WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – DNR Warden Ryan Koenigs pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge he obstructed the investigation into illegal sturgeon caviar bartering.
Koenigs, 36, made an initial appearance by phone, as misdemeanor cases do not require in-person hearings. No trial date was set. He returns to court May 13 for a final conference.
The complaint alleges Koenigs’ statements in an in interview last year didn’t match phone records and other DNR documents. Investigators also allege 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.
According to the criminal complaint, investigators say if Koenigs had been truthful in his initial interview, they could have been saved hundreds of hours of investigation and it would have been dramatically shortened.
Koenigs previously pleaded not guilty in Winnebago County to a theft charge for allegedly taking eggs from storage and giving them to a processor. A June 15 trial is set in that case.
An investigation revealed that DNR employees, including Koenings, 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. He appears in court May 11.
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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