| Sources |
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 20 Dec 2001.
Opal Marie Ramsey obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 12 Jan 2006.
F.B.I Documents reveal Sheriff Ramsey under scrutiny
By: GARY BUTLER Source: The Newport Plain Talk 01-12-2006
GREENEVILLE-Documents unsealed in federal court in Greeneville on Wednesday officially reveal that Cocke County Sheriff D.C. Ramsey has been named in a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe into public corruption in Cocke County.
Records unsealed on Wednesday were connected to the FBI's case against Cocke County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Patrick Taylor and his brother, Jarrod Taylor, and concerned an application filed in federal court to place a tracking device on Jarrod Taylor's vehicle. The Taylors were arrested in Dec. on charges they conspired with former Cocke County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Joe Dodgin to traffic in stolen merchandise.
FBI Special Agent Lane P. Rushing filed the application with the court a year ago and, as part of the application, requested that it be sealed because, "...the disclosure of the application and affidavit would seriously jeopardize the investigation, to include endangering the life or physical safety of informants and cooperating witnesses, destruction of or tampering with evidence, and intimidation of potential witnesses."
On the second page of the document, Rushing states, in part, "Since 2001, the FBI has been conducting an investigation into public corruption and other illegal activities in Cocke County...One aspect of that investigation involves illegal gambling businesses, to include cockfights and gambling machines in bars, and payments to law enforcement officers, to include Cocke County Sheriff D.C. Ramsey and his nephew, ...chief deputy Pat Taylor, to further the illegal gambling."
The document specifically asked for permission to place a tracking device on a green Plymouth Grand Voyager van, determined by the FBI to have been possessed and operated by Jarrod Taylor.
"Your deponent (Special Agent Rushing) further states that there is probable cause to believe that the installation of a mobile tracking device placed in or on the subject vehicle, and monitoring of the mobile tracking device, will lead to evidence of the aforementioned violations as well as to the identification of individuals who are engaged in the commission of those and related crimes," Rushing wrote in his application for a judge's permission to install the tracking device.
His application for installation of the mobile tracking device also said, "Gambling machines, commonly known as video poker machines, have long been reported to be in operation throughout Cocke County."
The application noted that according to "cooperating witnesses and confidential informants" the machines are located in bars, restaurants, convenience markets and other retail establishments.
"The machines often bear signs indicating that they are 'for amusement only,' but, to the knowledgeable patron, payoffs for winnings are available from workers in the establishments," Rushing's application noted. "Many of the machines accept currency, to include $20 bills, an amount significantly greater that the usual 50-cent charge for regular video amusement machines," the applications stated.
"Jarrod Taylor has been surveilled on three occasions in the past three months using the subject vehicle to travel to bars, convenience markets, and other establishments known to have video poker machines. Cooperating witnesses and confidential informants have advised that these trips are made to pick up money from the gambling machines as well as pay the establishment operators their share of the illegal gambling proceeds," the applications continued. The application also noted that "independent and unrelated sources" had described and named Cocke County businesses that had gambling machines and provided alleged payoffs to patrons.
"Several of these witnesses and informants have identified a relationship between Newport Games and those businesses," Special Agent Rushing's application stated.
"According to public records and observations by agents, Newport Games' business premises are located at 624 North Street, Newport. Jarrod Taylor, brother of Chief Deputy Pat Taylor, is employed by, or involved in, the operation of Newport Games," Rushing wrote.
The application also listed a series of dates, beginning in November 2004, on which Jarrod Taylor was seen driving the van when it made stops at establishments"reported to have video poker gambling machines."
The court document also noted that, "cooperating witnesses and confidential informants have advised that these trips are made to pick up money from the gambling machines as well as (to) pay the establishment operators their share of the illegal gambling proceeds."
On Jan. 4, 2004, according to the application, Jarrod Taylor was seen driving the van to a convenience market near the Tennessee/North Carolina state line.
While there, (Jarrod) Taylor was seen walking to the adjoining bar," the application stated. Allegedly,"Both the bar and the convenience market are owned and operated by the same person who owns a cock-fighting pit located in Del Rio, Tenn., which is also involved in illegal gambling" the application stated.
