Federal charges that were brought against the president of the local chapter of the Hells Angels in a high-profile racketeering case that targeted motorcycle gangs across Arizona have been dismissed.
The case, the result of a sting touted as the most successful infiltration ever of the biker group, all but ended in federal court this month with disputed results. In the end, half of those indicted were given plea deals on lesser offenses. Charges against five others, including local president Craig "Fang" Kelly and friend Henry Watkins, were dismissed in late February.
Kelly's court-appointed attorney said the case against his client was poor. The state trumped up its findings, he said, and then didn't disclose evidence to defense attorneys.
"They have some information they just do not want to give out," Joe Abodeely said. "We think it was because they had a disagreement with some of their ATF agents," he said, referring to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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Carmen Fischer, an attorney who was appointed by the court to represent Watkins, called the case a "tremendous waste of taxpayers' money, not to mention the trampling of rights of people like my client."
As a result of plea deals, none of the defendants will serve more than five years in federal prison. Most of the bikers had faced possible life sentences under the indictment.
The U.S. Attorney's Office described the outcome as a "good thing" because eight defendants pleaded guilty. "This is but one of many cases brought against the Hells Angels around the country, in Canada and around the world," said Sandy Raynor, a spokeswoman for Arizona's top federal prosecutor.
The Arizona crackdown was part of a nationwide Hells Angels sweep led by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Raids were conducted statewide, as well as in California, Nevada and Washington, in July 2003. Raids in Tucson included the local chapter's clubhouse at 2414 N. Fontana Ave., near North Stone Avenue and Grant Road.
With help from moles, ATF agents spent two years penetrating the Hells Angels, attending drug parties and becoming privy to alleged murder plots against rival gangs. Investigators described the club as a criminal syndicate, not a fraternity of motorcycle enthusiasts. Guns, drugs and thousands of records were seized.
But in some cases, all the government had to go on was the snitch's word, Fischer said, and a snitch could lie and continue to commit crimes.
Patricia Gitre, an attorney for a defendant from Mesa, said details of misconduct by ATF informers have been described in court: One paid operative failed to tell his handlers that he had participated in a murder. Another became a snitch to avoid prosecution, then got busted with methamphetamine.
Spokeswoman Raynor said: "There are always issues in dealing with cases requiring the use of confidential informants. None of the issues occurring in this matter is novel."
More than 170 local and federal officers were involved in a series of pre-dawn raids that led to the arrests. Officials conducted synchronized raids in the Phoenix area, where one suspect was shot and wounded by an officer, as well as in Flagstaff, Prescott, Bullhead City and Kingman. They arrested 30 people in all and seized drugs and weapons from 40 locations.
