The verdict came in the forfeiture of assets phase of the
case against the club, which was convicted by the same jury on Dec. 13 of
racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering.
Now the trial moves to a third phase, in which U.S. District
Judge David O. Carter will decide how the forfeiture is carried out. But he has
previously said the issues in the novel case will likely wind up being decided
by a higher court.
"You're both setting yourselves up for an appeal that
will go to the Ninth Circuit and then to the U.S. Supreme Court,'' Carter told
the attorneys last month.
Until the verdicts, Carter said he lacked jurisdiction.
"Now the constitutional issues are ripe,'' Carter said
after the verdicts.
The attorneys in the case will file legal briefs arguing
whether the verdicts should be tossed out legal technicalities or on
constitutional grounds. Carter will hear oral arguments on Feb. 28.
Las Vegas attorney Stephen Stubbs, who represents the
Mongols, told reporters after the verdicts, "This is the first time ever
in U.S. history where the government is banning symbols... It's a sad day for
this country, but the fight continues.''
The main items at issue are three trademarks, including the
logo bearing the Genghis Khan character. But there are many other items of
property seized by authorities such as guns, ammunition, leather jackets and
documents of membership lists that could be taken away.
Authorities do not intend to try to take away leather
jackets from members, for instance. Under trademark law, however, the
government will have to use the copyrights in some way or another so they don't
lapse into eminent domain.
If Carter blocks the government from seizing control of the
trademarks, the club could still face a $500,000 fine for a racketeering
conviction.
Stubbs told reporters after the December verdict that the
club, which was formed in late 1969 in Montebello and has members nationwide,
is not a violent criminal organization. He said all of the alleged crimes
discussed in the trial occurred under the leadership of past president Ruben
"Doc''
Cavazos, who was ousted.
"The Mongols recognized he was doing things that were
inappropriate and they kicked him out,'' Stubbs said then. "The Mongols
are not a criminal organization and gang.''
In the racketeering verdict, jurors found that the club was
guilty of dealing cocaine and methamphetamine as well as one attempted murder
and a murder. The jurors deadlocked 10-2 for "not proven'' on one
attempted murder and "not proven'' on two murders.
But under the conspiracy conviction, the jurors validated
multiple alleged incidents of violence, including murders and attempted murders
as well as drug dealing.
Under the racketeering count, the jurors did not find the
government should have the authority to seize the assets, but they cleared the
way for it under the conspiracy count.
"I feel it was clear it was a compromise verdict,''
Stubbs said.
During the five-week first phase of the trial, Assistant
U.S. Attorney Steven Welk argued that the patches Mongols wear on their leather
jackets -- depicting a muscle-armed, ponytailed Asian man on a motorcycle --
are meant to be "messages and signals'' to rival gang members and even the
general public that Mongols should be feared.
Welk noted that Mongols are instructed to not wear their
leather jackets with patches in a car, and when they drive a car they are
taught to fold them in a way to conceal their affiliation with the club from
police.
"It's all about protecting themselves because they are
a paranoid organization,'' Welk told the jury. "They're fearful and deeply
suspicious of the government.''
He presented testimony in an effort to show a "lengthy
parade of cruelty'' by the club's members. Welk argued that the club's members
commit a range of crimes from drug trafficking to murder, all in service to the
organization and at the direction of its leaders.
And he said when club members commit murder, they wear a
specific skull-and-crossbones patch like a badge of honor.
But the club's attorney, Joseph A. Yanny, accused the
government of going after the organization for racial reasons.
"I believe this group has been targeted because they
have a lot of Mexican-Americans in there,'' Yanny said during his closing
argument last month.
Yanny argued that the members who have committed crimes were
kicked out for violating "zero tolerance'' policies against illicit
activity that draws the attention of law enforcement.
Yanny accused federal prosecutors of taking the
"wrongful acts of a few individuals'' and escalate it to a "group
conviction.''
"These are ordinary people,'' he said of his clients.
"They are hardworking people. You don't see the Hell's Angels here. You
see the Mongols and minorities are easy to pick on and they typically don't
fight like these guys do.''
Among the people who testified during the trial was former
pro wrestler and ex-Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, who joined the Mongols in the
1970s.
Ventura told City News Service that he considered the
government's attempts to seize the club's trademark as a threat to the First
Amendment.
"This is bigger than the Mongols club,'' Ventura said
last month. "You've got the government... telling you what you can and
cannot wear.''
He added, "The First Amendment is to protect unpopular
speech. ... Some people may think the
Mongols are horrible, but they still have equal rights under the Bill of
Rights. ... Who's next? The Shriners? Where does it end? It's a First Amendment
issue top to bottom.''
SOURCE: KTLA5