Pat Taylor and Jarrod Taylor were indicted by a federal grand jury in December on charges of conspiring to receive, conceal and dispose of goods valued at $5,000 or more that they believed to have been stolen, but neither has been charged with illegal gambling violations.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Inman so ordered on Jan. 18, 2005 that there was probable cause to place and monitor the tracking device on the subject vehicle, and information provided by that device was later used to bring a federal indictment against the Taylors for conspiracy and aiding and abetting.
Although Ramsey has not been charged with a crime at this point, this is the first time he has been named in an official document as the subject of an investigation by the FBI during its recent probe into public corruption in Cocke County.
The Plain Talk attempted Thursday morning to contact Ramsey for comment, but he was initially unavailable. Ramsey did relay a message through his secretary, Debbie Gregg, however, that he could not comment on Thursday concerning the documents unsealed on Wednesday, but that he would comment at a later date.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 17 Jan 2006.
NEWPORT-Cocke County Sheriff D. C. Ramsey, 65, announced on Monday that, effective January 31, he would resign the office of Sheriff of Cocke County, citing growing health problems and loyalty to Cocke County as reasons. "After serious thought and consideration, I have decided to resign the office of Sheriff of Cocke County," stated Ramsey in a letter to Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan, Jr. "I would like to thank everyone for their assistance and support throughout the last eight years and ask that they continue to support our county with the same loyalty that has been given to me.
After all the negative publicity about myself and Cocke County, I think it would be in the best interest of myself and Cocke County, which I dearly love, to step aside now so some good things can be said about our county."
Ramsey said that he also has had serious health problems, which he now needs to begin to take care of and be concerned with, per his doctor's recommendation. "I ask for your thoughts and prayers, as I continue to regain my health and spend quality time with my wife, children, and grandchildren," said Ramsey. "Therefore, effective January 31, I regretfully resign my office as Sheriff of Cocke County."
"I'm personally saddened that our sheriff has decided to resign," said McMahan on Tuesday. "I know that it was a tough decision and that he made it with a heavy heart. I understand why he made his decision and my family's thoughts, hearts, and prayers are with our sheriff and his family.
"I pray that he will be able to return to good health soon," added McMahan. Ramsey's resignation comes after growing pressure following the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) four-year probe of public corruption in Cocke County. Ramsey and his two nephews, former Chief Deputy Pat Taylor and former Newport Police Civil Service Board Chair Jarrod Taylor, have been the focus of that probe, as the FBI has been looking into allegations of racketeering, illegal gambling, and public corruption in Cocke County.
Both Taylors were indicted in federal court in December for conspiring to traffic in stolen merchandise, but Ramsey has not been charged with any crime. According to court documents, the Taylors face federal charges on conspiring to traffic in stolen NASCAR merchandise worth more than $5,000, but neither of the men have been charged with gambling-related offenses.
However, court documents and federal officials have stated that more charges could be pending against the Taylors.
In 2005, five Cocke County Sheriff's Department deputies were arrested and charged with various offenses, as part of the FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's four-year probe into organized crime in Cocke County.
As part of that investigation, FBI and TBI raids have taken place at local business establishments, including Del Rio's cockfighting pit and two alleged brothels, which have remained closed since the raids.
Ramsey appointed Captain Billy Wayne Moore, who is a 19-year veteran of the sheriff's department, as Chief Deputy last week, after Pat Taylor resigned his position.
McMahan said the Cocke County Legislative Body will meet in the Cocke County Courthouse Tuesday night at 6 p.m., and will likely discuss the matter of Ramsey's resignation.
- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 12 Aug 2007.
Affidavit: Ex-Cocke sheriff took thousands in payoffs
By J.J. Stambaugh (Contact)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
This cockfighting ring, in June 2006, in Del Rio, Tenn., is no longer active. Federal and state authorities raided the ring as part of the FBI’s Rose Thorn probe into corruption in Cocke County.
Michael Patrick
This cockfighting ring, in June 2006, in Del Rio, Tenn., is no longer active. Federal and state authorities raided the ring as part of the FBI’s Rose Thorn probe into corruption in Cocke County.
A sign beside the Cocke County High School ball fields shows the school mascot in 2005. An FBI affidavit was unsealed early this month in federal court as part of the Rose Thorn probe.
Amy Smotherman-Burgess
A sign beside the Cocke County High School ball fields shows the school mascot in 2005. An FBI affidavit was unsealed early this month in federal court as part of the Rose Thorn probe.
