A Cayman Islands company, Ruzial Ltd., has pleaded guilty to using a company yacht to illegally import elephant tusks, a mounted tiger head and bar stools covered with reticulated python hides, among several other illegal items.

New Yorker Tamir Sapir, the company’s owner, signed a document saying the company will pay $150,000 in criminal and civil fines. Of course, Tamir Sapir won’t need installment loans or any other type of financing to pay the fines. He is a billionaire. He probably has shoes worth more than that.

Other illegal items

The SunSentenel.com says that a Ruzial yacht, measuring 150 feet, was used to import items protected by the Endangered Species Act. The name of the yacht was M/Y Mystere CI. Here is a partial list of the items found on Mystere:

• zebra-skin rugs
• jaguar-skin rugs
• lion-skin rugs
• leopard-skin rugs
• tiger-skin rugs
• cigarette cases covered with reticulated python skin
• an entire stuffed lion.
• elephant tusks
• mounted tiger head
• bar stools covered with python hides

The company pleaded guilty to illegally importing 29 items.

The trip

The Mystere arrived in the United States with the illegal items, which were mostly used to decorate and outfit the interior of the yacht, in 2007. It traveled here from Italy. The illegal items were discovered when the yacht was preparing to leave for a trip to the Caribbean.

Even though neither Tamir Sapir nor his company planned to sell the items in the U.S., permits are required to bring items like these into the country. Because Tamir Sapir’s company, Ruizial, did not obtain any permits, they are required to pay the $150,000 in fines.

Funny business?

Federal prosecutors say that the company called Ruzial Ltd. only exists for the purpose of holding the title to the yacht. Soviet-born billionaire Tamir Sapir owns several office buildings in Manhattan.

Though the $150,000 fines are practically loose change for Tamir Sapir, prosecutors do not take his actions lightly.

“The illegal trade in endangered wildlife robs directly from our future and the futures of our children and grandchildren,” stated Anthony V. Mangione, special agent in charge, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Investigations. “It robs them of the opportunity to see these creatures in their natural environment. People who engage in this type of activity are criminals.”

Incident details

The Sun Sentinel explains what happened and how Tamir Sapir’s yacht was found to have illegal items:

The yacht arrived at Port Everglades on Dec. 18, 2007, to begin a Caribbean cruise. But a Customs inspector entered, saw all the wildlife parts and called in inspectors from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who found items from several protected species.

From the Endangered Species Act

According to Wikipedia, in the Endangered Species Act:

The most punishable offense is enforced upon those who knowingly break the law through acts of importing or exporting, taking, possessing, selling, delivering, carrying, transporting, or shipping—essentially trafficking endangered species without permission from the Secretary. Any act of knowingly “taking” (which includes harming, wounding, or killing) an endangered species is also subject to the same penalty.

Bernie Madoff’s antique yacht, a 1969 Rybovich, and a smaller motorboat were seized by federal authorities today as Madoff continued his stay in jail.

The 55-foot 1969 Rybovich is valued at $2.2 million. This marks just the beginning of the authorities’ attempts to recoup assets to pay back Madoff’s victims.

The scheme

Madoff pleaded guilty March 12 to 11 felonies, including securities fraud. The financier led a Ponzi scheme that swindled his “clients” out of billions. He gave people who thought they were investors cash advances that he obtained from other supposed investors, but it was all a ploy to get more money out of them.

Madoff has been ordered to stay in jail, so far, until his sentencing in June. He faces up to 150 years in jail.

The stuff

Prosecutors have begun the process of seizing as much of Madoff’s personal fortune as they can. Court documents say Madoff and his wife had about $826 million in assets as of the end of 2008. Madoff has an $11 million, five-bedroom mansion in Palm Beach Island, Florida.

The Madoffs also own a $7 million Manhattan penthouse bought in 1984, a $1 million home in Cap d’ Antibe, France and a $3 million luxury home on New York’s Long Island. If the government has its way, the Madoffs will forfeit all of these, plus $10 million in furnishings for all the homes and luxury cars.

With family like this…

Madoff

Already about 6,700 people have filed claims for a share of Madoff assets that are recovered. Thousands more are still expected to come forward. Some of Madoff’s victims lost more than $1 million. New York Business.com says Madoff’s scam could be the biggest ever conducted on Wall Street.

Authorities are also trying to collect millions of dollars from Madoff’s relatives in an attempt to repay people who Madoff cheated out of money.

More charges filed

Also today, Massachusetts securities regulators charged Fairfield Greenwich Group with fraud for activities associated with Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. The group is accused of being a “feeder fund” for Madoff’s operations and misrepresenting its knowledge about Madoff’s dealings. Check out the full story here.

The Mediterranean is the place to be. If you don’t believe me, apply for a Payday Cash Advance Loan and pick up a flight to any port on the Mediterranean. Take a look at those Mediterranean women, sample the food and drink the wine and see what you are missing. Just writing these words has decided me. I’m off, but I’m going in style. I will sail in through the Straits of Gibraltar in my new yacht which I am about to buy.

Shopping for a yacht

Shopping for a yacht is not easy. I started by Googling “The World’s Biggest Yachts” and there I got stuck. My search ground to a halt somewhere between a yacht called “Al Salamah” which is 456 feet long and belongs to the Saudi Arabian defense minister, Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. She has more than 80 rooms and a crew of 96. The 100th yacht on the list, “Polar Star”, is a more modest affair and only 206 feet long. Not for me!

Boats for sale

I went straight to the “Boats for Sale” site on the internet and began window shopping. A 38 foot long cruiser of 2001 vintage and much more my style is priced at $169,000. Not quite my price. Further down the list I found a 1998 model 29 foot long priced at $47,500 and even further down a 2005 Azimut 100 long JUMBO for $5,490,000. I read the specs and stopped my search. This is for me!

The spec

I have been a spec writer for much of my life, but I have never ever seen anything like this. “Custom fitted 550 thread count linens and mattress pads for each berth. Each cabin has its own independent entertainment system and individual SMX Climate Control.”

“The spacious owner suite is located below deck aft, and features a centerline island berth with embroidered Italian pique bedcover, a framed mirrored panel above, and storage drawers below. Three drawer night stands are located port and starboard each with swing out reading lamps. Enlarged opening ports with storm covers and pleated drop shades (both port and starboard) allow lots of light.”

“Entertainment is provided by a Panasonic flat screen TV with individual Direct TV box, and Bose Surround System. A second Bose system from the salon can also be used in the Master.”

There are pages and pages of descriptions like this. Then comes all the mechanical stuff, engines, generators, and a host of other equipment, including a water making unit.

Back on the beach

I guess yachts are out for me and I don’t fancy bouncing around the Mediterranean on a six foot dingy. I will take the next best thing, the beach. The beach will be full of unemployed guys just like me, lying there, soaking up the sun, watching the girls go by and drinking an occasional beer to stave off dehydration. The beach is free and the water is cool and refreshing. I can read a book or plug music into my ear. And best of all I can close my eyes, board my yacht and pretend that the financial crisis and my sinking pension fund aren’t happening.