Page 5 - Smitty Smith News Today

>> out of the two people, which would had the best training and the ability of doing explosive work? holley said that smitty had that experience from his time in the military. >> narrator: karl holley described how he carried out the hit with smitty. >> holley and smith went to jacksonville and met with another biker who provided the c-4. he brought out a three-foot stick of the explosive, they cut off a foot of it and they started a continuous drive to new orleans to conduct the hit. they went ...

>> announcer: after smitty was exonerated, prosecutors dropped all charges against his alleged accomplice, a still-missing yankee. but smitty was now a marked man. >> after being acquitted for the murders in ft. lauderdale, i had people with badges saying that they were going to get me off the street one way or the other. >> announcer: a few months later, police told smitty he could come to the station house to pick up his personal items from the investigation. >> well, im in the office signing ...

Tampa, the federal jury, that hes been in prison for 12 years, thereby telling them, oh, this is a bad dude, hes done bad stuff. we asked the judge, we need to tell the jury that hes been acquitted and the judge said, no, because thats hearsay. how is it that the government can say hes been in prison for 12 years and were not allowed to say, yeah, yeah, he was in prison for 12 years for a crime that we acquitted him of. i mean it just made no sense to me. >> narrator: the government also had a s...

You join any organization that would call themselves outlaws?" i mean, "does that mean youre a criminal?" and he said -- >> outlaws is not a criminal organization. ever since i returned from vietnam, i have been an outlaw to society. i just felt i didnt fit into society anymore. >> this is something that he was testifying from the heart. and when he said that, you could really hear a pin drop in the courtroom. >> announcer: procedures couldnt shake smitty on the stand and failed to present a mot...

Die or go to prison for the rest of my life, on the other handy make up a story against smitty, who i didnt like, which one am i going to do? >> narrator: in 1990, smitty caught a break when the u.s. supreme court ruled that improper jury instructions had been given in many new orleans trials. smitty was granted a new trial. clive and tom now had a chance to challenge the states case. >> what i think became very clear when you saw the whole picture of all of these statements, the major informant...

>> life without parole, the governments not going to dictate the rest of my life, my health is. how much longer i got, i have no idea. >> smitty, now 72 years old and suffering from emphysema, was sentenced to life in prison. he will likely die behind bars. >> i found out how far the government was going, not to just prosecute me but to prosecute our club. anything that the government cant control, cant infiltrate, they try to destroy. were not gangsters, were bikers. all you got to do is get on...

Different rico trials as a liaison between our club and their attorneys. i was getting pointed out in that trial by the judge and prosecutors more than some of the clients were. >> i think ultimately why he ended up getting prosecuted again, because he irritated the fbi so much because he was out there trying to help his brothers. >> narrator: in november of 1996, federal agents arrested smitty and charged him with dozens of violations of federal rico laws. most shocking for smitty was that he w...

A book that youre ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! ♪ >> announcer: in the spring of 1983, clarence "smitty" smith, the president of the outlaws motorcycle club in florida, was about to stand trial for a quadruple homicide in ft. lauderdale. >> mr. smith, how are you doing this morning? >> announcer: smittys alleged accomplice, a biker known as yankee, had eluded authorities. public defender took on smittys case. >> some of the outlaws we...

Organized crime, with a major battle targeting the outlaws. >> they performed theft, arson, and the dealing in stolen property and prostitution. >> and their willingness to expand and to fight their rivals is whats allowed them to flourish. >> narrator: dea agent charles falco was one of a handful of undercover federal agents to successfully infiltrate the outlaws. >> well, since florida is a main hub for cocaine coming from south america to the rest of the country, the florida outlaws would hav...

And three others would be murdered. >> my stomach dropped to the floor. my heart, everything. i really feel like everybodys life was taken because i told. >> smitty believes that bridget like jj hall and carl hawley got a deal in exchange for testifying against him. >> she got busted herself out in arizona and said she was driving a mercedes-benz 90 mile an hour, naked, and almost rear-ended an arizona state trooper. she had cocaine with her. >> i wasnt offered anything from the government. i de...