U.S. case vs. Hells Angels fizzles: Racketeering counts dismissed

Government concealment of evidence again!

A much ballyhooed racketeering case against Arizona's Hells Angels Motorcycle Club has all but ended in federal court with the U.S. Attorney's Office dismissing charges against some defendants and settling for lesser convictions against the rest.

When the two-year sting known as Operation Black Biscuit became public in 2003, it was touted as the most successful infiltration ever of the notorious biker group. Undercover agents were feted in Washington, with Top Cop awards from the National Association of Police Officers. The government's case of drug violations, gun running, murder, racketeering and other crimes came to a close Wednesday, in part because of a feud between federal prosecutors and undercover agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The result:


* Authorities failed to convict any of the 16 defendants on the key charge of racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise.


* Half of those indicted were given plea deals on lesser offenses.


* Federal charges against five others were dismissed.


* Under the indictment, most of the bikers faced possible life terms. As a result of plea deals, none will serve more than five years in federal prison.


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," office spokeswoman Sandy Raynor said in an e-mail. Joe Abodeely, attorney for Tucson Hells Angels President Craig T. Kelly, whose charges were dismissed, scoffed: "I was a prosecutor for 15 years, and this wasn't a 'good' result. Talk about spin . . . The government tried to prosecute some people simply because they were Hells Angels. This was a waste of time, effort and taxpayers' money."

The U.S. Attorney's Office had no cost figure for the case, which included years of work by undercover agents, prosecutors and public defenders. Brian Russo, who represents former Mesa Hells Angels President Robert Johnston Jr., put the public expense in "millions and millions of dollars."

National investigation

The Arizona crackdown was part of a national Hells Angels sweep led by ATF agents. In July 2003, raids were conducted statewide, as well as in California, Nevada and Washington. The indictment here targeted three charter presidents with club members and associates. With help from moles, ATF agents spent two years penetrating 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 defense attorneys claimed the government's case was based on lying "snitches" who fabricated evidence and took part in beatings, drug dealing and other crimes while employed by federal agents.

In recent months, Hells Angels lawyers pressed the government for evidence that could be used to discredit those paid informers. That led to a dispute between prosecutors and the lead ATF agent, Joseph Slatalla, concerning 1,800 pages of investigative records that never were disclosed to the defense. Rather than meet legal requirements to disclose information to the defense, federal lawyers offered plea deals to defendants, some of whom accepted. Then, as a Feb. 24 deadline arrived, charges against the remaining subjects were dismissed. Legal grappling continues, including motions by some defendants to have their plea agreements overturned.

While defense attorneys touted the outcome as a Hells Angels victory, they expressed disappointment that the government was not forced to disclose all of its evidence. "I do believe they're covering up some serious mishap in this investigation," said Patricia Gitre, attorney for defendant Kevin Augustiniak of Mesa. "There's something going on here that we're not supposed to know."

Gitre said that 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 methamphetamines. Regarding those problems, 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."

Protecting informers?

The case involved thousands of reports, audio recordings and videotapes. Prosecutors fought disclosure by arguing that informers would be in peril if the Hells Angels got hold of sensitive information. In October, U.S. District Judge David Campbell ordered the U.S. Attorney's Criminal Division chief into his courtroom and rebuked prosecutors for making "inaccurate, inconsistent and sometimes legally incorrect statements." Last month, as a discovery deadline arrived and questionnaires were prepared for prospective jurors, the government shifted gears. First, defendants were offered plea deals. Then, as the date arrived, federal lawyers dismissed all remaining charges.

That worked for everyone except Augustiniak, a biker whose indictment involves the 2001 murder of 44-year-old Cynthia Yvonne Garcia after a party at the Hells Angels' clubhouse in Mesa. As federal attorneys moved to drop charges, Maricopa County prosecutors obtained a state indictment against Augustiniak for the murder. Defense lawyers Gitre and Jerry Hernandez complained that the government was playing a "shell game," shifting from one court to another to avoid turning over hidden files.

Garcia's slaying is the most grisly crime in the Arizona saga. According to law enforcement records, the victim was beaten unconscious by Augustiniak and two other men, then driven to a remote area north of Mesa and stabbed more than two dozen times. The second suspect, Paul Eischeid, is a fugitive. The third, Michael C. Kramer, is a key ATF informer who did not reveal his role in the crime to agents until he had spent months as a paid operative. Kramer is the only person involved who was convicted of racketeering. His guilty plea, which was sealed, includes no prison time.

Much of the courtroom battle focused on information about Kramer, who infiltrated Hells Angels charters in the West. Gitre said the government has carried out a campaign to withhold exculpatory evidence and information that would discredit witnesses.

Judge Campbell ordered prosecutors to submit a sealed explanation for its dismissal of the case against Augustiniak. After reading that document, Campbell concluded that federal lawyers were acting in good faith to protect "legitimately confidential" information. The information remained sealed, and the case was closed.

"This is just reprehensible what they're doing," Gitre said of prosecutors. "You know, justice is about seeking the truth . . . And Cynthia Garcia has gotten no justice at all. What do they tell her parents, her children?"

While Augustiniak awaits trial in Superior Court, fugitive Eischeid apparently added insult to injury with an Internet taunt at federal agents: "Catch me if you can," says the note with Eischeid's photograph at myspace.com, a Web site. "The ladies call me blue eyes . . . I live to ride for the Hells Angels." It is unclear whether Eischeid is responsible for creating the Web page.

One other target in the probe is on the offensive: Michael Coffelt, who was wounded by a police sniper in a 2003 raid at a biker clubhouse in Phoenix, is suing in U.S. District Court. He was arrested on state charges, but a judge who ruled that agents acted improperly when they swarmed the clubhouse dismissed the allegations.

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