A Florida man who stars in the Discovery Channel's Swamp Brothers series and his business partner have been sentenced for violating federal wildlife laws, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Swamp Brother Robert Keszey and Robroy MacInnes, co-owners and managers the Glades Herp Farm in Sumter County, were convicted of buying wildlife they knew was illegally collected from the wild.
Federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania say the men transported the wildlife to the Glades Herp Farm in Bushnell so the company could sell the wildlife.
The men were sentenced on charges of conspiracy and trafficking in protected timber rattlesnakes and endangered Eastern indigo snakes on Friday, Dec. 5.
A federal judge in Philadelphia sentenced MacInnes, 55, of Inverness, Florida, and Keszey, 48, of Bushnell, Florida, to 18 months and 12 months in prison respectively for their role in trafficking in state and federally protected reptiles.
The defendants will also serve three years of supervised release. MacInees was also sentenced to pay a $4,000 fine and Keszey will pay a $2,000 fine.
The eastern timber rattlesnake is a species of venomous pit viper native to the eastern United States, and is listed as threatened in New York.
It is also illegal to possess an eastern timber rattlesnake without a permit in Pennsylvania.
The eastern indigo snake, the longest native North American snake species, is listed as threatened by both Florida and federal law.
Each of these snakes can fetch between $800 and $1,000 each at reptile shows.
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