Romanian princess and husband plead not guilty in U.S. - TopicsExpress

Romanian princess and husband plead not guilty in U.S. cockfighting case Associated Press PORTLAND: Princess Irina Walker, the daughter of the last king of Romania, was hobnobbing two years ago with European royalty in Bucharest to celebrate the 90th birthday of her father. On Friday, she and her husband, a former sheriff’s deputy, appeared in federal court to face charges of running a cockfighting business on their ranch in rural Oregon. Both pleaded not guilty and were released pending trial. Government prosecutors say Irina and John Walker staged at least 10 cockfighting derbies between April 2012 and April 2013, bringing in as much as $2,000 a day. Blades were attached to the birds’ legs, spectators were charged admission, and food and drink were sold, the indictment said. Prosecutors say 24 marijuana plants, 24 guns and a large amount of ammunition were found during this week’s raid. No charges have been filed in connection with that discovery. Irina Walker, 60, is the third daughter of former Romanian King Michael I. The 91-year-old Michael, one of the few surviving heads of state from World War II, was forced to abdicate by the communists in 1947. Sent into exile, he lived in Switzerland and worked as a commercial pilot and briefly as a chicken farmer. Read more: dailystar.lb/News/International/2013/Aug-19/227802-romanian-princess-and-husband-plead-not-guilty-in-us-cockfighting-case.ashx#ixzz2cNwGimbn