Hells Angels' defense: Witnesses are "rats"

The key witnesses against four Hells Angels on trial for racketeering, robbery and murder are informants with an ax to grind or something to gain, said defense attorneys for the four men whose trials began Monday in federal court.

"Snitches and rats. That's what we're talking about," said defense attorney Terry Kellogg, who represents defendant Joshua Binder.

But prosecutors said a parade of witnesses will testify that the defendants were so loyal to the club and its leader that they robbed, stole and even killed for them.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman said prosecutors will call more than 100 witnesses over the projected 10-week trial and that, over time, jurors would come to see that the four defendants waged an organized campaign of terror and theft.

She said witnesses will testify that the defendants once beat a man so badly that his teeth broke through his skin, beat another man with a small hammer for a perceived transgression and even killed a man who falsely claimed to be a Hells Angel.

"For these defendants, this patch is sacred. They would do anything for this patch," Gorman said as she held up a black leather vest bearing the motorcycle club's logo, a winged skull, in a courtroom crowded with family members and supporters in Hells Angels regalia.

Prosecutors allege that the Washington Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels is a highly organized, criminal enterprise whose members are punishable under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which was created to prosecute organized-crime syndicates such as the Mafia.

The lead defendant in the case is Richard "Smilin' Rick" Fabel, 49, who served as the president of the Washington Nomads and, for a time, as West Coast president of the Hells Angels.

Other defendants in the case are Binder, 31, and Rodney Rollness, 46, who were both full-time members of the Washington Nomads until 2003, and Ricky Jenks, 29, who is still a member.

Prosecutors allege the four committed an extensive list of crimes between 1996 and 2006 and that, as an enterprise, the Washington Nomads engaged in acts of extortion, robbery, kidnapping, murder, intimidation, witness tampering and interstate trafficking in stolen motorcycles.

The most serious charges in this case are filed against Rollness and Binder. Prosecutors allege both murdered Michael "Santa" Walsh during a party at the home of Paul Foster in Arlington on July 21, 2001.

Foster has been charged as an accessory to murder and will be tried separately.

Defense attorneys told the 12-member jury that the government's case is built on the testimony of a convicted perjurer and an alcoholic who carried a grudge against the group that wouldn't let him in and then stole his girlfriend.

Another witness once told police he was "sure" his attackers were members of a completely different motorcycle gang, according to Todd Maybrown, defense counsel for Rodney Rollness.

One of the government's principal witnesses received $20,000 for his testimony and another got a reduced prison sentence, defense attorneys said.

Prosecutors acknowledged that several witnesses received money or a sentence reduction in exchange for their cooperation but said their testimony about the alleged crimes is credible. They also said fingerprints and fiber evidence connect Rollness and Binder to the murder.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com

Information from Seattle Times staff reporter David Bowermaster is included in this report.