Surprise Catch in Meth Sting: Businessmen

An 18-month methamphetamine sting in north Los Angeles County that culminated Tuesday didn’t just lead to the arrests of known white supremacists, motorcycle gang members and allegedly low-level drug cookers.

Several prominent Antelope Valley businessmen with ties to the biker culture were also among those taken into custody.

There was Lance Pompey, a Harley-Davidson enthusiast and owner of Quartz Hill Glass and Mirror, whose code for meth pickups, investigators allege, was, “Hey, your glass is ready.”

There was Dale Combs, owner of Dale’s Precision Machining, who allegedly produced 100 to 200 pounds of speed a month. His preferred shipping method: inside custom-made steering columns, authorities said.

And there was former Palmdale Chamber of Commerce member Robert Williams, a paint shop owner known nationally for his work customizing Harleys. He was a sponsor of one of the area’s largest charity events, the annual “Thunder on the Lot” motor show.

Investigators believe Williams joined the chamber to keep tabs on local initiatives that could stymie what they allege was a booming methamphetamine business.

The suspects were connected to a loose organization of six major speed manufacturing cells, most of them in the Antelope Valley, according to allegations filed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies. It is alleged that all of the cells had ties to white power and outlaw biker groups.

Though Antelope Valley civic leaders welcomed the sweep, some were surprised to learn that businessmen were among those arrested.

The Mojave Desert, which encompasses the Antelope Valley, is home to countless motorcycle enthusiasts, and many residents maintain that there’s a solid line between good bikers and cycling’s few bad apples. But Tuesday’s sting has challenged that perception.

“Some of the folks picked up were substantial citizens, in the eyes of some people,” Lancaster Mayor Frank C. Roberts said. “They were not the kinds of people who were necessarily very active in fund-raisers or community betterment, but they were not the low-life either. They were not the kind of folks who were supposed to be handling methamphetamine.”

Some of the 293 people arrested over the last 18 months met at a popular charity event, the “Thunder on the Lot” car and motorcycle show, which raised $100,000 in June for local children’s charities.

Investigators with the joint DEA and sheriff’s operation say it’s possible that “Thunder on the Lot” was used as a convenient way for some key players in the drug ring--including members of the Vagos motorcycle gang--to stay in touch.

Among the 23 arrested in Tuesday’s sweep was Robert Fulbright, the alleged leader of the Vagos’ Mojave chapter, investigators said.

Of all those arrested during the investigation, authorities said 233 have criminal records and nearly 200 are on parole or probation--including one man on probation for attempted murder--and 72 are members of white supremacist groups.

Lancaster Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Shreve said investigators are also looking into whether “Thunder on the Lot” was used to launder drug money.

“When we had our people at that event, we were able to document a list of who’s who in the [meth-dealing] organization[s],” Shreve said.

Ron Emard, “Thunder on the Lot” organizer, rejected those claims Thursday. He said that although Vagos members probably showed up at the event, the fund-raiser hosted about 1,000 children this year and attracted a total attendance of 10,000. He said it is a family event, totally unconnected to money laundering or the drug trade.

Emard, a 40-year veteran biker who is also chairman of the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce, said: “We pretty much feel that we’ve shaken that stigmatism that the bikers are the problem. We don’t feel that that’s an issue anymore. But the people that we deal with up here in general, I don’t even see [illegal activity] up here anymore. I’m seeing [the problems] go away, because there’s so many good people who’ve gotten involved in it.”

But Sheriff’s Deputy Darren Hager, one of the main investigators in the bust, thinks the acceptance of the biker culture into the mainstream cuts the opposite way.

“I think back when, when everybody knew bikers were outlaws, [non-bikers] wanted to be the bad of the bad too,” he said. “So now you have Harley enthusiasts who are the businessmen, the doctors and the lawyers, and the outlaw bikers are taking advantage of that. They’ll say things like, ‘Now we just help charities out.’ But it’s more of a front for them.”

Steve Malicott, president of the Antelope Valley Chambers of Commerce, contends that the lure of drugs in the Antelope Valley is no different from society in general.

“It’s becoming more and more difficult to see who the good guys and bad guys are,” he said. “Unfortunately, illegal drug activities appear to be so profitable that they can lure normally law-abiding citizens into a trap. The greed impairs judgment. . . . When you do have what appear to be business leaders involved, that’s a little shocking.”

The Antelope Valley is by no means the most active meth production and distribution center in the region, a distinction that falls to Riverside and San Bernardino counties, which the federal government has labeled the methamphetamine capital of the United States.

However, the high desert has always had its problems. “It’s always been a stronghold for outlaw biker groups and their associates,” said Mike Van Winkle, a spokesman for the California Department of Justice. “Over the years, where you have found outlaw bikers you have found methamphetamine. That’s their drug of choice.”

The area’s meth problem exploded in the last decade, when a more potent, easier-to-produce meth made with the drug ephedrine became popular, according to DEA officials.

In part, because ephedrine is easier to procure in Mexico than in the United States, the major drug cartels in that country have come to dominate meth production and sales in rural areas such as the Antelope Valley.

Jose Martinez, a DEA spokesman, said Mexican cartels have expanded their global reach to countries such as Thailand and India, major ephedrine producers.

Investigators stressed that last week’s arrests targeted the major players in the area’s white drug ring. Shreve said that although Mexican drug dealers could step in to fill the new gap in supply, the local white methamphetamine trade has been dealt a serious blow.

“As far as the white trade here, I don’t think that snake’s gonna grow a tail real fast,” Shreve said. “That particular organization is pretty well cooked, no pun intended.”