“Joe Exotic” OK City Zookeeper, GOV Candidate, Accused Killing 5 Tigers Illegally Selling Orphan Cubs

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK. (THECOUNT) — Joseph Maldonado-Passage, has been identified as the suspect arrested and accused of of killing five tigers in October 2017 and selling and offering to sell tiger cubs in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

“Joe Exotic,” 55, a former Oklahoma zookeeper and candidate for governor, is already accused in a murder-for-hire plot after allegedly trying to hire someone to kill the operator of a Florida-based animal sanctuary. He’s pleaded not guilty.

Maldonado-Passage has been indicted on 19 new counts accusing him of killing tigers and selling tiger cubs.

A federal grand jury unsealed the charges Wednesday against 55-year-old Joseph Maldonado-Passage, who’s known as “Joe Exotic” and formerly operated a zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. Maldonado-Passage ran unsuccessfully for Oklahoma governor this year. source

Maldonado-Passage was indicted in September for

The new charges accuse him of killing five tigers in October 2017 and selling and offering to sell tiger cubs in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

His attorney, William P. Earley, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

Wynnewood is a city in Garvin County, Oklahoma, United States. It is 67 miles south of Oklahoma City. The population was 2,212 at the 2010 U.S. census, compared to 2,367 at the 2000 census, according to Wikipedia.