Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
- Northern District of California
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2008
CONTACT: Joshua Eaton
(415) 436-6958
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SAN FRANCISCO MAN CHARGED WITH ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
VIOLATIONS AND MAKING FALSE STATEMENTS TO INVESTIGATORS
President of Brugnara Corporation Accused of Harming Steelhead
First Federal Criminal ESA Case for Blocking Steelhead Migration
OAKLAND – United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced that yesterday a federal grand jury in Oakland indicted Luke D. Brugnara of San Francisco, California, and his corporation, Brugnara Corporation, with four counts of “taking” steelhead trout, a listed threatened species on the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), and two counts of making a false statement in the course of the investigation. These charges come as a result of an investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement (NOAA-OLE) and the California Department of Fish and Game (“CDFG”).
According to the indictment, Mr. Brugnara, 44, is alleged to have intentionally blocked the flow of Little Arthur Creek, an important watershed for steelhead, through his private dam on his property in Gilroy, California. Mr. Brugnara purchased this 112- acre Gilroy property in the name of his company – Brugnara Corporation – in 2001. Steelhead are known to migrate upstream of the dam on this property.
You can read the rest of the story at the CSPA's website
http://www.calsport.org
The Brugnara Corporation is owned by Mr. Luke Brugnara. Mr. Brugnara owns a large number of San Francisco office buildings. He's paid fines of 2.5 million to the City of San Francisco on building violations on these structures. He also attempted to become one of the Las Vegas wheeler and dealers and bought the Silver City Casino. Unfortunately for him and apparently fortunately for us, Mr. Brugnara could not obtain a Nevada gaming license.
Geez, I WONDER why!
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