Dog "The Bounty Hunter" Chapman to be extradited to Mexico

MSNBC reported Thursday that Duane Dog Chapman, star of the A&E reality series "Dog the Bounty Hunter," and two members of his bounty hunting team (including his son) were arrested by U.S. officials today for extradition to Mexico.
 

Chapman is the second Calvin Ayre acquaintance to find himself in a legal quagmire this week.  Joe Francis of The "Girls Gone Wild" franchise entered a plea bargain agreement with US prosecutors for failing to maintain proper age records for the girls appearing in some of his company videos.

Ayre, the colorful founder of Bodog.com who appeared on this year's cover of Forbes prestigious "Billionaire" issue, recently attended Dog "The Bounty Hunters" wedding in Hawaii.  Chapman was a guest at Bodog's acclaimed "Salute the Troops Snoop Dogg" concert last year held in honor of US military personnel stationed in Hawaii and their family members. 

Rita Cosby is reporting that Mexican government officials wanted the three men sent back there in relation to a three-year-old case.

In 2003, Chapman traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to retrieve Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster, who was wanted in the U.S. on rape charges. Luster is now in jail, serving a 124-year term. The Chapmans were jailed in Mexico for a brief time for the incident three years ago. Bounty hunting is considered a crime in Mexico.

Dog's wife, Beth Chapman, said 12 armed marshals "came through the door" at 6:00AM this morning. She said they took their daughter's boyfriend down at gunpoint. Dog was sleeping at the time.

TMZ.com spoke with Nicky Credic from the U.S. Marshals Office. She said, "The arrest warrant was signed by a U.S. magistrate in Hawaii on September 13. The warrant was based on a formal request based on a diplomatic note from the government of Mexico."

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Christopher Costigan, www.gambling911.com

Originally published September 14, 2006 3:18 pm ET