posted January 20, 2008 08:26 AM         

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Two men who harassed a manatee in a canal, videotaped the encounter and posted it on a Web site were sentenced to prison Friday, after pleading guilty to violating the federal Endangered Species Act.

Charles V. Podesta, Jr., 20, will spend 30 days in federal prison and a year of supervised release, according to court documents. Karl F. Kuhn II, 19, was sentenced to 15 days in prison and a year of probation after his release.

Both Podesta and Kuhn have also been ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, and Podesta must post a public apology on his MySpace page.
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A video posted on a MySpace page showed Podesta and Kuhn, both of Hollywood, harassing a manatee in a canal, authorities said. That is an Endangered Species Act violation.

Manatees have been on the state endangered list since 1979.

Messages left by The Associated Press with attorneys representing Podesta and Kuhn and with the state attorney's office were not immediately returned Friday.
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posted January 21, 2008 01:16 AM         

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posted January 21, 2008 03:49 AM         

The two men were convicted of hooking the mammal and videotaping it. They were seen on the video using a rod, reel, and a hunk of lettuce in March of 2007 to hook a manatee in a Hollywood canal.

Their crime would likely have gone unknown had not the two men videotaped the entire profanity-laced fishing trip, and then posted the video in two parts on MySpace, bragging about "Manatee Fishing".

The video was removed from the MySpace Video site in October, showing the two men laughing and joking about snagging the federally protected mammal, comparing the act to fishing for Tarpon.

The manatee, which likely weighed almost a ton, appeared on the video to take the bait, but the fishermen voiced their disappointment when the sea-cow managed to break the line and swim off, the lure still in its mouth.

The video had been on the internet for months, and finally caught the attention of someone who was so angered they contacted the Florida Save the Manatee club, who contacted federal officials.

Both men were employees of Bass Pro Shops in Dania Beach, a company which promotes good sportsmanship. One of the men was seen wearing a company T-Shirt in the video.
A company spokesman told CBS4's Carey Codd back then that while the company doesn't condone this type of behavior, they note the two men were innocent until proven guilty.

Attorney David Joffe, representing Podesta, said "They never had any intention to harm the manatee. they never intended to hook the manatee. in fact the hook that was used was a very small hook." Joffe says the two men are extremely remorseful and only meant this as a joke.

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