1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:05,920 Speaker 1: Live Wire is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Modulator Media. 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,799 Speaker 1: Previously on live Wire the Loud Life and Shocking Murder 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:11,880 Speaker 1: of Alan Burd. 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 2: The FEDS took a very we'd have to call it 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:23,240 Speaker 2: a primary role in investigating the Area Nations as a whole, 6 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 2: because they were putting together a RICO prosecution based out 7 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 2: of Seattle. 8 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 3: They found a murder weapon in one of the homes 9 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 3: of Gary Yarborough, who was one of the order defendants, 10 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 3: one of the people suspected in the armored car robbery, 11 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 3: and so the birdcase became part of our overall effort. 12 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 4: Agents last October raided his home in Standpoint, Idaho. 13 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: It was in that raid that they recovered a submachine. 14 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 5: Gun like this a'm mac kinn, capable of. 15 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: Firing one thousand rounds per minute. 16 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 4: The ammunition for them, MA ten is forty five caliber slugs, 17 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 4: the same type bullets that killed Alan Berg. There were 18 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 4: several that were drawn to Bob Matthews, whom we had 19 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:21,680 Speaker 4: just previously encountered in an hotel in Oregon and had 20 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 4: engaged in a gunbatt over one FB agent. FBI agent 21 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,320 Speaker 4: was shot and Bob Matthews was shot in the hand, 22 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 4: and he had escaped and had taken refuge in a 23 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:41,680 Speaker 4: cabin and went along the shoreline of of the ocean 24 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 4: with the island. We moved in to make an arrest 25 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 4: on him, and he opened fire on us at the 26 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 4: house where he was fighting out. He was the only 27 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 4: one left in the house at that time. And then 28 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:09,799 Speaker 4: eventually the encounter led into the light in the morning, 29 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:16,239 Speaker 4: we found Matthews was dead inside the house. 30 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 3: By that time that they accumulated a huge amount of 31 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 3: information about the group and its activities and its members. 32 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 3: So by the time we had that standoff in Wouldn't 33 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 3: Be Island, they had accumulated most of the information that 34 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 3: we would need for our indictment. 35 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: Following the lengthy firefight that ended with the death of 36 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: the order's leader, Robert Matthews, the mission to bring this 37 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:46,080 Speaker 1: white supremacist militia to justice preceded in earnest. One by one, 38 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: federal officials began the process of indicting a variety of 39 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 1: individuals involved in this criminal enterprise bent on installing a 40 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: new racist order in the United States government, and as 41 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: the details of this group's crimes emerged, the lead up 42 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,239 Speaker 1: to the trial became a media fixation. 43 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 6: This is the arraignment that I remember most vividly because 44 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 6: it was in downtown Atlanta. I believe it was in 45 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 6: a federal courthouse, and there were media lined up waiting 46 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 6: for the arraignment, so it was a beehive of activity. 47 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: That's koa radio reporter Lori Cantillo, a friend and colleague 48 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: of Allen Berg's, who covered every element of this high 49 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:31,959 Speaker 1: profile trial. 50 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 7: I was sort of a rising reporter with the station, 51 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:42,280 Speaker 7: and I love to challenge. I believe I pitched for 52 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 7: that that. I said that I would love to work on. 53 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 8: This case, and. 54 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 6: I also have had an interest in. 55 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 7: Hate groups and so forth, so I think I must 56 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 7: have pitched for that. I did most of the early 57 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 7: leg work, and like I said, the arraignments and arrests 58 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 7: of the members of the order. 59 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 6: I had a listed phone number in the phone book, 60 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 6: and one night, in the middle of the night, I 61 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 6: picked up the phone and it was a prank call, 62 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 6: and it was somebody talking like Alan Berg after he 63 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 6: had died, just to harass me, I think. But that 64 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:30,279 Speaker 6: was a very disturbing moment for me, and I remember 65 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 6: immediately unlisting my number after that happened. 66 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 5: Twenty three members of the extremist group known as the 67 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 5: Order are accused of murders, armed robberies, counterfeiting, and an 68 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 5: arson attempt at an actuated theater in Seattle, all to 69 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 5: further their message of hate. The underground network came to 70 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 5: light after a fiery shootout on Whitby Island in Washington State, 71 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 5: in which leader Robert Matthews were killed. 