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Security Aviation trial set to begin Monday
COMMANDER: Rocket launchers led to charges against firm, partner.
By LISA DEMER and RICHARD MAUER Anchorage Daily News
Published: May 14, 2006 Last Modified: May 14, 2006 at 04:28 AM
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/security_aviation/story/7727568p-7638994c.html (link may require registering and does contain popups)
With the Security Aviation trial scheduled to start with jury selection Monday, prosecution and defense are struggling over which side will define the scope of the case.
At the center of the trial in U.S. District Court are a pair of Russian-built rocket launchers, remnants of Cold War weaponry capable of being fitted to the nearly equally vintage two-seater L-39 Czech jets that Security Aviation purchased last year. The government says the launchers are "destructive devices" that are felonies to possess unless they've been properly registered.
Lawyers representing the Anchorage air charter company and one of its principals, Rob Kane, hope to limit the trial to the questions of how the launchers got to Anchorage and whether they are showpieces rather than weapons. The worst that happened, the defense has said, is that a minor paperwork violation occurred -- nothing that gives rise to felony weapons charges that could net the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and Kane a prison sentence.
The government hopes to tell the jury a broader story that touches on the mysterious growth of Security Aviation, where Kane and partner Mark Avery spent millions over a few months last year with apparent reckless abandon and little sign of an overall plan for legitimate business. Prosecutors want to show jurors pictures of a weapons arsenal that included combat-assault styles, some of them found in Kane's office at Avery & Associates on C Street in Midtown Anchorage.
It's unclear whether jurors will get to peek into Kane's shadowy world, in which he promoted himself as a CIA, FBI and Navy special operations veteran with a past so secret, he has said, that the government could only deny it. While many of Kane's claims have been shown to be bogus, like his being a Navy Seal, the government has acknowledged that Kane was an FBI informant for a number of years. Prosecutors have filed, under seal, a notice regarding classified information in the case and decline to talk about that.
"The government obviously hopes to shore up the weakness in its case by hoping jurors will conclude Kane is a dangerous, gun-toting nut worthy of conviction of some charge," Kevin Fitzgerald, one of Kane's defense lawyers and a former state prosecutor, wrote in a motion seeking to keep out evidence about guns and hefty spending at Security Aviation.
Neither the prosecutors nor the defense would discuss their trial strategy, including whether Kane or Avery will testify. Avery, a former city and state prosecutor, has not been charged with any crime, but as Security Aviation president, has been appearing for the company in court.
U.S. District Judge John W. Sedwick has ruled against defense efforts to suppress evidence seized in searches of Kane's home, the company's Palmer hangar and other locations.
In its written filings, the defense says the only real issue is whether the rocket launchers were weapons. They weren't configured to fire rockets when Security Aviation bought them, defense lawyers argue, so what matters is whether they could be "readily converted" to do so.
Nothing would happen if someone pressed the switch with a rocket in the launcher, Robert Bundy, one of Security Aviation's lawyers, wrote in a brief filed Monday. "Instead the rocket would just sit peacefully inside the tube."
On Friday afternoon, the government announced in a court filing that it is switching its approach and will attempt to prove that the launchers could actually fire a projectile. It won't be offering expert testimony on whether the launchers could be "readily converted," the notice said.
The government also may try to push beyond that and bring in witnesses to testify about what Kane has said regarding the launchers' use.
In its outline of trial issues, prosecutors say one witness will testify that Kane said, "We can charge high rollers to sit in the back seat and shoot at barges in Prince William Sound."
One important witness -- perhaps for both sides -- is likely to be a former Security Aviation employee, Jim Mendenhall, who had worked as Security's part-time director of business development. It was Mendenhall who spotted an eBay advertisement for the launchers, then -- after being so directed by Kane -- made the arrangements to buy them, according to an FBI report filed in court by the defense. Mendenhall has been granted immunity from prosecution for testifying.
As an employee of Security Aviation before Avery bought the company in July 2005, Mendenhall also witnessed its explosive growth from inside. The FBI said Mendenhall "became frustrated that (Security Aviation) did not have a viable business plan."
By fall, it became apparent to Mendenhall that "both Avery and Kane seemed to know nothing about what they were doing in the aviation business." And by December, the company was "hemorrhaging" money, being taken down by a fleet of aircraft with "no legitimate business purpose," the FBI quoted Mendenhall as saying.
In a brief telephone interview Friday, Mendenhall said elements of the FBI report were inaccurate or overstated his views, though he acknowledges he questioned some of the business dealings.
The government wants jurors to know of Kane's large role at Security Aviation, even though his only title was "Commander." Prosecutors hope to show jurors a DVD of Avery, the company's sole stockholder, presenting Kane with a restored World War II plane, an F4-U Corsair, for his birthday.
But the defense says none of that is necessary because it is not disputing Kane had the authority to approve the purchase of the launchers.
"The government obviously hopes to create antipathy toward Kane based on his rate of compensation, his wealth, or whether he fired somebody," Fitzgerald wrote in a motion filed Wednesday.
