By Matt Wiley
A New York farm owner has been arrested in Wesley Chapel, after a cockfighting event was raided on his property.
According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), the U.S. Marshal’s office in New York ordered the arrest of Moises Cruz, 71, who was staying at a home in the Alchester Place neighborhood in Meadow Pointe III. The arrest follows the Marshals’ “Operation Angry Birds,” which was executed on February 8 and resulted in the detainment of more than 70 people, nine of whom were arrested on felony charges.
PCSO says that Cruz, who lives in both New York and Miami, was staying at the Meadow Pointe home while waiting for a flight back to the northeast.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced on February 9 that more than 3,000 birds were seized from Cruz’s 90-acre farm in Plattekill, NY, during a simultaneous raid of several cockfighting events across Queens, Kings (Brooklyn) and Ulster (upstate) counties. However, Schneiderman’s office confirms that, after further investigation, the number of roosters rescued has been raised to more than 6,000.
“This investigation – one of the largest in U.S. history – illustrates the prevalence of cockfighting in America, its brutal nature and the link to other illegal activities,” said Schneiderman in a press release. “My office will keep working to hold these individuals accountable, and put an end to illegal cockfighting.”
Cruz has been charged with prohibition of animal fighting and was taken into custody without incident.
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