DAILY COMET (Thibodaux, Louisiana) 20 September 05 Alligator theft
An alligator skinner employed at a South Lafourche alligator farm was arrested Friday and charged with stealing nearly 20 of the dead reptiles and tossing them along the road, according to a report by Larry Weidel, spokesman for the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives were called after an employee of Savoie’s Alligator Farm in Cut Off discovered 18 missing alligators dumped off the Bourg-Larose highway, the report says.
Paul J. Billiot, 27, 121 Beachwood Drive, Houma, was charged with theft over $1,000 after he failed a lie detector test and confessed to police, according to the report.
Billiot was suspected in the theft because he had stayed late the night before the alligators were missing, and had arrived early the next morning, the report says.
Billiot told police that he stole the alligators because he thought it would compromise his boss’ position at the company.
In a recorded statement, Billiot said he lined the trunk of his car in a plastic bag and loaded a wheelbarrow full of alligators into his trunk early Thursday morning.
He drove to the Bourg-Larose highway before daylight and tossed the alligators out one at a time.
The dead animals were collected and returned to the farm but were no longer suitable for the sale of skins or meat, the report said.
The estimated value of the reptiles was set at $2,061, it said.
Billiot was taken to the Lafourche Parish Detention Center, where he was released after posting bond.
Alligator theft