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Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009

Road Dog hearing might snag if ATF hangs on to files

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FRESNO -- A Wednesday hearing where undercover agents were expected to testify about the investigation into Road Dog Cycle owner Robert C. Holloway III could be postponed, lawyers on both sides say.

The hearing is planned for 1:30 p.m. at Fresno's federal courthouse.

It could be rescheduled because the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives hasn't given the court files from its 2005-06 investigation into Holloway, defense attorney Bill Osterhoudt said Monday.

Attorneys will still meet Wednesday morning to discuss possible plea deals for Holloway, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel Montoya said.

Holloway, 62, was arrested with 11 other men in July 2008. Prosecutors say he and his son, Brent, ran a criminal enterprise out of their Denair motorcycle shop.

They're charged with racketeering, running a chop shop, trafficking in stolen motorcycle parts and using violence to collect debts. Authorities say Road Dog was a haven for outlaw motorcycle gangs, including the Hells Angels. A trial date in the case is set for July 10, 2010.

Defense attorneys want the ATF files from 2005-06 because they're trying to prove that the investigation was driven by local law enforcement's obsession with snagging Holloway, a former Stanislaus County sheriff's deputy.

That was a charge made in July by Vince Cefalu, an ATF agent who once supervised the Holloway case. Prosecutors say Cefalu is a disgruntled employee who was unprofessional and difficult to work with.

Cefalu says local law enforcement may have fed false information to the FBI, and that FBI agents used that information to convince a judge to allow them to tap Holloway's phones.

Defense lawyers argue that wiretap evidence should be tossed out if the FBI's wiretap application was based on lies.

Prosecutors say Cefalu, who claims the FBI lied on the wiretap application, left the investigation almost two years before the application was filed.

Earlier this month U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner was sworn in as head of the office prosecuting Holloway. Some have speculated that a new head prosecutor could make the Road Dog case a lower priority. Prosecutors say it will have no effect on the case.

Holloway was in custody at the Fresno County Jail until June, when he was transferred to a Fresno halfway house. He was recently hospitalized to treat an artery blockage, Osterhoudt said.

Three defendants in the Road Dog case have pleaded guilty.

Ray M. Heffington, 41, former president of the Merced chapter of the Hells Angels, admitted to trafficking in stolen motorcycle parts. He was sentenced to 10 months in jail. He received credit for time served and was released from cus- tody in August. Heffington was fined $2,000.

Michael J. Orozco, 52, a leader in the Manteca chapter of the Alky Haulers motorcycle club, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to collect extensions of credit by extortion. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Reynaldo Sotelo, 53, said he conspired with Holloway and others to traffic in motor vehicle parts. Sotelo, of Gilroy, was once chief executive officer of Indian Motorcycle. He has not been sentenced. Sotelo's attorney has said he expects Sotelo to serve six months or less of home detention.

Bee staff writer Leslie Albrecht can be reached at lalbrecht@modbee.com or 578-2378. Follow her at Twitter.com/BeeReporter.