Stamford Man Pleads Guilty to Capturing and Killing Federally Protected Hawks

By RJ Scofield (Patch Staff)

HARTFORD, CT – A Stamford man pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to capturing and killing federally protected hawks.

Adam Boguski, 43, was charged with catching and killing red-tail hawks and Cooper's hawks, which are both protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. He admitted that he and a man named Thomas Kapusta were racing pigeon enthusiasts who constructed and maintained a pigeon coop at 330 Weed Avenue in Stamford.

The pair kept a large number of racing pigeons at this coop, and regularly let them fly outside the coop for exercise. Boguski and Kapusta viewed these hawks as a threat to their pigeons, and systematically captured the hawks in a trap specifically designed to capture birds of prey.

The two then shot and killed the birds in the trap and disposed of their carcasses. Boguski admitted that he killed Cooper’s hawks on Sept. 27 and Oct. 17, 2015.

Boguski is scheduled to be sentenced in court on Oct. 11. He faces 18 months imprisonment and a fine of up to $45,000.

On Feb. 17, Kapusta pleaded guilty to conspiracy to taking, capturing and killing red-tailed hawks or Cooper’s hawks. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12.

The matter was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement and the Division of Refuge Law Enforcement, and the Environmental Conservation Police of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, with the assistance of the Stamford Police Department.