Two Tama County men are now being charged in federal court with harassing deer with an aircraft. Fifty-nine-year-old Harry Moeller of Buckingham and 59-year-old Steven Risse of Dysart are accused of using powered parachute planes to herd whitetail deer toward hunters in Benton County in December of 2004.
The case was originally filed in state court, however, both are now being cited with a federal charge of using an aircraft to harass animals. If convicted, Moeller and Risse face up to one year in prison and a 100-thousand dollar fine. Authorities are also seeking the forfeiture of both parachute planes that were used in the alleged offenses. A trial date has been set for April 2nd.