Jury convicts biker gang leader in murder of Hells Angels member at Nevada casino in 2011

RENO, Nev. –  A biker gang leader was convicted Wednesday of murdering a Hells Angels during a 2011 shootout at a Nevada casino that prosecutors said was part of an orchestrated assassination plot to take out a high-ranking official of the rival group.
The Washoe District Court jury deliberated for only five hours before returning guilty verdicts on all seven felony counts, including first- and second-degree murder, for Ernesto Gonzalez, ex-president of the Vagos motorcycle gang's chapter in Nicaragua.
The panel rejected claims he was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot Hells Angels San Jose boss Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew during the September 2011 melee on a busy Sparks casino floor that sent gamblers diving for cover behind slot machines and blackjack tables.
The defendant's lawyer, David Houston, said he was "exceptionally surprised" the jury acted so quickly and vowed an appeal.
"I can't see it. I'm flabbergasted. I cannot understand this verdict," Houston told reporters on the courthouse steps in Reno.
Jurors were to return to court Thursday to begin hearing more evidence in the penalty phase of the trial that will determine whether Gonzalez gets the maximum of life in prison without parole. Gonzalez, 55, was also convicted of conspiring to commit murder, challenging to fight resulting in death, illegally carrying a concealed weapon and discharging a firearm inside a structure.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Karl Hall declined immediate comment after the verdicts were read.
Pinning all his hopes on an acquittal, Gonzalez told the judge earlier Wednesday that he wanted to take off the table the possibility of a lesser manslaughter conviction.
"It's either going to be one way or another, rather than meeting in the middle," Houston told Washoe District Judge Connie Steinheimer. He said they were "specifically not asking for a manslaughter charge."
Steinhiemer described it as a "strategic decision" and asked Gonzalez if he agreed.
"Definitely, I do, yes," Gonzalez told the judge.
Prosecutors maintain Gonzalez shot Pettigrew, 51, five times in the back in a "hit" approved by international leaders of the Vagos during their national convention at John Ascuaga's Nugget hotel-casino just east of Reno. He's seen on dark casino surveillance video coming around the corner of a fish-tank bar and shooting Pettigrew five times in the back as Pettigrew and another Hells Angel kicked a Vagos on the ground between slot machines.
Witnesses from both gangs — including one long-time Vagos-turned-federal informant who testified under a pseudonym — said Pettigrew was an "icon" who was considered the "Godfather" of the Hells Angels in San Jose and the fifth-ranking member nationally.
Gonzalez he shot Pettigrew as a last resort because Pettigrew and another were kicking another Vagos on the floor and he feared they would kill him.
Hall told the jury Gonzalez couldn't argue self-defense because he was part of the gang that instigated the fight that led to Pettigrew's death.
"They started the fight and he finished the fight," Hall said.
Houston is a prominent defense lawyer in Reno whose past clients have included Hulk Hogan, "Girls Gone Wild" video empire founder Joe Francis and Liberace's ex-lover, Scott Thorson. He told reporters after the verdicts were read he had felt comfortable the jury's quick work meant they'd found him innocent.
"I'm still somewhat flummoxed that we could have resulted in a guilty verdict without so much as reviewing what I thought was a great deal of evidence" including hours of surveillance videotape from more than a dozen different camera angels, he said. "There simply wasn't the time."
Prosecutors apparently were successful in using a "very broad brush" to argue "the Vagos did this, the Vagos did that," Houston said. "I think it might have been lost in the translation that this was a case of the state vs. Ernesto Gonzalez. It had nothing to do with the Vagos."

