PORTLAND -- A man from Greene, Maine, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland to trafficking in whale and bird parts in violation of multiple federal statutes.

According to records brought forth during court proceedings, Sergey Bachkovsky illegally imported numerous wildlife-related items from Eastern Europe and sold them online to buyers across the U.S.

Those items included sperm whale and marine mammal teeth, blue whale and Antarctic minke whale ear bones, and a broad-winged hawk carcass. A notice of forfeiture shows he possessed and intended to sell other items, including marine mammal and bear teeth, whale vertebrae, as well as feathers and wings from various birds.

Bachkovsky will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, th

See Full Page