Authorities dig around on Hells Angels property, again

State and local authorities were back on an 11.1-acre tract of land off White Oaks Rd. yesterday, looking for evidence of environmental crimes. Armed with a search warrant signed by Belknap County Superior Court Judge Larry Smukler and a good-size excavator, they dug deep pits in a couple of locations along the perimeters of a 6-acre clearing, apparently searching for evidence that sensitive wetlands areas had been illegally filled by Hells Angels Motorcycle Club leader Eddie Shaughnessy.

Shaughnessy, who was at the scene, seemed relatively good-natured about the whole thing, but did use the occasion to blame Deputy Sheriff (Sgt.) Christopher Cost for what he views as a "witch hunt". "This guy is a rogue cop," he said.

Shaughnessy operates his 911 Site Excavation company from the land in question. The legal owner of the property is Black Oaks Laconia, LLC and Joni Coffey, Shaughnessy's girlfriend, is the corporation's registered agent. The land abuts the 23-acre parcel, accessed by Fillmore Ave., that includes the motorcycle club's Laconia clubhouse.

A large team of law enforcement officers, prosecutors and scientists first swept onto the property on the morning of Sept. 9. The affidavit they used to secure a search warrant for the Black Oaks property was sealed for 10 days but an eventual reading of its contents confirmed the primary focus that day was the three-quarter-of-a-mile-long driveway leading from White Oaks Rd. back to the clearing.

The roadway passes through a 108-acre tract owned by Ron Ori of Swampscott Mass. Authorities concede that Black Oaks has a deeded right-of-way for passage but are apparently building a case that Shaughnessy committed a number of unlawful acts during the road building process. Language in the affidavit indicated officials were looking to confirm that Shaughnessy illegally tampered with wetlands and harvested mature trees that belonged to Ori.

The affidavit indicates Sgt. Cost was involved with all of the detective work.

Shaughnessy, meanwhile, has insisted that he improved an old roadbed that is identified on maps as Rangeview Drive. He said he replaced several old, blocked culverts under the road and cut brush and a had contractor shred immature trees in the roadway. "We did not cut one tree down on the road," he repeated yesterday.

When Shaughnessy arrived on his property at 9 a.m. yesterday morning Belknap Co. Sheriff's Department Detective Bill Robarge was waiting for him with the search warrant. While Shaughnessy chatted with a pair of Laconia police officers — Sgt. Cost was not present — the excavator was put to work, a hundred yards or so away, just inside an orange snow-fence that guarded the approach to a depression on the edge of the woods.

Det. Robarge, Deputy Belknap County Attorney Wayne Coull and an unidentified representative of the Attorney General's office observed and took photos and video recordings as an unidentified official with the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES) disappeared into the hole.

Officials offered no comment on the proceedings but the following statement from Senior Assistant Attorney General Jennifer J. Patterson was given to the press: "During the search warrant execution on Sept. 9, 2005, the investigative team discovered environmental violations that could not be explored at that time without additional equipment. . . For that reason, a supplemental warrant was needed to further explore the scope of the violations."

Shaughnessy did not seem the least bit concerned about the digging. He said the orange show-fence was put up at the direction of Laconia Planning Director Shanna Saunders and it marked a point that was fully 85-feet away from the wetlands that had been identified and staked out by the engineering firm he had retained last spring. He produced at bill for $7,092 from Eric C. Mitchell and Associates of Bedford that included an item for wetlands survey work.

Authorities also appear to be trying to build a case that Shaughnessy did not obtain the necessary permit from DES to clear as much land as is now treeless on the Black Oaks property. Alterations of more than 100,000-sq.ft. (2.3-acres) require DES approval but Shaughnessy said he was told by the NH Department of Agriculture that a DES permit was not necessary if the land was going to used for agriculture. The public face of Hells Angels in the Lakes Region said his intent has been to spread loam and plant grass.

Again reviewing the language in the affidavit authorities used to gain the search warrants, Shaughnessy said, "Lies. . .it all lies." He was particularly upset with an aerial photograph of the Hells Angels clubhouse compound that was attached to the affidavit.

The photograph is dated Sept. 4, 2004 and does not show the 11.1-acre tract currently under investigation. If this isn't just about "let's bash Hells Angels", Shaughnessy asked, why are they introducing a surveillance photograph of Hells Angels property that was taken before Black Oaks even owned the land that has now been cleared? "Why did he (Cost) take it?" he asked.

From Shaughnessy's perspective, Cost has carried a grudge against his club since he was reportedly involved in a physical altercation with some Hells Angels members during Motorcycle Week in 1998. Cost was a Laconia police officer at the time.

The motorcycle club is currently asking the Attorney General to prosecute Cost for wrongfully seeking to influence Laconia District Court Judge David Huot in a gun permit case involving a different Hells Angels' club member.

Huot recused himself from the case after revealing that Cost had sent him two e-mails calling his attention to the fact the gun permit applicant had twice been convicted of writing bad checks, and to a newspaper report of a finding by a Canadian court that Hells Angels is a "criminal organization".

"Why is this guy still a cop?" asked Shaughnessy.

"Average citizens get railroaded every day," he said, "but that's not going to happen here."