60-year-old Romanian Princess Irina Walker and her husband John Wesley Walker, a former sheriff's deputy, were arrested by federal agents in Eastern Oregon on Thursday in connection with an alleged cockfighting ring, the Associated Press reported.
Indictments unsealed in U.S. District Court in Portland have charged the Walkers with hosting derbies and illegal gambling at their ranch near the Irrigon, Oregon.
Irina Walker, also known as Irina Kreuger, is a daughter of the last king of Romania. John Wesley Walker was a Coos County sheriff's deputy between 1998 and 2003.
The Walkers were arraigned in federal court in Portland on Friday on charges of operating an illegal gambling business, the AP also reported. Twelve others from Oregon and Washington also face lesser charges of conspiracy to violate the Animal Welfare Act through illegal animal fighting.
"Cockfighting is illegal under federal law and under the laws of all 50 states. Besides being a barbaric practice, cockfighting jeopardizes public health and safety and facilitates the commission of other criminal acts, Amanda Marshall, the U.S. attorney for Oregon said in a statement.
10 different cockfighting derbies were being held at the Walker's ranch between April 2012 and April 2013, according to the indictment, which brought in as much as $2,000 daily. Food and drink wwere sold while blades were attached to the cocks' legs.
