The One Big Investigation

OFF THE WIRE
This is a revised and corrected version of a story published on October 21st. The original story erroneously reported that that three undercover ATF Agents, John “Hollywood” Carr, Greg “Russo” Giaoni and Paul “Painter D’Angelo left Operation Black Rain in October 2008, continued to pose as members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club and subsequently infiltrated The American Outlaws Association. That is incorrect.

The infiltration of the Outlaws began in September 2008. Carr, Giaoni and D’Angelo may very well have headed east to assist in that infiltration but three additional undercover Agents awaited them. In September 2008, the Mongols had been infiltrated by at least seven, male, undercover ATF Agents. The names of those Agents appear in the witness list appended to the end of this story.

Another shoe dropped last Wednesday in the never ending ATF war against the Biker Menace.

Part of the ATF disinformation war is to chop different parts of what is essentially One Big Investigation into little, bite-sized, public relations pieces. One of the ways the ATF manipulates media coverage of the biker menace is by mendaciously blurring the line between investigation and prosecution. It seems immoral to use prosecution as an investigative tool. It is probably unconstitutional, too. Welcome to the new and improved America.

One Investigation
There has only ever been one investigation. It has been ongoing since at least 1998 and it is a product of the imagination of an ATF Agent named John Ciccone. Two investigations of the Mongols, including the current case, two investigations of the Hells Angels, at least two and possibly a third investigation of the Vagos, at least one investigation of the Warlocks in Virginia, two cases against the Pagans and the current case against the American Outlaws Association are all different facets of what is essentially the same case created by the same cabal of ATF Agents and sometimes the same confidential informants.

This week the now defunct Mongols World Chapter is hitting everybody in the face.

Coconut Dan
First Coconut Dan Horrigan started his publicity blitz for his forthcoming book Iron Warrior: The True Story of an Outlaw Biker Who Infiltrated Both the Hells Angels and Mongols Motorcycle Clubs. Forever, Ciccone has been telling judges and other gullible innocents that the Black Rain part of the One Big Investigation began in June 2005 after a Mongol named TJ Stansbury was busted for selling steroids to cops through the mail. Now here comes Horrigan to claim that Black Rain actually began in 2004.

After the Nevada Nomads charter of the Hells Angels asked Horrigan to please don’t come around us no more, Coconut Dan became Sergeant at Arms of the Mongols World Chapter. It has been tempting to blame this “World Chapter” fiasco on poor Doc Cavazos, who as it turns out is now cowering in a lockup in San Bernardino with his brother and his beaten and possibly brain damaged son.

But the longer one looks at the One Big Investigation the more it starts to look like Doc was set up just like everybody else was set up. The lovely inquisitor Reema M. El-Amamy probably described the One Big Investigation best when she called one particularly ridiculous episode in it “guerilla street theater.”

Lars
The World Chapter idea was sold to Doc by a piece of work named Lars Wilson. Wilson left several motorcycle clubs in two countries with a bad taste in their mouths. The extent to which he blatantly acted as an agent provocateur and may have entrapped other Mongols like Mike Munz is difficult to discern but it pretty clear that for a period of years Wilson was on the federal payroll. He seems not to be remembered fondly by the Loners and who he was actually working for when he rode with them is still unclear.

After the Loners, Wilson ingratiated himself to the Mongols, founded the World Chapter, whispered in Doc’s ear, convinced, he claims, Mike Munz not to murder people, then suddenly decided to become a Pagan. The upshot of that was three indictments against the Pagans. Wilson then decided to join the Outlaws in Virginia. Wilson’s adventures among the Outlaws culminated with a Federal trial that began yesterday in Richmond.

Outlaws
Outlaws National President Jack “Milwaukee Jack” Rosga, Mark “Lytnin” Spradling, Leslie Werth and William “Rebel” Davey (no relation) all stand accused of the usual RICO and VICAR counts. They are charged with RICO and VICAR because those charges carry draconian penalties and they justify the involvement of federal police in the investigation of relatively minor state crimes. These four men seem to be on trial for being “scary, evil, racist, sexist people.”

What might have been most interesting about yesterday’s opening statements were the questions they answered about the currently still active Mongols case.

That case, US v. Cavazos et al., was investigated by six, acknowledged, confidential informants like Horrigan, an unknown number of de facto informants like Wilson and by four, male ATF Agents. Those four Agents included two long-time, known associates of the John Ciccone organized criminal enterprise, Darrin “Dirty Dan” Kozlowski and John “Hollywood” Carr, as well as relative newcomers Greg “Russo” Giaoni and Paul “Painter D’Angelo. Kozlowski hid out in Washington DC after the conclusion of Operation Black Rain but eventually returned to Los Angeles. Carr, Giaoni and D’Angelo, however seemed to disappear.

What has not been generally acknowledge until Wednesday, however, is that the four ATF Agents on the West Coast were not alone. Three more ATF Agents had infiltrated the Mongols on the East Coast. In September 2008, at least seven ATF Agents had infiltrated the Mongols. The three East Coast Agents subsequently patched into the Outlaws.

Pitch Meeting Meets Prosecution
“You are about to embark on a journey into a world that you can hardly imagine,” an Assistant United States Attorney named Peter S. Duffey promised jurors yesterday. He used those words that way because another important facet of the One Big Investigation is its pulp fictionalization of ATF Agents as mythic heroes and outlaw bikers as mythic villains. If Duffy was just a little more hip and Hollywood he might have pitched his case as “Bad Lieutenant meets Donnie Brasco.” But, Duffey is a moron. All these prosecutors are morons and they seem to succeed only on account of their inability to feel empathy or shame.

In his opening statement Duffey told jurors they would hear from the three missing agents. “It’s an extraordinary tale of sacrifice and courage on their part,” he claimed. The three were “inconstant danger of being exposed.” Doesn’t this sound like a great movie?

But this pitch also raises the question of what Duffey thinks the three undercovers might be in danger of being exposed as. And, whether defense attorneys in this case will be allowed access to any of the surveillance footage in the Cavazos case. Or whether those attorneys will even be smart enough to ask to see those 110 DVDs.

Duffey promises the three ATF Agents will all testify. Presumably, that will open the three to cross examination.

The complete witness list in the Outlaws case in Richmond follows.

WITNESS LIST OF THE UNITED STATES

1. Daniel Anderson

2. Dr. Henry Atkins

3. D.Timothy Ayers

4. William Bank

5. Lyle Beatty

6. Matthew Berger

7. John Blais

8. Joe Bradley

9. Zac Breitenbach

10. C.S. Chester

11. Keith Cobb

12. Jerry Delaney

13. Officer A. Dolster

14. Timothy Franklin

15. D. Scott Glenn

16. Jeffrey Grabman

17. Richard Hankins

18. Mark Kelly

19. Hugh Landry

20. John Lindman

21. David Lowrey

22. Michael Mariaca

23. Brian McDermott

24. John Oakey

25. Daniel Ozbolt

26. Steve Parker

27. Michael Pedini

28. Robert Redd

29. Glen Smith

30. Michael Smith

31. Alan Townsend

32. Charlene Tyler

33. Charles Williams

34. Josh Valot

35. Scott Wright