2014 Alaska Moose

[cowboy]

That is great news. Glad you're getting your antlers back.

Hopefully all goes well and when the antlers show up they are truely yours. Chit like this seems to never have an ending - it just fades away.

You are to be complimented in hanging in there.

 

[Big Fin]

In some ways, this thread seemed like an SFW thread. A lot of facts are presented by someone who knows what they are talking about (Critter) and then along comes the pitiful excuse of a defense; guys who vouch for the character of the scammer involved, and then when the evidence is so overwhelming, the JV team crawls in a hole never to be heard from again.

Anyone want to take bets that we never again hear from the folks who showed up to defend Inmate Shankster's honor? I'll give 10 to 1 odds for anyone willing to take that bet.

I suspect there are many Alaska hunters, and probably some Alaska outfitters who are thankful that Critter and Harold did what they did to see this through. Good job, Matt. Glad to see it behind you. Wish you had gotten your moose meat, but the antlers will have to suffice.

 

[thecrittergitter]

Good result and great you are getting the antlers back.
Are any of the charges he is facing in relation to your hunt with him?
Could you be called as a witness? It's a long way to go if you are isn't it?
Cheers
Richard

Richard, YES. Two of the moose were ours and I made it very clear to the State Troopers that when called as a witness, I will not only make the trip, I will do it on my OWN dime! The State of AK, as some other states I'm sure are the same, does not have a surplus of money to pay for witnesses to travel. I had a very detailed conversation come up that if they wanted 5 witnesses and they only had money to reimburse 2, they needed to reimburse someone else. If it gets to that point, I will gladly go to AK as a witness.

Heck, I'm sure there would be some hunting or fishing that could happen

 

[thecrittergitter]

Anyone want to take bets that we never again hear from the folks who showed up to defend Inmate Shankster's honor? I'll give 10 to 1 odds for anyone willing to take that bet.

I for one will definitely not get in on that bet

 

[Southern Elk]

Congrats! That's one heck of a backstrap!

 

[Steelhead]

Justice?? We will see. We can only hope.
Excitement builds.
I just dropped the dime on some deer poachers myself...we gotta do our part for OUR wildlife.
Great job Matt, I await the next update on the edge of my chair!!!

 

[northwestalaska]

Not all of us are rotten!

I have been looking at this thread and wanted to comment but I have held out, till now...

I am an outfitter-not a guide but all of us in the business are stained when this type of thing happens so I am happy to see that the man is getting his due.


Location: McGrath
Type: Unlawful Acts Guide
Dispatch Text:

On 12/23/15, the Office of Special Prosecutions, Fish and Game Unit, Charged Master Guide Thomas G. Shankster, 60 of Aurora CO, with eight counts of Unlawful Acts while acting as a Big Game guide in Game Management Unit (GMU) 19. This investigation began during the fall of 2014, where the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, McGrath Post, accomplished an investigation regarding Shankster and his guiding business “Alaska Trophy Hunts” (ATH) which is primarily based near the Mouth of the Dillinger River and substantiated that Shankster had committed the crime of Wanton Waste on at least five occasions (both Moose and Caribou), failed to report two known violations by his assistant guides (sub-legal sheep and antlers before meat), and committed Unsworn Falsification on at least one Hunt Record showing that meat had been salvaged when in fact it hadn’t. Spoiled meat samples were collected from three caribou and three moose and three sets of caribou antlers, three sets of moose antlers, and a sub legal set of sheep horns were seized as part of the investigation. The scope of this investigation was substantial, requiring extensive asset usage, including both fixed-wing and helicopter, and involved intensive man-power (nearly 1,000 hours) from nine Alaska Wildlife Troopers. At least 41 separate witness and/or suspect interviews were conducted for the investigation in addition to essential evidentiary compilation and a lengthy report documenting the illegal acts. Shankster is to be arraigned in the Aniak District Court on January 20, 2016.

One of the things I pride myself on is setting my clients up with flight services whom I have personally flown with and know they will not get treated badly with. The first thing I tell my hunt groups when they want to fly with outfits that I have bad experiences with is " I choose not to send my clients with >>>>>>" and leave it at that period. I have had clients get dumped before and the bad experience stains my reputation as well and we are only as good as our clients tell the world we are.

Please keep in mind that you as the client have soo much power to let the world know when things go badly and the outfitter/guides does not make it right. 2 years ago one of my hunt groups had a bad experience because of my incompetence and that hunt was my treat-no charge 100% refund and credit for another hunt. A good business will assume responsibility and make it as right as they can.

Shoot me a message is you need assistance in the Western Brooks Range

Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Outfitters
Kotzebue, Ak
www.northwestalaska.net
_________________________

 

[Dinkshooter]

Kind of bad ju ju to drum up bizinizz on someone else's misfortune or bad choices.

 

[levibowler]

Critter making waves in the north! I've got air miles Critter lets go, Ill go fishing while you put a tie on and climb into the witness stand! ;-)

 

[twodux]

Critter, just saw this thread linked from a thread on the Alaska outdoor Forums. A couple comments and questions for you.

First comment...... Glad this guide got busted and hopefully put out of business forever. There are too many people who see game animals as nothing more than a pile of money and nothing else matters.

Second comment...... By showing your proof on this thread ie photos of forms, it was easy to ascertain your name, address, phone #, e-mail address, checking account number, and where you hunted. Not info I would want floating around the internet. Your signature is also there for anyone wanting to forge it.

Now a couple questions....

