SOUTH HOLLAND -- The alleged ringleader of a massive dog-fighting operation is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing this morning on multiple charges, according to NBC 5 News.

Kevin Taylor, 29, of the 15900 block of South Cottage Grove in South Holland, was charged Saturday with 37 counts of cruelty to animals, a felony count of possession of a controlled substance, a felony count of dog-fighting and two misdemeanor charges, Cook County sheriff's spokeswoman Penny Mateck told reporters for the television station.

The suspected substance was cocaine, according to Mateck. The misdemeanor charges include possession of dogs by a felon and owning sport-fighting dogs, she said.

Taylor "has two prior convictions related to dog-fighting" including cruelty to animals and attending dog fights, Mateck said.

The Cook County Sheriff's Department rescued 37 dogs from a heavily insulated and ventilated old chicken coop behind Taylor's South Holland house on Friday in what officials said was the largest seizure of its kind in state history.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said the seizure of the animals is the fourth largest on record in the United States.

Investigators are not sure fighting went on in the yard, but Dart said it was clear the homeowner, later identified as Taylor, was an active ringleader on the dog-fighting circuit.

Taylor's home had all the makings of a sophisticated and professional dog-fighting operation, police said.

Treadmills and weights were nearby for building strength, while a female dog was kept in a separate room where breeding was done, Dart said.

Investigators said on Friday they plan to comb nearby woods for carcasses.

Taylor is in police custody pending a bond hearing on today at the 6th District Cook County Circuit Courthouse, 16501 S. Kedzie Parkway in Markham, Mateck said.