Well, they have this election going on, but since I recently mentioned the indictment of Page County sheriff Presgraves, I suppose that for the benefit of my non-local readers I should recap all of this. Cynically, we could all look at this as a stereotypical event of small town corruption, it certainly fits the bill.
I mentioned that the 22 indictments carry a penalty of as much as 304 years in prison and fines of up to $2-million if the sheriff is proven convicted. The indictment documentation should be easy find with a Google search for “Page County sheriff indictment” – meanwhile here is a summary:
· 6 counts of obstructing a law enforcement investigation
· 4 counts of obstructing investigation by a federal grand jury
· 4 counts of violating the civil rights of female subordinates at the Page County Sheriff’s Office
· 2 counts of making false statements
· 2 counts of conspiracy
· 2 counts of mail fraud
· 1 county of money laundering
· 1 count of violating federal racketeering laws
This story seemed to have broken over an investigation of an allegation that the sheriff took a bribe to “look the other way” about a cockfighting enterprise, by coincidence only about a mile from the Hawksbill Cabin. The US District attorney was quoted as saying, “the cockfighting issue is just the tip of the iceberg.”
For now, the Sheriff has posted a security bond and returned to Luray. He has been instructed not to wear the uniform, perform any duties, nor to drive a cruiser while awaiting trial.
No doubt, this is a long story just getting started. I’ll post on it from time to time when there is news.
1 comment:
I hear that Bob Marley was working on a sequel to his other hit before he died...
"I indicted the Sheriff, but I did not indict the Deputy..."
Post a Comment