Dan Duncan could face felony charges after hunting in Russia from a helicopter
Posted on 07/19/2007 10:24:04 AM PDT by TexasCajun
A 2002 big game hunting trip in Siberia could bring big trouble for Houston billionaire Dan Duncan.
The 74-year-old founder of pipeline giant Enterprise Products Partners may face criminal charges following his appearance Wednesday before a grand jury in Houston, where he answered questions about the trip he and other hunters took with Russian guides.
During the trip, Duncan shot and killed a moose and a sheep while riding in a helicopter, a practice Duncan said he did not know was illegal in Russia. Neither animal was considered endangered, he said.
Russian officials were aware of the hunting expedition — Duncan's attorney Rusty Hardin said the guide on the trip is now a top official with the Russian Federation's hunting licensing agency — but there were no complaints or charges filed in that country.
Hardin said prosecutors from Washington, D.C., may use the Lacey Act, a 107-year-old law designed to prevent the interstate and international trafficking of rare plants and animals, to bring felony criminal charges against Duncan. If found guilty he could face jail time, Hardin said.
"What the hell is the U.S.' interest in bringing felony charges here for hunting on Russian soil, where not one single person has complained?" Hardin said Wednesday. "Is this really the best use of our prosecutorial resources?"
Government officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
Duncan is considered the wealthiest man in Houston and ranks 85th on Forbes' worldwide list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $8.2 billion. His wealth comes from his role as chairman of the company that manages Enterprise Products Partners, a midstream energy giant with more than 30,000 miles of natural gas, petrochemical and crude oil pipelines and other facilities.
He made headlines last year with a $100 million gift to Baylor College of Medicine, which named a building in his honor.
Hunted with Russian guide
A native of Center in rural East Texas, Duncan has been a lifelong hunter who got into hunting exotic big game in the 1970s.
The Safari Club International Record Book, which lists the biggest animals ever legally shot, has 550 entries for him.
Duncan said he shot the moose while flying in a helicopter with his Russian guide. He said he assumed it was legal to take such a shot since local guides and outfitters are usually expected to know the local laws.
"They're like marshals on a golf course who tell you if you can take a penalty shot," Duncan said. "They tell the hunter exactly what he can and cannot do, since none of us can know all the laws of all the different countries."
Duncan had hunted with the guide once before, in the Caucasus Mountains in the 1990s, and on that occasion also shot an animal from a helicopter.
"We admitted from the word 'go' that I shot them from the helicopter," he said. "The whole question is: Did I know it was illegal? I did not."
Duncan said the moose was similar to a moose one would find in Alaska but a bit larger, while the sheep is similar to a Dall Sheep found in Alaska. He said the helicopter was about 10 feet off the ground and 75 to 100 yards away when he hit the moose using a .300 Winchester Magnum rifle.
The moose was flown to a Russian town where the meat was given away, Duncan said.
The moose and sheep busts are at his 5,000-acre exotic game ranch near Bastrop, but are in storage and not on display.
Duncan first heard of a possible investigation about a year ago. A grand jury was convened in Charlottesville, Va., where the outfitter that organized the trip is located, Hardin said.
A second grand jury was convened in Houston most likely because Duncan's trophy heads, along with others shot by the hunting party, arrived in the U.S. through Houston, Hardin said.
Other hunters from the party may also be under investigation, Hardin said, but he declined to identify them
Dan Duncan could face felony charges after hunting in Russia from a helicopter
I’ll tell you why they’re interested. He’s a big name target some enterprisisng prosecuter can make a big name on.
Oh, he just “a$$umed”...
Well I have a complaint, Dan Duncan you are a POS. If you cannot pursue the game on the ground don't kill the game and call yourself a hunter.
Exporting this capitalist to spend a few years in a Russian slammer would be poetic.
From a helicopter? Firing from a helicopter is not hunting. I would have respect for him if he gave the animal some defense.
How many of these were shot illegally?
Why doesn’t this turd just order up a predator drone with a hellfire and sit his lazy ass down in Houston and blow up a large mammal with the push of a button. Could a “hunter” get any more lazy?
Sheeeeeeeeeeesh.
Reminds me of the Far Side cartoon where the hunter kills a bear while it was drinking from a lake. But the trophy he made from the bear showed it in attack position.
I'm a hunter myself, but for the life of me I don't get shooting lions, elephants, giraffes, water-buffalos, finding and shooting game from a helicopter.
...not very sportsman like.
Apropos of nothing, Dan Duncan is one of the top fundraisers nationally for RINOs, raising vast sums for McCain, Rudy and Liddy Dole, as well as a few Democrats.
They were very good hunters.
I would imagine shooting from a helo is much harder than sitting still on the ground........
Jeez, who the heck cares? Something doesn't smell right here.
Let him kill all the white-tails & hogs he wants here in Texas. (legally)
In Da’Nam, the hunted weren’t shy about shooting back...
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