Joe Exotic promises to use cadaver dogs to look for Carole Baskin's missing ex-husband Don Lewis
TAMPA, FLORIDA: Joe Exotic reportedly said that he wants to send out a pack of cadaver dogs to find Carole Baskin's missing spouse as soon as she sells her Big Cat Rescue sanctuary in Florida.
Exotic is serving 21 years in prison for a botched murder-for-hire conspiracy to kill Baskin. He had been alleging for long that 59-year-old Don Lewis' body was hacked into pieces and dumped in the Tampa area zoo after he went missing in August 1997, per Radar Online.
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Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado, put out a press release to oppose Baskin's decision to sell the refuge and relocate the few surviving big cats to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge near Eureka, Springs, Arkansas.
“Jim Rathman, an ex-secret service agent, now a private investigator, wants to take cadaver dogs on that property at Big Cat Rescue,” Exotic said on his website, adding, “I would love to be there when that happens because I have a few places I would like those dogs to sniff out.”
This comes after Baskin filed for a garnishment to collect a nearly $1M judgment granted by an Oklahoma federal court after it held Exotic responsible for stealing her Big Cat Rescue brand, logos, and photos.
‘From Joe Exotic to Joe Neurotic’
The Netflix series, 'Tiger King', chronicled the drama. Big Cat Rescue board chairman, Howard, defended his wife, Baskin, claiming that Exotic's mind had come undone inside his prison cell at the Federal Medical Centre Fort Worth in Texas. "In a world where we feel so much stress dealing with change, it is comforting to find that some things never change,” Howard said, adding, “Joe …. continues to be totally full of s**t and will do and say anything to get attention.”
“It is difficult to find a true sentence in the press release, but that is the case with everything Joe says or publishes. I think he should change his nickname from Joe Exotic to Joe Neurotic,” Howard continued, adding, “It would better reflect the delusional life he leads."
Baskin and Howard announced their intentions to retire and sell the refuge in March, but Big Cat Rescue will continue to preserve creatures in the wild. Exotic accused the couple of deception and promised that if elected president, he would "stop non-profit scams like this to avoid paying taxes and allow the rich to keep getting richer off of people's big hearts, thinking they are helping animals and people."
‘Voluntarily move to death row’
Baskin stoked controversy on January 18 when she came across an old Department of Homeland Security investigative report which stated that Lewis, who was pronounced legally dead in 2002, was seen in Costa Rica.
In response to her claims, Exotic said, “When this story came out, I said I would voluntarily move to death row if he was alive and it made world headlines,” adding, “I investigated her so much I am 100% sure she, her father who has now passed away and …. killed Don Lewis and ground him up.”