Foremost, if you haven’t seen Netflix’s seven-part, true crime documentary series “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness”, do yourself a quarantine favor and watch it now.
Joseph Maldonado-Passage f/k/a Joe Schreibvogel a/k/a Joe Exotic is a former big cat breeder and roadside zoo owner who is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for two counts of murder for hire, eight counts of falsifying wildlife records, and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act (in part, for killing five tigers).
Launched from his jail cell in Grady County, Oklahoma and serving as his own attorney, Exotic is suing the U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and accuses their officials of “false imprisonment, false arrest, and entrapment” among other misdeeds such as malicious prosecution and discrimination. Exotic is seeking $78,840,000 for stealing his personal property as well as for 18 years of working with tigers. He’s seeking another $15 million from a former colleague who, he claims, hastened his mother Shirley’s death by serving as an informant.
Exotic argues he was “discriminated against because he is the only person charged with this statute because [he] is an openly gay male with the largest collection of generic tigers and crossbreeds.” Exotic claims his former business partner, Jeff Lowe, lied to the feds and planted evidence against him that led to his arrest. The Fish and Wildlife Service began investigating Exotic in 2015 after his operation drew complaints from Florida resident Carole Baskins of Big Cat Rescue, the woman he was convicted of seeking to kill in the murder for hire plot.
Complete with bleached mullet and plenty of tattoos, the formerly gun-toting cat wrangler claims to have housed over 200 tigers and nearly 400 other exotic animals during his 18 years as the director and owner of GW Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.
If you are an exotic animal owner and have questions regarding conspiracies leveled against you, please confer with Joe Exotic to learn more about your legal rights. For all other inquiries, give us a call at (704) 457-1010 to schedule a consultation. For more information regarding our firm, attorneys, and practice areas, please visit https://lindleylawoffice.com/.
