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CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- Last week, the first defendant in the sweeping racketeering case against members and associates of the Pagans Motorcycle Club was sentenced in federal court to more than three years in prison.
But John A. Maggio, a 47-year-old electrical contractor from Alexandria, Va., who admitted he asked a Pagans officer for help collecting five-figure business debts and received a 38-month prison sentence from U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston, was not the first of the 55 defendants to have his case resolved.
During the past few weeks, a group of defendants accused of transporting proceeds from a motorcycle raffle across state lines pleaded guilty to a gambling misdemeanor in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. Without exception, they have been fined $5 plus court costs, with no jail time.
In exchange, federal prosecutors have asked Johnston to dismiss the federal charges of interstate travel in aid of racketeering -- a federal felony that can carry up to five years in prison -- against them, with prejudice, meaning they cannot be brought again.
That resolution has left at least one defense attorney questioning how that part of the 44-count indictment was handled.
Kanawha County assistant prosecutor Dan Holstein said earlier this month that federal prosecutors had given him a list of 15 out-of-state defendants with whom he could strike the plea deal.
Because they traveled to St. Albans, where the raffle proceeds were purportedly collected in 2008, the defendants have to agree to let the state case proceed beyond the statute of limitations, which would have expired in April 2009.
So far, 13 defendants charged only in count 11 of the indictment have taken the deal. They are: Rocco J. "Rocky" Boyd, of Little Ferry, N.J.; Christopher T. "Spider" Brunner, of Manahawkin, N.J.; Thomas William "Oddball" Connolly, of Matawan, N.J.; Sergio Velez "Cano" Cuevas, of Linden, N.J.; William J. "Prospect Sal" Desalvatore, of Horsham, Pa.; Dominick Carl "Tack" Dipietro, of Philadelphia; Stephen G. "Tuna" Dunn Jr., of Camden, N.J.; Damian Foti, of Philadelphia; Stephen G. "Bear" Hoffman, of Landing, N.J.; Charles J. "Doover" Laverty, of Hermitage, Pa.; Vincent David "Pit Stop" Pezzano, of Philadelphia; Daniel J. "Wookie" Reilly, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J.; and Vincent G. "Vin Dog" Talotta, of Philadelphia. In addition, Joseph Frank "Rattler" Cotton, who was charged with participating in the beating of an informant in a New Jersey hotel room in January 2009, had his federal charges dropped in exchange for a $5 fine in state court.
Prosecutors also have voided the guilty plea of Timothy A. "Casual" Flood, who pleaded to the federal raffle charge in January. Flood received the $5 fine deal in state court.
'They never should've been charged in the first place'
Defense attorney Tom Gillooly, whose client Sergio Cuevas spent his 70th birthday at South Central Regional Jail while he spent almost five months in custody awaiting trial, said the raffle charge was an example of federal prosecutors overreaching.
He also wondered why federal prosecutors insisted on the "fig-leaf" of pleas to state misdemeanors.
"A five dollar fine and court costs is laughable compared to a federal felony," he said. "I was disappointed that the prosecution wasn't willing to step up and dismiss these charges, because they never should've been charged in the first place."
Gillooly recognized that the indictment contains some serious allegations that deserve careful scrutiny from prosecutors and law enforcement. But he wondered whether the case needed to be so big.
"I really am only familiar with count 11, but I question whether a mass indictment of 55 defendants was warranted," he said.
The size of the case has tied up an incredible amount of government resources within the Southern District of West Virginia, he said.
"The most disturbing thing about this prosecution is what it shows about priorities being set in the U.S. attorney's office," he said.
"It's outrageous to me to have my tax dollars and your tax dollars going towards a case like this instead of environmental violations, mine safety violations, terrorism, you name it."
Cuevas was reluctant to take the deal because he has always maintained his innocence, Gillooly said.
"This is a guy who, for better or worse, has made this motorcycle club a big part of his life," and to see the government try to destroy it is very hard, he said.
"The power of federal prosecutors is awesome. And that's why it has to be exercised with extreme care and caution. Because when it isn't, it can do a lot of damage," he said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Loew, the lead prosecutor in the case, declined to comment, saying it was the policy of the U.S. Attorney's Office not to comment on pending cases.
Since the indictment was unsealed and 55 defendants were arrested in a multi-state sweep in October, the Pagans case has seen extensive sparring between prosecutors and defense attorneys, particularly over the credibility and conduct of two informants used by the government.
Defense attorneys maintain that one, a convicted murderer who has been paid close to $200,000 since going onto the government's payroll in 2004, may have instigated and escalated crimes to bolster and protect his position with the government.
Prosecutors have acknowledged that another, who has a bipolar condition, bought and used drugs extensively during the investigation without permission from his government handlers.
Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who is now a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said that setbacks, obstacles and plea deals are typical for big cases.
"In big cases, you can end up with a big mess. That's one of the reasons to not necessarily charge the biggest case you can," she said. "Big cases come with big headaches."
But all the pre-trial legal disputes and skirmishes may be a blessing in disguise for prosecutors, because they help narrow and focus the case, she said. Ultimately, they need to remain focused on the important parts of the case.
"The defense lawyers are fighting their hardest now because it's going to be harder to fight in front of the jury," she said. "Defense attorneys play street hockey, and prosecutors play chess."
Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 304-348-1723.
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