 Gary “Jabbers” Rudnick | The prosecution’s star witness in the murder of Jeffrey Pettigrew, president of the Hells Angels San Jose chapter at the Nugget Casino in Sparks, Nevada now claims his testimony was a fabrication. Gary “Jabbers” Rudnick, a former Vagos biker gang member, now claims he lied about a conspiracy to kill Pettigrew in 2011. A mass brawl broke out on the casino floor between rival Hells Angels and Vagos biker gangs. Pettigrew was shot dead in the melee, two Vagos members were wounded. Hours later, a member of the Vagos gang was shot dead. Vagos gang member Ernesto Gonzalez was convicted in the death. Gonzalez was caught a week later, when he told police his arrest came as a relief, because he believed the Hells Angels wanted to kill him. |  |
 | Gonzalez was convicted of the Nugget murder in 2013 largely on the basis of Rudnick’s testimony, and sentenced to life in prison. Rudnick says there was no assassination plot. Instead, Rudnick insisted he lied in order to obtain a plea deal that would give him a reduced sentence and a place on the federal witness protection program. He was accused of starting the fight in the casino that led to the killing, and served two years for conspiracy to commit murder. Rudnick is now a free man. |  |
