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A Florida man implicated in a viral video of a shark being dragged down by a ship to its death accepted a plea deal that will be in his hands for a long time.
Robert Benac III, 30, of Bradenton, and the sound of Manattee County Commissioner Betsy Benac, also was $ 2,500 and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service at an animal shelter.
He was stripped of his fishing license for three years at the Florida Fish & Conservation Commission and other prosecuting agencies, reports the Bradenton Herald.
Robert Benac III (left), 30, of Bradenton, Florida, and Michael Wenzel, 22, of Palmetto, were implicated in a viral video of a shark being dragged from the rear of a boat to its death
Men's voices are heard laughing in the background of a shark (above) is dragged by its tail in the wake of a ship of high speed in the shocking video that went viral after shark hunter Mark Quartino posted it on Instagram
Benac's father, also Robert, when reached by DailyMail.com on Saturday, said he was already serving his jail time.
'He'll be out Sunday evening,' the father said, adding he was 'disappointed' over his son's punishment.
'This is not justice. Let's leave it at that. '
Benac accepted the deal as it was more severe than it could be.
Boat captain Michael Wenzel, 22, of Palmetto, also implicated in the July 2017 video, accepted in a similar manner.
Robert Benac III, above, pictured with his mother, Manattee County Commissioner Betsy Benac. Benac's father, also Robert, tells DailyMail.com that he is 'disappointed' with the punishment
Wenzel hung up when DailyMail.com reached out.
Charges in the animal cruelty case were dropped against a third man, Spencer Heintz, 24, also of Palmetto, due to a lack of evidence that he broke the law, and because he had been willing to testify against Benac and Wenzel, reports WFTS.
'It's all just too lenient. They must have some connections, 'Miami shark Mark Quartino hunter told DailyMail.com.
The video sparked an outcry from other anglers, Florida rights activists and even Rick Scott after it was posted on Instagram by Quartino, 68.
It's sick. It's just today's society, 'he told DailyMail.com.
Wenzel and Belac (above) in another social media post where they for beer in the mouth of an Atlantic Goliath grouper
Quartino said he made the video to expose the cruelty after the anglers originally forwarded the footage to him.
'These guys are friends of mine on Instagram and when they did it with the shark, they just did it, they feel it to me to say,' Hey, look at what we did, 'to get my approval,' he said. 'They did not.'
Men's voices are heard laughing in the background as a shark is dragged by its tail in the wake of a speedboat.
There were other posts, including one that shows Wenzel shooting at a black tip shark's head with a handgun.
As the shark bled out, we are heard laughing in the video that was posted on Facebook. Another post shows the men for Atlantic Goliath grouper.
Quartino said the punishments served on Benac and Wenzel should be more harsh.
'It sends the wrong message to people doing the same things,' the shark hunter said.
He insists his methods of killing the beasts are quicker and more humane.
'What they did was horrific.'
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