HELLS ANGELS CASE RESULTS QUESTIONED

Reaction: The Effect Of The Convictions On The Flow Of Drugs In Ventura
County Is Debated, While Legal Costs From The Five-Year Prosecution
Continue To Mount.

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."