Man sentenced for role in illegal sale of leopards

A Florida man was sentenced Monday in federal court to six months in prison and a year of probation for illegally selling two black leopards to an Illinois buyer through a Cape Girardeau couple in 1998.

Timothy D. Rivers, owner of Animals in Motion Animal Park in Citra, Fla., was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau by Judge Richard E. Webber for a misdemeanor violation of the Lacey Act, a federal wildlife protection law. Rivers will serve his sentence in Florida.

Rivers pleaded guilty in August, admitting he illegally sold the leopards for $750 each through the Cape Girardeau dealers, Todd H. and Vicki L. Lantz, and falsified documents to make the sale of the cats appear as a donation. In addition, Rivers admitted to an illegal sale of an endangered Bengal tiger to the Lantzes and again falsifying documents.

Rivers was among five people indicted in Missouri in November 2001, following an investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He was ordered to pay $2,500 to the Save the Tiger Fund, a fund administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The Lantzes, owners of Lazy L Exotics, were sentenced in August for the illegal sale of four tigers. Todd Lantz was sentenced to five months in prison, three years of probation upon release, and ordered to pay $5,000 to the Save the Tiger Fund. His wife is serving six months home detention and five years of probation.