Bandidos leaders plead not guilty to charges

SEATTLE – Two leaders of the Bandidos biker club pleaded not guilty to federal charges as more than a dozen people arrested in a three-state bust of the alleged crime ring made their first appearances in U.S. District Court.

Among the 15 defendants in court Friday were the group’s international president, George Wegers, 52, and Hugh Gale Henschel, its national sergeant-at-arms.

Both men pleaded not guilty to charges against them, including violent crime in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to tamper with a witness.

After a two-year investigation, federal agents and police launched an offensive against the gang Thursday, serving arrest and search warrants in Washington, Montana and South Dakota. Nineteen people were arrested.

U.S. Attorney John McKay in Seattle said the crackdown against the Bandidos was likely the nation’s most significant bust of a motorcycle gang in 20 years. The sweep was centered on Bellingham, where authorities say the Bandidos based their international criminal network.

“On the backs of Harleys, they brought violence and guns to Whatcom County and across the Northwest,” McKay told a news conference.

All defendants appearing Friday either pleaded not guilty or declined to immediately enter a plea.

Afterward, Wegers turned to two of his supporters and said, “I’m not guilty, you know, so it’s not going to be a problem.”

His attorney, Jeffrey Lustick of Bellingham, said the charges were a case of guilt by association.

“What’s interesting is that some of the charges are a complete surprise to him,” Lustick said. “He doesn’t remember being in the places he was alleged to have been or making the statements he was alleged to have made.”

Wegers’ former brother-in-law, Tracy Latham of Bellingham, said Friday that Wegers gave him a place to stay and helped him find work when he was a troubled teenager.

“He helps people out. He’s not this guy who he’s alleged to be,” Latham said.

Agents were still pursuing 10 others wanted in the investigation. The fugitives – including Bandidos secretary Christopher Horlock, 44, of Bellingham, and Missoula chapter president Bernard Russell Ortman – were among 26 people named in two federal indictments. The first indictment, covering 22 people, alleged crimes such as kidnapping, assault, witness tampering and dealing in drugs and stolen motorcycles. The second charged four people with illegal weapons possession.

The Bandidos have about 170 chapters in 14 countries, including 90 in the U.S. and 14 in Washington state, the indictment said. Membership is estimated at 2,400 bikers, all of whom must ride Harley-Davidson bikes.

The 300 agents working the case also served 19 search warrants, including one at a Harley-Davidson dealership in Bellingham. They seized weapons, drugs, stolen motorcycles and more than $25,000 in cash.

The Bandidos have operated for more than two decades in Bellingham, said Police Chief Randy Carroll, and they staged picnics and performed other civic activities to mask their criminal enterprise.