Danny Presgraves' Sentence Approaching its End

Presgraves in office, approximately 2008, from PN&C.

Last week we had news from the PN&C that the former sheriff of Page County, Danny Presgraves, had been moved from a federal minimum security prison in Massachusetts, where he served most of a 19 month sentence as the outcome of a racketeering case. The link to the PN&C article is below; Presgraves is now at a residential reentry center in the Baltimore area and is scheduled for release in June, about two months early. As a result of his plea, he will also have two years of probation after his release, must pay restitution to victims, and pay a fine of $1,000.


It’s been a while since I posted on the topic, but I found the link to the Washington Post article, also below, to refresh my memory of this situation. The Post recaps the original indictment:

“The 22-count indictment, returned in October 2008, accused Presgraves of accepting a $500 bribe to protect cockfighting at a pit known as Little Boxwood, sexually harassing a dozen female employees and using inmates from the jail to work on his and relatives' properties. The indictment also said he conspired to deal marijuana, tipped off a local company about the federal investigation, embezzled $86,410 -- including money extorted from the jail's pay phone vendor -- and attempted to launder about $200,000 through complex bank transactions.”

Presgraves pleaded guilty to some of the charges, which resulted in his sentencing. The Post also quoted his attorney after the sentencing, as follows:

“Today, Danny Presgraves acknowledged his wrongdoing and apologized to the citizens of Page County," his lead attorney, Charles E. James Jr., said afterward. "While recognizing the harm Danny has caused, the court also considered his entire life's work as a law enforcement officer."

Page County has certainly moved on from these events, we have a new sheriff in town and all, and hopefully the economy’s turnaround is started to be felt in more ways. So we can also hope that Danny has turned the corner after this experience.

http://www.dnronline.com/news_details.php?AID=56017&CHID=42
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/19/AR2009121902206.html