

Remember the video of the Florida fishing boat cowboys dragging a shark behind their boat? In what can only be described as a lesson to other ocean yahoos, investigators on Tuesday finally charged three men in connection with that viral video. FWC investigators and Hillsborough prosecutors spent four months on the investigation, which culminated with Tuesday’s arrests. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Rob Klepper said it took months to bring charges in part because they had to pore over 60,000 pages of social media information that was turned over to them in response to search warrants. Among the three men charged is Michael Wenzel, 21, of Palmetto, who was captain of the boat and a friend of Alex Kompothecras, star of the MTV reality show Siesta Key. Wenzel faces two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and one misdemeanor for using an illegal method to catch a shark. The felony counts are each punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine, although any punishment will likely be less than that maximum. Robert Lee “Bo” Benac III, 28, of Bradenton faces the same felony and misdemeanor charges as Wenzel. He is the son of Manatee County Commission chair Betsy Benac, while Wenzel is the son of the county planning director. The third man charged is Spencer Heintz, 23, also of Palmetto, who faces just the two felony charges. All three men will stand trial in Hillsborough County.