Cockfight night halted in N. Georgia town. Mayor arrested.

[RebelOne]

This is north of where I live. I'm posting the entire article because you have to register to read it and I know it is a pain in the neck.

Cockfight night halted in N. Georgia town
Five arrested, including mayor

By CLINT WILLIAMS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/06/05
BLUE RIDGE — Every Saturday night for months, up to 300 people would crowd into a barn near this small town in the North Georgia mountains to watch the cockfights.

Regulars included Robert Greene, the town's 83-year-old mayor, who was captured on videotape watching the action from a ringside recliner marked "reserved seating," according to the GBI.

On Thursday, Greene and four other people were arrested and charged in connection with the illegal cockfights, where spectators bought food and drinks — even souvenirs — from a concession stand between fights.

Authorities caught wind of the operation last fall, after women complained their husbands were gambling away their paychecks, said Joe Hendricks, the district attorney of the Appalachian Judicial Circuit.

Located about 70 miles northwest of Atlanta, near the North Carolina border, Blue Ridge has become a retreat for affluent metro Atlantans, who flock to mountain cabins to escape the noise of the big city. Some, such as Ed and Dot Quinn, decide to stay.

The Quinns moved here from Marietta 15 years ago to open a book-and-wine shop. They and other newcomers — along with weekend tourists — have changed the face of Blue Ridge's East Main Street, with its coffeehouses, antique shops and a depot for the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad.

But Blue Ridge (pop. 1,200) remains a small mountain town, and there's still a "chicken crossing" sign on East Main. And away from the waterfront homes, which go for millions of dollars on nearby Blue Ridge Lake, authorities uncovered something disturbing:

Inside a large barn in Fannin County, patrons would pay $20 to watch trained roosters with sharp metal hooks attached to their spurs fight to the death, the GBI said.

During a four-month investigation, undercover agents attended the cockfights five times, taking hours of videotape with hidden cameras, which captured many in the crowd betting on the fights, the agency said.

"The video also shows a little 3- or 4-year-old girl at this thing," Hendricks said.

Greene, who has been Blue Ridge's mayor since 1987, was seen betting at several cockfights, according to an affidavit used in obtaining the arrest warrants.

He was charged with gambling, a misdemeanor, and released on a $2,500 bond.

No one answered the door at Greene's home Thursday. His telephone number isn't listed.

The GBI also arrested Wayne Rogers, 55, Tommy Rogers, 53, Milton Thomas Ross, 37, and Clyde Bent Gray, 71.

The four men, all of Mineral Bluff, organized the cockfights, the GBI said. Each was charged with commercial gambling, keeping a gambling place and cruelty to animals, and was released on $12,500 bond.

The barn where the cockfights were staged is on land owned by Tommy Rogers, according to the GBI.

The GBI's investigation is continuing and more arrests are likely, said John Bankhead, a spokesman for the agency.

Residents, meanwhile, were reluctant to talk about Greene's arrest.

"He is a friend of mine, and I hate for him to be in any kind of trouble," said Ted Weaver, owner of an East Main Street body shop.

In front of the shop, Weaver and others talk politics, sports and weather from a wooden pew they call the "B.S. Bench."

The "B.S." — Weaver quickly pointed out — stands for "body shop."

Frank Sissons, 73, has known Greene most of his life. He described Greene as a likeable fellow — and an effective mayor.

"He's never had any kind of a problem except for something like this," Sissons said. "If he had any problems, people would know it.

"I don't think people in Blue Ridge will hold it against him. There may be some people, lovers of animals or maybe some church people, but I don't think it will affect him doing his job. He's just got his hobby."

Sissons, who says he attended a few cockfights in his younger years, described them as exciting, bloody affairs.

"It's a money thing," he said.

Meanwhile, back at the body shop, Weaver said he didn't condone cockfights — but he wasn't surprised they take place.

"People have been fighting chickens in these mountains as long as people have been in these mountains," he said

[smbolisnch]

1. Real nice.

"He's just got his hobby."
Well, since it's just a hobby, why don't they leave him alone? Fuck the poor animals that are being tortured so that a bunch of idiots can get off. I hope to hell there is more backlash than a few hours in the county jail for this. :mad:
Are you close enough that you will know what happens?

[flvegan]

2. The mayor aside

(two words: Marion Barry) I see that the 4 men orgainizing it are hit with (what look to be) 3 felony counts. May they each be charged, prosecuted and sentenced. May their land be seized for being used in the commission of a felony. May they never be allowed to have animals again. May they have to divulge their lewd past on every job application and to every future girlfriend's family.

Losers.