SAN BERNARDINO: Charges dismissed against Vagos president

San Bernardino County prosecutors dismissed charges against the Vagos Motorcycle Club President Tuesday, stemming from an October raid.
Pastor Fausto Palafox, 47, was charged, along with two other Vagos members with stealing a motorcycle, possession of stolen property and participating in a gang.
Palafox and the other club members, Cesar Joaquin Rodriguez, 35, and Scott Randall Rivera, 46, appeared in a San Bernardino courtroom Tuesday morning.
Rivera and Rodriguez were both ordered to attend a preliminary hearing Feb. 14, but prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges against Palafox “in the interest of justice.”
The three men were among 10 people arrested during a raid by the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office and Department of Justice at multiple locations throughout the county. Authorities served 52 search warrants and also seized drugs and weapons.
Following the raid, San Bernardino County prosecutors charged five people in the raid. One person has pleaded guilty to felony marijuana possession for sale. Another charge for possession of body armor was dismissed.
Joseph Yanny, an attorney for Palafox and the Vagos club, said the raid wrongfully labeled the club as a gang. He said Palafox had no criminal record and was “a decent man.”
“It’s unfortunate things have gone as far as they’ve gone. It would be better if this had not happened at all,” Yanny said. “But sometimes these things have to occur for people to see what’s going on or what’s not going on.”
San Bernardino County district attorney’s officials did not comment on Palafox’s case specifically. They stood by the raid as a success that took unrelated drugs and weapons off the street. Prosecutors previously described the club as a violent gang, when the arrests were announced.
Yanny said none of the drugs or weapons was related to the club, which does not condone violence or illegal activity. He said the stolen motorcycle charge was a result of a civil dispute following a sale between members and the victim did not want to press charges.
Vagos members were previously targeted in a March 2010 raid in Riverside County. The Vagos filed a lawsuit claiming defamation of character in that case, prompting an apology by Riverside County officials.
Yanny said San Bernardino County was following a similar course, but did not say a lawsuit was planned.

Suspected Vagos gangmembers arrested

      Seven suspected gangmembers with the Vagos Motorcycle Club were arrested in South San Francisco Saturday night for a variety of gang enhancement and weapons charges, according to police.

Police pulled over two vehicles that were in a large caravan of motorcycles after about 30 bikers on Harley Davidsons rode down Grand Avenue downtown just around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, according to police.
The occupants of both vehicles were dressed in “outlaw” motorcycle gang attire and a search of the vehicles revealed that the occupants possessed several loaded firearms, including a loaded shotgun, according to police.
They were likely pulled over for probation or parole violations, said South San Francisco police Sgt. Bruce McPhillips.
They were all dressed in full leather that prominently displayed Vagos Motorcycle Club patches, he said.
The caravan was driving through the city and fueling up at a gas station before departing to attend an event in another city, McPhillips said.
One of the vehicles was pulled over as it was about to drive onto Highway 101 out of the city, he said.
The seven were charged with possession and likely all posted bail, he said.
Later that night, a shooting in Broadmoor occurred with another group of gangmembers affiliated with the Vagos club called Wanted, according to police.
Police responded to a shooting on the 7400 block of Mission Street and located multiple shell casings on the ground near a restaurant there and canvassed the area for those responsible and to look for any potential victims.
Police were unable to locate any victims or suspects at that time, However, at about 10:30 p.m., the Broadmoor Police Department was contacted by San Francisco police, who were aware of the incident in Broadmoor and advised that two gunshot victims had arrived at a San Francisco hospital.
One victim, a 37-year-old man, had suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was listed in critical condition. The second victim, a 41-year-old man, suffered a gunshot wound to his arm and was listed in stable condition and both are Hells Angels club members, according to Broadmoor police.
The victims, along with witnesses at the scene, were interviewed and the case is being investigated by the Broadmoor Police Department.
Police indicated the victims were not being cooperative with the investigation.
Anyone with any information related to this incident is asked to contact Officer Pagarigan of the Broadmoor Police Department at 755-3838.
silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com
(650) 344-5200 ext. 106  

VIOLENT BIKER TRICKS OLD MAN

The "Pawn Star" patriarch known as The Old Man was unwittingly lured into helping a violent motorcycle gang beat serious criminal charges ... so claims The Old Man's son.

The Old Man recently hosted a Valentine's Day party for the infamous Vagos biker gang at his Vegas home.  The gang wanted The Old Man to host because of his fame, banking on the fact that lots of people would attend and plunk money down to win various raffles.

