The host of the Sportsman Channel hunting show "Syndicate Hunting" and four other people pled guilty in federal court this month to crimes related to a poaching operation in Noatak National Preserve in Northwest Alaska, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
On Monday, host Clark W. Dixon, 41, of Hazlehurst, Mississippi, pled guilty to two violations of the Lacey Act for his role in the illegal killing of a brown bear, the U.S. attorney said in a release.
Dixon faces 18 months in prison, plus a $75,000 fine and the forfeiture of 17 trophies, including grizzly, Dall sheep, caribou, as well as bows and rifles used to illegally kill game in Alaska, according to the release.
Dixon's father, 70-year-old Charles Dixon, also pled guilty to two violations of the Lacey Act for illegally flying nonresident Clarence Osborne to their camp to hunt brown bear, moose and caribou.
Osborne did not have the correct permit and was without a guide. Charles Dixon will have to pay a $15,000 fine, and $10,000 in restitution to Noatak Preserve to remove their illegal camp materials from the area.
Charles Dixon's airplane was also forfeited, the release said. He will be sentenced in February.
Osborne pled guilty to Lacey Act violations in early November. He was sentenced to five years probation "with the condition that he not hunt anywhere in the world," according to the release.
Fulton Wold, 41, of Nashville, Tennessee also pled guilty in early November for the illegal taking of a caribou on a hunt orchestrated with Clark Dixon in 2009. He received two years probation, plus a $7,500 fine, and restitution of $1,000 to the preserve.
Terry Goza, 71, also of Hazlehurst, Mississippi, pled guilty to illegally taking a Dall sheep on a hunt with Clark Dixon. He must pay a $7,500 fine.
"Footage from Osborne, Wold's and Goza's hunts were shown on Clark Dixon's cable TV hunting show," the release said.
The National Park Service has also issued citations to The Outdoor Syndicate LLC, its owner Michael P. Dianda and to the editing studio Zap Lab for filming in Noatak Preserve without a permit.
Prosecutors allege the poaching operation illegally hunted and killed dozens of big game animals, including grizzly bears, moose, caribou and Dall sheep. Charges against the men were filed in September after a four-year-long investigation; the Sportsman Channel suspended its airings of the show days later, calling the allegations "unacceptable, unethical and against everything our networks stand for" if true.
Two others involved are expected to change their pleas in early December. Randall Goza of Wasilla pleaded not guilty and will face a jury trial.