In Kane's office, agents found a .50-caliber sniper rifle and scope, five AK-47-style semi-automatic rifles and more than a dozen FN-Five Seven pistols along with ammunition that can pierce body armor.
Most of the weapons were legal, the government acknowledged in its trial brief. Prosecutors say Kane had a key to an armory within Avery & Associates that belonged to licensed gun dealer and manufacturer Dennis Hopper, a paramedic who worked with another Avery company.
"In the gun room were various silenced and unsilenced sniper rifles with tactical scopes, tactical shotguns, assault rifles, submachine guns and one belt-fed machine gun, silencers, and other quasi-law enforcement/military weaponry," assistant U.S. attorney Steven Skrocki wrote in a trial brief.
Kane said all the weaponry was necessary because "people here in Anchorage are going on a mission," according to a government description of expected testimony from an unnamed witness.
The guns are irrelevant, says the defense. They have nothing to do with whether the rocket launchers are destructive devices, Fitzgerald wrote in a motion.
"The government is resorting to a smear campaign in an attempt to convict Kane on the destructive devices charges," he wrote.
But the government says the guns convey state of mind and are beyond what a normal gun enthusiast would possess.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daily News reporter Lisa Demer can be reached at [email protected] and 257-4390. Reporter Richard Mauer can be reached at [email protected] and 257-4345.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Security Aviation on trial
As jury selection begins Monday, here's a look at the company and its two key people:
• the 'Commander': In 2004, Rob Kane started working for Anchorage attorney Mark Avery, ultimately becoming "commander" and de facto chief executive of Security Aviation. Kane is 37.
• the owner: Mark Avery, 47, is a former state and city prosecutor who owns Security Aviation Inc. He has poured tens of millions of dollars into Security Aviation and other ventures, buying intercontinental executive jets, helicopters, turbo props, vintage World War II aircraft and a fleet of Czech-built L-39 two-seater military jets.
• the company: Security Aviation Inc. is an air charter service founded in Anchorage in 1985 by Michael O'Neill and sold to Mark Avery in July 2005. The federal government's case
The U.S. attorney will try to prove three allegations of criminal activity, all felonies.
• Count 1: Conspiracy to receive and possess an unregistered destructive device, charged against Robert Kane. Maximum penalty: five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.
• count 2: Receipt and possession of unregistered destructive devices, charged against Kane and Security Aviation Inc. Maximum penalty: 10 years for Kane, a $250,000 fine for both.
• count 3: Unlawful transportation of destructive devices by Kane and Security Aviation. Maximum penalty: five years against Kane, $250,000 fine against both.
=================================
this guy really takes the cake on being 'tactical'.
COMMANDER: Rocket launchers led to charges against firm, partner.
By LISA DEMER and RICHARD MAUER Anchorage Daily News
Published: May 14, 2006 Last Modified: May 14, 2006 at 04:28 AM
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/security_aviation/story/7727568p-7638994c.html (link may require registering and does contain popups)
With the Security Aviation trial scheduled to start with jury selection Monday, prosecution and defense are struggling over which side will define the scope of the case.
At the center of the trial in U.S. District Court are a pair of Russian-built rocket launchers, remnants of Cold War weaponry capable of being fitted to the nearly equally vintage two-seater L-39 Czech jets that Security Aviation purchased last year. The government says the launchers are "destructive devices" that are felonies to possess unless they've been properly registered.
Lawyers representing the Anchorage air charter company and one of its principals, Rob Kane, hope to limit the trial to the questions of how the launchers got to Anchorage and whether they are showpieces rather than weapons. The worst that happened, the defense has said, is that a minor paperwork violation occurred -- nothing that gives rise to felony weapons charges that could net the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and Kane a prison sentence.
The government hopes to tell the jury a broader story that touches on the mysterious growth of Security Aviation, where Kane and partner Mark Avery spent millions over a few months last year with apparent reckless abandon and little sign of an overall plan for legitimate business. Prosecutors want to show jurors pictures of a weapons arsenal that included combat-assault styles, some of them found in Kane's office at Avery & Associates on C Street in Midtown Anchorage.
It's unclear whether jurors will get to peek into Kane's shadowy world, in which he promoted himself as a CIA, FBI and Navy special operations veteran with a past so secret, he has said, that the government could only deny it. While many of Kane's claims have been shown to be bogus, like his being a Navy Seal, the government has acknowledged that Kane was an FBI informant for a number of years. Prosecutors have filed, under seal, a notice regarding classified information in the case and decline to talk about that.
"The government obviously hopes to shore up the weakness in its case by hoping jurors will conclude Kane is a dangerous, gun-toting nut worthy of conviction of some charge," Kevin Fitzgerald, one of Kane's defense lawyers and a former state prosecutor, wrote in a motion seeking to keep out evidence about guns and hefty spending at Security Aviation.
Neither the prosecutors nor the defense would discuss their trial strategy, including whether Kane or Avery will testify. Avery, a former city and state prosecutor, has not been charged with any crime, but as Security Aviation president, has been appearing for the company in court.
U.S. District Judge John W. Sedwick has ruled against defense efforts to suppress evidence seized in searches of Kane's home, the company's Palmer hangar and other locations.
