Guide fined $12,000 for game offenses

WASILLA — A man who provided unlicensed guide services for the Whittier area from a local business in Wasilla pleaded guilty May 15 to several offenses, authorities said.

John J. Paoletti Sr., 54, of Wasilla provided guide services since 2012 out of an unidentified Wasilla business, according to Alaska State Troopers dispatches.

Paoletti also owns Creekside Cabins along the Palmer-Wasilla Highway and Alaska Realty and Investments, according to state business license records.

Several undercover troopers went on a guided fishing trip with Paoletti in August 2012 in a Hewescraft vessel. Paoletti provided guide services to troopers on a black bear hunt in Prince William Sound using the same boat in June 2013.

Investigators also determined Paoletti used archery equipment to kill a small bull moose in his yard in October 2011.

At the end of the 2013 bear hunt, troopers seized Paoletti’s boat, equipment, cash and an iPhone.

Paoletti will pay a $30,000 fine with $18,000 suspended as a result of his guilty plea. He will pay an additional $1,000 for the moose, and forfeit the boat and equipment. Paoletti has been placed on probation — during which he can’t be in the field with anyone who is hunting or fishing — until 2020, according to troopers.

Assistant Attorney General Arne Soldwedel conducted the hearing.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.