Outlaws biker-gang members go on trial Wednesday

OFF THE WIRE
By Frank Green | TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Richmond, Va. --
A patch sewn on some of the denim and leather vests worn by members of the Outlaws motorcycle club warns "Snitches Are A Dying Breed."

Last week, Mark "Snuff" Steven Fiel, president of the club's Manassas and Shenandoah Valley chapter, became the 14th current or former member of the Outlaws and an affiliated gang to sign a plea deal after a sweeping federal indictment last June.

Fiel will forfeit his 2005 Harley-Davidson, but his agreement does not require him to rat on other gang members. Plea deals often call for cooperation with authorities, although the lack of such a provision does not bar someone from snitching.

The trial of five Outlaws, including the national president, starts Wednesday in federal court in Richmond. An additional six bikers will be tried starting Dec. 1.

More than two dozen members of the Outlaws and Pagans motorcycle clubs were charged in the indictment that alleged the Outlaws moved into Virginia in 2006 when it opened the Manassas chapter, with plans to expand in the state and battle with the Hells Angels in the Richmond area.

In addition to Virginia, Outlaws were arrested in June in Maine, Montana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

One of those indicted will not be tried -- Thomas "Tomcat" Mayne, 59, was shot to death June 15 in Maine when authorities tried to arrest him the day the charges were made public.
The 50-page indictment alleges the Outlaws ran a long-term criminal enterprise that involved attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, robbery, extortion, witness intimidation, drug distribution, illegal gambling, weapons offenses, and a civil-rights violation.

Authorities say that in February, Outlaws members discussed plans to blow up a Richmond tattoo shop owned by a Hells Angels member, and that in March, undercover agents who infiltrated the gang were instructed on how to make several types of explosives for killing Hells Angels in the Richmond area.

Wearing black-and-white striped jail garb and ankle chains last Wednesday, Fiel -- a burly, tattooed, bearded man with long hair braided into a ponytail -- pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to violate federal racketeering law. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in January.

Fiel, 59, looks the part of a renegade biker. But like others charged, his hair is gray and he wears glasses, is hard of hearing, and has health problems. He told a U.S. magistrate judge last week that he is taking blood-pressure and cholesterol medication.

His son, Mark Jason Fiel, 37, a former Outlaw, is set to be tried Dec. 1. When requesting that he be released pending trial, he said he has three children and coaches two soccer teams in which the children participate.

He and club member Christopher Timbers, 37, are charged with violating the civil rights of a black man beaten because of his race in Fredericksburg in 2008. The civil-rights charges will be tried separately.

Jack "Milwaukee Jack" Rosga, 53, of Wisconsin, the Outlaws' national president, is among those set to be tried starting Wednesday on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit violence in the aid of racketeering.

The others on trial Wednesday are:

• William "Rebel" Davey, 46, a former chapter enforcer in North Carolina;

• Thomas "Jo Jo" Petrini, 48, a former Outlaws member in the Manassas chapter;

• Mark "Lytnin'" Spradling, 52, treasurer of the gang region that includes Virginia and both Carolinas; and

• Leslie Werth, 47, vice president of a South Carolina chapter.

In addition to the racketeering and conspiracy charges, Davey and Werth are accused of violence in the aid of racketeering and firearms offenses.

The trial will take place at the Richmond's Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige Jr. United States Courthouse at 701 E. Broad St.

Judge Henry E. Hudson has instructed that jury selection begin Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. and that prospective jurors will be referred to by number only, and that no names or other personal identifying information will be used.

There also will be an additional security screening at the entrance to the courtroom. Anyone entering will have to pass through a magnetometer -- in addition to the magnetometer and screening station at the entrance to the building -- throughout the trial.

Overflow seating will be available in another courtroom where a video feed of the trial can be viewed.

Richmond lawyer Claire Cardwell, who represents Rosga, said it's not unusual to keep the identities of jurors confidential.

Three Richmond-area members of the Pagans, who allegedly allied themselves with the Outlaws, also were indicted: Charles Love, 49, of Amelia County, and Charles Barlow, 43, and Dennis Haldermann, 45, both of Chester.

Barlow and Love have pleaded guilty, while Haldermann will be tried Dec. 1 on a charge of committing violence in the aid of racketeering.