The owner of an Oahu Hawaiian gifts retailer pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to conspiring to smuggle walrus ivory into and out of the country.

Curtis P. Wilmington — owner, president, treasurer and director of Hawaiian Accessories, Inc. — faces a maximum five-year prison term at sentencing in June. His company faces a fine of up to $500,000.

Wilmington, 64, admitted that he sent raw ivory to the Philippines, where he had them carved into fish hooks. He then had the hooks sent back to Hawaii, where he sold them as “Made in Hawaii” products in his stores. He bought the ivory from a person in Alaska, who turned out to be an undercover federal agent.

The U.S. Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibit the trafficking of walrus ivory.

Wilmington also admitted that he purchased sperm whale teeth from the undercover agent and imported black coral from Mexico without a permit.

Two other people connected to Hawaiian Accessories are scheduled to plead guilty next week. They are Wilmington’s daughter, Kauilani, who is the company’s general manager; and Elmer Biscocho, who worked for the company as an independent contractor and who owns the company in the Philippines that carved the ivory.

Undercover agents purchased the fish hook pendants at a Waikiki hotel boutique and at the Merrie Monarch hula festival in Hilo, Hawaii. Agents said they had previously tagged the items when they intercepted smuggled shipments and then delivered them to the company.

Wilmington’s company passed the items off as being made with fossilized material in Hawaii, authorities said.

The fish hooks sold for about $250 each, authorities said. Federal prosecutors and Wilmington disagree about the value of the smuggled items. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Johnson said it was about $105,000, but Wilmington says the amount is less.

Misrepresenting where cultural crafts are made has recently been an issue in Alaska, where four shops catering to cruise ship visitors sold whale and walrus bone carvings for $1,000 or more a piece. Shop owners falsely claimed they were made by Alaska Native artists, according to federal prosecutors.

Wilmington and his wife are Native Hawaiians who “started out in 1986 showcasing their unique koa jewelry at cultural events,” according to Hawaiian Accessories’ website. “Having backgrounds in the travel industry, Leslie and Curtis realized the need for authentic Hawaiian gifts and created a high quality line of products that perfectly suited the visitor market,” the site says.

Animal rights organizations say Hawaii could become the largest ivory market in the U.S. if the market is left unregulated. A bill that passed the House would ban the sale of elephant ivory, as well as certain animal parts like tiger pelts and rhinoceros horn.

_____

The Associated Press contributed to this story.