Florida Dealer Pleads Guilty to Coral Trafficking

KEY WEST, FL – Curtis W. Waters, 53, of Weeki Wachee, Florida, has confessed to illegally plundering South Florida’s reefs, entering a guilty plea today in U.S. District Court for trafficking in protected marine life. The case, a grim example of environmental exploitation for profit, centers around the illegal sale of approximately 150 specimens of Ricordea florida, a delicate corallimorph species.

According to federal prosecutors, Waters engaged in the sale and purchase of wildlife with a market value exceeding $350.00, knowingly violating the Lacey Act, Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372(a)(2)(A) and 3373(d)(1)(B), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2. The indictment alleges he knowingly sold wildlife taken in violation of Florida Statute Section 379.361(2)(f). U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow will issue a recommendation to U.S. District Court Judge James Lawrence King urging acceptance of the plea.

The scheme unfolded in August 2013, when Waters contacted a buyer in Colorado, offering “more” Ricordea florida harvested from the Florida Keys. Undercover agents, posing as the buyer, ordered 150 specimens at $4.00 apiece – a total of $600.00. Waters, holding a Saltwater Products License (SPL) issued by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC), used a 16’ Boston Whaler, FL1900AK, to conduct the illegal harvest.

Surveillance confirmed Waters shipped the coral via Federal Express on September 4, 2013. The package contained an invoice for $600.00 and a pre-completed bank deposit slip. Federal agents followed the money, depositing $600.00 into Waters’ bank account, effectively completing the illegal transaction. This operation, dubbed “Operation Rock Bottom,” exposed a network of illegal harvesting and sale of marine life resources.

Waters now faces a potential sentence of up to 5 years imprisonment, a term of supervised release of up to three years, and a criminal fine of up to $250,000. The government is also seeking forfeiture of the vessel, engine, trailer, tackle, and gear used in the commission of the Lacey Act violation – a clear message that profiting from environmental destruction carries severe consequences. Sentencing is scheduled for March 10, 2015, at 1:30 p.m.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer commended the collaborative efforts of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and Antonia Barnes are prosecuting the case. Further details are available on the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida website: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls and the District Court for the Southern District of Florida website: http://www.flsd.uscour.

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