Hells Angels Leader and Wife Arrested

VENTURA —  Local Hells Angels president George Christie Jr. and his estranged wife have been arrested on suspicion of narcotics possession after investigators raided their separate Ventura homes, finding a small amount of cocaine in Christie’s night stand and large amounts of drugs and cash in his wife’s hillside condo.

Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury announced Wednesday the arrests of Christie on suspicion of drug possession and Cheryl Lynn Christie on suspicion of possession of drugs for sale after searches Tuesday of their two homes, Christie’s Ink House tattoo parlor and the couple’s rental house in Oak View.

In a brief press release, Bradbury announced only that business records, drugs and large sums of cash had been seized at several locations, and that his office would not comment further because the investigation is continuing.

Jeff Bennett, chief deputy district attorney in charge of investigations, would not comment on what prompted the searches.

But Christie’s lawyer, Robert Sheahen, said that drugs were not the focus of the inquiry. His client was apparently being investigated for possibly not paying employee taxes at his tattoo parlor.

Tuesday’s searches are a highly unusual tactic for such a minor case, Sheahen said, and never would have happened if Christie were not an articulate national spokesman for the Hells Angels.

“There’s a problem because he’s George Christie, and because he just had hundreds of Hells Angels descending on Ventura,” said Sheahen, referring to the motorcycle gang’s annual party, which was held in Ventura in March. “When are these people going to get a grip and realize that George is what he appears to be--a law-abiding citizen who does a lot for the community.”

The 51-year-old Christie, who was released on $5,000 bail Tuesday night, denied any wrongdoing. His wife, 51, also released from County Jail on bail, could not be reached for comment.

“Anyone who knows me knows I do not use cocaine or any type of stimulant drugs,” Christie said. He said he did not know where the half gram of cocaine came from that authorities took from his night stand.

And Sheahen said the drug was found “with women’s stuff,” including a women’s magazine, indicating that it was not Christie’s.

“George Christie does not do drugs, and George Christie does not read Mademoiselle,” Sheahen said.

“It wasn’t mine,” Christie said. “I haven’t used drugs in years.”

Nor did he know much about what was seized from his estranged wife’s house, he said. But sources said tens of thousands of dollars in cash and large amounts of drugs were taken from his wife’s home after authorities served search warrants Tuesday afternoon. “I will not comment on the money at all,” Christie said. “That will all be straightened out in court.”

The irony of the whole episode, Christie said, was that the principal reason for the searches apparently was to investigate how he runs his Main Street tattoo parlor.

“They said they were investigating my business practices,” Christie said. “The payroll records--I think that was what they were looking for.”

Christie said he operates his tattoo parlor in the same way as other such businesses across the state--with workers functioning as independent contractors and not as employees, much like a beauty parlor. He would not comment on whether he pays unemployment and worker’s compensation taxes under such circumstances.

“I thought that I was following the law. This is the way I’ve done business for the last 25 years,” he said. “And I never had a problem until [Tuesday].”

Attorney Sheahen said prosecutors have gone out of their way to try to get something on Christie, a national Hells Angels leader since he ran a leg of the Olympic torch relay in 1984.

“It’s somewhat unusual in my experience for them to get a search warrant of an ex-wife’s house in a misdemeanor tax investigation,” he said. “I’ve handled a lot of cases of this type of alleged offense. And I’ve never seen a residential warrant issued in such a case.”

Tuesday’s arrest was Christie’s most recent run-in with the law. Although he has only a 1993 misdemeanor conviction for fighting in public on his record, he was acquitted in a murder-for-hire case in 1987. He ended up hosting a barbecue for the jurors.

Sheahen said that Christie’s lawyer in that high-profile federal case, Barry Tarlow of Los Angeles, may represent Christie again in Ventura.