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This barn on the property of Mr. P's Natural Stone and Landscaping in Frankfort is where police said they seized dozens of roosters involved in cockfighting. Police arrested 41 people who they said came from all over the state and West Virginia to watch the fights.

(Patrick Lohmann | Syracuse.com)

FRANKFORT, N.Y. -- On most Saturday afternoons, neighbors to "Mr. P's" landscaping business said the tranquility of their country neighborhood was seized by booming music and persistent rooster squawks that echoed for at least half a mile.

"You could hear very, very loud Mexican music. It would get very loud. Every three seconds, you'd hear a rooster. It was non-stop there," one neighbor said of the Saturday gatherings. "As soon as you would call (the police), it was like they would clear out immediately."

The state Attorney General's Office revealed the mystery this week: The squawks and music were emanating from a sophisticated cock-fighting ring that drew spectators and roosters from all over the state. The animals fought with razors strapped to their feet as spectators paid admission, ordered food and alcohol and threw down bets on which bird would be the first to die.

Police arrested 41 people and seized more than 231 roosters in what the office called "Operation Bloodsport" -- a six-month law enforcement investigation that culminated with a Saturday afternoon raid on the property. Officers seized $68,000 in cash, plus "several" handguns and three ounces of heroin. They discovered a barn with a training facility and other "bird-fighting paraphernalia."

Those arrested came from Queens, the Bronx, Buffalo, Syracuse and even West Virginia to participate in the illegal sport. The birds are being kept at an undisclosed location in the care of the Herkimer County Humane Society.

Patrick Samson, 65, owns the compound that sells landscaping rocks and gardening supplies, called Mr. P's Natural Stone and Landscaping. At least two barns sit on the property, and it stands out as the least-manicured property in a neighborhood with retirees and other residents seen attending to their yards.

Samson steered his red Ford sedan toward a Syracuse.com reporter's car in his business parking lot on Monday. In a brief interview, he suggested he was unaware of the cock-fighting on his property.

"They told me it was a party. I wasn't even here. I just came back to put air in my tires," he said.

Patrick Samson, 65

He also threatened to run the reporter over. "If I have to ask you to leave again, you'll be leaving here on a tow truck," he said.

Neighbors said they've seen cars coming in and out of the property for several years and were suspicious something illegal was happening. The neighbors asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation.

It's unclear from the Attorney General's statements whether the 41 suspects were all arrested at once on the property or were tracked down after search warrants on the property were executed. They are facing charges of "engaging in animal fighting for amusement," a class E felony that carries up to four years in prison.

Radhamez "Cesar" Perez of Utica, 37, was apparently the fight coordinator, according to the office. He got his girlfriend to charge admission and his mother to cook food for sale at the fights. He was responsible for contacting rooster owners from all over the state and inviting them to the fights in Frankfort in Herkimer County.

There was no minimum bet, according to the Attorney General's Office. Roosters used in cock-fights can cost between $50 and $800 "depending upon the variety of bird and pedigree," an office spokeswoman said.

Taleek Spence, 19, said he is Samson's stepson and lives in a home on the landscaping company property. He said he saw "more cop cars than I've ever seen in my life" on Saturday about 2 p.m. when state police arrived.

Taleek Spence, 19, stands in front of his home on a property where police said a sophisticated cockfighting ring operated. Spence said his stepfather, accused of hosting the fights, is innocent.

They entered a red barn in front of his home. He said he approached the officers, but they threatened to arrest him and told him to go back inside his home.

He denied that cock-fighting was occurring on the property but also said there were some parts of the property he wasn't allowed into. He opened up the red barn to show a reporter where he said roosters were kept before police seized them. About a dozen roosters remained in the barn, which they shared with an unnamed pig and a dusty, immobilized sport coupe.

"There was possibly fighting, but he knew nothing of it," Spence said of his stepfather.

Spence is not charged with a crime.

Neighbors said they saw police arrive mid-afternoon Saturday and stay there until just before midnight. They did not see anyone marched away in handcuffs but saw people carrying boxes emerge from the red barn.

"They were carrying the roosters in like a cat carrier or something," the neighbor said. "They just kept going in and out, in and out, in and out for what seemed like forever."

After the dust settled and the roosters were carted off, neighbors learned from the news about the cock-fighting ring. They dared to hope for quieter mornings and nights as a result of the arrests.

"But that very next morning, we heard a rooster at 5 a.m.," one neighbor said. "I guess they didn't get all of them."