Armando Pioppi Jr. proudly poses with his 15-point trophy whitetail the day after the deer was shot in October 2005. Sharing the happy occasion is wife Donna and daughter Victoria. Unfortunately for the Pioppi family, Armando’s “buck of a lifetime” celebration soon turned into an unfathomable nightmare.

On the afternoon of Oct. 1, 2005, Armando Pioppi Jr. and friend Carlo DeFeo of New Jersey climbed into their tree stands on private property in hopes of taking an opening-day archery whitetail. Armando connected on a 15-point buck, albeit with a poorly placed shot. Carlo and two other friends later helped Armando track the deer after dark.

Fortunately, the shot had penetrated the animal's right ham and cut the femoral artery. The deer expired within 100 yards. After tagging his buck, Armando made a joyous phone call to his wife Donna and other friends. A small entourage of wellwishers met him as the deer was being pulled to the roadside.

Armando checked his buck at a local taxidermy shop (as prescribed by New Jersey law). He also arranged to have it mounted by the shop's owner. He later returned to that taxidermist with the full skin, cape and antlers for a three-quarter body mount. The three-bladed broadhead hole through the deer's skin on its right hindquarter was clearly visible. There were no other holes in the skin.

Five weeks later, two New Jersey game wardens came to Armando's home and informed him that a "confidential informant" claimed he had poached the 15-point buck with a rifle while trespassing. They went on to say that they had confiscated the cape, skin and antlers from the taxidermist and were having the skin forensically tested by a Dr. Douglas Roscoe.

No powder burns or bullet residue was ever found on or around the broadhead hole. However, Roscoe contended that the broadhead wound was postmortem (made after death). There was no scientific evidence to back up this opinion, and how he came to this conclusion is a mystery to many. On Dec. 27, 2005, Armando's received three wildlife violations by mail: 1) Tampering with public records, 2) Unlawful tagging and transportation of a deer, and 3) Unlawful possession of a deer. The first charge was eventually dropped.

FIGHTING FOR THE TRUTH
Before Armando's first court date, he was offered a plea bargain. He was told that he could pay a $100 fine and forfeit his buck to the state. Armando refused the "bargain" and elected to fight for his rights. Unfortunately, despite the prosecution's extremely weak case, the municipal trial judge ignored the testimony of Armando's three eyewitnesses, and Armando was found guilty.

It was the same story with his first appeal. Armando's final appeal was heard in early December 2007 just as his story was reaching the public in the December issue of North American Whitetail. In a hearing that took less than 10 minutes, Armando lost that appeal as well after one of the two judges present insinuated that each of Armando's three witnesses had lied under oath about tracking and recovering the buck.

By this time, Armando had accumulated thousands of dollars in legal fees, countless heartaches, a number of unpaid days off work, and more than two years' worth of sleepless nights -- only to be defeated by what appeared to be a very unfair legal system in New Jersey.

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