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W von Papineäu
at Fri Aug 22 09:03:59 2008 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by W von Papineäu ]
PALM BEACH POST (Florida) 15 August 08 Boynton Beach pet shop owner charged with illegally having, selling reptiles (Lona O'Connor)
Delray Beach: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission charged a Boynton Beach pet shop owner with owning or selling reptiles without a permit.
Nick Nistico, 25, has been under investigation since a July incident in which one of his employees was accused of torturing small animals in Nistico's store, Dark Forest Reptiles.
When investigators visited the store on Aug. 6, they found it empty. Nistico had relocated his shop to Delray Beach, and was displaying reptiles with an expired permit at an unpermitted location.
They charged him with possessing an American alligator without a permit, possessing reptiles of concern without a permit and exhibiting and selling without a permit. They also issued Nistico a warning for improper housing of an American alligator.
According to investigators, Nistico was displaying a 3-foot alligator in a way that involved easy access. He was also displaying a reticulated python without a permit. Commission officers took both reptiles.
In 2007, Nistico was stopped by an Ocean Ridge police officer for running a red light. A records check revealed he was wanted for violations that involved possession and sale of alligators, alligator snapping turtles and possession of a venomous reptile without a permit.
In July, two girls told officials that Brian T. Davies, 21, one of Nistico's employees, tortured a mouse in front of them. Davis, of Delray Beach, also had a previous arrest. He was charged in June 2007 with possession of an alligator without a permit.
Under the wildlife violator compact, Nistico could face enhanced penalties because he was convicted of wildlife violations in the past. Penalties could include a maximum $1,000 fine and a year in jail for each violation.
Nistico's Delray Beach store, at 1405 N. Congress, was open Aug. 15. A brown cat roamed the small shop and a young woman dropped in, cuddling a golden-skinned lizard.
Nistico said he let fish and wildlife officials know he was moving via overnight mail when he relocated from Boynton Beach to Delray Beach.
He added that there was such a backup at the Fish and Wildlife Commission that he thinks it could be as many as six weeks before he can sell animals in the new store.
"They made it out like I was trying to move behind their back," he said. "That's nonsense. Why would I be trying to hide from my customers?"
In a separate incident, a girl who claimed to be scratched in the store by an Arctic fox, never showed up in court, he said.
He said the alligator snapping turtle incident was a sting operation, in which an undercover wildlife agent persuaded him to sell the turtle, which was one of Nistico's pets.
Nistico said that charges had been dropped against Davies, and that he would now consider rehiring the clerk, whom he fired after the mouse incident.
He said he has a Sept. 11 court date to fight the charges against him and expects that two of the three charges will be dropped.
Until then, he is not selling any animals, he said.
A spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Commission said that a pet store can remain open as long as he sells animals that don't need permits, such as mice and rats. She added that according to commission records, Nistico's permit to sell certain reptiles that need special care and housing expired and has not been renewed.
Boynton Beach pet shop owner charged with illegally having, selling reptiles
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 FL Press: Illegally selling reptiles - W von Papineäu, Fri Aug 22 09:03:59 2008
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