Witness in Mexican Mafia Trial Is Called a ‘Cockroach’

In closing arguments Wednesday, the defense in the Mexican Mafia trial kept up its attack on the credibility of prosecution witness Ernest “Chuco” Castro, with one attorney calling him a “cockroach” in the massive pile of government evidence against the 13 defendants.

Without Castro, said Deputy Federal Public Defender Ellen Barry, the government’s case fails.

“Imagine a bowl of spaghetti with a big cockroach right in the middle of it,” Barry said. “What would you do? Would you keep eating it? No. Castro is that cockroach, right in the middle of this case.”

Continuing with her analogy, Barry argued that federal prosecutors have tried to add more “sauce to the spaghetti to mask the crunch” of the cockroach--Castro and his criminal activity.

The jury listened intently and showed no reaction as Barry, the first of the 13 defense attorneys to address the jury, hammered away at the government’s chief witness. Earlier in her argument, she called Castro a “lying rat,” a reference that brought a smile from several jurors.

Barry concluded her presentation by asking jurors to return verdicts of not guilty against her client, Alex “Pee Wee” Aguirre.

Calling Castro a “cockroach” particularly pleased some defense attorneys, who doubt his assertions that he was unable to properly record telephone calls from his home as part of his role as a government informant. Castro testified at various times that the machine either malfunctioned or that he was unable to operate it.

Defense attorneys wanted to inspect the machine themselves, but weren’t able to because government attorneys objected. Then, before final arguments began, FBI Special Agent James P. Myers acknowledged in a sworn declaration that the machine in question had been discarded “because of its general condition, including the fact that it was infested with cockroaches.”

The disclosure angered defense attorneys, who said they had been robbed of an opportunity to raise doubts about tapes recorded at Castro’s home. They asked U.S. District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew to hold a special hearing on the matter, but he refused.

Castro, a former member of the prison gang, figures in much of the case against the 13 defendants, who are accused of murder, attempted murder, extortion, conspiracy to deal drugs and other offenses. He has accused several defendants of committing several unsolved murders and provided the means that allowed FBI agents to secretly videotape Mexican Mafia gatherings.

The second defense attorney to address the jury, Joseph F. Walsh, continued the defense attack on Castro’s credibility, pointing out that Castro was the sole source of evidence for several charges against his client, David “Smilon” Gallardo, including murder and drug trafficking.

Walsh said there are no tapes or other evidence linking Gallardo to the slayings of Charles “Charlie Brown” Manriquez, Manuel “Rocky” Luna, Ana Lizarraga and Michael “Flaco” Perry.

There was only the “self-interest of Ernest Castro” to blame others, he said.

Walsh cautioned the jury to distrust Castro, explaining that seven cautionary jury instructions will be read to the panel because of him and his criminal past, which includes murder, assault, drug use and perjury. “I’ve been an attorney for a long time and I’ve never seen seven cautionary jury instructions” because of one witness, he said.

Late in the day, a third defense attorney, Robert Ramsey, called Castro the “biggest reasonable doubt” in the government’s case.