Former Cocke County Sheriff D.C. Ramsey may have pocketed tens of thousands of dollars in payoffs to protect illegal gambling operations during his term of office, according to FBI records.
The protection racket allegedly included sending deputies into area cockfighting pits, checking out suspicious vehicles around gambling operations, and warning criminals that the FBI or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was investigating them, records show.
One cockfight pit employee even bragged that he was protected not only by the Cocke County Sheriff’s Department but also could count on being tipped off to pending raids by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the TBI.
The allegations are laid out in an FBI affidavit filed in May 2004 seeking permission to conduct a secret search of the legendary Del Rio Cockfighting Pit as part of the “Rose Thorn” corruption probe.
The affidavit was unsealed early this month in federal court.
Ramsey, 67, resigned in January 2006 after it was revealed in court records that he’d been targeted by the FBI. He cited bad publicity and health problems for his departure.
Ramsey hasn’t been charged, but his nephew and chief deputy, Patrick Taylor, was recently sent to federal prison for a stolen property conspiracy.
Ramsey, who lives in Del Rio, and his attorney did not return calls for comment.
Federal prosecutors also refused to comment, citing the pending nature of the investigation.
The 33-page affidavit by FBI Special Agent Thomas Farrow outlines evidence gathered up to May 2004 by the FBI, the TBI and the THP. The information was culled largely from the reports of informants or cooperating witnesses.
The Rose Thorn probe didn’t initially focus on chicken fights, but as the investigation progressed agents discovered there were apparently three cockfighting rings in Cocke County: the Del Rio pit, the 440 Cockfight Pit near Newport and one in Cosby.
The facilities were relatively sophisticated operations with numerous employees, security guards and — in the case of the Del Rio pit — a restaurant that was at one time run by Ramsey’s brother, John Dale Ramsey, according to the FBI.
In 2001, the FBI was told that patrol officers at the Sheriff’s Department knew “to ‘leave the cockfights alone’ as they belong to the sheriff,” the affidavit said.
On several occasions, deputies were allegedly seen at the pits betting on the contests, providing security, or even picking up what appeared to be payoffs to Sheriff Ramsey.
For instance, an informant who went to the 440 pit in March 2003 said he talked to Ernest Arrowood Jr., who was selling tickets at the door. Arrowood showed him the money box and said he had more than $8,000 in it but “once D.C. (meaning Sheriff D.C. Ramsey) received his cut, the total would be less.”
Later that night, the informant saw a sheriff’s deputy come into the facility and meet with Arrowood, who gave the officer a “rolled up paper bag.”
A month later, the same informant was told by Arrowood “they feared undercover agents were at the chicken fights and because of that fear, officers quit coming to the fights to pick up money.” Arrowood said the money would be taken to Ramsey later.
Exactly how much money flowed into the sheriff’s pockets is unclear from the documents. The FBI was advised at various points that Ramsey might be collecting $4 or $5 per each admission ticket.
The pits routinely drew crowds of more than 200 people — the Del Rio pit alone had bleacher seating for 500 spectators — and held regular animal fighting matches.
No witnesses listed in the affidavit claimed to have seen Ramsey accept money.
Also, John Dale Ramsey was apparently used as a mediator during a 2002 dispute between rival pit operators over a fire at the Del Rio arena that had triggered a $5,000 bounty on a man’s head, the affidavit said.
Another figure who is mentioned several times in the affidavit is George Ray Hicks, a former constable who went to federal prison in 1983 along with then-Cocke County Sheriff Bobby Stinson when the FBI busted the lawmen trying to smuggle cocaine.
Hicks eventually went to work for the Tennessee Department of Transportation at the state garage in Newport, a position that brought him into close contact with the state troopers stationed in Cocke County.
Although Hicks is a felon, he was sometimes seen carrying a handgun while on duty at the 440 pit, the affidavit said. Hicks also liked to brag that the pit was protected not only by Ramsey but also by state troopers and even the TBI.
Arrowood also made similar comments, allegedly telling an unnamed FBI witness that state troopers were going to direct traffic at a particularly large chicken fight.
The same witness — who had reported being shot at after cooperating in an earlier investigation — also said he had been threatened by Arrowood after asking too many questions. “You could wind up with a case of dynamite under your house,” Arrowood allegedly said.
