NEW YORK – A Manhattan antiques dealer has pleaded guilty to charges he double-crossed federal authorities trying to protect endangered rhinos.
David Hausman entered the plea Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan.
Federal authorities say Hausman had approached them in 2010 offering to tip them off when he came across outlawed items made from black rhinoceros horns. He admitted that shortly after becoming an informant, he bought rhino horns off the black market.
The 67-year-old Hausman also pleaded guilty to charges he purchased a mounted rhino head last year from by an undercover investigator as part of a sting. Authorities say that after the sale, agents found him sawing off the horns in a motel parking lot.
He faces up to two years in prison on Dec. 5.
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