Electrical equipment and jumper cables “consistent with devices used to run dogs” were found at the home of a senior Pentagon IT official during a federal dogfighting raid.
Frederick D. Moorefield, Jr., who worked as the Pentagon’s deputy director of information, was charged last week with promoting and promoting an animal fighting company after federal agents raided his home in Arnold, Maryland , outside Washington DC, on September 6. Moorefield, 62, called his dogfighting operation “Geehad Kennels,” according to a Justice Department statement. He is accused of possessing, training or transporting animals to engage in animal fighting along with a second Maryland man, Mario Flythe, 49, of Glen Burnie.
According to the DOJ, both men used an encrypted messaging app to communicate with people all over the United States to discuss dog fighting, Moorefield operating as Geehad Kennels and Flythe at Razor Sharp Kennels.
Investigators said the two men “shared messages about training dogs for illegal dog fighting, exchanged dog fighting videos, and organized and coordinated dog fights. Moorefield and Flythe also discussed gambling for dog fighting, talked about dogs that died as a result of dog fighting and circulated media reports about dog fighters who had been caught by law enforcement.”
Moorefield and others also discussed how to keep their dog’s struggle a secret.
At Moorefield’s home, officials say they recovered twelve dogs along with “veterinary steroids, training schedules, a carpet that appeared to be stained with blood and a heavy dog vest with a patch that said ‘Geehad Kennels.’
They also found electrical equipment and jumper cables, which they say are often used to kill dogs that lose fights.
Pentagon officials did not immediately return an email from Task & Purpose seeking comment on Moorefield’s position.
Moorefield was the Deputy director of command, control and communications information for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, although that position is now listed on the Pentagon website as being held by another person in an “acting” role..
According to an online organizational chart, the Pentagon has nearly 20 deputy directors of information distributed by the numerous administrative offices dependent on the Secretary of Defense. A department website describes the role of a DCIO as “a role within some organization that generally has responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day operations of information technology (IT).”
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Moorefield’s specific position was to “provide strategic direction, policy guidance, and oversight to enable the Department to effectively define, prioritize, acquire, govern, manage, and implement C3 capabilities in support of DoD operations.”
Moorefield’s biography appeared to have been removed from Pentagon websites, but a cached version said he attended college in Ohio and was hired in 1989 in a civilian service position at the force base. Wright Patterson Airline. He worked there for 19 years in research and development and procurement before moving on to a series of information technology positions that led to his role at the Pentagon.
Both Moorefield and Flythe face charges that carry maximum sentences of five years in prison.
The investigation included the FBI, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the United States Marshals Service, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, the Animal Control of Anne Arundel County and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
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