Ohio authorities charge man awaiting trial in Washington County deer poaching case
An Allegheny County man awaiting trial on deer poaching charges in Washington County is now facing charges in Ohio for giving deer to a man in return for discounted taxidermy services.
Ohio authorities in October issued an arrest warrant for Richard A. Bartoletti Jr., 49, of North Fayette Township, accusing him of selling white-tailed deer, a third-degree misdemeanor.
Wildlife officers conducting an inspection at the home of taxidermist Kenneth Kelm of Columbiana in January 2014 found two deer carcasses with Bartoletti’s tags on them. During a subsequent search of the property in September 2015, Kelm admitted to authorities Bartoletti gave him two deer for meat and in return he agreed to discount taxidermy services for Bartoletti by $100 per mount, according to court documents.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division charged Bartoletti with violating the state wildlife code, which states it is illegal to buy, sell or offer any part of wild animals for sale.
Bartoletti is scheduled for pretrial court appearances Jan. 21 and March 29 before Washington County Judge Gary Gilman in connection with previous cases in which he is accused of poaching a buck at Washington Cemetery in October 2014 and illegally selling guns and animal mounts to an undercover officer in 2015.
Christopher Blackwell, who has represented Bartoletti in the Washington County cases, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
In the Ohio case, Kelm was convicted last year on 38 counts of failure to keep accurate records required by taxidermists and one count of buying and selling wildlife, according to Jaymey Emmert, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife spokeswoman.
Emmert said Bartoletti cannot be extradited to Ohio because the charge is not a felony, but would face arrest if he travels to Ohio. Bartoletti is free on $25,000 bond.