By Steven Long
HOUSTON, (Horseback) – Two men from rural Utah were indicted by a federal grand jury following a rare investigation of a wild horse scam by the Bureau of Land ManagementThe men, Robert Wilford Capson,, 59, and Dennis Kay Kunz, 56, face charges of wire fraud and making false statements after bureau agents impounded 64 slaughter bound horses on a one way trip to a Mexican abattoir.
BLM Washington spokesman Tom Gorey declined comment on the case saying “It’s an ongoing case so all statements have to come from the Department of Justice.”
The animals were impounded after a routine port of entry stop near Helper, Utah. Capson’s unlikely story that he planned to use the Mustangs as rodeo stock raised agents suspicions.
The horses were purchased “on paper” from the bureau’s wild horse and burro facility at Herriman, Utah and were delivered to Willard whre Kunz’ residence is located. Kunz is a long time “killer buyer” for the slaughter industry. The horses were being loaded on a trailer bound for the notorious slaughter pens of Presidio, Texas which are now under investigation by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and other agencies.
The horses were purchased from BLM at a reduced rate.
The indictment says the men used the Internet and phone lines to fax the transactions to the BLM.
BLM requires buyers to sign a document that horses will not be re-sold as is typical in a slaughter transaction where the killer buyer sells the horses to a slaughterhouse
.
The men are alleged to have falsified a federal questionnaire.
Capson and Kunz face four counts of wire fraud, making false statements, and aiding and abetting. They could face up to 20 years in a federal penitentiary.
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