Fort Lauderdale orchid dealer convicted in international smuggling operation

MANILA, Philippines – R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Eddie McKissick, Miami Resident Agent in Charge, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Lee Huttenbach, Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Region, US Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General-Investigations, and Anthony Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, announced that defendant Mac Rivenbark, 41, of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, pled guilty Aug. 12, 2008 in United States District Court in Miami in connection with the illegal importation of more than 1,400 orchid plants from the Republic of the Philippines in February 2005, contrary to the Lacey Act, Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372 and 3373.

Defendant Rivenbark entered his plea before the Honorable Federico Moreno, United States District Court Judge, who set the sentencing for October 21, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. At sentencing, Rivenbark faces up to five years’ imprisonment and a criminal fine of up to $250,000 for his involvement in the criminal activity.

According to the criminal Indictment and statements in court, orchids are plants within the family Orchidaceae, and are protected under an international treaty known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. A purpose of CITES is to monitor and restrict trade in certain species of fish, wildlife, and plants to protect them from commercial exploitation that might diminish the ability of the species to survive in the wild. CITES employs a system that classifies species at risk into various Appendices, based on the level of perceived risk to their survival in the wild. Appendix II of CITES, in which the orchids at issue are listed, includes wildlife species which although not necessarily threatened with extinction now, may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is strictly regulated. More than 170 countries cooperate in the enforcement of the provisions of CITES, including the United States and the Republic of the Philippines, by implementing domestic laws to effectuate its underlying goals. Orchids have been listed for protection since January 1975.

In this case the CITES documents, invoices, labels, and identification materials presented to US authorities at Miami International Airport by Rivenbark during the importation and inspection of the orchid shipment falsely identified the orchids as artificially propagated, when in fact, they were collected from the wild in the Republic of the Philippines. Rivenbark was shipped the orchids by his brother-in-law, with whom he maintained a related orchid business venture in the Philippines. During the hearing, the government established that Philippines inspectors were presented a different set of orchids for the export inspection, which were then switched with orchids collected from the wild in violation of Philippines conservation laws. In its proffer of facts, the government noted that Rivenbark is well-known in the local orchid community, is recognized for his experience and expertise in raising and caring for orchids, and could not have failed to recognize the wild origin of the shipment at issue and an earlier shipment from the same source.

Mr. Acosta commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the Special Agents of the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the Southeast Region, US Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General-Investigations, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement which brought the investigation leading to the Indictment. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas Watts-FitzGerald.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/.