72 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:56,479 Speaker 1: In all, twenty three members of the Order were indicted 73 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: by a federal grand jury based in Seattle for a 74 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: variety of including two armored car robberies in Seattle, counterfeiting, 75 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: the bombing of a synagogue in Boise, Idaho, the Yucaya, 76 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: California Brinks armored truck robbery that netted the group three 77 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:15,280 Speaker 1: point six million dollars, and of course, their involvement in 78 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 1: the murder of alan Berg. Twelve of the twenty three 79 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: indicted members pleaded guilty. The long trial outlined in impressive 80 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: detail how these crimes were carried out and when it 81 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: came to the murder of alan Berg. Prosecutors presented the 82 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: links the group went to in silencing this prolific radio voice. 83 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 1: Here is David Heckenbach of the Denver District Attorney's office, 84 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: followed by US Attorney Peter Robinson, who worked out of 85 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:43,440 Speaker 1: the Federal office in Northern California. 86 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 2: Once they were able to tell us the story and 87 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:53,599 Speaker 2: what they understood about the drive from I think it 88 00:05:53,640 --> 00:06:00,600 Speaker 2: was Cordelaine, Idaho, down to Denver, the FB I could 89 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 2: check the phone records at furious. I mean, the leg 90 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 2: work involved was something staggering. But because there's an awful 91 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:13,479 Speaker 2: lot of payphones back in that day there were no 92 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 2: such thing as a cell phones. 93 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 3: We were trying to figure out how this was going 94 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 3: to work once we got details. But at some point 95 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 3: we decided we should combine our forces and try to 96 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 3: prosecute these people all in one case. And then once 97 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 3: we did that, then we agreed to do it in 98 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 3: Seattle because that seemed like more of the hub of 99 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 3: where the crimes had been committed. And also San Francisco. 100 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,159 Speaker 3: You know, it was more of a defense friendly jurisdiction. 101 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,160 Speaker 3: The defense lawyers were more skilled, the judges were more liberal. 102 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:50,040 Speaker 3: So just from the government's point of view, it was 103 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 3: like a better venue to have a more you know, 104 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 3: pro law enforcement venue. 105 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 1: I'm a journalists in filmmaker Tellent Panschewski, and this is 106 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: episode nine the trial of the Order. Even with the 107 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: details of their crimes uncovered by the collaborative efforts of 108 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: federal and local investigators in a number of states, sorting 109 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: out an ironclad racketeering case would be challenging well. 110 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 3: The racketeering statute required basically that the government proved that 111 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 3: there was an enterprise that engaged in two or more 112 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 3: federal crimes, and so we described the Order as the 113 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 3: enterprise and then listed the various crimes that the members 114 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 3: had committed in furtherance of that enterprise, and those included 115 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 3: the murder of Alan Berg and another individual named Walter West, 116 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 3: who had been suspected as an informant of the group, 117 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 3: as well as the armored car robbery in Yukaya, California, 118 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 3: some others in Seattle, Washington, some counterfeiting crimes that were 119 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 3: committed along the way, as well as some robberies of 120 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 3: pornographic stores and things like that. So we basically listed 121 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 3: a number of crimes that became what we call the 122 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 3: predicate acts of the racketeering case, and then as prosecutors, 123 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 3: we split up those so that some of us were 124 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 3: responsible for some of those crimes and other of those crimes, 125 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 3: and that was kind of how we organized our trial preparation. 126 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 3: So I was responsible for the Yucaiah robbery. Jeene Wilson 127 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 3: was responsible for Alan Berg's murder, and he was also 128 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:41,680 Speaker 3: the overall leader of our case, and other of the 129 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 3: lawyers were responsible for crimes in their areas as well. 130 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 4: Well. 131 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 3: The trial judge was Walter McGovern, who was a no 132 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 3: nonsense but very personable judge. Each defendant, there were ten 133 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 3: of them in the trial. They each had their own 134 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 3: defense lawyers, and they sat in a couple of benches 135 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 3: basically to my left, with a defense lawyer sitting next 136 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 3: to his client and the US marshals sitting next to 137 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 3: each person, so it was quite crowded in the room. 138 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 3: Then there was a table with myself and the four 139 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 3: other prosecutors and a couple of FBI agents who were 140 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 3: working with us in the courtroom, and one by one 141 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 3: witness we basically presented our case like brick by brick. 