Florida Men Charged With Harassing Birds With Mothballs

Florida wildlife officials say two St. Pete Beach businessmen took on nesting birds with a toxic, and illegal, tactic: mothballs. Hotel owner Robert Czyszczon, 47, and bar owner Christopher Monroe, 52, were arrested Wednesday after investigators found roughly 1,500 mothballs scattered on the sand behind the Plaza Beach Hotel in April, reports People, near a colony of threatened black skimmers. Both men face a felony commercial littering charge and a misdemeanor count tied to harassing a state-listed imperiled species, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Investigators say Walmart receipts showed Czyszczon buying a large stash of mothballs, cellphone data placed both men on the beach on the relevant nights, and text messages between them complained about losing "$25,000 to $50,000" due to the birds and referenced plans to keep them from nesting.

"They're the worst birds, and then the bird people will put up (a) fence around the area," read the texts, per officials. Mothballs, which contain high levels of toxic chemicals, are banned in Florida as wildlife repellents. Volunteers and officers collected the pellets after beachgoers reported a strong odor in April. Black skimmers, their numbers reduced by coastal development, have about 10% of their Florida nesting population in Pinellas County. After news of the arrests, angry commenters quickly hit the businesses with one-star online reviews—one noting the place "smells like mothballs."