CONCORD, N.H. — A mounted rhinoceros head is back in the possession of a New Hampshire man — almost 2½ years after federal agents confiscated it as evidence in an animal-trafficking case.
After receiving word the case was dismissed, Ari Goldenberg retrieved the rhino head from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Concord on Monday, putting an official end to a legal saga that started when he was arrested for selling it to an undercover federal agent in May 2012.
“I understand why they do what they do,” Goldenberg said after loading the hunting trophy into his van. “They don’t want any of these things to get to China and increase the demand.”
Rhino horn is a highly sought material on the black market, leading to a lucrative industry for poachers who continue to kill species that have been hunted near to extinction.
The Department of Justice declined to comment on the dismissal Monday, beyond what was written in court documents. The motion to dismiss filed July 24 and approved by a judge July 28 does not indicate why the case was dropped.
Goldenberg said it is frustrating not to get an explanation, but he is relieved to have the charges dropped.
“It wasn’t like I was trying to hide anything from them,” the Milton man said. “I completely understand what they’re trying to do. I just think the enforcement was a little out of hand.”
Goldenberg found the rhino head a few years ago in an antiques store and purchased it for $800. According to the indictment, he first tried to sell it to an auction house in Maine, which would have violated the Endangered Species Act as an interstate transaction.
The deal didn’t happen. Goldenberg and the indictment both said he then contacted Fish and Wildlife, asking about the regulations and for a copy of the act.
Goldenberg, feeling informed enough about the regulations, then placed an ad on Craigslist stipulating the buyer must be from the state of New Hampshire. A potential buyer who responded was actually a federal agent, who agreed to meet Goldenberg and buy the head for $35,000. Once the cash changed hands, Goldenberg said he was surrounded by agents. He was indicted on charges of trafficking and making a false record.
Prosecutors alleged in the indictment that the agent had claimed to be from another state and that Goldenberg was aware it would be taken out of New Hampshire after the transaction. Goldenberg disputed the claim, which his attorney said opened up some very complicated issues.
“There is some conflict there about what the agency said to him and what he understood,” said Manchester attorney Mark Howard, who represented Goldenberg. “The real issue in the case was whether it is actually illegal for somebody to sell this type of species to a resident of another state, so long as the sale occurs in New Hampshire.”
Howard said U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials have to approve the sale of the rhino head.
Goldenberg said he will continue trying to sell it while being careful not to get tangled up in a similar mess.
“I wasn’t trying to break the law before,” he said. “I don’t fault them for trying to do their job.”
Distributed by MCT Information Services