142 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 3: Our witnesses would come one by one and give their evidence, 143 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:41,559 Speaker 3: and the jury, which was twelve people plus about four alternates, 144 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 3: was sitting there listening to all of that. Surprisingly to me, 145 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 3: in the courtroom. The atmosphere was pretty relaxed despite all 146 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 3: the security, because the defendants were pretty friendly and I 147 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 3: myself always as a prosecutor, and I think this was 148 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 3: maybe because I so to had a defense lawyer mentality also, 149 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 3: but I always wanted to treat people with respect when 150 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 3: I prosecuted them. I wanted them to have the dignity 151 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 3: of being seen as a human being despite the fact 152 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 3: that I was there to have them held accountable for 153 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 3: their crimes. And so I was also friendly to the defendants. 154 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 3: I talked to them at the breaks. Sometimes I sat 155 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:28,839 Speaker 3: next to them and chatted about stuff, and so it 156 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:32,520 Speaker 3: was a relaxed atmosphere in the trial itself, although a 157 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:37,319 Speaker 3: very serious one and one in which the consequences were 158 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:40,520 Speaker 3: quite serious for each of those people who are on trial. 159 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 1: As you could imagine, this trial was a very serious affair. 160 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 1: Media from around the world descended on the courthouse, and 161 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,559 Speaker 1: more than thirty Deputy marshals were assigned to the trial 162 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 1: from across the country, each standing in and around the 163 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:58,439 Speaker 1: courtroom with their shotgun in hand. Additional metal detectors were 164 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:02,000 Speaker 1: installed in the courthouse entrance and the chairs occupied by 165 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 1: the defendants and their lawyers were all bolted down to 166 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: the floor. 167 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,400 Speaker 3: We started off with the opening statements, and the government's 168 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 3: opening statements was given by Bob Wood, who was another 169 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:14,440 Speaker 3: prosecutor from San Francisco who came up and worked with me, 170 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,240 Speaker 3: and he is a very good trial lawyer, and he 171 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 3: outlined our whole case to the jury as clearly as 172 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 3: we could do it without trying to make it too complicated, 173 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:25,960 Speaker 3: because we were worried. We didn't want there to be 174 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:28,560 Speaker 3: it to be too complicated so that they had some 175 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:32,719 Speaker 3: reasonable doubt when there wasn't really any if they truly understood. 176 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 3: So Bob did a great job with his closing argument, 177 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,440 Speaker 3: and then some of the defense lawyers made closing arguments, 178 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:42,560 Speaker 3: but I don't believe many of them did. A defendant 179 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 3: has the option of doing it at the beginning of 180 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 3: the case or at the beginning of the defense case, 181 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:52,679 Speaker 3: but there was no real surprises from the defense at 182 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:55,120 Speaker 3: the beginning of the trial. And then we started putting 183 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 3: on witness by witness each of the crimes that were 184 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,680 Speaker 3: we were trying to prove. We found out after the 185 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 3: bag the Brinx robbery that there had been two employees 186 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 3: of Brink's armored car company who were involved in the robbery, 187 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:15,240 Speaker 3: and so they provided. 188 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:15,960 Speaker 2: Information to the Order. 189 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 3: They ultimately pled guilty and testified, And so those were 190 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:26,319 Speaker 3: two of my witnesses who I prepared and questioned when 191 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,600 Speaker 3: they came and testified on the witness stand. In addition, 192 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 3: there were members of the Order who had turned state's 193 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:37,319 Speaker 3: evidence and became witnesses for the prosecution, and we divided 194 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:39,400 Speaker 3: those up, and so I had some of those, and 195 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 3: so did all of the other members of our team. 196 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 3: And then most of the people were eyewitnesses, the Brinks drivers, 197 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 3: people along the road who had seen them, alan Berg's wife, 198 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 3: I believe, testified, and other people who were privy to 199 00:12:55,800 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 3: the allen Berg murder, as well as people at Idaho 200 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:06,559 Speaker 3: eastern Washington who had had different transactions with the defendants 201 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:10,680 Speaker 3: and knew some things about who was living in different 202 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:12,840 Speaker 3: places and things like that that we had to prove. 