Informer links top Hells Angel, Ralph "Sonny" Barger Jr., to murder plot
Shrike!
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 25, 2006
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0825hellsangels0825.html
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic//pics/0825hellsangels.jpg
Hells Angels leader Ralph "Sonny" Barger Jr. denies ever ordering
anyone's death.
A former member of the Hells Angels in Phoenix has told authorities
that Ralph "Sonny" Barger Jr., iconic leader of the outlaw biker club,
ordered him to commit murder, according to a letter provided to
defense lawyers in a Las Vegas racketeering case against gang members.
The letter from Daniel Bogden, U.S. attorney for Nevada, makes it
clear that the Hells Angels' vaunted security measures became a
shambles as federal agents positioned informers not only in Barger's
Cave Creek Charter but in several other clubhouses throughout the
West.
Evidence against the biker club now includes more than 70 recordings
made at club gatherings, known as "church meetings," by a Phoenix
Hells Angels member wearing a wire.
The Nevada disclosure identifies four previously undisclosed witnesses
who turned on the Hells Angels and have been placed in the federal
Witness Security Program.
According to the Aug. 18 prosecution letter, one of those men, James
Howard Richey, directly implicates Barger in a murder plot. Richey
became a full-fledged, or "patched," member of the Cave Creek Charter
in Phoenix in October 2002."During the time he (Richey) was a member,"
the letter says, "Sonny Barger of the Cave Creek Chapter ordered
Richey to kill an individual who continually was pretending to be a
Hell's Angel and who had visited Barger at his residence. Richey
agreed to kill the individual but never accomplished it."
Barger, a co-founder of the Hells Angels, is not a defendant in Nevada
and has not been charged with soliciting a homicide.
Claims are denied
He said he was aware of Richey's undercover role, then added, "I've
never ordered anyone murdered in my life."
Barger has written several books on the outlaw biker world and is
regarded as the club's international figurehead, even though he holds
no official title in the organization.
He was convicted in 1988 of conspiring to violate federal explosives
laws in an attempt to kill a member of a rival organization.
The Nevada case targets 42 Hells Angels, including some from Arizona,
who took part in a 2002 brawl during the Laughlin River Run. Three
people were killed during the melee at Harrah's casino between Hells
Angels and the rival Mongols gang.
The indictment alleges that the battle was premeditated and asserts
that the biker club is a racketeering enterprise.
According to the Nevada letter, Richey stood guard at a Bullhead City
hotel while Hells Angels plotted their attack across the Colorado
River in Laughlin.
Figures in Mesa
Prosecutors indicated they intend to use testimony from two former
Hells Angels figures in Mesa. One of those men, Michael Kramer, became
a federal operative after taking part in the 2001 murder of Cynthia
Garcia, a woman who visited the Mesa chapter house for a party. In
return for his federal cooperation, Kramer received no prison time
despite pleading guilty in the murder case.
The Nevada letter says Kramer can testify about a 2001 conspiracy to
kill members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club in Arizona, when Hells
Angels allegedly stormed a residence only to discover that the
occupants were not Vagos.
The letter also identifies an associate in the Mesa charter who
purportedly was a witness in the Garcia homicide and to widespread
drug violations.
In 2003, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
culminated a two-year sting with raids against Hells Angels chapters
in a half-dozen states. The Arizona Republic has reported previously
on several undercover operatives who committed crimes while helping
ATF agents infiltrate the club.
A disagreement
The Arizona case, known as Operation Black Biscuit, ended this past
March amid a disagreement between ATF agents and U.S. Attorney Paul
Charlton's office. Indictments against five defendants were dismissed
entirely. Racketeering charges were dropped. Remaining defendants were
allowed to plead guilty to lesser offenses.
Federal authorities never explained what went wrong, though the
dispute clearly involved revelations about undercover operatives.
Federal prosecutors in Phoenix declined to comment on the contents of
the letter, as did an ATF spokesman and the U.S. Attorney's Office in
Las Vegas.
Operation Black Biscuit was the first federal infiltration of Hells
Angels clubs.
Going undercover
ATF agents deployed at least a half-dozen undercover operatives,
mostly in Arizona, exposing rampant drug dealing, weapons offenses and
violence within the outlaw biker clubs.
Prosecutors have sought to tag the Hells Angels as a racketeering
business to ensure severe sentences and asset forfeitures. Their
efforts have been fought by defense claims that the club is merely a
fraternity of bikers, not responsible for criminal acts by
individuals.
The first of several Nevada trials, scheduled for Sept. 18, is
expected to test those arguments.
- - -
Ralph "Sonny" Barger Jr.
Resides: Phoenix.
Age: 67.
Born: Modesto, Calif.
Background: Founding president of the original Oakland chapter of the
Hells Angels, where he served for 30 years. Barger has appeared in
outlaw biker films and was glorified as the club's "Maximum Leader" by
now deceased writer Hunter S. Thompson.
Criminal history: Numerous arrests and stints in jail. Convicted of
plotting to blow up a rival motorcycle club's headquarters in 1988,
Barger was imprisoned at the federal penitentiary in Phoenix. He
remained in Arizona after being released in 1992.
Current role: A member of the Cave Creek (Phoenix) Charter of Hells
Angels with no official title. Barger is widely believed to be the
club's worldwide leader and ambassador.
Occupation: International raconteur, author and marketer of Hells
Angels memorabilia.
Books: Hells Angels: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hells
Angels Motorcycle Club; Freedom: Credos From the Road; Dead in 5
Heartbeats; and Ridin' High and Livin' Free: Hell-Raising Motorcycle
Stories.
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