Lawyers deny inmates trying to take over prisons

Defense attorneys for members of the Aryan Warriors on Tuesday denied that their clients belonged to a menacing prison gang aiming to take control of the prison system.

Instead, the collection of white inmates only banded together to protect themselves from other races inside the Nevada State Prison system, the lawyers said.

During opening statements for six members of the Aryan Warriors, attorney Osvaldo Fumo told jurors that his client, Charles Gensemer, associated with white inmates because everyone inside the prison is segregated by race.

He and other attorneys rejected the federal government's assertion that the Aryan Warriors are a criminal enterprise that preached white supremacy, assaulted inmates, dealt drugs and operated illegal gambling rings. They denied members corrupted guards and dominated Nevada prisons through intimidation and illegal money-making operations.

If the government proves that Aryan Warriors members acted as an enterprise, their punishment can be enhanced if they are convicted. Fumo said no criminal organization existed and that the inmates became friends because black and Hispanic inmates outnumbered them.

"There is no agreement with these people. It's life," Fumo said. "They stick together because they are minorities."

The government's first witness offered a detailed account of an elaborate scheme to control the prisons by beating fellow inmates, selling methamphetamine and marijuana and running sports-betting rings both inside and beyond the prison walls.

Michael Kennedy was an Aryan Warriors bolt holder, meaning he was third in command.

He said the gang scanned court records and other documents when new inmates arrived at prison facilities. They looked for potential prospects and weeded out snitches or inmates who had entered plea agreements, a sign of weakness. They targeted unwanted newcomers, especially men who hurt elderly women or child molesters, known as "chomos."

"We'd get the child molesters. We'd clean our backyards," Kennedy said.

They befriended citizens on the outside by logging onto penpals.com. Those acquaintances would send money or smuggle drugs into the prison by stuffing them in condoms and hiding it in their private parts.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Bliss said the sister and mother of Charles Axtell, an Aryan Warrior who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges last week, attempted to hide marijuana and methamphetamine in plants delivered for a "beautification project" at Ely State Prison.

Guards were bribed with drugs or cash to help the gang, according to Kennedy. One senior guard, a woman, visited his wing on her breaks and had sex with his cellmate, and she delivered marijuana or special treats such as Subway sandwiches and amaretto-flavored coffee sweetener, he said.

The Aryan Warriors communicated by placing notes in books from the law library or giving written messages to inmates who picked up laundry or food trays from cells.

Kennedy, who is serving at least 20 years for a fatal drug-induced car accident, said he became a prospect in 1997. As an underling, he was responsible for making and storing weapons. Higher-ups were above that task because getting caught meant spending a year in "the hole," or solitary confinement. Time served in the hole means one hour "out of your house" every day and a shower every three days, Kennedy said.

Weapons were made from metal L-shaped brackets taken from chow hall tables or from Plexiglass, which Kennedy said breaks on impact and keeps the victim from escaping. Kennedy also built weapons by melting the plastic on his toothbrush and embedding it with razor blades, creating an ideal slashing tool, he said.

In 2004 Kennedy fell out of favor with the gang's upper echelon because leaders did not believe he was giving them enough money from his sports-betting operation.

"I learned I was going to be blooded out if they could get a hold of me," Kennedy said. "It concerned me every day."

In September 2004, Kennedy was working in the prison yard when an Aryan Warriors prospect and his associates jumped him.

"They blooded me out," Kennedy said. "They stabbed me in the neck. They stabbed me in the head. They stabbed me in the side."

The assault stopped only when a security guard fired shots from a nearby tower, he explained. When asked what "blooded out" meant, the 37-year-old explained, "I don't mean nothing to them anymore. I'm done."

Kennedy signed a plea agreement with the government but said he was not promised a more lenient sentence by testifying against his former associates.

During the government's opening statements, Bliss told jurors that Aryan Warriors demanded respect not only from members, but other inmates too. When an elderly black inmate refused to obey the group's orders in 2001, he was stabbed 16 times while everybody watched.

"This is about a bond, an agreement," she said of the Aryan Warriors.

Aside from Gensemer, the other defendants include James Wallis, Ronnie Lee Jones, Kenneth Krum, Michael Yost and Robert Young. They face charges that include racketeering, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and assault with a dangerous weapon.

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.