203 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 3: So that took up most of the four months of 204 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 3: the trial. 205 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: As the case was made by prosecutors, the full organizational 206 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 1: configuration of the Order was presented in exhausting detail. How 207 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:28,839 Speaker 1: different members took on specific roles and earned salaries as 208 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: well as bonuses for certain criminal acts and how these 209 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: crimes were committed to further the group's ultimate goal of 210 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: overthrowing America's quote Zionist occupied government unquote. While these arguments 211 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: presented by federal prosecutors unveiled the Order's numerous crimes and 212 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: great detail, they also, for the first time offered a 213 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 1: blow by blow account of who had murdered Allenberg and 214 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 1: how they had done it. Here is FBI agent Wayne Mannis. 215 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 4: We were able to ascertain and improve that that the 216 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 4: people that were responsible for the assassination of Allenberg was 217 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 4: Robert Matthews for one David Lane, the individual I mentioned 218 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 4: earlier had had that very controversial conversation with him over 219 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 4: his talk show, an individual by the name of Robert Scutari, 220 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 4: and the actual trigger man who was in charge of 221 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,960 Speaker 4: assassinations for the Order, an individual by the name of 222 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 4: Bruce Cheryl. 223 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: Puis for Allen Burke's friends and colleagues who were still 224 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: grieving the loss of this larger than life figure. It 225 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:48,960 Speaker 1: was a startling revelation to learn who had committed this 226 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 1: heinous crime, But there was a new detail unfurled by 227 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 1: the investigation that showed how far the Order had gone 228 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 1: to track down and murder Alan Burke. 229 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 4: There was a lady by the name of Jean Craig 230 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:11,560 Speaker 4: who was closely affiliated to Robert Matthews, and she went 231 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:16,040 Speaker 4: to get for a week before the assassination and did 232 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 4: a very thorough job. 233 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 9: Of identifying Alan Berg, his friend, his association's activities on 234 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:28,440 Speaker 9: a daily basis. 235 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 4: She followed him and surveilled him and knew exactly where 236 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 4: he worked, toward his residence, was when he generally gotten 237 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 4: home from work, what he did in terms of any 238 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:49,840 Speaker 4: recreational activity, and provided all that information to the assassination group. 239 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: Jean Craig wasn't just any member of the order. Her daughter, 240 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: Zilla Craig, was the girlfriend of the group's leader, Robert Matthews, 241 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,120 Speaker 1: and was the mother of one of his children. As 242 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: a middle aged woman who looked the part of a 243 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 1: starstruck fan, nobody questioned it when Geene Craig arrived at 244 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: KOA Studios looking for Alan Burke. 245 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 8: We later learned that the radio station itself had been 246 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 8: cased by Gen Craig, who had posed as a prize 247 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 8: winner and apparently had been escorted around the station. So 248 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 8: the thought that these killers had actually been in our 249 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 8: midst was scary. 250 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: Here is koa producer Susan Ryman, followed by station manager 251 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: Lee Larson. 252 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 10: You know, if you think about it, these people came 253 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 10: to Denver to kill him. Jean Craig came into our 254 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 10: building and asked for a media kid. They later found 255 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 10: Allen's press picture riddled with bulletles. They used different target practice. 256 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:54,920 Speaker 10: They were in sane. 257 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 11: A number of the people from the radio station were 258 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 11: among the witnesses of the trial because one of the 259 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:07,440 Speaker 11: co conspirators was a lady who had visited the radio 260 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 11: station pretending to be a fan of Alan's and asking 261 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 11: some of our promotion people if they had pictures of him, 262 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 11: if they had any other information about him, that she 263 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,680 Speaker 11: was just such a fan and wanted to know all 264 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:25,399 Speaker 11: about him. 265 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:29,080 Speaker 1: For alan Berg's friends and colleagues, this new detail in 266 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,960 Speaker 1: his murder truly hit home. The Order had spent some 267 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: time profiling and tracking alan Berg before murdering him, even 268 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:39,800 Speaker 1: sending one of their own to step foot in their 269 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:43,439 Speaker 1: studio knowing that Gene Craig had been dispatched to their 270 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: place of work to conduct reconnaissance on Burke only poked 271 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 1: at an emotionally traumatic wound that remained fresh more than 272 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 1: a year after alan Berg's murder. 