DEC Contact: Jomo Miller (518) 402-8000 December 24, 2019
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DEC ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION POLICE OFFICER HIGHLIGHTSRecent ECO Actions for December |
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New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) enforce the 71 Chapters of NY Environmental Conservation Law (ECL), protecting fish and wildlife and preserving environmental quality across New York.
On Dec.19, Doris Ellen Eber of Brighton pleaded guilty in Monroe County Court to one count of illegal commercialization of elephant ivory in excess of $1,500, an E felony under Environmental Conservation Law. A New York State law enacted in 2014, makes it illegal to sell nearly all elephant ivory in the state, as well as mammoth ivory and rhinoceros horn. In late 2018, DEC’s Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigator (BECI) Mark Wojtkowiak began an undercover investigation into the illegal sale of elephant ivory via the internet and eventually charged Eber with the crime. Eber was sentenced to a one-year condition discharge, a $5,000 fine in the form of a donation to the World Wildlife Fund, restitution to the state in the amount of $3,240, forfeiture of 13 ivory items seized during the investigation, and a court-mandated DNA fee of $50. The case was prosecuted by the Monroe County District Attorney’s office. For more information about laws related to the possession of ivory, go to DEC’s website.
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