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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ivory dealer goes undercover to help bust wildlife smuggler

Associated Press

SEATTLE – A Washington ivory and antiquities dealer will serve six months in prison after pleading guilty to federal smuggling charges four years ago and then going undercover to help authorities prosecute a former Canadian wildlife smuggler.

The Seattle Times reported that court documents say David L. Boone had been working with federal prosecutors since after he was arrested for the illegal possession of ivory from walruses, sperm whales and, particularly, the tusks of the narwhal, a medium-sized whale.

Boone’s entire prosecution, including his guilty plea in 2013, was sealed while prosecutors in Canada and the U.S. built a case against Gregory Logan, who last year pleaded guilty to 10 money-laundering charges in Maine.

Logan is described in court documents as “among the most prolific wildlife criminals ever prosecuted in this country.”