...a Presgraves-Cantor connection?

There was a recent national article that linked 7th District Congressman Eric Cantor to Page County’s former Sheriff Danny Presgraves. In my rush to post this morning, I forgot to mention that I had come across the Harper’s article by Ken Silverstein (it’s been referenced in both the Harrisburg and Page County papers); I’ll summarize its content here and end with a link back to it.

Also, the caption on the accompanying photo (I’ve lost the link to its source, but everything in today’s post came via a Google search on “Cantor + Presgraves”) should read, “Former Page County Sheriff Daniel W. Presgraves talks with Virginia's 7th District Congressman Eric Cantor during a local Republican rally in August 2003.”

Before I begin the summary of the Harper’s article, I did a quick check on “watchdog.net” about Presgraves’ contributions to Cantor. I found that he gave a total of $3,600 to Cantor’s cause between 2002 and 2006. The Harper’s article mentions these contributions as well as those of fellow indictee Chester William Fannon III, who subsequently pled guilty to “making nearly $9,000 in illegal conduit political contributions,” and is subject to a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a $100K fine. According to the Harper's article, Fannon gave Cantor a total of $500 during 2006 and 2007.

In the DNR’s (and Page News & Courier's) earliest reporting, the list of Presgraves’s charges included the following: diverting $39K from the US Customs Service and $47K from PayTel to an escrow account, and making small deposits totaling $100K in a structuring scheme between 2001 and 2004. Note that these are charges, alledged crimes, yet to be tried.

However, these activities overlap with the Cantor contributions, and the saying “Politics makes strange bedfellows” comes to mind. I am not saying that at the start of all of this the Congressman would know whether he has a problem here, but it seems prudent now that the case is well underway to make sure those records are scrubbed before the trial. There is inevitable scrutiny ahead.

The Harper’s article is entitled “Congressman Cantor and Cockfighting.” Here is an extended quote, the link follows:

The Middleburg man first hauled into federal court the same day as former Page County Sheriff Daniel W. “Danny” Presgraves has pleaded guilty to making illegal political contributions in relation to cockfighting. Chester William Fannon III, 47 at the time of his October arrest, entered into a plea agreement in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville on Monday, according to online court records. The one-time president of the Virginia Gamefowl Breeders Association Inc. pleaded guilty to making nearly $9,000 in illegal conduit political contributions, the plea agreement says. That charge carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine…

According to the indictment against him, Fannon had links to the Little Boxwood cockpit near Stanley in Page County. It says Fannon wrote checks to presidential and congressional candidates, and would then get reimbursement from the cockfighting association, in violation of federal law. Corporations are not permitted to donate to federal campaigns.

Both Presgraves and Fannon appear to be fans of House Minority Whip Eric Cantor. The former has made five contributions totaling about $3,500 to Cantor since 2002. The latter gave Cantor checks for $500 in 2006 and 2007. In April, after Cantor was interviewed on CBS, Fannon wrote this note on the congressman’s website:

‘Great interview! I am glad that you made it clear that you don’t want the President himself to fail but only his policys. [sic] Please keep supporting rural values, animal agriculture and the second amendment. The H.S.U.S. is a serious threat to the above mentioned organizations and we need your help.

‘The H.S.U.S. is the Humane Society of the United States, which has been leading an effort to ban cockfighting; and as a Humane Society blogger noted last October, Cantor was one of the very few House members who voted against the felony animal fighting bill.’”

The truth will out. You can find the Harper’s article at http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/06/hbc-90005080.