It apparently pays to be born into a wealthy and politically well-connected family.
One of the most egregious cases of animal cruelty directed towards a shark and then broadcast via social media, ended with the final defendant in the case, Robert “Bo” Benac, receiving a fraction of the punishment he was potentially facing after taking a sweetheart plea deal on Thursday.
Under the plea agreement entered in Hillsborough County, Benac will have adjudication withheld on two minor misdemeanor charges — aggravated cruelty to animals and violation of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rules. In exchange for his guilty plea, Benac will spend 10 days in jail, served during weekends and put on probation for 11 months. He will face a $2,500 fine and be required to complete 250 hours of community service – half of which are to be done at organizations that help animals. He will also be without a Florida fishing license for the next three years.
Benac had been facing two counts of Aggravated Animal Cruelty, a third-degree felony, and one misdemeanor count of Illegal Method of Take. He was facing up to 10 years in prison.
The paltry punishment came even after video emerged from the criminal proceedings that not only did the defendants torture the shark by pulling it behind a boat at a high rate of speed until the shark’s body had been ripped to shreds, but Benac repeatedly shot it with a handgun as it struggled at the end of the rope. Benac’s mother, Betsy, is a Manatee County Commissioner and Republican chairperson who frequently touted her family’s good Christian values
Video of the dragging incident first surfaced in July of 2017. The video shows the members of the fishing expedition laughing and reveling in the creature’s demise. The original charges were brought in December of 2017 after a four-month long investigation into the video and other images on social media, FWC investigators determined that the trio showed a “shocking disregard for Florida’s natural resources.” The incident was determined to have taken place off the coast of Egmont Key in Hillsborough County.
Michael Wenzel, the boat captain involved in the incident, plead guilty to animal cruelty charges in exchange for a reduced sentence in February. Under the plea agreement Wenzel served 10 days in a Hillsborough County jail and was placed on probation for 11 months. Charges against another man involved in the incident, Spencer Heintz of Sarasota, were dropped last May after he agreed to cooperate with authorities. Heintz contends that even though he was a passenger on the boat, he was not involved in the actions shown in the video and in other social media posts that were taken as evidence. Heintz’s father, Steven, is a prominent south Florida Lawyer. A fourth man appearing in the video, Nicholas Burns Easterling, was not charged after cooperating with investigators.