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Two Florida business owners have been charged with third-degree felonies after allegedly spreading about 1,500 “toxic” mothballs across a beach in hopes of keeping an “imperiled” bird species from nesting there
If convicted, they could each face up to five years in prison, fines of up to $5,000 and up to five years of probation
The problem started in late April when beachgoers noticed mothballs on the white, sugary sand on St. Pete Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida
Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and bird-loving volunteers from the Audubon Society mobilized. They plucked about 1,000 of the small, white orbs from the sand behind the Plaza Beach Hotel
MASSACHUSETTS HOMEOWNERS STUNNED AFTER TOWN WARNS JULY 4 FLAGS THREATEN ENDANGERED BIRDS
Robert Czyszczon, left, and Christopher Monroe, right, were charged with third-degree felonies for allegedly scattering mothballs on a beach behind their businesses in St. Petersburg, Fla.(Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)
Then 500 more appeared overnight
The smelly balls containing pesticides dotted an area where endangered shorebirds known as black skimmers were “attempting to establish a nesting colony,” FWC officials said at a news conference. Their placement also meant other wildlife and children “could easily come in contact with them.”
It quickly became clear that someone might be targeting the birds, they said
So FWC investigators flew into action
Crying fowl
The discovery of the mothballs ruffled feathers in the community
There was “a lot of public outcry,” expressing concern for the birds, while investigators tried to locate the
Law enforcement served search warrants, combed through “terabytes” of data and eventually seized cellphones to try to locate the individuals behind the caper
That work led them to Christopher Monroe, owner and manager of Chris’s Beachside Bar, and Robert Czyszczon, owner of the Plaza Beach Hotel, FWC officials said
Out of fear of lost revenue, the two allegedly hatched a plan to use mothballs to deter birds from congregating on the beach behind their businesses, authorities said
HIKERS FACE $25,000 FINE AFTER OFF-LEASH DOG BARKED AT GRIZZLY BEAR ON BANFF NATIONAL PARK TRAIL
Officers with FWC worked with Audubon Society volunteers to remove mothballs from St. Pete Beach when they appeared in April.(FWC)
Through video surveillance and receipt records, investigators found that Czyszczon spent about $60 buying “a large quantity” of mothballs at a Walmart the day before they first appeared on the beach, FWC officials said
Upon examining his phone, investigators found “incriminating” text messages between him and fellow business owner Monroe discussing their objections to the native fowl
Text conversations revealed plans for placement of the mothballs on the beach, officials said. That’s what led investigators to Monroe as a suspect
The men discussed how they “were going to do something” to prevent the birds from nesting on the beach, FWC officials said
Black skimmers don’t nest in trees. They kick beach sand to make depressions on the ground. Then they lay their eggs and raise their young near the surf
“They’re the worst birds,” one of the men allegedly wrote in anticipation of nesting season
“The bird people will put up fence around the area, and then the beach people will not be able to get to and from because they will fence around that space.”
Cellphone tower data showed Monroe’s phone was at the same location as Czyszczon’s phone on both nights when the mothballs appeared on the beach, FWC officials said
The men feared that nests on the beach would lead to fewer customers and less money being spent there, authorities said
“Why didn’t you tell me we lose $25,000 to $50,000?” one allegedly wrote in a text
Monroe and Czyszczon were charged with illegal dumping, a third-degree felony They also were charged with the “attempted take of a state-listed imperiled species by harassment,” a misdemeanor
Both are out of jail on bond
MASSACHUSETTS HOMEOWNERS STUNNED AFTER TOWN WARNS JULY 4 FLAGS THREATEN ENDANGERED BIRDS
Black skimmers lay eggs in depressions they make in beach sand.(FWC)
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About 6,800 black skimmers live in Florida. FWC officials estimate that several hundred live on the beaches of Pinellas County
The pesticide in mothballs can harm people and wildlife that come into contact with their vapors, according to an educational publication by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS)
“With any pesticide, the label is the law,” Brett W. Bultemeier, director of the UF/IFAS Pesticide Information Office, wrote in a 2021 educational publication about mothballs. “The label language is not simply a set of directions. Rather, they are requirements that are legally enforceable.”
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The birds probably weren’t hurt by the “harassment,” FWC officials said
But it did delay their nesting, they said. That pushes the date that their young can fledge from the nest further back in the season. And that could put them in danger
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A big storm at the end of hurricane season, which ends on Nov. 30, “can wipe out a colony if those young birds haven’t fledged yet,” an FWC official said
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An attorney for Czyszczon did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Court records indicate that Monroe doesn’t have an attorney. He couldn’t be reached for comment
