Drug raid targeting the Iron Horsemen, has yielded 16 arrests, most of them in York County.Records unsealed late last week in federal court indicate 19 people were indicted on one count each of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. Some face other charges.A wiretapping operation netted 40 telephone calls between July and September last year, implicating the defendants.The yearlong investigation began at the county level and expanded to include the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, York county Sheriff Maurice Ouellette said.Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Perry, the lead prosecutor in the case, said Monday he is barred from discussing details of the investigation.
Portland police weren't involved in the investigation, but the department tracks motorcycle clubs. Portland Police Sgt. Bob Martin says the biker gangs have been "flying under the radar."The defendants are members or supporters of the Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club, Ouellette said, and most of them live in Old Orchard Beach, Limerick and nearby towns. Three people still at large are Richard Szpyt of Haverhill, Mass., Michael Balot of South Portland and Robert Boothby of Monson.
A home owned by Szpyt in Old Orchard Beach was used as a meeting spot for the Iron Horsemen. Prosecutors want that property turned over to the federal government.
Keith Babin, the town's deputy police chief, said his department was aware that the property was being used as an Iron Horsemen clubhouse.
Five of the 16 defendants who have been arrested remain in federal custody: Robert Sanborn of Old Orchard Beach, James Weston of Old Orchard Beach, Sherwood Jordan of Albany, Daniel Guarino of Old Orchard Beach, and Charles Green of East Dixfield. Ten others were released after posting bond and one was freed on his own recognizance.