Federal racketeering trial begins for Washington Hells Angels

SEATTLE -- One man was beaten so severely his teeth poked through the skin of his face. Another, clubbed with a ballpeen hammer, flatlined on his way to the hospital. A third, shot three times in the chest, was found dead in a Snohomish County ravine by a man collecting bottles.

All were victims of a Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, punished for slights as trivial as pretending to belong to the organization, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman told jurors Monday at the start of a federal racketeering case against several members of the Washington state chapter.

"For these defendants, this patch is sacred," Gorman said as she held up a black leather vest bearing the club's famous winged-skull logo. "They would do anything for this patch."

In their opening statements, defense lawyers called the government's case "grand theater" based on unreliable testimony from a cast of liars and crooks with raging methamphetamine habits.

One of the government's star witnesses is a porn actor and male stripper who has previously been convicted of perjury charges, and who received cash and 15 months off an assault-and-kidnapping sentence for helping agents go after the Hells Angels, one defense lawyer noted. Another government witness is in hot water because authorities found a gun and marijuana in his truck on Friday, as he was on his way to Seattle to testify in the case.

The trial is the U.S. Justice Department's first major case against members of the Washington Nomads chapter, founded in 1994, and comes a year after federal agents raided its clubhouse in Spokane. Four members are on trial, charged in 18 counts with crimes ranging from trafficking in stolen motorcycle parts and robbery to racketeering and the 2001 slaying of Michael "Santa" Walsh, 47, in Arlington.

Spokane chapter president Richard Allen Fabel, 49, also known as Smilin' Rick, is accused of directing other gang members to engage in the crimes. The others on trial are Ricky Jenks, 29, of Spokane; Rodney Lee Rollness, 46, of Snohomish; and Joshua Binder, 31, of North Bend.

They each face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

Gorman told the jurors that Rollness and Binder killed Walsh during a raucous party because he had pretended to be a Hells Angel -- for this, they received coveted "Filthy Few" patches for their vests, signifying that they had killed for the organization. Defense lawyers said anyone can go online and buy a "Filthy Few" patch. They also contended that another man was responsible for Walsh's death. That man was indicted along with these four Hells Angels but is not being tried with them.

Two years before Rollness and Binder killed Walsh, they beat someone else, Leonard "Funny Sunny" Sellig, with a ballpeen hammer for the same reason, Gorman said. Sellig, now in his late 60s, survived and is expected to testify.

Another man was beaten for skipping out on bail that had been posted by a Hells Angel. When Rollness and Binder were done with him, his teeth were sticking through his face, and they took his motorcycle, Gorman said.

Much of the government's information comes from a former Hells Angel who goes by the assumed name of Jonathan Thunder Yates. Yates was involved in some of the alleged activity and previously has served time for various crimes, including assault and intimidating witnesses against him to lie on the stand.

A porn actor and stripper, he once threatened to staple a man's penis to a bar, set it on fire, then hand the man a knife and let him decide whether to cut it off, defense lawyer Barry Flegenheimer told the jury.

"This is the government's star witness," he said.

Another government witness is a former Hells Angel "wannabe" named Michael Kordash, who called police in January 2004 to report that Rollness and Binder had stolen his motorcycle and put a gun to his head.

Defense attorneys said both of these witnesses had ample reason to make up stories implicating the Hells Angels. For Yates, it was a ticket out of jail. For Kordash, it was revenge: He had been kicked out of the club for drunkenness, and his girlfriend took up with Fabel, the club president.

Kordash no longer lives in Washington state, but prosecutors will not say where he does live. On Friday, as he was traveling to Seattle to testify, authorities searched his truck and found the gun and marijuana, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Miyake told U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik.

The pending charge could give him further incentive to try to "come through for the government," one defense attorney suggested.

Security at the courthouse Monday was heavy, with spectators having to pass through two metal detectors to enter the courtroom, which was packed with relatives of the defendants. Hells Angels members from as far as Denver and Chicago also attended.

The trial is expected to last well into the spring.