June 15, 2010 in Idaho

Steele pleads not guilty shortly after bomb discovered

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Kootenai County Sheriff's Department photo

Edgar Steele’s booking photo after he was arrested on June 11, 2010, on a federal charge that he hired someone to kill his wife and mother-in-law.
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Coeur d’Alene auto shop employees found a pipe bomb attached to an SUV belonging to the alleged victim in a murder plot Tuesday, just hours before her husband pleaded not guilty to a murder-for-hire charge in federal court.

Police confirmed that the device removed Tuesday from a car registered to Edgar J. Steele, who has been in custody since Friday, was explosive and required detonation by a Spokane bomb squad.

The discovery came just hours before Steele, 64, acted as his own attorney during a 45-minute hearing in U.S. District Court attended by his wife and son.

Steele, known for his unsuccessful defense of the Aryan Nations in the landmark 2000 case that bankrupted the racist group, pleaded with U.S. District Court Judge Candy Dale to release him from jail before next week’s bail hearing to tend to his clients and “put my affairs in order.”

“I’m certainly no threat to witnesses or jurors and there’s no evidence – absolutely no evidence – to support that,” Steele said.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Traci Whelan told Dale that developments “within the last few hours” show Steele is “a substantial risk to the public,” and the judge ordered Steele held pending next week’s hearing.

Whelan was referring to the discovery of a bomb on the black 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor Limited that a woman drove to the Fast Lane Quick Lube at West Bosanko Avenue and U.S. Highway 95 in Coeur d’Alene, about 12:30 p.m. That same car was targeted in an alleged murder plot authorities say was planned for last Friday.

A worker saw what appeared to be a pipe bomb attached to the bottom of the car, removed the vehicle from the shop bay and called police, prompting an evacuation of nearby businesses and a closure of U.S. 95.

A bomb squad unit from Spokane detonated the device, said Lt. Jay Heintz of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. It was deemed to be explosive, but Heintz provided no additional detail.

Police also were looking at another car parked at the lube shop that may contain evidence, Heintz said.

The bomb was a 1-foot piece of galvanized pipe with cap screws, with two fuses attached to the exhaust system, shop employees said.

Workers said they were more stunned than shaken when they discovered it during a routine chassis inspection, which comes with an oil change.

“Usually, we find things like sticks,” said technician Josh Young, who first spotted the device. “We’re talking Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Nothing ever happens like this.”

Co-worker Charles Tyron said, “We were all down there gawking at it.”

Young said, “I brought her (the driver) down to show it to her. She was surprised to see it. She made comments about death threats. Her family had some issue.”

Tyron said the car’s driver was “lucky it didn’t get hot enough to ignite.”

Steele’s wife and son were at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene about 4:30 p.m. for his first court appearance, where he asked to be released while awaiting a bail hearing scheduled for next Tuesday. The judge declined and ordered Steele not to contact his mother-in-law and wife.

Steele called the order “an unconscionable” assault on his marriage and asked Dale to consult Steele’s wife and son before ruling, saying they “are in no danger from me.

“They know me far better than the U.S. government does,” Steele said. “The United States government is doing everything in its power to try to drive a wedge between me and my wife,”

Steele’s wife and son, who appeared to be in his early 20s, declined interviews but spoke with Whelan at the hearing and communicated with Steele before the no-contact order.

Steele’s wife cried after the hearing and slammed her hand against a wall outside the courtroom.

“I need to be allowed to talk to my husband – I need to not be stripped of my car,” she said to court officials.

She met with federal authorities in the U.S. attorney’s office before being driven from the building. Authorities said she wasn’t in protective custody early that afternoon, but it’s unclear if that changed after the bomb was discovered.

Steele was scheduled to appear in court Monday, but the hearing was delayed after the U.S. attorney’s office in the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene received a letter containing a suspicious white powder and was evacuated. There’s no indication the powder is connected to Steele’s case.

Steele is charged with use of interstate commerce in the commission of murder for hire; the man he allegedly hired told the FBI of the plot, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The informant had known Steele for several years and said he heard him talk six months ago about people he wanted to kill, including his wife and mother-in-law, who lives in Oregon. The informant said he was to be paid $25,000 to make the murders appear to be automobile accidents. If Steele collected on an insurance policy, the informant would receive an additional $100,000, according to the affidavit.

The informant met with Steele in a FBI-monitored meeting June 9 at Steele’s home at 1569 Talache Road, about 10 miles south of Sandpoint near Shepherd Lake. The murders were planned for Friday; Steele said “that if the Black Endeavor were to leave he guaranteed that his wife would be driving it,” according to affidavit.

Steele gave the informant $400 to cover travel expenses to Oregon, which the informant gave to the FBI, according to the affidavit.

The informant met with Steele again on Thursday, this time wearing a recording device. The affidavit says Steele told the informant “he would receive payment when confirmation of death was received and Edgar Steele was not considered a suspect.”

