Agents fool polygraph test in biker probe

WEST COVINA, Calif. | Weeks of drinking and carousing to win acceptance in a notorious motorcycle gang came down to a nerve-racking moment for three undercover federal agents - taking a polygraph examination in a room full of armed men.

Flunking could threaten what would become a three-year probe into the Mongols Motorcycle Club - not to mention the agents’ own safety.

Federal prosecutors say all three Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents were prepared for the challenge and passed the tests, critical moments in the investigation that culminated last week in multistate raids and at least 64 arrests on charges including murder, drug trafficking and torture.

The Mongols had been infiltrated before, so gang leaders went to extraordinary lengths to test their “prospects,” including running background checks and having a private investigator administer the polygraph tests.

The Mongols ratcheted up pressure by standing directly behind the agents while they were hooked up to the polygraph, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Brunwin said.

“Is it scarier to see the threat that is facing you, or … taking a lie detector test while someone is standing behind you with a weapon?” the prosecutor said. “They could be getting ready to shoot.”

Each agent had been given all they needed to assume a new life - an apartment away from their family, a new Social Security number and a cover story. They also had been trained to pass the lie detector.

“It’s a remarkable undertaking that the agents whose lives were at risk displayed this level of courage,” Mr. Brunwin said.

In all, four ATF agents were accepted into the Mongols “brotherhood,” though one agent was not required to take a polygraph test. Officials did not say why.

John Torres, the ATF agent in charge in Los Angeles, declined to discuss how the three fooled the polygraph, but said undercover agents generally compile cover stories that echo their own lives so they can tell them more believably.

“Our guys are highly trained and they were pretty much hand selected to do this mission and for their ability to think fast under pressure and beat the box,” Mr. Torres said, referring to the polygraph machine.

Though the ATF is able to train its agents to pass a polygraph test, the agency still uses lie detectors as part of its screening of potential new hires. ATF spokesman Mike Hoffman said the polygraph is just one of a slew of tests of a candidate’s background.

The Mongols’ background checks and lie-detector tests were not only to prevent a repeat of the 1998 infiltration that led to arrests but to assess aspiring members’ willingness to commit crimes for the gang, prosecutors said.

Mongols circulated photographs of the undercover agents among the criminal underworld to see whether anyone recognized them, Mr. Brunwin said.