Tony Lesperance, a rural thug whose activities against the United States Government in remote northeastern Nevada might now be considered terrorist acts under the Patriot Act, was appointed by Governor Jim Gibbons to head up Nevada's Department of Agriculture. Why the Governor would appoint a lawless miscreant to protect Nevada's food supply was a surprise to many. Unfortunately for the Virginia Range horses, Lesperance had authority over them also.
In April, 2008, Director Lesperance went before the state's Interim Finance Committee and told lawmakers that the horses were starving, the range was devoid of vegetation, and that he needed money from the cash strapped treasury to remove horses as rapidly as possible. Lesperance basically took the money and ran. Some speculate that the pitch was a ruse to get funds to cover some unpaid bills that the Department had run up.
Since then, there has been an ongoing battle between Lesperance and the various wild horse groups, with the wild horse groups levying various charges and Lesperance denying them.
The allegations include extortion, grand larceny, malfeasance, false statements, false certificates, and oppression under color of office. Most recently when one of the wild horse groups wanted to review public records to get a handle on what was going on at the Department, the response from the Department's counsel was that they were no longer available and apparently disposed of. In Nevada such records are required to be kept a minimum of six years from the time the documents "expired," so it looks like a new allegation will surface with respect to Director Lesperance's conduct.
Wild horse advocates generally agree that since Governor Gibbons seems to have little concern over the doings at the Department of Agriculture, the problem won't be fixed until Lesperance is formally charged and heads off to jail.
This all may sound over the top, but remember that this is the same state where a former mob lawyer turned Las Vegas Mayor is trying to use Federal stimulus money to build a
Mafia Museum.
Recent Developments
Supporting Information
Videos
What you can do
- Learn the facts!
- Help the legal effort!
- Help advocate for change!
Please continue to Page Two for more specific information.
(Please contact the webmaster if you or your group wishes to contribute a story link for this section.)
The Virginia Range herd roams the Virginia and Flowery Ranges and surrounding valleys near the historic mining town of Virginia City. The horses are a mixture of what was originally BLM horses, horses released by locals after the gold rush played out, and a few stray head that managed to join up with the herd and survived in this rugged country. After years of being managed by the respective counties where they were found, the Nevada Department of Agriculture asserted ownership and management of the horses.