First, on the check receipt you posted, I notice on the date that the year was changed from either 2014 to 2015 or from 2015 to 2014. Probably an accident but it wasn't initialed as most banks require. Is there a reason for this?

Also in the memo, the word "advertising" is there along with "Moose hunt, Tom Shankster". What is that about? Was this hunt something you were going to write off on taxes somehow? Or did you have some agreement with Tom concerning advertising?

And finally I noticed on the transfer of possession forms that were signed, that on Harold's form the box indicating "recipient to retain permanent possession of meat and/or other game parts" was marked with an x and on your form the same box was marked and the word "meat" was written in, and the box stating "recipient to transport then return possession to hunter" was also checked with the words "cape/horns" written in. Care to comment? To me, this indicates neither of you hunters cared about the meat other than to have the letter of the law followed so nothing came back on you. This is a common practice in Alaska for trophy hunters to be able to get what they want, the rack, and not have to deal with the meat. The meat is signed over to guides who "donate" it, but a lot of it goes to waste. I've heard all kinds of stories about these kind of abuses. Trailers and pallets full of rotting meat sitting around waiting for someone to collect them in villages all over Alaska. Here's a hint. Those villagers don't want that rotten meat any more than you or the guide does. The main thing those kinds of transfers accomplish is the, trophy hunters get what they want, a rack and maybe a cape, and they get to tell people how they graciously donated their meat to the poor local natives. makes them look mighty benevolent! I guess it's something to ease the conscience. Once the meat is in the guide or transporters' hands, it's "out of sight and out of mind" and on to the next trophy. This is probably the most abused rule in Alaska.

Oh, I'm curious why Harold didn't also check the box indicating he was getting his antlers back too? Did he take them with him when he left?

Anyway, thanks for your part in bringing this scumbag guide down. But as far as the waste goes, I'm not letting you completely off the hook as the practice you engaged in is responsible for tons of meat going to waste in Alaska every year.

 

[Schaaf]

Oh, boy...

 

[LazyV]

Oh, boy...

Almost like a defense lawyer entered the room....

 

[devon deer]

Almost like a defense lawyer entered the room....

I think you might be right!

 

[Dave N]

Maybe the newbie should READ what was posted before asking those questions.

 

[duckhunt]

Oh boy is right.

 

[putm2sleep]

The Newb is a
Lawyer
From his handle I undetermined a post graduate degree....
Unsigned however from an online academy?
From his type, and use of the phrase Off the hook, a young CA type.

 

[noharleyyet]

....cousin Vinny?

 

[thecrittergitter]

Critter, just saw this thread linked from a thread on the Alaska outdoor Forums. A couple comments and questions for you.

First comment...... Glad this guide got busted and hopefully put out of business forever. There are too many people who see game animals as nothing more than a pile of money and nothing else matters.

Second comment...... By showing your proof on this thread ie photos of forms, it was easy to ascertain your name, address, phone #, e-mail address, checking account number, and where you hunted. Not info I would want floating around the internet. Your signature is also there for anyone wanting to forge it.

Now a couple questions....

First, on the check receipt you posted, I notice on the date that the year was changed from either 2014 to 2015 or from 2015 to 2014. Probably an accident but it wasn't initialed as most banks require. Is there a reason for this?

Also in the memo, the word "advertising" is there along with "Moose hunt, Tom Shankster". What is that about? Was this hunt something you were going to write off on taxes somehow? Or did you have some agreement with Tom concerning advertising?

And finally I noticed on the transfer of possession forms that were signed, that on Harold's form the box indicating "recipient to retain permanent possession of meat and/or other game parts" was marked with an x and on your form the same box was marked and the word "meat" was written in, and the box stating "recipient to transport then return possession to hunter" was also checked with the words "cape/horns" written in. Care to comment? To me, this indicates neither of you hunters cared about the meat other than to have the letter of the law followed so nothing came back on you. This is a common practice in Alaska for trophy hunters to be able to get what they want, the rack, and not have to deal with the meat. The meat is signed over to guides who "donate" it, but a lot of it goes to waste. I've heard all kinds of stories about these kind of abuses. Trailers and pallets full of rotting meat sitting around waiting for someone to collect them in villages all over Alaska. Here's a hint. Those villagers don't want that rotten meat any more than you or the guide does. The main thing those kinds of transfers accomplish is the, trophy hunters get what they want, a rack and maybe a cape, and they get to tell people how they graciously donated their meat to the poor local natives. makes them look mighty benevolent! I guess it's something to ease the conscience. Once the meat is in the guide or transporters' hands, it's "out of sight and out of mind" and on to the next trophy. This is probably the most abused rule in Alaska.

Oh, I'm curious why Harold didn't also check the box indicating he was getting his antlers back too? Did he take them with him when he left?

Anyway, thanks for your part in bringing this scumbag guide down. But as far as the waste goes, I'm not letting you completely off the hook as the practice you engaged in is responsible for tons of meat going to waste in Alaska every year.

Is it just me, or does it REALLY sound like someone is trying to throw a hook, line, and fat little nightcrawler out to try to get me to get into credibility battle, and coincidentally, right when ol Tommy really needs help........

By the way dumbass, my family in Anchorage was supposed to get my moose meat, would have been a huge deal for them to have full freezers going into winter.

Let me be clear with you. Your assumptions or "indications" as you call them are garbage. And you "letting me off the hook" is of zero concern to me. Your questions are actually all very simply answered, most of them were in the story. I'll be ready to answer any and all questions if called upon...........until then, you should try fishing in a different pond

 

[mdhunter]

Ka...POW !

 

[Straight Arrow]

ka...pow !

smackkk!