August 4, 2010
Pagans describe cocaine use at their St. Albans clubhouse
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Cocaine use was common at the St. Albans clubhouse of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, but it was often hidden because the club's national vice president didn't approve of drug use, several Pagans said Wednesday.

Their testimony came during the trial of Eric "Fritz" Wolfe, 43, of St. Albans, who is charged with being an illegal drug user in possession of a gun.

Wolfe is the last of 55 defendants named in a sweeping, 44-count racketeering indictment against members and associates of the Pagans Motorcycle Club unsealed in October to have charges pending against him.

In the last few weeks, two other defendants have gone to trial, resulting in one conviction and one acquittal. All of the other defendants have either entered plea deals, many to vastly reduced charges, or entered into agreements where their charges will be dismissed if they stay out of trouble for a year.

Wolfe was a member of the Charleston chapter of the Pagans, whose territory included West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, Virginia, New York and Florida.

On Wednesday, several other members, who have all entered into their own plea deals with federal prosecutors, said they saw Wolfe use cocaine multiple times at the Pagans' clubhouse in St. Albans during the first half of 2009.

Floyd B. "Jesse" Moore, 65, of St. Albans, testified that he talked to Wolfe several times about his drug use. As the national vice president, Moore was superior to Wolfe in the club's hierarchy.

"You're in the bag too much, you've borrowed money from people," Moore said he told Wolfe. As someone who did shift work with lots of overtime, Wolfe was often excused from attending Pagans events because he was working, Moore said.

But all those hours should have meant that Wolfe earned plenty of money, and should not have needed to borrow any money, which Moore attributed to his drug use.

Moore said that his subordinates in the club knew that he didn't approve of drug use, so they tried to hide it from him, snorting the drug in the clubhouse's bathroom and basement. Sometimes, they went across the street to do drugs in their parked cars, he said.

"I mean, it's not for the air conditioning," he said of small groups visiting their cars together. "There's air conditioning in the clubhouse."

Donnie Ray "Hoss" Workman, 36, of Red House, said that he bought cocaine and brought it to church, as the Pagans called their weekly meeting at the clubhouse on Saturday nights, on an average of two weekends a month.

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Pagans describe cocaine use at their St. Albans clubhouse

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Cocaine use was common at the St. Albans clubhouse of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, but it was often hidden because the club's national vice president didn't approve of drug use, several Pagans said Wednesday.

Their testimony came during the trial of Eric "Fritz" Wolfe, 43, of St. Albans, who is charged with being an illegal drug user in possession of a gun.

Wolfe is the last of 55 defendants named in a sweeping, 44-count racketeering indictment against members and associates of the Pagans Motorcycle Club unsealed in October to have charges pending against him.

In the last few weeks, two other defendants have gone to trial, resulting in one conviction and one acquittal. All of the other defendants have either entered plea deals, many to vastly reduced charges, or entered into agreements where their charges will be dismissed if they stay out of trouble for a year.

Wolfe was a member of the Charleston chapter of the Pagans, whose territory included West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, Virginia, New York and Florida.

On Wednesday, several other members, who have all entered into their own plea deals with federal prosecutors, said they saw Wolfe use cocaine multiple times at the Pagans' clubhouse in St. Albans during the first half of 2009.

Floyd B. "Jesse" Moore, 65, of St. Albans, testified that he talked to Wolfe several times about his drug use. As the national vice president, Moore was superior to Wolfe in the club's hierarchy.

"You're in the bag too much, you've borrowed money from people," Moore said he told Wolfe. As someone who did shift work with lots of overtime, Wolfe was often excused from attending Pagans events because he was working, Moore said.

But all those hours should have meant that Wolfe earned plenty of money, and should not have needed to borrow any money, which Moore attributed to his drug use.

Moore said that his subordinates in the club knew that he didn't approve of drug use, so they tried to hide it from him, snorting the drug in the clubhouse's bathroom and basement. Sometimes, they went across the street to do drugs in their parked cars, he said.

"I mean, it's not for the air conditioning," he said of small groups visiting their cars together. "There's air conditioning in the clubhouse."

Donnie Ray "Hoss" Workman, 36, of Red House, said that he bought cocaine and brought it to church, as the Pagans called their weekly meeting at the clubhouse on Saturday nights, on an average of two weekends a month.

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