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LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Three men have been charged with contributing to the deaths of hundreds of baby seabirds that fell out of their nest on an abandoned barge and drowned, prosecutors said Thursday.
Point Loma Maritime Services, Inc. owner Ralph Botticelli, tugboat captain Alan Schlange and crewmember Scott Caslin were charged Wednesday in the deaths of more than 400 Caspian and elegent terns, authorities said.
In June, the terns fell out of their nests on an abandoned barge, drowned and days later washed ashore by the hundreds. State wildlife investigators believe the men tried to move two barges from the port complex, causing the birds to flee their nests.
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