Inspector Charged in Scheme to Import Protected Animals

A federal wildlife inspector was indicted Wednesday, along with three Los Angeles-area residents, on charges that they illegally imported more than 50,000 exotic reptiles listed under international treaty as protected species.

Daniel Gus Noether, 38, of Lakewood, is accused of accepting $40,000 in bribes from three Southern California wildlife dealers in what officials said is the first corruption case ever brought against a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspector.

Federal authorities said thousands of live iguanas, boa constrictors, caimans, mud turtles and tegu lizards were imported from Colombia in violation of international treaties designating them as protected species. Officials said the animals--valued at least at $400,000--were either sold as pets or re-exported to the Far East for use in the fashion industry.

Also named in the federal grand jury indictment were Steven Michael Lundblad, 37, of Palos Verdes; Axel Joachim Roscher, 42, and Christine Paula Roscher, 35, both of Los Angeles, and Miguel Angel Campo, 47, of Barranquilla, Colombia.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service does not and will not tolerate violation of laws regulating the trade of protected wildlife, and will continue to work vigorously to enforce and uphold these laws,” Rolf Wallenstrom, Western regional director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said.

According to the indictment, Noether accepted bribes in exchange for inspecting and approving shipments of the animals at Los Angeles International Airport.

The animals are not considered endangered, but their numbers are low enough to warrant their inclusion on protected species lists. Hence, special export permits are required in order to import the animals from Colombia, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Maurice Leiter.

According to the indictment, the Roschers, who operate L.A. Reptile, and Lundblad, who operates Dolphin International, purchased the animals from a Los Angeles wholesaler who was negotiating with Campo in Colombia and splitting his profits with Noether.

Noether inspected each of eight animal shipments that arrived between February and October of 1986 and certified that they required no export permit, the indictment alleges.

Noether was arrested Wednesday. Lundblad and the Roschers are expected to be arrested today and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Volney Brown. Campo remains a fugitive.

If convicted, the four face prison terms of at least five years on each of 29 counts, plus a maximum fine of $500,000 each.