Haleiwa man indicted An Oahu man has been charged in a 49-count federal indictment with conspiring to unlawfully remove and ship 100 tons of live rock and coral valued at about $1 million from Hawaii to the mainland in the mid-1990s.
for allegedly
stealing coral
By Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.comJohn Marquardsen, 50, of Haleiwa, allegedly collected the rock and coral from the waters of Kaneohe Bay, according to U.S. Attorney Debra Yang, of the Central District of California.
A federal grand jury in Los Angeles also named Rodolfo Tagle, 50, of Santa Ana, Calif., in the indictment Thursday.
Marquardsen allegedly shipped the rock and coral to the mainland for distribution to fish and marine supply stores to be used as decoration in aquariums.
Tagle allegedly accepted the shipments when they arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, then sold them to retailers. Seventy-one shipments are alleged in the conspiracy count.
Marquardsen said yesterday that the government's charges against him are "totally inaccurate."
"I've lived in Hawaii for 30 years, and I have never once taken any live coral or dead coral out of the ocean," he said. "I've never taken any live rock out of the ocean, and I have never even swam in Kaneohe Bay in 30 years."
Marquardsen and Tagle were charged with conspiracy, 24 counts of trafficking in wildlife -- in violation of Hawaii law -- and 24 counts of shipping them via commercial airlines by identifying the contents as smoked fish or smoked seafood.
King Wong, 56, of Honolulu, who is in the fishing business, was previously charged in the scheme and awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to conspiracy. Wong admitted to helping Marquardsen package the coral in boxes and preparing paperwork that falsely identified the contents, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California.
Under federal law it is a violation to take or possess wildlife in violation of state law and then transport it interstate, said Assistant U.S. Attorney William Carter, of the Central District.
It is also a federal violation to mislabel or use false paperwork to violate federal law.
Two others also have pleaded guilty and were sentenced to five years' probation for helping Tagle distribute the live rock and coral in Southern California.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Hawaii's Department of Land & Natural Resources' Conservation & Resource Enforcement and Aquatic Resources divisions. They estimated damage to the Oahu reef system because of the removal of about 100 tons was in excess of $5 million.
"Coral is a building block of our islands, and situations like this are serious because it is not only a quality-of-life issue, it's the ability-to-sustain-life issue for sea life," said Peter Young, chairman of the state Board of Land & Natural Resources. "For sea life, it's what keeps them alive."
Under Hawaii law it is illegal to take live coral and live rock -- rock that has organisms living in it.
The investigation began about five years ago when airport personnel became suspicious about shipments labeled smoked fish or smoked seafood, Young said.
State conservation authorities investigated and California authorities were alerted, resulting in a several jurisdictions getting involved, Young said.
He called the alleged 100-ton take as "phenomenal."
Each count in the indictment is punishable by a maximum five years' imprisonment.
Marquardsen and Tagle are expected to be arraigned Feb. 24 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
