Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as “Joe Exotic“, was the owner and operator of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma, USA. In January 2020, Mr. Maldonado-Passage was sentenced to 22 years in prison for attempting to have C.B., a public voice against his big cat operations, assassinated, as well as for several wildlife offences, including the deliberate killing of endangered species. In total, Mr. Maldonado-Passage was charged with two counts of murder-for-hire and for 17 counts of wildlife offences. These wildlife charges included violations the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act for falsifying wildlife records and unlawfully killing big cats to free space for new arrivals. Out of the 22 years of his sentence, 18 were given for the murder-for-hire charges, while four years were given for the wildlife offences.
Ms. C.B, CEO of Big Cat Rescue, a Florida-based animal sanctuary, was a public advocate against Mr. Maldonado-Passage’s wildlife facility. Their dispute revolved around the proper care of animals. In 2011, C.B. and her entities filed a civil lawsuit against the defendant which resulted in a money judgment in excess of USD 1 million against Mr. Maldonado-Passage. As early as 2012, Mr. Maldonado-Passage publicly threatened C.B. with violence on online platforms, including Facebook and YouTube.
Counts related to murder-for-hire
In late 2017, the defendant took active steps to have C.B. murdered in exchange for money. Mr. Maldonado-Passage contacted Individual 1 to enquire whether Individual 1 would travel to Florida to murder C.B. and offered a monetary reward. He eventually caused Individual 1 to travel to Texas to obtain a fake identification card and to travel to Florida with the intention to murder C.B. Mr. Maldonado-Passage further sent the cell phone of Individual 1 via mail to Nevada in an attempt to conceal Individual 1’s involvement in the plot. He handed USD 3,000 in cash to Individual 1 as upfront payment of the murder of C.B., which he had obtained through the sale of a big cat. In addition, the defendant promised Individual 1 to pay thousands of dollars more after C.B. had been assassinated. Individual 1 left for South Carolina on 26 November 2017 without ever executing the plan to murder C.B. in Florida.
As early as July 2016, Mr. Maldonado-Passage also consulted Individual 2 to find someone to murder C.B. in exchange for money. On or about 8 December 2017, Individual 2 introduced the defendant to an alleged candidate to murder C.B. in exchange for money. Not knowing that this candidate was an undercover FBI agent, Mr. Maldonado-Passage shared his plans and the three discussed the details of the proposed plot to murder C.B. After the meeting, the defendant used his cell phone to reach out to Individual 2 on several occasions to discuss using the undercover FBI agent to murder C.B. The plan was never executed and C.B. did not suffer any physical harm from the defendant’s proposed plot for murder.
Counts related to wildlife offences
In October 2017, Mr. Maldonado-Passage expected the delivery of certain big cats that were to be boarded at his exotic animal park. In a text exchange with his business partner J.L., the defendant discussed this acquisition of 20 animals from Dade City. In order to empty cages for the new arrivals, Mr. Maldonado-Passage shot and killed five endangered tigers (panthera tigris) and offered and sold endangered tiger cubs (panthera tigris) in interstate commerce, thereby contravening the Endangered Species Act. He further violated the Lacey Act by falsely labelling interstate sales of lions and tigers as donation for exhibition only. In total, he falsified entries for 13 animals, claiming that they were donated to the recipient for exhibition purposes, when in fact he knew they were being sold in interstate commerce.
Estados Unidos de AméricaTitle 18, United States Code, Section 1958(a), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2
Two counts on Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder-for-Hire
Mr. Maldonado-Passage contacted two individuals independently to murder C.B. He caused Individual 1 to travel to Texas to obtain a fake identification card and to travel to Florida to murder C.B. Mr. Maldonado-Passage further sent the cell phone of Individual 1 via mail to Nevada in an attempt to conceal Individual 1’s involvement in the plot. Mr. Maldonado-Passage handed US$ 3,000 in cash to Individual 1 as upfront payment of the murder of C.B
Mr. Maldonado-Passage also consulted Individual 2 to find someone to murder C.B. in Florida. Individual 2 introduced the defendant to an undercover FBI agent with whom Mr. Maldonado-Passage shared his proposed plot to murder C.B.
Title 16, United States Code, Section 1538(a)(1)(B) and (F), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2
Nine counts on Violation of the Endangered Species Act
The defendant killed five endangered tigers to free space for arriving animals, as well as unlawfully offered and sold tiger cubs.
Title 16, United States Code, Section 3372(d)(2), and Section 3373(d)(3)(A)(ii), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2
Eight counts on Violation of the Lacey Act
The defendant falsely labelled the sales of lions and tigers as donation.
This case received wide media attention and coverage, mostly due to Mr. Maldonado-Passage’s persona and his open conflict with C.B., who is the CEO of Big Cat Rescue and publicly criticized the defendant for how he treats big cats in his animal park. He publicly threatened and defamed C.B on online platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. In early 2020, the production company Netflix released the documentary “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness”, which is based on Maldonado-Passage and increased the publicity around the case.
Mr. Maldonado-Passage ran for president of the United States in 2016 and for the Governor of Oklahoma in 2018. For his political campaigns, he recorded several video messages in his animal park, some of which he used to defame C.B. He did not receive significant amounts of votes in either of the two elections.
Since his incarceration in March 2020, Mr. Maldonado-Passage has sought a presidential pardon.