Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 | 5:45 p.m.
A Northern California man who sold black rhinoceros horns to undercover agents in a Las Vegas hotel room was convicted of the crime, according to the office of the U.S. attorney for the district of Nevada.
Edward Levine, 64, of Novato, Calif., was convicted on Thursday of conspiracy to violate the Lacey and Endangered Species acts and violating the Lacey Act prohibiting trade in illegally obtained wildlife, fish and plants, according to officials.
On January 2014, Levine and San Francisco art dealer Lumsden Quan began interacting with a federal agents — via email and telephone calls — who had expressed interest in buying the illegal horns, documents show. The men told the agents that they were intermediates for a third man who owned the horns.
The negotiations on the purchase price and place continued until March 2014, when Quan and Levine met an agent in a south valley hotel room. The pair were arrested as they walked out of the room after exchanging the product for $55,000.
Since 1976, the black rhinoceros, a threatened species, is protected under federal and international law, and the trade of its horns is illegal.
The horns, which are made up of keratin, are traded in the black market and are used in some cultures for ornamental carvings, good-luck charms. Other cultures believe the horns have medicinal value, according to court documents.
Levine’s partner, Quan, pleaded guilty in 2015 was sentenced to a year in prison on the same counts and ordered to pay a $10,200 fine, according to court documents.
Levine faces up to five years at sentencing Dec. 15.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
