22 Dead Newts: MA Man Accused Of Smuggling Chinese Animals

WORCESTER, MA — In November 2017, a package slid through an x-ray machine at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The package, headed from Hong Kong to an address in Oakham, contained a "porcelain pallet," according to a customs declaration.

But looking at the x-ray, Customs agents noticed something fishy. There appeared to be reptiles inside the box. Later, U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife inspectors would open the package to find 24 newts packed in 24 plastic containers. Only four of them were still were alive.

That package was on its way to a 27-year-old Worcester man named Nathan Boss. This week, he appeared in federal court on charges connected to the smuggling of four Asian turtles into Massachusetts from Hong Kong — the latest in a series of illegal animal acquisitions Boss made over the last few years, federal officials say.

About two weeks after the newts were found at JFK, federal wildlife officials intercepted another Boss package, according to court documents. This time, Boss was sending a variety of amphibians — box turtles, newts and black lizards — to an address in Hong Kong, court documents say. The animals were alive, wrapped in socks, and divided among several plastic tubs. The package was declared to be "hand carved figurines."

Federal officials later tracked the packages to an Oakham business advertised on Facebook called "Nate's Newts." The page has since been taken down. Federal wildlife agents also visited Boss' Worcester home, but they went looking for a Robert Boss, whose name was listed on the 24-newt package intercepted in New York.

Agents never heard from any Robert Boss, but their interest in Nathan Boss was renewed in August when a Customs agent found a box at a Westborough DHL facility containing a Chinese fire-bellied newt — a poisonous reptile that's illegal to import under the Lacey Act. The package was addressed to Boss' home along Mildred Avenue.

In September, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent Stephen Finn was at JFK watching international packages come through an x-ray machine. One package, headed from Hong Kong to Mildred Avenue in Worcester, appeared to have turtles inside.

Finn found four black-breasted leaf turtles inside the package wrapped in black socks. The turtles — who were alive at the time — were put back in the box and continued on to Nathan Boss. Federal officials set up surveillance and watched as Boss, using the "Shelton" alias, picked up the turtles at the Central Street post office in Worcester.

Boss appeared in court on Oct. 24 on a charge of unlawful smuggling of prohibited wildlife. He was released on a $10,000 bond, and ordered not to leave Massachusetts. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, officials say.