Man Sentenced in Dog Fighting Case
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 25, 2010 |
BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Leon Nelson, also known as Bruno, 41 of Buffalo, New York, who was convicted of a felony count of sponsoring an animal in an animal fighting venture, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William M. Skretny,
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who handled the case, stated that the defendant was convicted of sponsoring and exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture for the purposes of sport, wagering, and entertainment on or about June 20, 2009. Specifically the defendant allowed a dog he controlled named "EJ" to enter into a dog fight with another dog named "Batman". The defendant had wagered and lost approximately $4,000 on the fight.
The conviction was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James H. Robertson.