Staff writers Becky Kramer, Carolyn Lamberson and Sara Leaming contributed to this report.

Eight comments on this story so far. Add yours!

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  Charlie on June 15 at 4:43 p.m.

  and the plot thickens, what next?

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  Silas on June 15 at 5:01 p.m.

  Car Bombs? Because that’s how to make it look like an accident. Laughable. This wreaks of Federal Agent setup.

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  Semaj on June 15 at 9:36 p.m.

  Fuses against the exhaust pipe?… Guess they failed Bomb 101…

  Good for the intended victims that the bomber was also an idiot..

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  Lawyer235 on June 15 at 10:34 p.m.

  Great editing, folks - first we see that Steele pleads “not gulity”, and then it turns out to have something to do with death “treats”!

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  carolynl on June 15 at 10:50 p.m.

  Lawyer235: Those errors have been fixed. Thank you for pointing them out.

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  Russ on June 16 at 7:22 a.m.

  Notice the contradictions in this story. Informant goes to FbI and implicates Steele wants Wife murdered in “car accident”. Now we find a few days later with Steele in jail that a pipe bomb is under the car. If Steele was going to pay for an “accident” and the informant was working with the FBI then how did the bomb get there. I can tell you, this is a frame up of a man that has worked on behalf of those who are not so popular merely to stand up for freedom of speech and expression. Steele was targeted not so long ago with telephone death threats and has been on the ADL’s list for extermination for some time. Isn’t it funny how all whom are considered enemies of ADL and Jewish supremacists end up being charged with something, true or not. Remember how they hounded David Duke. When they cannot get you to do anything illegal then it appears something is made up to destroy anyone who tells the truth. Ask yourself this: Why would a man that just came out of the hospital around Christmas immediately start planning the murder of his closest people? No, near death makes people closer. This is another randy Weaver in my book, or perhaps a Matt Hale. I will not believe a man of the intelligence as Steele would be so stupid and plan something so juvenile. Besides, if Steele wanted to murder someone I am sure it would NOT be his Wife and family. Our government is going too far. Denied bail for what reason? He has no criminal history. Voice tapes can be made of a person’s voice if that person has a lot of voice tapes out in the public, which Steele does. Today’s technology can do anything and make anyone look guilty. Steele is NOT guilty and I know it. Pipe bombs under cars when FBI knew prior that a car accident was the supposed murder weapon is crazy. Why did FBI not check? Why did FBI not contact Wife and tell her not to go near car? Because the story is untrue. Someone wanted to make Steel lok guilty or wanted him dead or both, but when informant said accident, then a bomb is found, who put it there, since the informant was working for FBI? One of Steele’s children could have driven the car. Do you people not see the holes in this story? Big gaping holes and contradictions. Just my opinions, so please don’t arrest me next. :)

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  Russ on June 16 at 7:40 a.m.

  Let’s just say you are FBI and you arrest Steele. Wouldn’t the next thing you do is have someone close to the supposed victim and make sure the auto that was supposed to be the death weapon, was safe? Why two days later a bomb is found? of course that would be obvious and not accidental and would be easy to find if Steele had any knowledge of how to make such.
  It sounds to me like whoever is wanting to set up Steele failed when the bomb did not go off. The so called informant went to FBI thinking bomb was set. Funny that part was missing in his information. I think the FBI best check the informant out very carefully. This smells real bad and the way the media tries a person before he is guilty is obscene. Racist, nazi and defender of such and such. Media makes an impartial jury impossible. Just because white folks protest our enslavement does not make us anything. I remember Blacks burning Los Angeles and they are considered heros today who were only fighting for their civil rights. Why when a white organization protests and speaks about the unjust system, are we considered racists, nazis and anti-semites, even acting peacefully? it seems those are key propaganda words to defuse the topic and smear the person, who has to resort to defending his name, so all subject matter is lost. I say let the facts come out and until then the media should stop the “Hate Lawyer arrested” type headlines for their biased stories. Just my opinions now, or is it illegal for me to have an independent thought? I think it’s coming to that if ADL and other hate orginizations have their way..

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  TomAdams on June 21 at 9:16 a.m.

  There are a lot of holes in the federal story, however, there are also a lot of missing parts to old Edgar’s story. Knowing this man from days living in Sandpoint, he is filled with hatred and spews considerable vitriolic blather towards anyone willing to debate him, or disagree with his ideas. It would be quite like him in a moment of anger, for he is very tempermental, to declare he wanted his family members killed…you choose the reason, and not really mean it. But this time it went a step to far, and the ever encroaching government reps waere there to take full advantage. Mrs. Steele will be most interesting to hear from, and she is a strong woman quite capable of taking care of herself. Good luck to Mrs. Steele and the son and daughter. They are going to need it.