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Wisconsin wildlife officials ate $20,000 of illegal caviar, prosecutors say. Now the sturgeon general faces charges.
Antonia Noori Farzan, The Washington Post
Feb. 18, 2021
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Deep in the frozen heart of Wisconsin, state wildlife officials allegedly dined like oligarchs, feasting on tens of thousands of dollars worth of caviar and passing around jars of the prized delicacy at team meetings.
Meanwhile, some of their colleagues were working undercover to expose the long-running scheme responsible for the lavish spread, and tipping federal authorities off to a world of clandestine after-hours meetings at state laboratories and five-gallon buckets filled with gleaming fish roe.
According to a criminal complaint, Wisconsin wildlife officials repeatedly claimed they needed to collect sturgeon eggs for scientific research. Instead, they made caviar and ate it.
Ryan Koenigs, a biologist who oversees the state’s sturgeon spearing season in Lake Winnebago, is accused of accepting $20,000 worth of caviar in an illegal bartering scheme.
Deep in the frozen heart of Wisconsin, state wildlife officials allegedly dined like oligarchs, feasting on tens of thousands of dollars worth of caviar and passing around jars of the prized delicacy at team meetings.
Wisconsin biologist traded sturgeon research eggs for $20,000 worth of caviar, prosecutors say mcall.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mcall.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.