On May 3 2007, President Bush signed into law the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, making it a federal crime to be involved in animal fighting. Two days later federal agents raided the Little Boxwood Cockpit in Stanley, VA. Then on May 7, agents from the IRS and Justice Departments seized documents from the offices of Page County’s treasurer, administrator, county registrar and sheriff’s department. And so began Danny Presgrave’s downfall.
With an arrogance and abuse of power that was not out of character, Presgraves – who was the Sheriff of Page County at the time – pressured sheriff’s office employees not to cooperate with IRS and Justice Department agents. The charges against Presgraves were numerous: sexual harrassment, intimidating witnesses and obstruction of justice and the misuse of inmate labor.
The prosecution portrayed Presgraves as a man who saw himself as above the law he was sworn to protect, using his position to benefit himself financially by taking bribes to protect the Little Boxwood Cockpit and forcing prisoners in the county jail to do improvements on property owned by himself and his business.
On August 28 2009, Presgraves pled guilty to a federal racketeering charge, earning himself a $75,000 penalty and up to 20 years in prison, but avoiding the possible $2 million fine and 300 years that a full conviction could have brought.
