The owners of a Midtown antique store took plea deals Wednesday for trying to sell $4.5 million worth of illegal elephant ivory from a hidden back room in their shop — leading to the largest seizure of “white gold” in New York State history, authorities said.
Samuel Morano, 49, of Metropolitan Fine Arts & Antiques Inc., copped to one count of felony illegal commercialization of wildlife and his brother, Irving Morano, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor illegal commercialization of wildlife in exchange for no-jail sentences, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
As part of the deal, the Morano brothers paid a total of $200,000 to the nonprofits Wild Tomorrow Fund and the World Wildlife Fund to be used in their endangered species protection programs.
In addition, they must forfeit more than a hundred seized pieces, ranging from tiny animal figurines to large intricately carved statues.
The million-dollar haul, which came from more than a dozen slaughtered elephants, included a $250,000 set of seven-foot-tall tusks and a $850,000 pair of square columns topped by elephant sculptures.
In 2015, undercover Department of Environmental Conservation agents strolled into the upscale store on West 57th Street near Fifth Avenue and bought a $2,000 carving.
Authorities analyzed the item and confirmed it was elephant ivory. During the execution of a subsequent search warrant, the DEC allegedly confiscated 126 illegal pieces.
The store previously had a license to sell ivory but did not renew it after a 2014 law made the trade virtually illegal, authorities said.
The seized pieces will be destroyed on World Elephant Day in August of 2017, officials said.
Poaching has decimated the elephant population from a peak of 20 million in the 1930s to about 350,000 today, according to Basil Seggos, the commissioner of the New York State DEC.
About 30,000 elephants a year continue to be slaughtered in Africa for their coveted tusks, he previously said.
Japan, China and the Far East are the main sources of demand for ivory but New York City remains a major hub, he added.
Defense lawyer Julian Schreibman, who represents both brothers, called the disposition “very appropriate.
“This case involved selling ivory after their license had expired,” the attorney said. “The Moranos are reputable businessmen who are looking forward to being able to focus on their business.”
