That's some expensive Ohio venison
Of the sundry ways citizens can become criminals in these United States, deer poaching doesn’t rank among the most sordid or the most penalized. Punishment, nonetheless, can be substantial when the crime fits.
A ring of players centered around A & E Deer Processing in Gallia County walked out of a court appearance this month with fines and orders to pay restitution totaling more than $70,000. Court costs totaled more than $6,700.
So ended “one of Ohio’s largest white-tailed deer commercialization cases, spanning four counties and two states,” the Ohio Division of Wildlife stated in a news release.
The case involving 14 defendants and 122 charges proceeded after lengthy investigation by Ohio wildlife enforcement officers with help from the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Charges, the wildlife division said, included “the illegal taking of deer, the selling of venison, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities, grand theft, falsification, tampering with records, possession of untagged deer parts, hunting with an illegal implement and complicity to wildlife sales.”