273 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 12: As nineteen eighty four starts, the Order decides to up 274 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 12: there White power revolution. They start committing robberies, they start 275 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 12: counterfeiting money, and they start plotting who should we assassinate 276 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 12: first to really show the severity of what we're going 277 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 12: to do. They talk about Henry Kissinger, loner secretaries there. 278 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 12: They talk about Norman ly Or, television producer All the Family, 279 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 12: other shows. David Lane is in the group. David Lane 280 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 12: is from Denver. He says, I know this guy in Denver. 281 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,240 Speaker 12: He's a loud mouth. He's on the radio. He's always 282 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 12: trying to stir things up. He's always going against people 283 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:44,880 Speaker 12: like us who have our beliefs and our ideas. Why 284 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 12: don't we go to Denver and make this our first target? 285 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 12: And so they begin to make plans in the spring 286 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:53,640 Speaker 12: of nineteen eighty four. 287 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: This is alan Berg biographer Stephen Singer. 288 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 12: They send Jean Craig down to Denver to do surveillance 289 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 12: on Burg. They figure out, you know, exactly what he 290 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:11,560 Speaker 12: looks like. Very few people would be mistaken for Ellenberg. 291 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 12: He was about six foot two or three. He weighed 292 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,400 Speaker 12: about one hundred and fifty pounds. He was ramrod thin. 293 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 12: He had grown long, bushy gray hair to cover the 294 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:27,840 Speaker 12: scars that had been left on his head from his surgery. 295 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 12: He had a beard. He was very striking looking in 296 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 12: many ways. Then he dressed very very well. They do 297 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 12: the surveillance. They figure out where he lives, they figure 298 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 12: out where he works, They figure out what his routine is, 299 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 12: coming to work, going home from work, and they have 300 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,280 Speaker 12: everything planned out. 301 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,639 Speaker 3: We rested our case and then it was the defense 302 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 3: turn to put on witnesses. They didn't call very many, 303 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:06,199 Speaker 3: but one of them Artie mcbreerdy, who was a gentleman 304 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,719 Speaker 3: from Arkansas who had helped them the order and some 305 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,919 Speaker 3: of their activities. He testified in his own behalf and 306 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:18,320 Speaker 3: I cross examined him. And then the defense rested, and 307 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:21,680 Speaker 3: then we had our closing arguments, and Gene Wilson gave 308 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 3: the main closing argument for the government. I also gave 309 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 3: some part of it, and another person from Seattle named 310 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:32,160 Speaker 3: Peter Mueller gave our rebuttal argument. All of the defense 311 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 3: lawyers made closing arguments in which they tried to point 312 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:39,440 Speaker 3: out issues of reasonable doubt in our case, and ultimately 313 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 3: Judge McGovern gave the jury their instructions to what the 314 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 3: law was that they were to apply to the facts 315 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:46,879 Speaker 3: that they heard. 316 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,359 Speaker 1: After a trial lasting several months, a verdict was reached 317 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,680 Speaker 1: and read in February of nineteen eighty six. In all, 318 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 1: ten members of the Order were tried and convicted under 319 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: Rico statutes. Gary Lee Brough was sentenced to sixty years 320 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 1: in prison, Bruce Carrol Pierce, the man who pulled the trigger, 321 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,199 Speaker 1: one hundred years. Upon his sentencing, Pierce stood in the 322 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 1: courtroom and told Federal District Judge Walter McGovern, I am 323 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 1: not going to waste my time or your time and 324 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: beg for mercy. Whatever I did, I did to bring 325 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:22,840 Speaker 1: honor to myself and glory to my brothers, and glory 326 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:28,040 Speaker 1: to God. In a pre sentencing report, Assistant United States 327 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 1: Attorney David Wilson wrote of Pierce that he could not 328 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,720 Speaker 1: recall ever having faced a defendant who was a more 329 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 1: frightening danger to society. Order member Randolph George Dewey received 330 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: one hundred years, Richard Kemp sixty years, Andrew Barnhill, whose 331 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: weapon had been recovered at the scene of the Prince 332 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,680 Speaker 1: Armored truck robbery that broke the whole case open. Received 333 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:52,399 Speaker 1: forty years. 