TEXAS
An Irish national who was arrested on Aug. 1, 2019 and extradited to U.S. in May is facing felony charges for his role in trafficking horns from black rhinoceros, officials announced this weeek.
On May 13, 2014, a federal grand jury sitting in Waco, Texas, returned an indictment that has since been unsealed, charging John Slattery and a co-defendant, Patrick Sheridan, with conspiring to traffic in horns from black rhinoceros.
In addition to conspiracy, the indictment charges substantive violations of the Lacey Act for wildlife trafficking and making a false wildlife document.
According to the indictment, Slattery, along with Sheridan and Michael Slattery Jr., used a “straw buyer” to purchase two black rhinoceros horns from a taxidermist in Texas, which the group then transported to New York, where they sold the horns.
In January 2014, Slattery Jr. pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy.
In September 2015, Sheridan was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom. Sheridan was returned to the Western District of Texas where he pleaded guilty and was also sentenced to 14 months in prison.
In addition to the trafficking, the indictment charges Slattery and Sheridan with making a fictitious and fraudulent bill of sale in connection with the rhinoceros horns, in an attempt to make their illegal purchase of the horns appear legal.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.