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Joe Exotic

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Joseph Maldonado-Passage
File:This undated file photo provided by the Santa Rose County Jail in Milton, Fla., shows Joseph Maldonado-Passage. Maldonado-Passage.png
Joseph Maldonado-Passage mugshot Santa Rose County Jail in Milton, Fla.
Born
Joe Schreibvogel

(1963-03-05) March 5, 1963 (age 61)
Kansas, United States
Other names
  • Joe Exotic (Otherwise known as Joe Erotic.)
  • Joe Schreibvogel[1]
  • Aarron Alex
  • Cody Ryan[2]
CitizenshipUnited States
Known forRunning a private exotic animal zoo
Spouse(s)Brian Rhyne
John Finlay
Travis Maldonado
Dillon Passage
MotiveUnknown
Conviction(s)Murder-for-hire and animal abuse
Criminal chargeMurder-for-hire and animal abuse
Penalty22 years in Federal Prison
Details
Victims1
Date2017
InjuredDeceased tigers
Weapons410 shotgun
Date apprehended
September 2018

Joseph Maldonado-Passage, (né Schreibvogel; born March 5, 1963), popularly known as Joe Exotic, is the former operator of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma. He claimed to be the most prolific breeder of tigers in the United States.[2] He once ran for President of the United States. He also ran for Governor of Oklahoma. In 2019 he was convicted on 17 federal charges of animal abuse (eight violations of the Lacey Act and nine of the Endangered Species Act[3]) and two counts of murder-for-hire plot to kill Carole Baskin, Chief Executive Officer of Big Cat Rescue.[3] He is now serving 22 years in Federal Prison.

Career

Maldonado-Passage purchased an Oklahoma horse farm in the 1990s. Eventually the farm became a zoo with big cats. He dedicated the zoo to his brother, Garold Wayne, who died in 1997 in a car crash.[4] To feed his growing zoo of big cats he would take in horses which were donated to him. He would shoot the horses and feed them whole to the tigers, lions and other big cats.[2]

For over twenty years he was known as Joe Exotic, the owner and operator of a zoo full of big cats. He operated a kind of online reality TV show that he streamed from his zoo. Over the years he operated sideshows around the country where he allowed people to pet tiger cubs. He also staged shows at fairs and in shopping malls.[5]

In 2006 the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park was cited multiple times by the USDA for violations of Animal Welfare Act standards.[6] In 2011 Carole Baskin, founder of Big Cat Rescue sanctuary in Florida organized protests against his use of cubs in his shows. To retaliate, Maldonado-Passage stole the trademarks of the Big Cat Rescue and organized shows under the Big Cat Rescue sanctuary name. Carol Baskin then sued Maldonado-Passage. Baskin eventually won a million dollars in settlements against Maldonado-Passage.[5]

Politics

He also has been involved in politics. He was an Independent candidate for President in 2016, attaining ballot access only in Colorado and receiving 962 votes (including recorded write-ins) nationwide.[7] In 2018 he ran for governor of Oklahoma under his nickname Joe Exotic. He received 664 votes, finishing third out of the three candidates in the Libertarian primary.[8][9][5]

Arrest and conviction

In September 2018, Maldonado-Passage was indicted for attempting to hire someone to murder Carole Baskin, who runs Big Cat Rescue[10]. On 7 September 2018, he was arrested[11] in Gulf Breeze, Florida and held at the Santa Rosa County Jail until 19 September when he was transferred to federal detention. He did not know that he had tried to hire an FBI agent posing as a hit man. He was later transferred to Grady County Jail in Oklahoma.[12] He was convicted April 2, 2019.[9] Maldonado-Passage was convicted of two counts of murder-for-hire, eight violations of the Lacey Act and nine of the Endangered Species Act.[3] On January 22, 2020 he was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison.[13]

Personal life

He grew up on a working farm in Kansas. He related that when he was 5 years old he was raped by an older boy[2]

Maldonado’s first husband was Brian Rhyne. Rhyne died of HIV in 2001.[2] Maldonado has had two other husbands, John Finlay and the late Travis Maldonado. On October 6, 2017, Travis Maldonado accidentally fatally shot himself in the head. The shooting occurred while the zoo was open and in front of an employee.[14] On December 11th, 2017, Maldonado married Dillon Passage. He is openly gay [15]

Documentary

The 2020 Netflix original documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is centered around Maldonado-Passage.[16][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ ""Joe Exotic" Convicted Of Murder-For-Hire And Violating Both The Lacey Act And Endangered Species Act". justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Moor, Robert (3 September 2019). "American Animals Joe Exotic bred lions, tigers, and ligers at his roadside zoo. He was a modern Barnum who found an equally extraordinary nemesis". Vox Media Network. Intelligencer. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Brulliard, Karin (22 January 2020). "Zookeeper who killed tigers and tried to have rival murdered is sentenced to 22 years in prison". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  4. ^ Kaplan, Michael. "Everything you need to know about Netflix's new Joe Exotic doc, 'Tiger King'". No. 19 March 2020. NYP HOLDINGS, INC. New York Post. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Guynup, Sharon (14 November 2019). "Captive tigers in the U.S. outnumber those in the wild. It's a problem". National Geographic. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  6. ^ Davenport, Peter (2006). "USDA" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  7. ^ https://transition.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2016/2016presgeresults.pdf
  8. ^ https://www.ok.gov/elections/support/20180626_seb.html#LIBGOV
  9. ^ a b Clay, Nolan (April 3, 2019). "Joe Exotic found guilty in murder-for-hire case". The Oklahoman. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  10. ^ Clay, Nolan; Wallace, Josh (September 7, 2018). "Joe Exotic, former Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate, indicted, accused in murder-for-hire plot". The Oklahoman. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  11. ^ "JAIL View". jailview.srso.net. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  12. ^ Madani, Doha (22 January 2020). "Wildlife park owner 'Joe Exotic' sentenced to 22 years in plot to kill animal rights activist". NBC News. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  13. ^ "'Joe Exotic' sentenced to 22 years in federal prison on murder-for-hire, wildlife charges". ABC KOCO News 5. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  14. ^ Keeping, Juliana (7 October 2017). "Shooting death at Wynnewood zoo under investigation". Gatehouse Media. The Oklahoman. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  15. ^ Patrick (7 December 2017). "Joe Exotic is getting married on Monday…". The Lost Ogle. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness". Netflix. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  17. ^ Miller, Julie (10 March 2020). "Netflix's Wild Tiger King Is Your Next True Crime TV Obsession". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
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