In its written filings, the defense says the only real issue is whether the rocket launchers were weapons. They weren't configured to fire rockets when Security Aviation bought them, defense lawyers argue, so what matters is whether they could be "readily converted" to do so.
Nothing would happen if someone pressed the switch with a rocket in the launcher, Robert Bundy, one of Security Aviation's lawyers, wrote in a brief filed Monday. "Instead the rocket would just sit peacefully inside the tube."
On Friday afternoon, the government announced in a court filing that it is switching its approach and will attempt to prove that the launchers could actually fire a projectile. It won't be offering expert testimony on whether the launchers could be "readily converted," the notice said.
The government also may try to push beyond that and bring in witnesses to testify about what Kane has said regarding the launchers' use.
In its outline of trial issues, prosecutors say one witness will testify that Kane said, "We can charge high rollers to sit in the back seat and shoot at barges in Prince William Sound."
One important witness -- perhaps for both sides -- is likely to be a former Security Aviation employee, Jim Mendenhall, who had worked as Security's part-time director of business development. It was Mendenhall who spotted an eBay advertisement for the launchers, then -- after being so directed by Kane -- made the arrangements to buy them, according to an FBI report filed in court by the defense. Mendenhall has been granted immunity from prosecution for testifying.
As an employee of Security Aviation before Avery bought the company in July 2005, Mendenhall also witnessed its explosive growth from inside. The FBI said Mendenhall "became frustrated that (Security Aviation) did not have a viable business plan."
By fall, it became apparent to Mendenhall that "both Avery and Kane seemed to know nothing about what they were doing in the aviation business." And by December, the company was "hemorrhaging" money, being taken down by a fleet of aircraft with "no legitimate business purpose," the FBI quoted Mendenhall as saying.
In a brief telephone interview Friday, Mendenhall said elements of the FBI report were inaccurate or overstated his views, though he acknowledges he questioned some of the business dealings.
The government wants jurors to know of Kane's large role at Security Aviation, even though his only title was "Commander." Prosecutors hope to show jurors a DVD of Avery, the company's sole stockholder, presenting Kane with a restored World War II plane, an F4-U Corsair, for his birthday.
But the defense says none of that is necessary because it is not disputing Kane had the authority to approve the purchase of the launchers.
"The government obviously hopes to create antipathy toward Kane based on his rate of compensation, his wealth, or whether he fired somebody," Fitzgerald wrote in a motion filed Wednesday.
In Kane's office, agents found a .50-caliber sniper rifle and scope, five AK-47-style semi-automatic rifles and more than a dozen FN-Five Seven pistols along with ammunition that can pierce body armor.
Most of the weapons were legal, the government acknowledged in its trial brief. Prosecutors say Kane had a key to an armory within Avery & Associates that belonged to licensed gun dealer and manufacturer Dennis Hopper, a paramedic who worked with another Avery company.
"In the gun room were various silenced and unsilenced sniper rifles with tactical scopes, tactical shotguns, assault rifles, submachine guns and one belt-fed machine gun, silencers, and other quasi-law enforcement/military weaponry," assistant U.S. attorney Steven Skrocki wrote in a trial brief.
Kane said all the weaponry was necessary because "people here in Anchorage are going on a mission," according to a government description of expected testimony from an unnamed witness.
The guns are irrelevant, says the defense. They have nothing to do with whether the rocket launchers are destructive devices, Fitzgerald wrote in a motion.
"The government is resorting to a smear campaign in an attempt to convict Kane on the destructive devices charges," he wrote.
But the government says the guns convey state of mind and are beyond what a normal gun enthusiast would possess.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daily News reporter Lisa Demer can be reached at [email protected] and 257-4390. Reporter Richard Mauer can be reached at [email protected] and 257-4345.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Security Aviation on trial
As jury selection begins Monday, here's a look at the company and its two key people:
• the 'Commander': In 2004, Rob Kane started working for Anchorage attorney Mark Avery, ultimately becoming "commander" and de facto chief executive of Security Aviation. Kane is 37.
• the owner: Mark Avery, 47, is a former state and city prosecutor who owns Security Aviation Inc. He has poured tens of millions of dollars into Security Aviation and other ventures, buying intercontinental executive jets, helicopters, turbo props, vintage World War II aircraft and a fleet of Czech-built L-39 two-seater military jets.
• the company: Security Aviation Inc. is an air charter service founded in Anchorage in 1985 by Michael O'Neill and sold to Mark Avery in July 2005. The federal government's case
The U.S. attorney will try to prove three allegations of criminal activity, all felonies.
• Count 1: Conspiracy to receive and possess an unregistered destructive device, charged against Robert Kane. Maximum penalty: five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.
• count 2: Receipt and possession of unregistered destructive devices, charged against Kane and Security Aviation Inc. Maximum penalty: 10 years for Kane, a $250,000 fine for both.
• count 3: Unlawful transportation of destructive devices by Kane and Security Aviation. Maximum penalty: five years against Kane, $250,000 fine against both.
=================================
this guy really takes the cake on being 'tactical'.
