Outlaws president to be sentenced in federal court today

OFF THE WIRE
The national president of the American Outlaws Association is facing up to 23 years in prison today, brought down by federal agents posing as bikers and a witness dubbed "Madman."
Jack Rosga, a 54-year-old widower from Milwaukee said to be a hardworking businessman and devoted grandfather with no prior criminal record, will be sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.
In court papers, Rosga's lawyers wrote, "As Jack Rosga has travelled and lived through the years of his life, he has left countless individuals with the very real impression of a generous, kind and industrious man with a huge heart."
They point out that the top undercover agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who investigated Rosga testified he liked him.
But the U.S. attorney's office says Rosga, known as "Milwaukee Jack," has a dark side he kept out of the public eye, one that warrants a maximum sentence from Hudson.
"The defendant is a committed member of the criminal way of life," prosecutors wrote of Rosga, who became the Outlaws' leader in 2006.
"The Outlaws gang is violent at its core," the government adds in court documents. "Not only did the national leader do nothing to stem the violence in this organization, he actively sought to promote violence."
The jury in his first trial deadlocked. In his second trial in December, Rosga was convicted of conspiracy to engage in racketeering and conspiracy to commit violence in aid of racketeering.
He and three others appearing before Hudson today are the last motorcycle gxxg members to be sentenced as a result of a sweeping indictment in June against 27 bikers, most of them members or former members of the Outlaws and a few with the allied Pagans club.
Seventeen pleaded guilty, two were acquitted, charges were dismissed against two, and one was shot to death in Maine when authorities attempted to arrest him. Five, including Rosga, were found guilty in jury trials.
The 12-count indictment alleged the gang engaged in attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, robbery, extortion, witness intimidation, narcotics distribution, illegal gambling and weapons violations.
Those charged were members in Wisconsin, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia. The indictment alleged the Outlaws used violence to expand their influence and control against rival motorcycle gangs.
The investigation began when undercover ATF agents — at the invitation of the Outlaws — established an Outlaws clubhouse in Petersburg.
Authorities alleged the Outlaws wanted to move into central Virginia and challenge the Hells Angels, a longtime rival gang.
A key witness against Rosga was former professional wrestler Michael "Madman" Pedini, an Outlaws enforcer in Maine who admitted wounding a member of the Hells Angels in a shooting he said was ordered by Rosga.
Rosga's lawyers complain that while 23 years is being sought for Rosga, who has no criminal record, Pedini, who has several pending drug charges, was sentenced to 63 months.
His lawyers are asking for a sentence lower than the 189 to 237 months called for by federal sentencing guidelines.
The toughest punishment yet imposed in the case was less than 10 years for Leslie Werth, 47, with the club's Rock Hill, S.C., chapter.
Papers filed by the government concede it is asking for the stiffest sentence yet for Rosga, but among other things, the government argues he was the leader of the violent organization.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/apr/08/TDMET01-outlaws-president-to-be-sentenced-in-feder-ar-958640/