Audio clip
Thomas Farrow
NASHVILLE — An FBI agent told House members Wednesday how a cockfight operator described giving thousands of dollars in the 1990s to then-state Rep. Ronnie Davis, R-Newport, to change Tennessee’s cockfighting law penalty from a felony to a misdemeanor.
“He claimed he paid then-Rep. Davis $30,000 to help get that back to a misdemeanor,” Special Agent Thomas E. Farrow told House Judiciary Committee members.
He said the unidentified operator contended the payments came to about $6,000 to $8,000 a year. Mr. Farrow said cockfighters also threw political fundraisers for Mr. Davis, who was known in cockfighting circles as “the chicken man.”
Mr. Davis in an interview denied accepting any payoffs. The 18-year House veteran did go to federal prison in 2004 after being convicted in an unrelated case on charges of conspiracy, extortion, bank fraud and possession of drugs with intent to distribute, according to news accounts.
The Farrow testimony came as lawmakers consider making cockfighting in Tennessee once again a felony, punishable by one to six years in prison. It now is a felony in 37 other states.
The bill also toughens misdemeanor penalties for spectators.
Mr. Farrow supervised Rose Thorn, a five-year federal investigation into cockfighting and law enforcement corruption in Cocke County, located near the northeastern tip of the state. The probe, which became public in 2005, resulted in the arrests and convictions of 145 people and shut down two major cockfighting operations in Cocke County, he said.
“Cockfighting is organized gambling, and organized gambling is one of the crimes that just historically has promoted police corruption,” said Mr. Farrow, who noted there are areas of Tennessee where the cockfighting remains a problem.
Rep. Eric Watson, R-Cleveland, a lieutenant with the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department, and Rep. Eddie Bass, D-Prospect, a former Giles County sheriff, fought against the bill.
They scoffed at suggestions that there are serious cockfighting problems in Tennessee. Rep. Bass said he was insulted at Mr. Farrow’s talk about law enforcement corruption and assertions that local officials sometimes turn their back on such crimes. Rep. Watson said he knew of just one cockfighting-related arrest in Bradley County. The 1999 case was dismissed in court, he said.
“Tell me where the problem is,” Rep. Watson told Mr. Farrow. “Twenty-one thousand people were arrested for DUI last year. Only two for cockfighting.”
Rep. Rob Briley, D-Nashville, a bill supporter, said the cases largely are handled in General Sessions courts, which are not courts of record, so information is hard to obtain.
Rep. Bass asked how many Cocke County law enforcement officials were convicted of cockfighting-related charges. The FBI agent acknowledged that none had been, noting “unfortunately, (proving) payoffs to law enforcement in today’s prosecution world is very tough without a video and tape recording.”
But he said agents succeeded in making cases against officials on other crimes. For example, the sheriff’s chief deputy was convicted of receiving stolen property, Mr. Farrow said.
Mr. Farrow, who said he could not comment on the merits of the bill, said law enforcement officials readily should realize if cockfighting is going on.
“If 300 people on a Saturday with pickup trucks and chicken coops in the back of their pickup trucks are going to one place in a rural county, any deputy sheriff worth their salt is going to know, should know,” he said.
The bill passed with Reps. Watson, Bass and Frank Buck, D-Dowelltown, all recorded as voting no. The measure, which also is moving in the Senate, now goes to the Finance Committee.
Former lawmaker Mr. Davis angrily denied taking payoffs, but he acknowledged sponsoring a bill in 1990 that made cockfighting a misdemeanor after a major overhaul of criminal statutes in 1989 made it a felony. Mr. Davis said he did it as a favor to a legislative colleague who since has died. Making cockfighting a felony had been a mistake, he said.
“I didn’t do nothing,” Mr. Davis said. “All I did was put it back the way it was before they goofed it up.”
WHAT THE BILL DOES
House Bill 2143 boosts penalties for participating in cockfighting from a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days in jail plus a $2,500 fine, to a Class E felony, punishable by one to six years imprisonment and a $3,000 fine.
Being a spectator at a cockfight is now a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $50 fine. The bill boosts that to a Class A misdemeanor.