Now here's the alleged scam.  Sources say the proceeds from the raffle went right into a slush fund used to pay for lawyers for members of the gang that commit crimes.  And the Vagos crew gets into LOTS of trouble.

A 4-year federal investigation resulted in the arrests of 32 gang members -- mostly Vagos -- for crimes ranging from gun and drug trafficking to robbery.

Rick Harrison, "Pawn Stars" star and also son of The Old Man, tells TMZ the gang took advantage of his 72-year-old dad who had no idea he was fronting a party for nefarious purposes.

Rick also knows exactly how is father got bamboozled.  Rick's brother, Joseph, is a long-time member of Vagos with a big-time rap sheet.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2014/03/03/pawn-stars-dad-rick-harrison-old-man-vagos-gang-valentines-day-party/#ixzz2v6Rlfzth

Vagos member testifies about beating in motorcycle gang melee at Nevada casino

RENO, Nev. –  A Vagos motorcycle gang member testified Tuesday that he thought he was going to be killed by Hells Angels leaders who kicked him in the head and pointed a gun at him before one of the rivals was fatally shot in a 2011 melee at a Nevada casino.
"I was scared to death. I thought I was going to be killed. As a matter of fact, I'm lucky to be alive today," said Robert Wiggins, the vice president of the Vagos chapter in Orange County, Calif.
Wiggins told a Washoe District Court jury at the murder trial for a fellow Vagos that he didn't know until days later that Hells Angels' San Jose boss Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew had been killed during the shootout on the floor of a busy Sparks casino about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 23, 2011.
Wiggins, under sometimes combative questioning from the prosecutor, said he "played possum," trying to pretend he was dead during the beating and never saw Pettigrew get shot.
Ernesto Gonzalez, then the president of the Vagos chapter in Nicaragua, is accused of killing Pettigrew.
Prosecutors say it was an organized assassination approved by the Vagos international president after Pettigrew punched another Vagos, Los Angeles chapter vice president Gary "Jabbers" Rudnick, who had been trying to pick a fight.
Gonzalez claims it was self-defense. His lawyer, David Houston, said Gonzalez will testify that he shot Pettigrew to save Wiggins' life.
Rudnick has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a plea deal with prosecutors and also is expected to testify at the trial.
Wiggins said he had just ordered dinner with friends in Rosie's cafe just off the casino floor at John Ascuaga's Nugget when they heard "a lot of noise, a lot of ruckus." He said they joined a crowd rushing to the door leading to the casino floor.
The scene was "chaotic — women screaming, people yelling and shouting," he said. "I could hear glass breaking everywhere. It was crazy."
Wiggins was moving with a wave of people into the casino when he said he was accidentally pushed from behind, his bad knee buckled and he fell to the ground between rows of slot machines.
Next, he saw two Hells Angels approaching with guns — Pettigrew and Caesar Villagrana, who has pleaded guilty to shooting at least one Vagos that night.
But Wiggins acknowledged during his testimony that surveillance video showed only Villagrana holding a gun at that point.
The two began "kicking the (crap) out of me," he said, including blows to his throat, chest and back of the head.
"I saw the big guy (Villagrana) was standing over the top of me unloading a gun into the crowd." Wiggins said, estimating eight or nine shots were fired.
"It seemed like it went on forever," he said. "It was an automatic gun and he emptied the magazine."
Asked if Villagrana shot him, Wiggins said, "He was going to."
Hall questioned why Gonzalez shot Pettigrew if Villagrana was the one holding the gun. Wiggins said he didn't know: "I didn't see anybody shoot anybody."
Wiggins denied suggestions by Washoe County Chief Deputy District Attorney Karl Hall that he was leading a pack of Vagos chasing another Hells Angel when he was pushed to the ground.
"I'm too fat and old to chase people," the stocky longtime construction worker, who appeared to be middle-aged, said. "I've got bad knees, a bad hip and a bad back."
At one point, Wiggins said Hall had asked him the same question five times.
"Are you trying to get a rise out of me?" he asked.
"I'm trying to get the truth out of you," Hall answered.
Wiggins replied, "I told you the truth."
Later, over the objections of the defense, Judge Connie Steinheimer granted Hall's request to treat Wiggins as a "hostile" witness, placing more stringent restrictions on the way defense counsel could cross examine him.
Out of the presence of the jury, Hall said Wiggins "obviously was trying to be deceptive," had rehearsed his testimony with his legal counsel, was "clearly biased" in favor of Gonzalez and is "at the heart of their defense."
Steinheimer agreed Wiggins was "not forthcoming" during much of his testimony.
The trial is expected to continue into next week.

