CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS GIVE OPENING STATEMENTS IN MAHON TRIAL

Criminal defense attorneys give opening statements

Criminal Defense Attorneys gave opening statements in a federal trial began this past Tuesday for two white supremacist brothers from Illinois charged with a 2004 Scottsdale, Arizona bombing that injured a city official.

The bomb was detonated in the hands of Don Logan, then Director of Scottsdale’s Diversity and Dialogue Office. Mr. Logan sustained injuries to his right forearm and ring finger while a secretary was injured as well.

The trial for 61-year-old twin brothers, Dennis and Daniel Mahon, has been delayed numerous times due to the extensive amount of evidence in their case. The brothers are charged with conspiracy to damage buildings and property by means of explosive, while Dennis Mahon is also charged with malicious damage of a building by means of explosive, and distribution of information related to explosives. The brothers entered not guilty pleas on February 26, 2004 but were arrested in June 2009 after a five-year undercover operation that one attorney told jurors was a “conspiracy of lust.”

Criminal defense lawyer, Deborah Williams, has called an informant working for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives “the trailer-park Mata Hari, and she gave an award-winning performance.” Mata Hari was a Dutch exotic dancer who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I.

The woman, identified as Rebecca Williams in court records, sent the brothers at least two racy photos of herself. One photo depicted her in a leather jacket, fishnet stockings and a thong that completely exposed her buttocks with a note attached that said, “Thought you’d love the butt shot.” The other photo showed the informant in a revealing white bikini with a grenade hanging between her breasts while she posed in front of a swastika. The informant often dressed in shorts and tank tops, and displayed a Confederate flag while living in the same Catoosa, Oklahoma campground where the brothers stayed after the bombing.

Court records detail Dennis Mahon opening up to the informant, showing her how to make bombs and bragging about numerous bombings, including the scottsdale bombing about which he said, “I just wanted to teach [Logan] a lesson the first time.” Mr. Mahon’sattorney, Milagros Cisneros, argued that Mahon “often makes exaggerated self-aggrandizing claims” and that his statements to the informant were meant to impress her.

Prosecutor John Boyle told jurors he Mahon brothers are members of the White Aryan Resistance, a group that encourages violence against non-whites and the government in order to spread their message. Dennis Mahon left a message at Scottsdales’s diversity office five months before the bombing in which he criticizes the predominantly white city for holding a Hispanic heritage event while using a racial epithet for Hispanics. Mr. Mahon warned in a 2007 interview that Mexicans were taking over the Southwest and black people were taking over the South.

Judge David Campbell ordered the case to proceed despite the objection of the lawyers who requested another week to prepare. The trial is expected to take up to last about two months. The Phoenixattorneys at Alcock & Associates will be following this case closely.

Posted by Criminal Defense Attorney Nick Alcock