Jan 18, 2008 6:54 pm US/Eastern
Men Gone Manatee Fishing Catch Time In Prison
Two Broward Men Face Federal Prison Time For Harrasing A Sea Cow
Manatees Are Protected Under Federal Law
An Attorney For One Man Said They Thought The Fishing Was 'A Joke'
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HOLLYWOOD (CBS4) ―
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A Manatee like this one took nthe bait, but escaped, after two men tried to catch it in a Hollywood canal
AP
The same men who used MySpace to post a video of them trying to hunt a manatee in a South Florida Canal last year will again use the social networking site to express their apologies, as ordered by a district judge.
Karl F. Kuhn, III, 19, and Charles V. Podesta, Jr., 20, both of Hollywood, Florida, were sentenced Thursday by U.S. Magistrate Ann E. Vitunac for trying to capture and harm a manatee, all while recording it on videotape and later posting the clip on MySpace. Podesta was sentenced to 30 days in federal prison, followed by 30 days of house arrest with electronic monitoring. He will then be on one year of probation and is to perform 100 hours of community service. Furthermore he'll have to post a public apology for what he did on MySpace.
Kuhn received a term of fifteen days in prison, a one year term of probation, and will also be required to perform 100 hours of community service.
They are called the 'gentle sea cow', and Florida Manatees are protected under the law, but the two men were convicted of hooking the mammal and videotaping it. They were seen on the video using a rod, reel, and a hunk of lettuce in March of 2007 to hook a manatee in a Hollywood canal.
Their crime would likely have gone unknown had not the two men videotaped the entire profanity-laced fishing trip, and then posted the video in two parts on MySpace, bragging about "Manatee Fishing".
The video was removed from the MySpace Video site in October, showing the two men laughing and joking about snagging the federally protected mammal, comparing the act to fishing for Tarpon.
The manatee, which likely weighed almost a ton, appeared on the video to take the bait, but the fishermen voiced their disappointment when the sea-cow managed to break the line and swim off, the lure still in its mouth.
The video had been on the internet for months, and finally caught the attention of someone who was so angered they contacted the Florida Save the Manatee club, who contacted federal officials.
Both men were employees of Bass Pro Shops in Dania Beach, a company which promotes good sportsmanship. One of the men was seen wearing a company T-Shirt in the video.
A company spokesman told
CBS4's Carey Codd back then that while the company doesn't condone this type of behavior, they note the two men were innocent until proven guilty.
Attorney David Joffe, representing Podesta, said "They never had any intention to harm the manatee. they never intended to hook the manatee. in fact the hook that was used was a very small hook." Joffe says the two men are extremely remorseful and only meant this as a joke.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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