334 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,720 Speaker 3: And then it was at the end of December. There 335 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,040 Speaker 3: was a period of time when the jury was deliberating 336 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,400 Speaker 3: and they it was about four or five days, I think, 337 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:05,680 Speaker 3: and then finally they just announced that they had reached 338 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,480 Speaker 3: a verdict, and we all came back to court and 339 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,680 Speaker 3: we listened to the verdict and everyone was found guilty 340 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:14,240 Speaker 3: and the trial was over. 341 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 12: Oh. 342 00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 6: Overjoyed when they were convicted, of. 343 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:21,560 Speaker 7: Course, I felt that, you know, however many years they're 344 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:22,640 Speaker 7: going to lock them up. 345 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:23,520 Speaker 6: It wasn't enough. 346 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:28,440 Speaker 7: And I was happy to hear when some of them 347 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 7: died in prison. 348 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 3: I have to say I was relieved, because you never 349 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,159 Speaker 3: want to screw up a case like that, you know. 350 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 3: So I was expecting that we would win, but with 351 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:43,960 Speaker 3: a jury, you never know, and so I was That 352 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 3: was my main emotion when I heard the verdict, was 353 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 3: just relief. Okay, we didn't screw it up. Afterwards, it 354 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:57,399 Speaker 3: became very difficult to work on the routine cases that 355 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 3: I had in the Northern District of California as a prosecutor. 356 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,600 Speaker 3: Was I felt like I had had my biggest challenge 357 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 3: as a prosecutor and that was never going to be 358 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,880 Speaker 3: replicated again. And so, you know, a few years later, 359 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,840 Speaker 3: I did decide to leave the US Attorney's office, And 360 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:17,439 Speaker 3: that was basically the reason that I just thought I 361 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,119 Speaker 3: had done everything as a prosecutor that I could do 362 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,720 Speaker 3: in the ten years that I had been an assistant 363 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,120 Speaker 3: US attorney, and I was ready for a new challenge. 364 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,560 Speaker 3: So yeah, that was pretty much the highlight of my 365 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:31,160 Speaker 3: career as a prosecutor. 366 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: In a separate trial in nineteen eighty seven in Denver, 367 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:39,600 Speaker 1: Pierce and Lane were found guilty of violating Alan Berg's 368 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 1: civil rights. Two other defendants in the trial, Jean Craig 369 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 1: and Richard Scutari, were found not guilty. All four were 370 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 1: already serving lengthy prison sentences following the Seattle Rico trial 371 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: the previous year. Pearson Lane both died in prison. Richard 372 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 1: Scutari was sentenced to sixty years in prison in Seattle, 373 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,560 Speaker 1: and according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, he maintained 374 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 1: extensive connections with white supremacist activists in the United States, Sweden, 375 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: and Finland while in prison. Scutari was granted early release 376 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 1: last year, and according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 377 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:19,320 Speaker 1: was released from their custody on January twenty first, twenty 378 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:23,640 Speaker 1: twenty five. Before his release, I reached out to Scutari 379 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,879 Speaker 1: last year through the Bureau of Prisons. He declined my 380 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: request for an interview with the Order disbanded and its 381 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 1: members in prison, the shocking final chapter of Allenberg's remarkable 382 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:39,440 Speaker 1: life officially came to a close. But even more startling 383 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: than the details that emerged of his murder or the 384 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:44,880 Speaker 1: shocking story of how the Order hunted Alan Berg down, 385 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:48,040 Speaker 1: was how little attention was paid to Berg in the 386 00:24:48,119 --> 00:24:51,879 Speaker 1: years following his murder. In and around Denver, where he 387 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,159 Speaker 1: had emerged as one of the most prominent voices on 388 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 1: local radio, he was mostly forgotten, no plaque or statue 389 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 1: commemorating his place in the community, not even an alley 390 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,879 Speaker 1: named after him, and in the vast media landscapes he 391 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:08,359 Speaker 1: had helped shape as one of the most dynamic voices 392 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:12,679 Speaker 1: in radio, he was completely unknown, even while some of 393 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:17,119 Speaker 1: his contemporaries became legends in the field. But with the 394 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 1: help of some of his old friends, a renewed appreciation 395 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:23,639 Speaker 1: for Berg and his incredible career recently emerged around Denver, 396 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:28,199 Speaker 1: an appreciation that helped cement his prominent place in radio history. 397 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 1: All that and more in the final episode of live Wire, 398 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 1: the Loud life and shocking Murder of Alan Berg. Live 399 00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:43,199 Speaker 1: Wire is a production of iHeart Podcasts and Modulator Media. 400 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:48,359 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeart Podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio app, 401 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:57,560 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.