Hells Angels Case Results Questioned

As Ventura County law enforcement officials hailed the drug-sale convictions of national Hells Angels leader George Christie Jr. and his associates, defense lawyers questioned Wednesday whether the criminal case and its end result were worth the hefty cost.

The district attorney’s office spent five years building a drug-and-racketeering case against Christie and two dozen members and associates of his motorcycle club.

The investigation culminated last year with indictments against 28 defendants, all but seven of whom have pleaded guilty or no contest, or have seen their cases dismissed.

Christie, 54, joined the list Tuesday, pleading guilty to conspiracy to sell prescription drugs and no contest to filing a false tax return. His ex-wife, Cheryl, and their 25-year-old son also entered guilty pleas after cutting deals that will result in the dismissal of most of the counts against them.

Sentencing for the Christies is set for April 17. Prosecutors said Wednesday they will argue for the maximum seven-year prison sentence for George Christie Jr.

“An organization responsible for dealing drugs in our community has been largely dismantled,” said Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury, who credited his prosecution team for bringing the case to a successful conclusion.

But defense lawyers question whether the case has significantly stemmed the flow of drugs into Ventura County.

“It’s like throwing marshmallows at a tank,” said attorney Victor Salas, who formerly represented Cheryl Christie. “There has not been any slowdown in the amount of dope cases being filed. They didn’t do anything to stop the activities that they wanted to stop.”

Meanwhile, the cost of the case continues to mount. So far, the county has spent about $925,000 in defense-related expenses. That includes $175,000 in transcripts and $740,000 in court-appointed lawyer fees.

“And remember we are not through,” said Larry Morris, a county budget analyst. “We still have billings that are going to come in. I don’t know what the total amount is going to be.”

Those costs do not include the amount spent by the public defender’s office, which represented one defendant, nor the costs accrued by Conflict Defense Associates, an indigent-defense group that represented five defendants.

The price tag also doesn’t include the criminal investigation or the salaries of four deputy district attorneys and three investigators assigned to the case.

Several defense lawyers estimated the final bill for the Hells Angels case will exceed $2 million.

“Are we getting our bang for our buck?” questioned Chief Deputy Public Defender Michael McMahon. “We have limited resources and I sometimes fear we throw an inordinate amount at a handful of cases.”

Salas suggested that the money would have been better spent on drug treatment programs.

“But on the other hand,” he said, “if it means the Vicodin won’t hit the high schools, then it was worth the money.”

The elder Christie was accused of running a narcotics ring that stole prescription drugs from a Los Angeles Air Force base and sold them to young adults, including high school students on two campuses in Ojai and Ventura.

According to court records, an airman at the base, Joshua Adams, stole more than 297,000 Vicodin tablets and 466,000 Diazepam tablets, commonly known as Valium, between 1997 and 1999.

Those stolen drugs were sold out of Christie’s Main Street tattoo parlor and the Angels clubhouse in west Ventura, prosecutors alleged.

In a written statement, Adams admitted to funneling the drugs to Rogelio Botello, a 25-year-old Ventura resident, who last week pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell drugs to minors.

On at least one occasion, Botello and Adams delivered hundreds of bottles of stolen Vicodin tablets directly to George Christie’s house, prosecutors allege in a written motion filed in the case last fall.

A former Hells Angels member told the grand jury that Christie directed the sale of the pharmaceuticals.

But prosecutors also alleged that Christie’s son was a key figure in the drug sales scheme.

“George Christie III is at the heart of the conspiracy,” prosecutors wrote in the motion. “Indeed, it was his friendship with Rogelio Botello which established the connection between the supply of Vicodin ES ... and the Hells Angels.”

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeff Bennett said the investigation stopped those tablets from hitting the streets.

“The investigation through its conclusion in late 1999 virtually eliminated a source of pharmaceutical narcotic drugs,” Bennett said.

Beyond the price tag, defense lawyers questioned whether prosecutors had a vendetta against the elder Christie and abused their power by seeking indictments against his entire family.

Christie drew the ire of local law enforcement officials when in 1998 he hosted a 50th anniversary reunion of the motorcycle club, which culminated with a group photo on the steps of Ventura City Hall that ran in several newspapers.

In addition to Cheryl Christie and son George Christie III, daughter Moriya Christie and her husband, Layne Bell, were charged with conspiracy and grand theft for allegedly making a false statement on a loan document when purchasing a second home five years ago.

Prosecutors alleged the couple never intended to live in the Ventura house and lied on financial documents to get a lower interest rate, indicating the property would be their primary residence.

In December, prosecutors dismissed the conspiracy charge and reduced the grand theft count to a misdemeanor, which was stayed by a judge.

Defense attorneys August Bresia and James DiFrank argued in court papers that the couple were unfairly swept up in the investigation targeting George Christie Jr.

Salas suggested the same was true for his former client.

“The only reason they pulled in Cheryl Christie was to use as leverage to get a plea out of George Christie,” he said. “I can’t think of any other reason.”