On Tuesday, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, owner of Oklahoma's Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, was convicted by a federal jury on 17 counts of violating the Endangered Species Act, wildlife trafficking, and killing multiple tigers.
Sounds intense for a zookeeper, right?
The bigger plot twist was the conviction against Maldonado-Passage on two counts regarding a murder for hire scheme involving Tampa Big Cat Rescue owner, Carole Baskin.
The beef between the two started in 1992 when Baskin launched Big Cat Rescue to aid wild animals from unsuitable conditions, such as roadside zoos.
The Big Cat Rescue owner began raising awareness about Maldonado-Passage's careless and illegal business practices.
Then feuding between the two began to heat up, first with a lawsuit in 2011 in which BCR was awarded over $1 million after Maldonado-Passage named a traveling petting zoo "Big Cat Rescue Entertainment."
This was followed by online threats made against Baskin — including a video and a photo of a blow-up doll dressed as the BCR owner being shot and hanged.
Simultaneously, Maldonado-Passage was reportedly forging documents, illegally selling wild animals and shooting five tigers in order to create more space for more animals.
Three years ago, the zookeeper went on the hunt for a hitman who could finally end the feud with Baskin.
In December 2017, according to a Department of Justice news release, Maldonado-Passage found his hitman — or so he thought. The contact was actually an undercover FBI agent, whom Maldonado-Passage gave $3,000 and instructions to travel from Oklahoma to South Carolina before landing in Florida to murder Baskin. After the deed was done, the indictment said thousands more would be paid.
Now facing up the 20 years in prison for both counts of murder for hire and three to five years for the 17 counts of animal-related charges, Maldonado-Passage is awaiting sentencing in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
A recent post made by Baskin reads, "I am grateful that justice was served and Joe Schreibvogel-Maldonado-Passage hopefully will serve time in prison and no longer present a threat either to me or to his former big cats."
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