ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis County man admitted on Tuesday to smuggling dozens of protected birds into the United States.
Michael K. Amato, 68, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to a felony charge of fraudulently importing protected wildlife, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Missouri.
Amato agreed to forfeit more than six dozen taxidermied birds seized from his home on Sept. 1, 2021, along with bird mounts still in his possession, including owls, buzzards, hawks, eagles, harriers and cranes.
As part of his plea, Amatto admitted he and unnamed international associates smuggled the birds in from Malta, England, Germany and other countries without declaring them or obtaining legally required permits. He smuggled in 67 different birds between February 2018 and September 2020, the attorney's office said.
Some of the birds are listed as in danger of extinction or becoming so if trade is not regulated, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
According to his plea, Amato told his associates how to fill out export and import forms and list the wildlife in order to avoid law enforcement detection.
Amato's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 8. Both sides agreed to a reccommendation of three years probation and a $5,000 donation to the World Bird Sanctuary "to represent a portion of the market value of the protected wildlife siezed from his home," the attorney's office said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case.
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