By stephen steed
Special to The Leader
Prosecutors on Friday continued their portrayal of George Wylie Thompson, 65, of Cabot, as a three-time felon committed to illegal activities, including possession of firearms, running illegal gambling operations, and arranging a sham marriage.
They contend that Sam Baggett, 56, a North Little Rock alderman, helped him acquire guns and ammunition even though Thompson, as a convicted felon, could not legally possess firearms.
Witnesses Friday – the third day of testimony in the trial of Baggett and Thompson in U.S. District Court in Little Rock – included a Little Rock man who testified that he used Thompson as a bookie, an FBI agent who was part of a surveillance team investigating Thompson; a Hot Springs man who said he sold a rifle and scope to Thompson, and a Texas man previously convicted of trafficking more than a ton of marijuana.
Thompson faces eight charges, including being a felon in possession of guns and ammunition, possession of unregistered silencers, conducting an illegal gambling operation and marriage fraud. Baggett, who has remained on the North Little Rock City Council since his indictment, faces six charges, including selling guns to a felon and making false statements to federal agents.
Don Pucek of Little Rock testified Friday he placed bets with Thompson on football games and estimated that at one time he owed Thompson about $7,000 in gambling debts. He made weekly payments on his debt and also gave Thompson a shotgun to put toward it. Clay Ellison of Hot Springs said Thompson responded to his newspaper ad through which he was trying to sell a rifle. Thompson bought the rifle for $450, Ellison testified.
Noland McCoy, an FBI photographer, testified that he shot surveillance photographs of Thompson completing those deals.
Forrest Cole of Garland, Texas, said he gambled, usually on poker, at games attended by Thompson on his property in northern Pulaski County. Cole was convicted in 2002 of trying to sell more than a ton of marijuana. On cross-examination Friday, Cole conceded that his testimony for the prosecution could result in his being freed from supervised release, a sort of probation.
The investigation of Thomp-son began as a probe into his alleged bookmaking operations but unexpectedly expanded into firearms violations, according to prosecutors.
On Dec. 4, 2008, the first day of a court-authorized wiretap on Thompson’s telephone, agents recorded a telephone call in which Baggett asked Thompson what kinds of ammunition he wanted. The next day, Thompson called Baggett to price the ammo. Tapes of those calls and others were played for the jury during the week.
On May 12, 2009, authorities raided Thompson’s home in Cabot and a piece of property on the Pulaski-Lonoke County line, confiscating 147 guns, almost 88,000 rounds of ammunition and five silencers. About three weeks later, agents visited Baggett at his Levy barbershop, which also doubled as his gun store, questioned him for a time, then returned the same day with a warrant. The government contends Baggett lied to federal agents about his dealings with Thompson during those visits.
Those guns and ammo were on display Wednesday and Thursday for the jury of seven women and five men.
Defense lawyers for Baggett and Thompson said the government’s case rests on the credibility of its witnesses. Five colleagues of Thompson have pleaded guilty to gambling charges and await sentencing. Another defendant caught in the same web, former North Little Rock alderman Cary Gaines, pleaded guilty last Monday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, by working with Thompson in an attempt to rig contractor’s bids on city contracts. Gaines resigned as alderman shortly before his indictment.
John Wesley Hall, Baggett’s attorney, said in his opening statement that those six will be testifying for the government in hopes of getting leniency.
Another Thompson colleague, Tony Milner, served as a third party to buy guns and ammunition from Baggett on behalf of Thompson, prosecutors say. Milner also has pleaded guilty to gambling and firearms charges and is awaiting sentencing. Prosecutors say Milner first bought a gun from Baggett for Thompson in 2007. That gun was among the 147 seized more than two years later.
Baggett did not know Thompson was a felon until the May 2009 raid, Hall said. Thompson had two drug convictions at the time – one from federal court in 1989, one in state court in 2003. Last October, he was convicted of another drug charge in federal court. Also, Milner purchased the gun from Baggett, filled out the required paperwork and said the gun was for himself, Hall said.
Jason Files, one of Thompson’s attorneys, said the ammo found on Thompson’s property was an investment, not for shooting or for resale. Files conceded that Thompson is a bookmaker but that his gambling operation didn’t violate federal law and didn’t merit federal charges.
Thompson also is charged with marriage fraud – by accepting $10,000 to “arrange” a marriage between an undocumented alien and Milner, prosecutors claim. Files said in his opening statement Tuesday that Milner is still married to the woman. “He (Milner) didn’t think it was a fraudulent marriage until he started talking to the government,” Files said, noting that only Thompson has been charged with marriage fraud.
The trial resumes Monday. Prosecutors said Friday they hope to wrap up their case by the end of Wednesday. Baggett’s lawyer said their defense will, in large part, be determined by whether Thompson testifies – a decision not yet reached, or at least not announced, by his legal team.
