NEWS RELEASE

GRAND JURY RETURNS INDICTMENT
CHARGING MEMBERS, ASSOCIATES OF
SOLDIERS OF THE ARYAN CULTURE
WITH VIOLATIONS OF RICO,
VIOLENT CRIME IN AID OF RACKETEERING ACTIVITY

SALT LAKE CITY -- Members of a criminal organization, which law enforcement officers and prosecutors believe use violent criminal conduct and promotion of white supremacist ideology inside and outside of Utah correctional institutions to gain and maintain power, face a federal indictment today charging them with 13 violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy and Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering Activity (VICAR).

The indictment follows an investigation lead by the FBI and member agencies of its Joint Terrorism Task Force; the Salt Lake Area Metro Gang Unit and its participating agencies; the Utah Department of Corrections; and other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

Agencies involved in the JTTF include the FBI, the IRS, the Salt Lake City Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service, the Weber County Sheriff's Office, ATF, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Treasury Department Office of Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Ogden Police Department, the Utah Department of Public Safety, Federal Air Marshals, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, and the Utah Department of Corrections.

The Salt Lake Area Gang Unit includes the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Utah DPS, Utah Department of Corrections, the Utah Division of Youth Corrections, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Granite School District, and city police departments from Salt Lake City, West Valley City, South Salt Lake City, South Jordan, West Jordan, Midvale, Murray, and Sandy.

The case is being prosecuted by four Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Leshia M. Lee-Dixon, David J. Schwendiman, Richard McKelvie, and Robert A. Lund, and Salt Lake Assistant District Attorney Vince Meister.

Twelve members of the Soldiers of the Aryan Culture (SAC) are named in the indictment which was returned December 4, 2003, and unsealed in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

Defendants charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

Charged in the indictment are Tracy David Swena, aka TinMan; John Arthur McGee, aka Cajun; Steve Mark Swena, aka Taz; David Fink, aka Castle; Mike Main, aka M & M; Mark Isaac Snarr, aka Snuff; Lee Ervin Heyen, aka Dallas; Lance Vanderstappen, aka Lil Lance, Cub; Jason Bates, aka Kid; Andrew Beck, aka Nutz, Bandit; Dennis Judd; and Jeff Schirado, aka Sherwood.

Main, Snarr and Judd were arrested by the FBI Wednesday morning. Schirado, Steve Mark Swena, Heyen, Fink, Vanderstappen, McGee, Beck and Bates are incarcerated at the Utah State Prison. Tracy David Swena is in a federal prison. Initial appearances were Wednesday afternoon for the three arrested this week. Initial appearances for other defendants are scheduled this week before U.S. Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba. Tracy David Swena will have an initial appearance scheduled in January.

(See attached documents for defendant DOBs, appearance schedules, potential maximum penalties for each count, and a background explanation of the federal laws involved in this case .)

The indictment alleges that the defendants were members and associates of SAC, a criminal organization whose members engaged in acts of violence, including conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, extortion, and conspiracy to distribute narcotics, operating principally in the state of Utah and within Utah correctional institutions. The indictment alleges SAC is an enterprise with members working together for a common purpose in achieving the objectives of the enterprise.

The hierarchy of SAC, according to the indictment, includes "generals," "lieutenants," "sergeants," and "soldiers." Under the direction of generals and lieutenants of the enterprise, the defendants participated in unlawful and other activities in furtherance of the conduct of the enterprise's affairs, the indictment charges.

According to the indictment, SAC accepts members by invitation only. New members must be sponsored by lieutenants and sergeants. The indictment outlines the process new members must follow to become a member of SAC.

According to the indictment, SAC requires its members to read specific types of white supremacy literature to learn more about the movement. In addition, SAC has a "manual" or code of conduct which outlines the rules and guidelines members must follow. It also outlines enforcement policies and what action will be taken to maintain discipline and punish those who violate the rules.

The indictment charges three defendants, Tracy David Swena, Steve Mark Swena, and Mark Isaac Snarr, with a violation of the federal RICO statute. The indictment details nine predicate offenses prosecutors are relying on to establish a pattern of racketeering activity. Federal law outlines what kinds of crimes or categories of crimes can serve as predicates to make up a pattern of racketeering activity. These are generally serious kinds of crime commonly associated with organized criminal activity -- for example, murder, extortion, debt collection, drug dealing, or kidnapping. They do not have to be federal crimes. In the SAC indictment, eight of the nine predicate offenses are violations of state criminal laws.

The three charged in the RICO conspiracy count and the other nine defendants in the also are charged with various violations of the VICAR statute. The VICAR counts in the indictment draw on the same racketeering activities and acts outlined in the RICO count.

A copy of the indictment is included with this release.