LAS VEGAS - - A Las Vegas man has been indicted by the Federal Grand Jury for attempting to unlawfully sell illegally-possessed venomous snakes on the internet, announced Steven W. Myhre, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Cody Brett Bartolini, 21, is charged with three felony counts of Attempted Unlawful Interstate Sale of Wildlife, specifically, snakes, including seven Green Mambas; two Forest Cobras; one Black-Neck Spitting Cobra; one Mojave Sidewinder Rattlesnake; one Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake; one Mojave Rattlesnake; and two Great Basin Rattlesnakes.

The Indictment alleges from about December 5, 2006, to March 9, 2007, Cody Bartolini attempted to sell the snakes, valued at more than $350, across the Internet, even though he knew the snakes were possessed in violation of Nevada state law. Federal law is violated where an individual handles wildlife in a manner which affects interstate commerce when the wildlife is possessed in violation of state law. Under Nevada law, it is illegal to possess certain specified non-indigenous snakes without proper licensing and permits. It is also illegal to possess indigenous snakes (such as the rattlesnakes charged in the indictment), even those designated under state law as “unprotected,” where the snakes are possessed for a commercial purpose but without proper licensing and permits. Bartolini’s knowing possession of the snakes in violation of Nevada state law, compounded by his subsequent attempt to sell them in interstate commerce, constitutes a violation of the federal Lacey Act.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agents were alerted to Bartolini’s activities by an Ohio game warden who received information that Bartolini was offering to sell and trade venomous reptiles via the Internet. Agents conducting further investigation in Las Vegas and elsewhere were able to determine that the defendant had been offering venomous snakes for sale or trade over the Internet from his residence in Las Vegas, Nevada, since at least September of 2004. On March 9, 2007, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agents executed a federal search warrant at Bartolini’s residence in Las Vegas, and seized 48 snakes of various species, as well as a caiman, gila monster, and alligator snapping turtle. The venom of the snakes seized is considered highly toxic, and possibly lethal, to both humans and animals.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agents arrested Cody Bartolini at his residence in Las Vegas on September 28, 2007. He appeared in court today before United States Magistrate Judge Foley, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was released on a personal recognizance bond pending trial. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christina M. Brown.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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