Kentucky man sentenced for trying to bribe sheriff to protect a cockfighting venue

A man who admitted trying to bribe a Kentucky sheriff to get protection for a cockfighting operation has been sentenced to a year and three months in federal prison.

Federal authorities said Cruz Alejandro “Alex” Mercado-Vazquez, of Maysville, also intended to sponsor cockfights and offered Mason County Sheriff Patrick Boggs at least $16,000 to look the other way and tip him about investigations.

“If the plan had succeeded, the defendant would have obtained law enforcement protection of an extremely lucrative illegal business operation,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.

Instead, Boggs contacted the FBI and helped in the investigation, which included recordings of Mercado-Vazquez.

U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning sentenced Mercado-Vazquez Friday.

His attorneys, Mary P. Rafizadeh and Joseph Holbrook, had advocated for no prison time for him, but said the sentence was fair.

“We know that Alex will make much of his life in the future and he will always bless the people of his community,” the attorneys said in a statement.

The case started in 2020.

Mercado-Vazquez offered to pay Boggs 40 to 50% of the gate fees and money from the concession stand to cooperate in the cockfighting venture, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate K. Smith and Andrea Mattingly-Williams said in the memo.

Boggs told the Herald-Leader he contacted federal authorities immediately.

“My integrity is what I value the most,” Boggs said.

Mercado-Vazquez didn’t give Boggs any money, and was charged before opening his planned cockfighting venue.

The attorneys representing Mercado Vazquez argued that the bribe offer to Boggs was considerably less than $16,000.

Prosecutors, however, argued that Mercado Vazquez offered to pay the sheriff on a continuing basis for weekly cockfights, so $16,000 was a very conservative estimate of the bribe.

Mercado-Vazquez also said he sold fighting roosters internationally, and that he once sold 40 roosters for $250 each to a person in Mexico, according to the prosecution memo.

Mercado-Vazquez wrote a letter to Bunning for the judge to consider prior to sentencing him, telling Bunning in the letter that he came to the U.S. with his parents in 1989 when he was 10. His first job as a teenager was at a Taco Bell restaurant. In 1998 he moved to Kentucky, where he had a friend and family member, he said in the letter.

He had to sleep in his car the first few weeks, but ultimately worked his way up from being a server at a Mexican restaurant in Maysville to saving enough to buy a share of the business, and now operates four restaurants that employ about 80 people, according to his letter and court records.

Mercado-Vazquez is well-regarded by many in Maysville, his attorneys said.

“Mr. Mercado-Vazquez came from nothing and built strong community bonds, a good reputation, and a reputable business,” the defense attorneys said in a sentencing memo. “He did this through hard work, compassion for others, and a desire to better his life and those around him.”

Nearly 20 people provided letters of support prior to his sentencing, lauding him as a loving father, a faithful friend and consistent supporter of community, schools, churches and youth sports.

The letters included one from Maysville Mayor Debra Cotterill, who said Mercado-Vazquez is a valued member of the business community.

“Citizen business owners who strive to make our town a better place to live are what keeps Maysville moving forward and Mr. Mercado-Vazquez is certainly one of those people,” the mayor said.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Christopher L. Kelley also wrote a letter to Bunning for Mercado-Vazquez, describing him as selfless and charitable person whose role in the community “is significant, appreciated and overwhelmingly positive.”

Mercado-Vazquez told Bunning in his letter that cockfighting was a part of the culture in Mexico when he was a boy, and that it was not unusual for families to attend events together.

“I grew up thinking of it as normal,” he said.

Prosecutors, however, pointed out that cockfighting is illegal under federal law and painted a more grim picture of the activity, calling it a “barbaric” form of animal cruelty that has the potential to spread disease.

“Cockfighting is an extreme form of cruelty to animals. Not only do the animals — which are bred to fight — suffer grave injuries and frequently die during the fights, but they are also mistreated before and after the fights,” the prosecutors said. “If both roosters are paralyzed or too injured to continue at the end of a fight, but have not yet died, handlers place both birds in a small enclosure known as the “drag pit” to wait to see which one dies first – a process that can take hours.”

Mercado-Vazquez was among more than 15 people charged in federal court in 2022 in a crackdown on cockfighting operations in Kentucky.

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