Fantastic Friday storyvia the UK’s Independent Newspaper
Wisconsin Official Known as the ‘Sturgeon General’ Allegedly Ate $20,000 Worth of Illegal Caviar
Deep in the frozen heart of Wisconsin, state wildlife officials allegedly dined like oligarchs, feasting on tens of thousands of dollars worth of caviar and passing around jars of the prised delicacy at team meetings.
Meanwhile, some of their colleagues were working undercover to expose the long-running scheme responsible for the lavish spread, and tipping federal authorities off to a world of clandestine after-hours meetings at state laboratories and five-gallon buckets filled with gleaming fish roe.
The extensive three-year investigation resulted in the arrest of the state’s top sturgeon expert last week. Ryan Koenigs, nicknamed the “sturgeon general” by local television stations, allegedly obtained at least $20,000 (£14,000) worth of caviar in a single year while holding down an otherwise unglamorous post as a biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He faces charges of misdemeanor theft for illegally trading sturgeon eggs, as well as obstructing an investigation by a conservation warden.
Read more at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/wisconsin-wildlife-officials-caviar-prosecution-b1804156.html
