Napa Valley art gallery owner pleads guilty to selling animal parts

A Yountville art gallery owner has pleaded guilty to wildlife trafficking and conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco announced Wednesday.

Michael Polenske, owner of Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley, admitted to illegally buying and selling sea turtle shells, whale bones, orca jaws and a seal head. Trafficking such items violated federal laws including the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Polenske, 53, of Napa, also admitted to conspiring from 2007 through 2011 to deal in wildlife species that were protected by federal law. He imported the protected items into the United States from European vendors with the assistance of international shipping company Hedley’s Humpers, Ltd., according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release.

Hedley’s Humpers pleaded guilty in March to wildlife smuggling. Last month, the corporation was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to pay $100,000 in fines and community service payments.

Polenske faces up to a year in prison. Under his plea agreement, he also will pay $63,232 in fines. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 13.