Hells Angels judge’s status in limbo

Monday, May 2, 2005 | 9:47 a.m.

After threatening defense attorneys representing members of the Hells Angels with possible disbarment if they were not prepared for trial, it may turn out that District Judge Donald Mosley won't even be presiding over their case.

Mosley said Friday he is leaning toward having a senior judge take over the case, although he hasn't totally ruled out having a senior judge taking over his daily criminal calendar so he can stay on the case.

Several members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang are charged with murder in the riot at the 2002 Laughlin River Run that resulted in the deaths of 50-year-old Robert Emmet Tumelty, 27-year-old Jeramie Dean Bell and 43-year-old Anthony Salvador Barrera.

The killings occurred during a brawl between members of the Hells Angels and the rival Mongols at Harrah's Laughlin.

Making Mosley's status in the case even more uncertain was word that defense attorney Tom Pitaro has joined the Hells Angels' defense team. Mosley recuses himself from most cases involving Pitaro because Pitaro previously served as Mosley's attorney.

Pitaro represents Mosley in an ongoing custody battle between the judge and the mother of his 11-year-old son and represented the judge in 2002 during judicial misconduct hearings before the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline.

Weeks earlier a similar conflict caused Mosley to sever the Mongols defendants from the case and give them a separate trial.

Mosley recused himself from hearing the Mongols' case after defense attorney Dominic Gentile substituted into the case to defend Mongols member Alexander Alcantar.

Gentile represented Mosley after the judge fumed over what he said were false and libelous campaign ads and filed a defamation lawsuit against challenger Peter Flangas.

Gentile also represented Mosley during proceedings before the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission. Mosley was accused of violating 10 judicial canons during three incidents between 1997 and 1999. The judge was ultimately fined and issued strong letters of censure for violations of the judicial code.

The Mongols defendants are still waiting to see which judge will handle their case, and when the trial will occur.

Mosley said he would soon announce whether he would recuse himself. Mosley said he has a "certain need to maintain my calendar" reasoning it would be very difficult for him to return to his caseload after what could be a six-month-long Hells Angels trial.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Owens said he would prefer Molsey staying on as judge because of his obvious familiarity with the complex case.

None of the defense attorneys had any comment as to whether Mosley should hand the case off to a senior judge or whether he should recuse himself.

While those issues won't be resolved until next week, it seems the issue of whether or not the defense attorneys had access to the same videotape evidence prosecutors have recovered from the security cameras at Harrah's has been resolved.

Owens and the defense attorneys told Mosley on Friday that the defense has access to every tape involved in the case.

Mosley's frustration over this issue boiled over April 22 when he made it clear he felt the defense attorneys were only claiming they didn't have full access to the tapes because they wanted to get the trial postponed from its current July 25 date.

During that hearing the judge said he would request a show cause hearing before Chief Judge Nancy Hardcastle and a jury to determine whether the defense attorneys have been acting in bad faith and trying to "manufacture a new trial date."

Mosley said if any of the lawyers were found to be engaging in such conduct at the show cause hearing he would contact the Nevada Bar Association and seek to have the licenses of those attorneys "suspended indefinitely."