Prosecutors allege a San Francisco man who owns Gilroy property
poached endangered fish just west of Uvas Creek
He may be worth more than $200 million, but federal prosecutors are accusing San Francisco-based commercial real estate tycoon Luke D. Brugnara of stealing fish out of Gilroy’s back yard.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello announced charges against Brugnara Thursday, alleging that he dammed part of Little Arthur Creek running through his Gilroy property to trap steelhead, an endangered species. This is the first federal criminal case in Santa Clara County charging someone with the poaching of steelhead, which spawn in inland creeks before journeying to the Pacific, and then back again several years later.
Brugnara’s pristine 112-acre property is worth $1.1 million and sits on Redwood Retreat Road, west of Gilroy and north of Highway 152. He bought the Gilroy property in September 2001 under his company’s name, Brugnara Corporation, according to the Department of Justice and county tax records.
Aside from allegedly stealing steelheads, last week the DOJ also charged Brugnara, 44, for failing to report capital gains from the sale of properties that totaled about $45.6 million; his real estate repertoire includes a handful of high-rise buildings in San Francisco. Brugnara could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.
Russoniello said a federal grand jury in Oakland indicted Brugnara Wednesday on four counts of “taking” steelhead trout between January and April 2007 and two counts of making false statements to investigators, according to a DOJ press release. Prosecutors claim that Brugnara closed his dam’s opening during the steelhead’s anadromous journey, and state and federal investigators determined the dead-end prevented some adults from returning farther upstream to procreate.
But when a team went to rescue the steelheads at the behest of a state biologist, the fish had disappeared and evidence of poaching remained, according to the DOJ. Prosecutors allege that Brugnara then made false statements to state officials.
Brugnara will appear in federal court in San Francisco Wednesday.
