PRESS RELEASE
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April 14, 2019
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Nicholas Stacey
Possibly in violation of the ESA and Lacey Act for aiding & abetting Tyler Thomas in stealing exotic animals from their owner before leaving New York State to move to Texas. |
Convicted Felon Associated with Former NYS Residents Currently in Hiding
Rochester, NY – There must be some licensees who, if they ever knew how shady the exotic animal industry was, never would have taken part in it. There is a lot of crime in organized networks of USDA licensees as well as smaller endeavors committed by individuals like Tyler Thomas and Nicholas Stacey from Fragile Planet Wildlife Center in Southern Texas, the two individuals who are currently still secreting away at least two animals which have been reported stolen and ordered by a NYS magistrate to be returned to the owner. Recent discovery has exposed a connection Thomas and Stacey have with another USDA Licensee in Oklahoma who was recently convicted of felonies for planning a murder-for-hire against a sanctuary owner in Florida. Joe Passage-Maldonado has been convicted of the attempted murder of an owner of a zoological facility in Florida as well as five violations of the Endangered Species Act when he gunned down five tigers at a zoo he worked at in Oklahoma. Allegedly, the tigers were killed in order to make space for additional animals. It is unclear whether more animals were coming into the zoo or if the animals were just being moved around the same zoo. Acquiring animals from other exotic animal owners fraudulently is a habit which Thomas and Stacey may have learned from Mr. Passage-Maldonado. There is record of Thomas and Stacey working at the zoo in 2009, which, at the time, was directed by Mr. Passage-Maldonado (known at the time as Joe Schreibvogel). Thomas was excused from employment at the zoo when he was arrested and jailed for driving while intoxicated in a neighboring county. The network of traffickers in which Mr. Passage-Maldonado was involved includes a number of other individuals, all of whom are licensed by the USDA-APHIS as dealers and exhibitors. Ironically, the black marketing of the exotic animals is occurring right under the noses of the animal care inspectors of the USDA and little is done about it. In fact, the trend has many suspecting the involvement of the inspectors in aiding the traffickers with their crimes. At least one staff member from the Animal Care department of USDA-APHIS, along with at least three staff members from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, encouraged Mr. Thomas and his partner Mr. Stacey to enter into a fraudulent boarding agreement with the Director of Caring For Cottontails Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Inc. located in Walworth, New York. Shortly thereafter, the con-artist dual moved their business to Texas without the approval and even the knowledge of Carrie Leo, the director of Caring for Cottontails and the owner of the animals he was boarding. Ms. Leo has been a critic of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for quite some time and believes the actions by the government staff involved is retaliation for her exposing the misdeeds of both agencies and the danger such actions pose to the communities of the state of New York. These types of efforts in which a licensed individual steals the animals from another are usually backed up by some type of organization and support from other, more experienced traffickers or rogue staff members in state and federal agencies. Mr. Thomas and Mr. Stacey may have support from both. An Article 78 Petition has been filed with the New York State Supreme Court in order to compel both the NYSDEC to perform specific aspects of their jobs they refuse to do as well as to reverse the flawed decision of the Commissioner of the NYSDEC to revoke the licensing of the sanctuary. This decision was made after the agency put the licensee through three years of stalling to find evidence to use against her while various staff members in the NYSDEC violated the law and their own agency’s regulations to dig up anything on Ms. Leo. The upcoming case will be an interesting feat in making one governmental agency in the most corrupt state in the nation, accountable. Hopefully it will be successful. |
Joe Passage-Maldonado
was convicted of 2 counts of use of interstate commerce facilities in murder-for-hire, 9 counts of violating the ESA and 8 counts of the Lacey Act, on April 2, 2019. Sentencing will occur 90 days after the verdict was rendered. |
Contact for Communications and Public Information
The curator, Carrie Leo, is the point of contact for the public and members of the press with
questions about Caring for Cottontails' mission and to request information concerning this press release.
Contact by phone:
Direct Line 315-310-5376 (active as of June 29, 2019)
Main Line 315-538-8316
Contact by email:
caringforcottontails@gmail.com
Mailing Address:
Caring for Cottontails Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Inc.
3199 Walworth Road
Walworth, NY 14568
The curator, Carrie Leo, is the point of contact for the public and members of the press with
questions about Caring for Cottontails' mission and to request information concerning this press release.
Contact by phone:
Direct Line 315-310-5376 (active as of June 29, 2019)
Main Line 315-538-8316
Contact by email:
caringforcottontails@gmail.com
Mailing Address:
Caring for Cottontails Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Inc.
3199 Walworth Road
Walworth, NY 14568
