# Man accused of selling 100-pound tortoise claims he’s the victim



## Cowboy_Ken (Oct 19, 2017)

Man accused of selling 100-pound tortoise claims he’s the victim
By Lorena Mongelli, Georgett Roberts and Max Jaeger August 2, 2017 | 7:09pm
Man accused of selling 100-pound tortoise claims he’s the victim
Shawn Waters Ellis Kaplan
The man charged with selling a 100-pound African spurred tortoise stolen from a Queens sanctuary says he was the victim of a shell game.


Shawn Waters is accused of trading the ill-gotten reptile, which went missing from the Alley Pond Environmental Center on July 17, to a Connecticut man for $300 and a musk turtle.

Cops initially said Waters stole the tortoise, but prosecutors are only charging him with possession of stolen property.


Milennium is carried by the Head Caretaker of Alley Pond Environmental, Carlos Martinez.Dennis A. Clark
Waters claims he did not know the tortoise, named Millennium, was stolen and told investigators he acquired the the animal only after making a series of trades through a network of Queens reptile traffickers, according to a criminal complaint.


First, Connecticut man Frank Salvio posted an ad on Craigslist that he wanted to sell his musk turtle. Waters answered the ad, and Salvio told him he wanted an African spurred tortoise in exchange, the complaint states.

Then Waters claims he went through a series of turtle traders to get his hands on Millennium.

Waters claims he called friend “Keith,” who sent him to a man named “Tom,” who passed him to a third guy named “Fortune,” who sent Waters a photo of Millennium and said he’d trade if for a snapping turtle, according to the complaint.

Waters met Fortune at the corner of Oceania Street and 46th Avenue in Bayside and exchanged a snapping turtle for Millennium, then put the 100-pound behemoth in a shopping cart and schlepped it to a Connecticut train station via rail July 23, where he swapped Millennium for Salvio’s musk turtle and $300, investigators say.


Salvio realized the beast was hot when he saw media reports about Millennium, so he called cops and brought the animal to the 111th Precinct station house July 24, police said.

Waters turned himself in Tuesday after police came by the apartment he shares with his mother and questioned the woman, attorney Erin Malone said during the arraignment.

Waters’ mother Amy believes he’s being pinned for a crime he didn’t commit.

“This is outrageous. They didn’t even give him a chance,” she said. “He loves reptiles. He is an animal lover.

Additional reporting by Tina Moore


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## Tom (Oct 19, 2017)

Hmmm…..

For a reptile story, it all sounds very fishy…


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