Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, 57, is also known by the nickname ‘Joe Exotic,’ and is the subject of Netflix’s new documentary Tiger King.
He once was the owner of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.
He was known for his colorful personality, and in 2016 he ran as a write-in candidate for president, even appearing on John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight to promote himself.
They do: Joe had a three-way wedding with Travis Moldonado and John Finlay in 2014; he was married to five men total
In 2017, he ran as a Libertarian candidate for Oklahoma governor.
Joe had been married four times in all, to a total of five men.
His longest marriage was to Brian Rhyne from 1986 to 2001, followed by his union with J. C. Hartpence.
He then had a three-way wedding with Travis Moldonado and John Finlay in 2014, but in 2017, a then 23-year-old Moldonado died after authorities say he accidentally fatally shot himself in the head.
Mug shot: Joe Exotic is currently in a federal prison
His final marriage was to Dillon Passage in December 2017, and they were together when Joe was arrest in 2018.
In April of 2019, Joe was found guilty of a murder-for-hire plot targeting the CEO of Big Cat Rescue, Carole Baskin.
The jury heard evidence that he paid a man $3,000 to travel to Florida to kill Baskin, with a promise to pay more after she was dead. He was upset that Baskin, an outspoken critic of his, had won a million-dollar civil judgment against him.
After his initial attempt failed, he offered $10,000 to an undercover FBI agent to kill Baskin during a meeting that was recorded and played for the jury. In the recording, he told the agent: ‘Just like follow her into a mall parking lot and just cap her and drive off.’
Joe was also convicted for killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs, and falsifying wildlife records.
In January of this year, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
After the sentence, he released a statement via Facebook saying he planned to appeal.
He said: ‘I still maintain my innocence and looking forward in the upcoming days to my attorneys filing my appeal and moving onto the next step in this nightmare.