Fairport Man Guilty of Snake Smuggling

Fairport Man Pleads Guilty to Lacey Act Violations

A Fairport man has pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act, a federal law that prohibits the interstate transport or receipt of illegally taken wildlife. Michael Collalto, 50, was sentenced to four years of probation, 300 hours of community service, and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig R. Gestring and Tiffany H. Lee, Collalto was a reptile enthusiast and collector who maintained a collection of snakes in his residence. He would often trade, barter, buy, or sell snakes and collect them in the wild, bringing them back to his home in Fairport.

The defendant’s conviction involves four specific incidents:

• Between April 30, 2011, and June 15, 2011, Collalto traveled from Fairport to a regional reptile show in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, where he received a Northern pine snake through a trade. The snake was taken illegally under New Jersey law.

• Between May 1, 2011, and June 1, 2011, Collalto collected a gravid corn snake in southern New Jersey, an endangered species under New Jersey law.

• Between December 1, 2011, and December 20, 2011, Collalto received three California mountain kingsnakes shipped from Oregon, which were collected illegally in that state.

• Between June 1, 2012, and July 1, 2012, Collalto collected a gravid Coastal Plains milk snake in southern New Jersey, a species of special concern under New Jersey law.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under the direction of Honora Gordon, Special Agent-in-Charge, Northeast Region.

Collalto’s sentencing is a result of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York, under the direction of Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig R. Gestring and Tiffany H. Lee.