Two Florida business owners face third-degree felony charges after allegedly deploying approximately 1,500 mothballs on St. Pete Beach in an attempt to drive away endangered black skimmers attempting to establish a nesting colony, authorities announced. The toxic pesticide-laden orbs, discovered by beachgoers in late April, posed a risk to wildlife and children, prompting an investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Investigators, utilizing surveillance footage, receipt records, and incriminating text messages, identified Christopher Monroe, owner of Chris’s Beachside Bar, and Robert Czyszczon, owner of the Plaza Beach Hotel, as the perpetrators. The duo reportedly feared that bird nests would negatively impact their businesses’ revenue, leading them to devise a plan to scatter the mothballs, with Czyszczon purchasing a large quantity from Walmart and text exchanges between the men detailing their intent to prevent nesting. Cellphone data corroborated their presence at the beach on the nights the mothballs appeared. If convicted, they each face up to five years in prison, fines up to $5,000, and probation, alongside misdemeanor charges for attempted harassment of an imperiled species, though officials believe the birds were likely unharmed, their nesting efforts were delayed, potentially jeopardizing young birds later in the season.
Adapted from: U.S. News Today on Fox News