By Bill Parry
A Long Island City gallery owner and a salesman were arrested and charged with illegal trafficking of sculptures made with banned elephant ivory, the Queens district attorney said Monday.
Robert Rogal, 70, who owns the 10,000-square-foot Ro Gallery, located at 47-15 36th St., and salesman Jaime Villamarin, 45, face up to four years in prison if convicted for selling a ballerina sculpture made with elephant ivory last month to state undercover investigators for more than $2,500, DA Richard Richard said.
Elephants are listed as an endangered species and the sale of more than $1,500 worth of products made from elephant ivory without having first obtained a license or permit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation is a felony.
“The arrest of these two individuals should send a strong message that illegally selling artifacts made from the ivory tusks of threatened elephants will not be tolerated on Queens County,” Brown said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced and signed a new law in 2014 that effectively banned the sale of elephant and mammoth ivory and rhinoceros horns, and strengthened the criminal and civic penalties for buyers and sellers whose actions are endangering elephant populations worldwide. The law allowed for limited exceptions on product, such as antiques demonstrated to be at least 100 years old and containing less than 20 percent ivory. The adoption of these stricter sanctions was a major step in deterring the ivory trade in the U.S. and protecting this important species.”
The DEC also spoke out against ivory sales.
“Aggressively cracking down on the illegal market for ivory will help bring an end to the slaughtering of elephants and send a clear message that we will not allow this trade to continue in New York,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said.
The Wildlife Conservation Society estimates that 96 elephants are killed every day by poachers for their valuable ivory. Before enactment of New York’s restrictions on elephant ivory sales in 2014, New York City was considered to be the epicenter of the illegal ivory trade in the United States, worth upwards of $23 billion annually, according to the United Nations.
Results from the 2016 Great Elephant Census show that there are only 352,000 African savanna elephants still living for a decline of 30 percent over the last seven years.
“Buyers of such items should also be especially cautious and buy only from licensed retailers,” Brown said. “Otherwise, they may be indirectly contributing to the extinction of one of the world’s most magnificent animals — the elephant.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
