Man allegedly filed false papers to illegally acquire 50 gator tags, LDWF says.
A 51-year-old Plaquemine man was arrested Oct. 14 and booked in connection with the alleged illegal acquisition of 150 alligator tags, the Louisiana Department Wildlife and Fisheries said.
LDWF’s Special Investigation Unit arrested John Boudreaux, 51, on felony counts of forgery, injuring public records and filing false public documents and booked him into the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail, the LDWF announced.
Agents started the investigation in September 2011 after receiving a tip from an alligator hunter about a man illegally acquiring alligator tags from the LDWF, the agency reported.
Agents allegedly found that Boudreaux forged signatures on alligator tag applications in order to obtain the rights to hunt alligators on land for which he did not have permission, the LDWF news release revealed.
According to LDWF records, Boudreaux illegally obtained 150 tags and harvested 149 alligators in West Baton Rouge and Iberville parishes since 2001.
An alligator hunter must either own land or have permission to hunt alligators on land classified as wetland habitat in order to qualify for alligator-harvest tags.
LDWF issues harvest tags for property containing sufficient alligator habitat capable of sustaining an alligator harvest. Wild alligator tags can only be issued to licensed alligator hunters and are nontransferable.
Injuring and filing false records brings up to a $5,000 fine and as much as five years in jail with or without hard labor for each count. Forgery carries a $5,000 fine and as long as 10 years in jail with or without hard labor.
