happy he was not a cop ... because you would have popped me by now" and then referred to himself as the "best feather man in the Midwest."
Troy Fairbanks is charged with conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking and violations of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Lacey Act. His two sons are both charged with conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking.
The other nine people charged face numerous counts of illegal trafficking of eagles and other birds, accused of selling or bartering parts.
They are Aaron David West, 62, and his son Aaron David West Jr., 33, both of Eagle Butte, S.D., Jorge Pena, 44, of Mount Vernon, Iowa, Valencia Neck, 38 of Parmelee, Benjamin Iron Hawk, 44, of Kyle, S.D., Chet Christensen, 66, of Tuthill, S.D., Ronald Fisher, 64, of Kyle, S.D., and Gary Fisher, 69, of Gordon Neb.
Initial court appearances have been set for Monday, May 1, in Rapid City and May 4 in Pierre, S.D.
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Topic: 15 charged/eagle trafficking (Read 1569 times)
