Binky
06-20-2009, 04:59 PM
Authorities: Mob-style group was protected by crooked lawmen
By J.J. Stambaugh (Contact)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Nearly two dozen people were charged with taking part in a violent mob-style organized crime ring in Cocke County that was protected by crooked cops for most of the past decade, federal authorities said Tuesday.
The group - which prosecutors have dubbed the "Hawk Organization" after its purported leader, 55-year-old Raymond Eddie Hawk - allegedly trafficked in stolen vehicles, ran chop shops and peddled large amounts of cocaine.
The Hawk Organization "promoted a climate of fear through violence and threats of violence" and was protected by unnamed "persons within the local law enforcement community," according to the 36-count racketeering indictment. Hawk allegedly ran the operation from a junkyard in Newport, which was known over the years as both "H-1 Auto" and "A Automotive."
A task force led by FBI agents fanned out across Cocke County early Tuesday and rounded up 19 of the 23 suspects, including former Newport Police Department Capt. Milburn Thomas Williams, 61, who retired last year. His son, Thomas Grant Williams, 33, was also arrested and accused of being a leader in the conspiracy along with Hawk.
Most of the 16 men and seven women, including Hawk, were freed on bond pending trial after making brief appearances in federal court Tuesday afternoon in Greeneville.
Prosecutors are also seeking to seize "at least" $1 million plus several pieces of property and automobiles from the group.
The roundup was only the most recent wave of arrests to spring from a long-running public corruption probe called "Rose Thorn" that was launched by the FBI in 2001. As of last year, more than 200 people, including eight local police officers, had already been arrested on charges that included organized gambling, prostitution, money laundering, drug dealing and various types of theft.
Federal racketeering, or RICO, charges are typically used to go after organized crime groups such as the Mafia. The takedown of the alleged "Hawk Organization" is the first criminal RICO case in East Tennessee since the prosecution nearly 20 years ago of an auto theft ring run by Roy Lee Clark, who was convicted of killing FBI informant Mike Rector, federal authorities said.
Hawk and Thomas Grant Williams have longstanding ties to local law enforcement and emerged early in the Rose Thorn probe as possible targets, along with then-Cocke County Sheriff D.C. Ramsey and other members of the Ramsey clan.
Hawk, for instance, ran a private liquor-by-the-drink club in the mid-1990s that he transferred to Ramsey's brother in 2000. The club's membership roster included a number of convicted car thieves, drug dealers and alleged cockfighters who were implicated in the Rose Thorn probe along with Ramsey and his nephew, then-Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Patrick Taylor, as well as other local lawmen.
In 2006, Ramsey resigned without being charged and Taylor was sent to prison for buying thousands of dollars of purportedly stolen NASCAR souvenir clothing during an FBI sting operation. Some of that clothing was later recovered from the younger Williams by the FBI.
In 2004, H-1 Auto donated $500 to Gov. Phil Bredesen's campaign, but the money was refunded in 2006 after it was revealed that Hawk was a Rose Thorn target.
J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-6307.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jun/17/feds-bust-23-in-crime-ring/
By J.J. Stambaugh (Contact)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Nearly two dozen people were charged with taking part in a violent mob-style organized crime ring in Cocke County that was protected by crooked cops for most of the past decade, federal authorities said Tuesday.
The group - which prosecutors have dubbed the "Hawk Organization" after its purported leader, 55-year-old Raymond Eddie Hawk - allegedly trafficked in stolen vehicles, ran chop shops and peddled large amounts of cocaine.
The Hawk Organization "promoted a climate of fear through violence and threats of violence" and was protected by unnamed "persons within the local law enforcement community," according to the 36-count racketeering indictment. Hawk allegedly ran the operation from a junkyard in Newport, which was known over the years as both "H-1 Auto" and "A Automotive."
A task force led by FBI agents fanned out across Cocke County early Tuesday and rounded up 19 of the 23 suspects, including former Newport Police Department Capt. Milburn Thomas Williams, 61, who retired last year. His son, Thomas Grant Williams, 33, was also arrested and accused of being a leader in the conspiracy along with Hawk.
Most of the 16 men and seven women, including Hawk, were freed on bond pending trial after making brief appearances in federal court Tuesday afternoon in Greeneville.
Prosecutors are also seeking to seize "at least" $1 million plus several pieces of property and automobiles from the group.
The roundup was only the most recent wave of arrests to spring from a long-running public corruption probe called "Rose Thorn" that was launched by the FBI in 2001. As of last year, more than 200 people, including eight local police officers, had already been arrested on charges that included organized gambling, prostitution, money laundering, drug dealing and various types of theft.
Federal racketeering, or RICO, charges are typically used to go after organized crime groups such as the Mafia. The takedown of the alleged "Hawk Organization" is the first criminal RICO case in East Tennessee since the prosecution nearly 20 years ago of an auto theft ring run by Roy Lee Clark, who was convicted of killing FBI informant Mike Rector, federal authorities said.
Hawk and Thomas Grant Williams have longstanding ties to local law enforcement and emerged early in the Rose Thorn probe as possible targets, along with then-Cocke County Sheriff D.C. Ramsey and other members of the Ramsey clan.
Hawk, for instance, ran a private liquor-by-the-drink club in the mid-1990s that he transferred to Ramsey's brother in 2000. The club's membership roster included a number of convicted car thieves, drug dealers and alleged cockfighters who were implicated in the Rose Thorn probe along with Ramsey and his nephew, then-Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Patrick Taylor, as well as other local lawmen.
In 2006, Ramsey resigned without being charged and Taylor was sent to prison for buying thousands of dollars of purportedly stolen NASCAR souvenir clothing during an FBI sting operation. Some of that clothing was later recovered from the younger Williams by the FBI.
In 2004, H-1 Auto donated $500 to Gov. Phil Bredesen's campaign, but the money was refunded in 2006 after it was revealed that Hawk was a Rose Thorn target.
J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-6307.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jun/17/feds-bust-23-in-crime-ring/