Guns seized, pit bull shot during raid targeting Vagos gang member in Irwindale

West Covina police arrested two men and fatally shot a pit bull early Wednesday while serving a search warrant to seize guns at the home of a known outlaw motorcycle gang member in Irwindale, authorities said.
“Known, dangerous Vagos outlaw motorcycle gang member” and ex-convict Ralph Rodriguez, 38, of Irwindale was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of firearms, resisting arrest and possession of false identification, according to West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez. He was the person targeted by the search warrant.

Also arrested in the 3:30 a.m. raid at a home in the 4600 block of Nora Avenue was Robert Ghiloni, 28, of West Covina, on suspicion of possession of a dagger, resisting arrest and an outstanding traffic warrant, Lopez said.
The arrests were the result of an ongoing investigation by the West Covina Police Department, officials said.
After arriving at the home and ordering the occupants out via loudspeaker repeatedly, Ghiloni eventually emerged from the home and was taken into custody, Lopez said. He had a dagger on his person.

But Rodriguez remained holed-up inside the home, police said.
“After two hours of repeated announcements, SWAT then initiated an entry into the residence,” according to Lopez. “During the search, (Rodriguez) was located hiding in the attic. He surrendered to officers without further incident.
While serving the warrant, SWAT officers encountered a pit bull, which Lopez said became aggressive toward them.
“The dog began to attack, forcing officers to fire upon it,” he said. “The dog died as a result.”

The number and type of guns sized from the home was not available late Wednesday.

According to Los Angeles County booking records, Rodriguez was being held in lieu of $30,000 bail pending a scheduled arraignment Friday in West Covina Superior Court. Ghiloni was being held in lieu of $10,995 pending his arraignment, also scheduled Friday in West Covina Superior Court.

GANGING UP ON ME: Vagos motorcycle gang infiltrator used his fists to get respect Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/vagos-gang-infiltrator-fist-respect-article-1.1253922#ixzz2v6QOBH7P

George Rowe was a private citizen with his own criminal past when he volunteered in 2003 to infiltrate the Vagos outlaw motorcycle gang, which had taken over his hometown of Hemet, Calif. He worked closely with an ATF agent, but the harrowing risk in Operation 22 Green was all his own as he worked his way up from a lowly prospect to earn his patch. “Gods of Mischief” is his account of the three-year investigation that resulted in 42 arrests and several convictions for crimes as serious as murder. Rowe is now in the federal witness protection program.
BY GEORGE ROWE
A ny brother worth his colors takes a certain pride in being a Harley-riding, hard-drinking, gangbanging sonofab----. Take away that patch and it’d be damn hard to tell one from the other — they’re all cut from the same denim. But like many families, some brothers just don’t get along.
That’s how it is, and how it’s always been, between the Vagos and the Hells Angels.
When we entered The Crossroads Bar and Grill, the Angels were already inside getting hammered and shooting pool.
There was tension in the bar that night — not unexpected given the amount of booze and testosterone — but the two sides were behaving themselves and minding their own business. I ordered a drink and shot the s--- with the bartender, careful to steer clear of the Hells Angels in the vicinity.
Unfortunately, the Hells Angels wouldn’t steer clear of me. The green bandanna around my head and the rocker on my back pegged me as a Vagos prospect, drawing unwanted attention from a scraggly bearded Angel wearing the infamous “death’s head” patch on his back. As I tried to pass him in those tight quarters, he couldn’t resist opening his mouth.
“Hey, boy,” he said scornfully. “Why don’t you get some real colors ’stead of that green s---.”
That’s all the man said. But it was enough. I might have only been a lowly prospect, but that sonofab---- was disrespecting me in front of a brother. And that just couldn’t stand — not if I was to have an ounce of credibility with the Vagos. Like I’ve said, a top requirement among one percenters (criminal biker gangs) is giving and getting respect. And that afternoon at The Crossroads, I wasn’t feeling it.
I turned to find that Angel smirking back at me. But not for long. Faster than a cat can lick its a--, I cold-cocked that f-----. The man hit the floor like a stunned mullet.
And that’s when all hell broke loose.
Angels and Vagos came flying in from all directions, ready to throw down right then and there. As I stood over that fallen Angel, daring him to stand up, powerful arms suddenly wrapped me from behind. I was in the iron grip of a man-mountain. He shoved me toward a group of rubbernecking greenies.
“Get him out of here!” the booming voice commanded. And when Rhino, the Vagos’ international sergeant at arms gave an order, people followed it.
Few men have the b---s to hit a Hells Angel, nevermind in an Angels bar.
“You two take George back to Hemet,” he instructed. “And make sure he f------ stays there.”

