Florida business owners allegedly scattered 1,500 mothballs on beach to scare off endangered birds

Two Florida business owners have been charged with third-degree felonies after allegedly spreading about 1,500 “toxic” mothballs across a beach in hopes of keeping an “imperiled” bird species from nesting there.If convicted, they could each face up to five years in prison, fines of up to $5,000 and up to five years of probation.The problem started in late April when beachgoers noticed mothballs on the white, sugary sand on St.Pete Beach in St.

Petersburg, Florida.Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and bird-loving volunteers from the Audubon Society mobilized.They plucked about 1,000 of the small, white orbs from the sand behind the Plaza Beach Hotel.Then 500 more appeared overnight.The smelly balls containing pesticides dotted an area where endangered shorebirds known as black skimmers were “attempting to establish a nesting colony,” FWC officials said at a news conference.Their placement also meant other wildlife and children “could easily come in contact with them.”It quickly became clear that someone might be targeting the birds, they said.So FWC investigators flew into action.The discovery of the mothballs ruffled feathers in the community.There was “a lot of public outcry,” expressing concern for the birds, while investigators tried to locate the source of the mothballs, FWC officials said.Law enforcement served search warrants, combed through “terabytes” of data and eventually seized cellphones to try to locate the individuals behind the caper.That work led them to Christopher Monroe, owner and manager of Chris’s Beachside Bar, and Robert Czyszczon, owner of the Plaza Beach Hotel, FWC officials said.Out of fear of lost revenue, the two allegedly hatched a plan to use mothballs to deter birds from congregating on the beach behind their businesses, authorities said.Through video surveillance and receipt records, investigators found that Czyszczon spent about $60 buying “a large quantity” o...