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FRESNO: Road Dog Cycle owner pleads guilty to racketeeringJun 22, 2010 (The Modesto Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A former Stanislaus County sheriff's deputy and motorcycle shop owner pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge in federal court today. Robert Holloway, 62, admitted that he extended lines of credit to members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, and then used extortion to make them repay. Prosectors said Holloway used violence to collect debts and operated a chop shop out of Road Dog Cycle in Denair. He was arrested in July 2008 after a grand jury indicted him and 11 other men, including his son, on federal racketeering charges. Defense attorney Roger Vehrs said today's plea, at a hearing set to consider the admissibility of wiretap evidence, brings to a conclusion "a very unusual kind of racketeering case." He said Holloway was charged with "damage to a reputation by extortionate means." "How do you damage the reputation of a Hells Angel?" Vehrs said. But Holloway admitted what he did was illegal. "Bob said, 'Yeah, that shouldn't have happened. Now I want to get this behind me and move on with my life'," Vehrs said. He said they are hoping for a sentence of 51 months -- or a little over four years -- when Holloway returns to federal court for a sentencing hearing in September. With credit for time served, Holloway would be facing an additional three years in prison. To see more of The Modesto Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.modbee.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Modesto Bee, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |