Tugboat captain faces charges over Long Beach port bird deaths

Tugboat captain faces charges over Long Beach port bird deaths Tugboat captain Ralph Botticelli and a deckhand are expected to be charged today in connection with the deaths of hundreds of immature birds last year near the Port of Long Beach.
   The investigation into the bird deaths began last June when the bodies of some 500 Caspian and elegant terns began washing up along the Long Beach shoreline.
   The birds, which were mostly non-flying adolescents, had been nesting on two barges secured at one of the port's anchorages about a mile off the Long Beach shore.
   State investigators believe Botticelli, owner of San Diego-based Point Loma Maritime Services, and a deckhand caused the birds to fall overboard as they attempted to move the barges. Unable to fly, the birds drowned and then washed ashore.
   A news conference announcing the charges is scheduled for this morning at Long Beach City Hall