The Crossroads Bar and Grill, since renamed the Roadhouse, where gang infiltrator and author George Rowe showed he was tough enough to join the Vagos by cold-cocking a Hells Angel.

Then Roy turned to me with a grave look. “You really f----- up, George,” he said. “This time you f----- up good.”
Oh, s---.
Sometime around midnight Big Todd showed up at the shack in Valle Vista. He shook my hand and told me the Hells Angels were buzzing like hornets and wanted a piece of my a--. Big Roy’s orders were to stay put until Tramp figured out what to do.
I had that gnawing gut sense that something bad was coming — like a big ol’ locomotive bearing down on me. If Tramp decided to hand the Angels my a-- on a platter, I’d have to offer it up. To refuse would get me booted from the Vagos, in which case Operation 22 Green would become an early-term abortion. Course I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of being dead, either.
“What do you think’ll happen?” I asked Todd.
“Who the f--- knows?” was all he could offer. But as Todd left the apartment, I could tell that even he was worried.
Sometime before noon, Roy called to say he was coming by to pick me up. Tramp wanted to see us at his place in the High Desert, and Roy was nervous.
“We’re in trouble, George,” he said ominously before hanging up.
It was a long, quiet ride in Big Roy’s truck as we headed for Hesperia — the longest ride of my life. When we pulled into Tramp’s property about 90 minutes later, it looked like we’d stumbled on a wake.
Beyond the chain-link gate, 10 to 15 Harleys were parked in front of a gray stucco ranch. Grim-faced men in gang colors milled about, every one of them a Vagos officer.
This was some serious s---.

Roy left me standing outside the truck and headed over to speak to one of the Vagos. I lit a cigarette, tucked the lighter away, then looked up to find those outlaws gawking at me like . . . well, like I was the wake’s guest of honor. Soon Big Roy started back again, trailed by Psycho, the P of the Victorville chapter. Those desert boys were insane. I think the heat boiled their brains.
“All right, listen up,” Roy said. “Tramp, Ta Ta and Rhino are inside with the Angels.”
F---! The Angels are here?! I felt my chest grip.
“Tramp wants you to wait in the garage until you’re called,” Roy continued. “No one knows anything more than that, George.”

Author George Rowe (top), who infiltrated Vagos motorcycle gang for feds, sports “Green Nation” tattoo. Above, Rowe, whose face is blurred because he is under witness protection, with the Vagos.

