Defense questions credibility of witness in biker case

OFF THE WIRE
MCs in the News
By Dan Herbeck
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Defense lawyers say a recent ruling by a federal judge raises doubt about the credibility of a Lancaster man whom they consider a key government witness against leaders of the Chosen Few motorcycle gang.

After a two-day hearing, Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy turned down a request from federal prosecutors to revoke bail for James Lathrop Jr.

Prosecutors maintain that Lathrop, an indicted Chosen Few member, stalked and made threatening gestures toward David Ignasiak, 42, a government witness.

Ignasiak testified that, on two occasions last month, Lathrop used his hand to imitate a gun shooting in Ignasiak’s direction. Ignasiak also claimed that Lathrop had stalked and harassed him on at least six other occasions.

Ruling from the bench Feb. 25, Mc- Carthy refused to revoke Lathrop’s bail. After hearing testimony from both sides, the judge said he found Ignasiak’s testimony to be “not credible.”

If and when the biker case goes to trial, the defense will question Ignasiak’s credibility, Robert N. Convissar, Lathrop’s attorney, told The Buffalo News last week.

“You now have a witness who has been caught in an apparent lie, and a judge has found him to be not credible,” Convissar said. “We’d certainly raise that as an issue at trial.”

Ignasiak claimed that Lathrop threatened him Feb. 10 during an encounter at a Lancaster intersection and again Feb. 15, when Ignasiak says he spotted Lathrop sitting in a truck near Ignasiak’s Lancaster home.

During the hearing, Convissar presented evidence that Lathrop could not have been at Ignasiak’s home Feb. 15. He told the judge that he “should not believe one word that comes out of Ignasiak’s mouth.”

Ignasiak, a martial arts instructor and former member of the Depewbased Chosen Few, is a controversial figure these days among bikers in the Buffalo area.

One biker recently filed a civil rights lawsuit against him, and a biker’s son posted threatening remarks about Ignasiak on Facebook.

According to defense attorneys, Ignasiak last year became an undercover man for the FBI, helping the feds put listening devices in the Chosen Few clubhouse and reporting on the actions of his fellow bikers.

Lathrop was among 20 Chosen Few members and associates — including Alex Koschtschuk of Alden, the club president — arrested last May by federal agents.

The bikers face a wide range of charges, including blowing up a rival gang’s clubhouse, making death threats and assaulting rival bikers. With the exception of one defendant who has taken a plea deal, all claim they have been unfairly charged and say they are going to trial.

In a telephone interview, Ignasiak told The News that — regardless of McCarthy’s ruling — he has been truthful in what he told investigators about the Chosen Few.

Other witnesses, plus audio and visual tapes made in the Chosen Few clubhouse, will back his allegations about the biker gang, he said.

“That’s the Chosen Few way — blame someone else. But this time, it won’t work,” Ignasiak said. “If anybody is saying untrue things, it’s them. . . . The telltale day will come in the courtroom—not just from me, but from an abundance of people.”

The trial is unlikely to begin before next year, court officials said.

During pretrial proceedings, defense lawyers have called Ignasiak a reckless and untruthful government witness. Federal law enforcement officials had denied those claims.

At the hearing before McCarthy, Assistant U. S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce attempted to portray Ignasiak as truthful, but he later declined to comment on the judge’s ruling.

U. S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter said the Chosen Few case was not built on the testimony of any one witness.

“Our proof at trial will include testimony from numerous witnesses and also court-authorized recordings and other material,” Mehltretter said. “We’d never build an entire case on the testimony of one witness.”

That may be true, Convissar said, but he and other defense lawyers consider Ignasiak — who worked closely with FBI agents in the investigation — to be a key witness for the prosecution.

“Anything that Mr. Ignasiak testifies to, without verification from other witnesses, will be questioned very closely,” said John J. Molloy, who represents another defendant.

During last week’s hearing, Stacy Galanes, a West Seneca restaurant operator, provided an alibi for the 38-year-old Lathrop.

Galanes, who operates a Louie’s Texas Red Hots location on Harlem Road, testified that Lathrop was fixing an electrical circuit box at her restaurant when Ignasiak swore that he saw Lathrop making threatening “gun” gestures outside Ignasiak’s Lancaster home, about 10 miles away. She said Lathrop and his wife also stayed afterward and had breakfast.

Convissar also produced cellular telephone records showing that Galanes had called Lathrop that morning. Lathrop’s wife, Julia, also testified that she was with her husband at the restaurant.

A charge of harassment, a violation that Lancaster police filed against Lathrop in connection with the Feb. 15 events, remains pending.

Ignasiak also testified that he told the FBI about “six to eight” other incidents in which Lathrop had harassed him, but Bruce admitted in court that the FBI had no reports of those allegations.

An angry Convissar told the judge that, in his view, Ignasiak made up a story about Lathrop to get Lathrop thrown in jail.

“David Ignasiak is a liar,” Convissar told the judge. “He lied to us. He’s lied to [the FBI.]”

Federal prosecutors have alleged that Chad Koschuk, a son of Alex Koschtschuk, previously threatened Ignasiak.

Last August, during a chance encounter in a convenience store, Koschuk warned Ignasiak “your day is coming,” prosecutors charged. In January, the FBI accused Koschuk of posting threatening remarks about Ignasiak on his Facebook page on the Internet.

An attorney for Chad Koschuk said his client spoke out of frustration in both instances and never actually intended any harm toward Ignasiak.

Robert C. Treadway Jr., another biker who faces charges in the Chosen Few case, recently filed a civil rights lawsuit against Ignasiak, FBI agents and Bruce, the prosecutor. The suit claims authorities violated Treadway’s rights by placing listening devices in the Chosen Few clubhouse.

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Original article...

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/03/08/980744/defense-questions-credibility.html