Bridgeport - The reputed head of a local white supremacist group and a black co-defendant walked out of federal court free men early Wednesday afternoon after a jury acquitted them of charges that they conspired to sell guns and hand grenades to an FBI informant brokering the deal for a Ku Klux Klan offshoot.
Kenneth Zrallack Jr., the 29-year-old head of the Connecticut White Wolves now known as Battalion 14, Connecticut Chapter of North East White Pride and David Sutton, a 46-year-old landscaper from Milford left the building in the company of their lawyers following a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall.
That was not the case for a third co-defendant, Alexander DeFelice, 33, formerly of West Avenue, Milford. The jury convicted DeFelice on the conspiracy charge as well as two counts of selling firearms to the a convicted felon, Joseph Anastasio, who built the case for the FBI. He also was convicted on single counts of making hand grenades and transferring three grenades for $3,000 to Anastasio.
If that wasn't enough, DeFelice pleaded guilty immediately after the verdicts were returned to two charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Kopel said these charges involved possession of a Mossberg shotgun, which he assisted in sawing off the barrel on March 9, 2009 and possession of a Remington shotgun as well as nearly 200 rounds of ammunition on Jan. 28, 2010.
Under federal law, persons convicted of a felony are never legally allowed to possess guns, ammunition or explosive devices. DeFelice has felony convictions in state court for third-burglary, possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle and first-degree failure to appear.
District Judge Hall set Feb. 18 for DeFelice's sentencing, at which time he faces up to 65 years in prison on the seven charges.
"We respect the jury's verdicts and are pleased that a previously convicted felon, who was involved in the manufacture of grenades that we knew were intended for a white supremacist group, now faces a significant term of incarceration," said U.S. Attorney David Fein.
Meanwhile, Michael Hillis, DeFelice's lawyer, who used a defense of entrapment by the FBI informant, said he "will appeal the convictions."
DeFelice has been detained without bond since his arrest in March.
That was also the case for Zrallack, who walked out of court with his family a free man for the first time in nine months. His father declined comment on the case.
Sutton seemed relieved and praised his lawyers, Frank Riccio Sr. and Frank Riccio II, for their work on his defense.
"I thanked them every day I've been here and will continue to thank them," said Sutton, who has been free on bond since shortly after his March arrest.
Sutton drew notoriety in the case being a black man charged in indictment with four members and associates of a white supremacist group.
The Riccios developed a defense around Sutton's friendship with DeFelice and DeFelice's reputation as a talker. In his final summation, the younger Riccio walked the jury through two Dec. 28, 2009 recordings made by Anastasio in which Sutton unsuccessfully looked for tools in his garage, which DeFelice said he needed. He told the jury that was the only evidence against his client.
Sutton, the only defendant to testify, said he had known DeFelice for several years and the pair often helped each other with repairs to their homes and vehicles.
"We thank God that the jury listened carefully to the evidence," said the younger Riccio.
Still, the notoriety of being black and accused of assisting white supremacists caused difficulties for himself, his business and his family, Sutton said.
"I lost all my business because of this," said Sutton, a landscaper. "I'm behind in bills. My family, including my young daughter, have suffered from the publicity."
Sutton said even though he was acquitted, he fears the long-term impact.
"I don't even know where to go from here," he said.
During the summer, two co-defendants from Stratford, William Bolton, 31 -- a member of the U.S. Army at the time of his arrest -- and Edwin Westmoreland, 27, a relative of the late U.S. Army Gen. William Westmoreland, pleaded guilty to charges in this case and are awaiting sentencing.
The verdicts capped a 14-month investigation in which Anastasio, a former Florida deputy sheriff, infiltrated Zrallack's organization after securing membership in the Imperial Klans of America, the second largest Ku Klux Klan organization.
Anastasio, who has a 1994 larceny conviction for stealing Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis letters from the University of Bridgeport library, recorded nearly 62 hours of conversations with the group. He convinced DeFelice, Bolton and Westmoreland to sell him firearms, which, he said, were going to an IKA cell.
However, Zrallack never participated in those transfers and his lawyer, Nicholas Adamucci said his client had no involvement in the sales. Anastasio gave Zrallack an envelope containing cash following one of his weapon purchases from DeFelice. On the tape, Zrallack maintains the money stemmed from a debt DeFelice owed him from a truck sale.
"Kenneth maintained his innocence from the beginning," Adamucci said. "We're all glad the jury carefully analyzed the evidence. Unfortunately, I don't know how he can get back the time he spent in custody."