THP Lt. Col. Tracy Trott, who supervises THP’s Eastern Bureau, said through Department of Safety spokesman Mike Browning that the only time state troopers directed traffic was when they helped raid the Del Rio pit in 2005.
“As to any allegations of us being involved, we don’t know anything about that, nor is anyone involved that we know of,” he said.
Browning said further questions should be directed to federal authorities.
TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said last week that the mid-2005 raid at the Del Rio pit wouldn’t have happened if TBI agents were tipping off Hicks at the 440 pit.
“If we were tipping someone off, the raid wouldn’t have happened,”_ she said. “But subsequently the cockfighting pit was raided.”
The attorneys representing the 440 pit defendants wouldn’t comment for this story.
In March 2002, an informant told authorities that the sheriff had told area cockfighters to shut down temporarily because the TBI was expected to raid them.
The following year, the operator of the Cosby cockfighting operation told an informant he was no longer “running chicken fights” because Sheriff Ramsey and Sgt. Ken Whaley had made a round of visits to pit operators to let them know the business “was too hot and needed to be shut down” due to an FBI investigation.
Whaley also had allegedly installed a private telephone line to the E-911 system that allowed cockfighters and liquor dealers “to call the sheriff’s office and run tags of strange cars in the area,” the affidavit said.
Whaley, who joined the Sheriff’s Department 20 years ago and continues to work as a departmental dispatcher, said last week that the allegations made by the informant were false. “None of that is true,” Whaley said. “I have no comment because I don’t know nothing about it.”
Cocke County E-911 Director Kathy Cody — who took over the position from Patrick Taylor’s wife, Patricia Taylor, in 2000 — said two private lines are in service at the E-911 center to allow dispatchers to make personal phone calls that aren’t recorded.
“It is my opinion that everyone has a right to their privacy,” she said. “The only reason the lines are installed are for personal use, for when during work hours when someone receives or needs to make a personal call.”
When asked if it was possible for the phone lines to be used as described in the affidavit, she replied: “It’s possible There’s no way to tell. But all the dispatchers up here are very professional and they realize that we don’t run tags for anyone other than law enforcement. If law enforcement calls and requests information, we provide it and don’t ask questions.”
At the time of the secret 2004 search, the Del Rio pit was owned by Michael Maynard of Hot Springs, N.C. During the search, the agents copied a computer hard drive but couldn’t find a laptop they’d been looking for.
Three months later, Maynard was notified of the midnight visit to his property and told federal authorities that he wasn’t involved in the pit’s day-to-day operations.
“Maynard said he feels that law enforcement in Cocke County knows that the cockfighting pits are there and chooses just to leave them alone,” records state.
In early 2005, Maynard sold the Del Rio pit to Donald Poteat for $100,000. Four months later, more than 100 state and federal agents raided the facility and charged more than 140 people with misdemeanors.
Maynard’s attorney, Richard L. Gaines, said Maynard had been in the process of getting out of the cockfighting business to “comply with the law, but it was too late.”
Poteat’s lawyer, Jeffrey Z. Daniel, said he had no comment on the case. “We’re just looking forward to getting this behind us,” he said. “His wife has been very ill. They’re good people. They just got caught up in a bad situation and are trying to make the best of it.”
J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-6307.
AMY SMOTHERMAN-BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL
A sign beside the Cocke County High School ball fields shows the school mascot in 2005. An FBI affidavit was unsealed early this month in federal court as part of the Rose Thorn probe.
© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name: John Ramsey
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 26 Apr 1935
Event Place: Cocke, Tennessee, United States
Age: 26
Birth Year (Estimated): 1909
Father's Name:
Father's Titles and Terms:
Mother's Name:
Mother's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Name: Opal Parks
Spouse's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Age: 21
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): 1914
Spouse's Father's Name:
Spouse's Father's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Mother's Name:
Spouse's Mother's Titles and Terms:
Reference ID: 14
GS Film number: 1928650
Digital Folder Number: 004485965
Image Number: 00040
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Groom's Name Bride's First Name Bride's Maiden Name County Date of Marriage File #
RAMSEY DAVID C WILMA B [NOT GIVEN] JEFFERSON 04-04-1988 13654
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