BORDERLAND

Man gets probation for shipping unlabeled ivory

8/20/2013

 

A Northwood man who admitted he shipped an elephant ivory carving to China without labeling it as such was placed on probation for two years Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Jack Zouhary.

Mark St. John, 53, had pleaded guilty to the charge in April. He told the court before sentencing that he was unsure about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rules and regulations concerning ivory sales, but the judge told him as someone who “holds himself out as an expert” in Chinese and other antiques, he should make it his business to know the rules.

St. John was ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and to pay an $8,000 fine.