CHILTON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Wisconsin’s former top sturgeon biologist has been fined for lying to investigators in an investigation into the illegal processing of sturgeon eggs into caviar.
Ryan Koenigs pleaded no contest to a count of resisting a conservation warden in Calumet County. He was fined $500.
Koenigs, 36, also resigned from the DNR Thursday morning, his attorney said.
The criminal complaint alleges Koenigs’ statements in an in interview last year didn’t match phone records and other DNR documents. Investigators also alleged Koenigs’ DNR-issued phone was wiped without authorization between that interview and a search warrant that was performed at his house a few months later. Scott Ceman, Koenigs’ attorney, however, told FOX 11 that Koenigs did not delete anything from the phone. Ceman also said in court that Koenigs told investigators the full story after an initial interview.
Koenigs was also convicted last month in Winnebago County of resisting a conservation warden. He was fined $50 in that case.
An investigation revealed that DNR employees, including Koenigs, would allegedly collect eggs from spearers, telling them they were for research purposes. According to a criminal complaint, Koenigs allegedly allowed a co-worker to take the eggs and have them processed, then shared some of the caviar with DNR employees. Koenigs is accused of accepting about $20,000 worth of caviar, by way of bartering, which is illegal. The criminal complaint indicates that the practice had been going on before Koenigs became lead sturgeon biologist in 2012.
A Fond du Lac couple, Mary and Victor Schneider, reached a plea deal on charges related to caviar production. A Fond du Lac bartender, Shawn Wendt, faces similar counts for also allegedly keeping some the caviar he processed as payment.
While legal to pay someone to process sturgeon eggs into caviar, it is illegal to barter or trade such services for a portion of the product.
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