Psycho shook his head. “I’d hate to be in your shoes, brother,” he said. “Just don’t let them see you shaking when you walk in.”
“I ain’t shaking,” I replied as calmly as I could.
“Oh, no? Check out your cigarette.”
Psycho was right. That Marlboro was shaking between my fingers like a dog s------’ tacks.
Right away in the garage I was looking for a way out, but the only exit was through a single door leading into the house. Beyond it, the Vagos national leadership and members of the San Bernardino Hells Angels had gathered to decide my fate — and the longer I sweated in that garage, the more convinced I was they’d gathered for a lynching.
The door to the house opened and Rhino appeared.
F--- me. This was the same brutal bastard who’d zip-tied poor Shorty, that Vagos hang-around from Berdoo, then blown his brains out.
And god---n was he big.
“Let’s go,” said Rhino, stone-faced.
I stepped into Tramp’s kitchen — sauna hot and reeking of musty sweat and body odor. Jammed inside that cramped space and the adjoining dining room were seven grim-faced outlaws flying their colors, four of them wearing the red and white. A trio of Hells Angels was seated at the dining room table, each with a revolver resting in front of him.
Not good.
The fourth Angel was leaning his shoulder against the kitchen wall with a cocky grin on his face. It was the same a------ I’d decked at The Crossroads Bar and Grill.
“Take a seat, prospect.”
Terry the Tramp was speaking. He motioned to the empty seat between him and Ta Ta. The moment I sat down, Rhino took a standing position directly behind me, blocking my exit.
Definitely not good.

Big Todd warned me about the Angels.

“You know why you’re here?” Tramp asked me right off.
I was about to open my mouth when one of the Hells Angels leaned over the table.
“F--- this a-----e. He ain’t even patched.”
“Don’t matter,” Ta Ta shot back. “He rides with us.”
“He’s a f-----’ prospect,” spat the Angel. “Give him to us and we’ll settle this right now.”
I felt my heart jump. The Angels were going to drag me into the Mojave and do me right there. But I wouldn’t go easy. Hell, no. Not without a fight. Now my brain went into overdrive. I needed an escape plan. I’d have to take Rhino down first. No easy trick. Maybe a quick upward thrust into that thick neck might pop the carotid. And if the man-mountain falls . . .
“You ain’t takin’ our brother nowhere,” came Rhino’s voice like a bullhorn above my head.
Man, I could’ve kissed that mullet-headed sonofab----.
The kitchen grew pin-drop quiet. Strike a match in that tension and the whole damn room might’ve gone off like Mount St. Helens.
“Everybody just calm the f--- down.”
This was the biggest and hairiest of the Hells Angels who spoke.
“All right, prospect,” he said to me, “why’d you hit him?”
I nodded toward the smirking Angel leaning against the wall.
“That dude said, ‘Why don’t you get some real colors.’ I took that as disrespect, so I popped him.”
All eyes now swung toward my accuser.

Rhino, sergeant at arms of the Vagos.

“That how it happened?” the big Angel asked.
“F--- no. Like I told you. That p---- swung for no good reason.”
“You lyin’ sack of s---!” I exploded.
“F--- you, prospect!” he barked back.
“We ain’t gettin’ nowhere like this,” interrupted Tramp.
“Let’s just stick ’em both in the backyard and let ’em fight it out.” Rhino clapped a meaty paw on my shoulder.
“What about it, prospect? You good with that?”
“Yeah, I’m good with that,” I said without hesitation.
“What about you?” Tramp asked my opponent.
The smirk was already wavering on that lying bastard’s face. He squirmed for a moment, then shifted a nervous glance toward his brothers at the table.
“Check it out,” said Rhino with contempt. “He’s a g------ pussy.”
“I’ll fight him,” volunteered the Angel who wanted me buried in the desert.
“F--- you will,” bellowed Rhino. “If that’s the way it’s gonna be, let’s just go four on four and settle it that way.”
The Hells Angels weren’t so hot on that idea, especially with Rhino fighting for the other team, so the two clubs bickered for the next few minutes — just like the good old days — until my gutless opponent finally caved under pressure and copped to the lie.
Now his three amigos were p-----. They’d put their a---- on the line and been embarrassed.
As the Angels mounted their choppers and rumbled off toward San Bernardino, Rhino, Ta Ta and Tramp were grinning clear back to the molars. Tramp even wrapped me in a bear hug and asked if I wanted a drink.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/vagos-gang-infiltrator-fist-respect-article-1.1253922#ixzz2v6QYkOui