The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York County District Attorney’s Office have announced the conviction of a Rockland County man for felony illegal commercialization of elephant ivory worth approximately $70,000, concluding a joint investigation that first began in 2020.
On February 8, 2024, defendant Kenneth Kerner, 59, from the town of Clarkstown, pleaded guilty to a class D Felony for the illegal commercialization of ivory over $25,000.
The judge’s sentence mandated five years’ probation, 200 hours of community service, an obligation to donate $10,000 to a wildlife Non-Governmental Organization, relinquishing the three ivory pool cues offered during the illicit sale, and reimbursing the DA’s Office for the $15,000 cash.
Kerner was also compelled to post a public statement on his social media account to increase awareness and discourage the illegal ivory trade.
Investigators from the New York County District Attorney’s Office and DEC Division of Law Enforcement Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigators (BECI) began a joint investigation in summer 2020 into the illegal commercialization of billiard cues made of elephant ivory.
The high-end items, with asking prices as high as $45,000, were offered for sale on social media sites. Undercover Investigators contacted the seller and arranged an in-person buy in September 2020.
The seller offered three ivory cues for sale, one of them for $15,000. Once the BECI Investigator cleared the sale, Officers with the District Attorney’s Office arrested the seller.
Wild elephant populations worldwide number fewer than 500,000 and are listed as endangered species. New York’s Environmental Conservation Law makes the sale of ivory without a permit illegal.
In 2014, New York State strengthened its laws on interstate ivory sales, increasing penalties against buyers and sellers whose actions further endanger elephant populations worldwide.
Since the law took effect, DEC has focused on the illegal ivory trade and charged several corporations and individuals, including those brought down during “Operation White Gold,” an undercover operation launched by DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement from 2015 to 2018 in New York City focused on high-end antique dealers and wholesale distributors throughout the five boroughs.
The ivory seized during the undercover operation weighed two tons and had a combined market value of more than $12 million. DEC destroyed most of the seized ivory in a massive crush in New York City’s Central Park in 2017.
In May, 2023, just prior to Endangered Species Day, DEC partnered with the New York State Museum to announce a new display featuring some of the remaining ivory as a reminder of the rampant and continued slaughter of the African elephant, rhinoceros, and other endangered species that fuel the transnational illegal trade in wildlife.
The display remains at the New York State Museum for visitors to observe.
Illustrations, from above: African elephant with ivory tusks in Namibia (Will Burrard Lucas photo, courtesy WWF, the World Wildlife Federation); and a screenshot of ivory pool cues offered for sale on social media (provided).
Despicable CREEP.
So. Glad. He. Was. Caught.
He should have been required to donate $70,000 to a wildlife organization – what this selfish, greedy b*st*rd was selling those pool cues for.
But I’m just glad he was stopped.