1997 and 2004, for drunk driving. After reports of the arrests surfaced during the campaign, Bhakta said "I ask for the forgiveness and understanding of the voters, while giving them my solemn pledge that this behavior will not happen again", and said "Politicians today need to come clean". On October 10, 2006, Bhakta illustrated the ease of crossing the United States-Mexico border by riding an elephant along the border for ninety minutes, accompanied by a six-man mariachi band. Neither Bhakta nor the mariachi band broke the law by crossing the border, as they remained on private property along the Rio Grande in Texas. Bhakta said that he got the idea by seeing a Mexican man illegally cross the border by wading across the Rio Grande. Bhakta had a camera to record the man's illegal crossing, and succeeded in getting the man detained by border authorities. The demonstration garnered national attention for Bhakta's campaign. Bhakta was interviewed by Bill O'Reilly, Rita Cosby, Glenn Beck, and John Gibson. "This is not about the poor Mexican immigrant who wants to come for a better life that's the real problem here," Bhakta said. He added, "The border security is a joke and this is a creative and very effective way of showing it." On November 7, 2006, the Philadelphia Daily News'' reported that Bhakta's campaign made "stunning" automated campaign calls to homes in Northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County detailing the charges in 18 lawsuits against an abortion clinic founded by Schwartz. WhistlePig Whiskey Bhakta founded the WhistlePig brand of rye whiskey, which was initially launched as a non-distiller producer that bottled Canadian whiskey from the Alberta Premium distillery owned by Fortune Brands in Alberta, Canada. Starting in 2007, he purchased land in Vermont, on which he built a new distillery and aging facility for the brand. The brand was officially launched in 2010. Bhakta was forced out of the WhistlePig, having been accused of fraud and mismanagement. He sold his shares and fully exited the company in 2019. Bhakta Spirits After leaving WhistlePig, Bhakta launched his new enterprise Bhakta Spirits in Shoreham, Vermont. In 2019, Bhakta negotiated purchase of a rare stock of aged Armagnac brandies while on vacation in Gers, France. With vintages dating from 1868 to 1970, these spirits were the basis for his new enterprise, Bhakta Spirits. After acquiring the brandy stocks, along with the Condom, Gers chateau where they were