SAN FRANCISCO MAN CHARGED WITH ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
VIOLATIONS AND MAKING FALSE STATEMENTS TO INVESTIGATORS
President of Brugnara Corporation Accused of Harming Steelhead
First Federal Criminal ESA Case for Blocking Steelhead Migration
OAKLAND – United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced that yesterday a federal grand jury in Oakland indicted Luke D. Brugnara of San Francisco, California, and his corporation, Brugnara Corporation, with four counts of “taking” steelhead trout, a listed threatened species on the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), and two counts of making a false statement in the course of the investigation. These charges come as a result of an investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement (NOAA-OLE) and the California Department of Fish and Game (“CDFG”).
According to the indictment, Mr. Brugnara, 44, is alleged to have intentionally blocked the flow of Little Arthur Creek, an important watershed for steelhead, through his private dam on his property in Gilroy, California. Mr. Brugnara purchased this 112- acre Gilroy property in the name of his company – Brugnara Corporation – in 2001. Steelhead are known to migrate upstream of the dam on this property.
Steelhead are an anadromous species of trout fish, meaning that they migrate from freshwater to ocean water and back. They are found in the Pacific ocean, along the west coast of the United States and Alaska. As part of their natural life cycle, they are born in streams, creeks and rivers and then migrate to the Pacific ocean where they live up to three years migrating thousands of miles before they migrate back to the same river, creek and stream in which they were born to spawn. The population of steelhead in the Little Arthur Creek, running through Mr. Brugnara’s property, is threatened with extinction and it is listed on the ESA as a threatened species. One of the reasons for this decline in steelhead populations is that their access to historic spawning and rearing areas upstream of dams has been blocked.
From at least January 2007 through at least April 2007, Mr. Brugnara allegedly closed off the opening or portal in his dam which had allowed the steelhead to migrate upstream. State and federal investigators located and observed numerous trapped adults downstream of the dam that were unable to migrate upstream to suitable spawning habitat. A federal fisheries biologist determined the trapped adult steelhead were of paramount importance to the survival of the species due to the low number of steelhead found in the Pajaro River watershed and recommended the adults be rescued and moved upstream. When the rescue team arrived to move the steelhead upstream, investigators found that the steelhead were gone and located significant evidence of poaching activities. An affidavit filed by a special agent with NOAA OLE in connection with this criminal investigation details Mr. Brugnara’s alleged poaching and trapping activities.
Mr. Brugnara is also accused of making false statements to the CDFG officers who interviewed him during the investigation.
This is the first federal criminal case in the country charging an individual and corporation with the take of steelhead through blocking access to upstream habitat.
Mr. Brugnara will make his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco on April 16, 2008, before Judge Spero.
The maximum statutory penalty for each False Statement charge in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 is 5 years and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of the Endangered Species Act, in violation of 16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(G) and 1540(b)(1) for Mr. Brugnara is 6 months imprisonment, a $25,000 fine, 1 year supervised release and a $10 special assessment. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of the ESA violation for Brugnara Corporation is a $25,000 fine, 5 years probation, and a $50 special assessment. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Maureen Bessette is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Cynthia Daniel. The prosecution is the result of a year long investigation by Special Agent Roy Torres with the NOAA-OLE and Warden Kyle Kroll with the CDFG.
Please note, an indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Mr. Brugnara must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
