Monroe County District Attorney’s office has prosecuted a Brighton resident for illegal selling ivory. This comes after an undercover investigation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
On December 19th, Doris Ellen Eber pleaded guilty to illegally selling ivory, a felony charge. This includes a shrine made of carved elephant ivory.
New York state DEC crime investigator Mark Wojtkowiak lead an undercover investigation since late 2018, which lead to Eber’s charge.
Eber will have to pay a $5,000 fine in the form of a World Wildlife Fund donation, and give restitution to the state of over $3,000 dollars. She is also required to forfeit thirteen ivory items, which were seized in the investigation.
Since 2014, it is illegal to buy, sell, trade, or distribute nearly all elephant ivory, mammoth ivory and rhinoceros horn under state law. The Federal Endangered Species Act has listed elephants and rhinoceros as threatened or endangered since the 1970s.
The DEC encourages any witness to an environmental crime to contact the division on law enforcement hotline at 1-844-DEC-ECOS (1-844-332-3267).
