New York - Charges against local Hells Angels members appear based on informants

OFF THE WIRE
Gary Craig
 democratandchronicle.com/

The racketeering allegations against the local Hells Angels chapter — portrayed by authorities as a methamphetamine-dealing organization — appear to be largely constructed on the claims of two informants.

One was an FBI informant who posed as a “hang-around” of the motorcycle club, while the other was a bona fide card-carrying member for years, a federal prosecutor said in court today.
The first informant accompanied Robert “Bugsy” Moran Jr. when Moran viciously beat a drunken man with a baseball bat at a Lyell Avenue bar in May 2006, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Harvey alleged at Moran’s detention hearing today. As an FBI informant, the individual shouldn’t have been part of a crime, but he didn’t intervene to stop the beating, Harvey acknowledged.
Moran and four others were charged Friday in connection with the beating, which authorities linked to alleged racketeering activities by the club. Moran’s detention hearing will continue Tuesday.

Today’s hearing revealed that the Hells Angels have been in the sights of federal authorities for years. The informant “hanger-on” infiltrated the ranks in 2005 and search warrants were executed in 2008 on different Angels-associated homes, including the “clubhouse” on Algonquin Terrace in the city.
Records show that the search warrants remain largely sealed. But, as portrayed in court Monday, seized during the 2008 raids were items that could have been found in a fraternity or Shriners International headquarters: membership lists, charters, and rules governing how members should behave.

Publicly available records show a shotgun was seized during the search and Harvey said Monday that documents and Hells Angels rules prove their inclination is towards crime. For instance, Harvey said, individuals who are “cops, ex-cops and snitches” aren’t welcome. Plus, he said, members must take retribution against anyone who slights an Angel.

The victim in the beating disparaged the Angels while drinking at the bar, Harvey alleged. The bartender, Gina Tata, summoned an Angel, which set in motion the beating, prosecutors claim.
Moran’s detention hearing will continue Tuesday in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian Payson. Moran’s attorney, Scott Green, is expected to ask for Moran’s release pending trial.

Moran stashed weapons for the Angels, Harvey alleged.

At the hearing Payson asked why, if Moran is such a risk, authorities waited five years to prosecute the assault. Harvey said Moran and others did a masterful job covering up their role in the crime. With Tata’s help, they stole the surveillance video from the bar, he alleged.

Charged Friday were Moran, 59, Tata, 47, Richard Riedman, 37, Timothy Stone, 31, and James Henry McAuley Jr., 62. Tata and Stone will remain free, with certain restrictions, pending trial. McAuley is imprisoned after admitting to a conspiracy to murder members of a rival motorcycle gang. Riedman’s detention hearing has yet to be held.