Chezem testifies for himself in weapons trial

MISSOULA - Larry Chezem testified on his own behalf Tuesday on federal charges that he conspired to possess illegal weapons

Because he is acting as his own attorney, his testimony was presented as a monologue to the jury, rather than a normal question-and-answer exchange between a witness and attorney.

Chezem testified that he is being prosecuted for a "thought crime." He said his affiliation with a paramilitary group called Project 7 had died by the time they started moving illegal machine guns around. And he said he "never did have any intent to breach the law."

Five other members of Project 7 have been convicted of federal weapons crimes. Chezem, 54, was the sole member to plead innocent and go to trial

He said the group was formed for wholesome reasons.

"We all were community-minded. We had always had an interest in helping people," Chezem said.

Monday, member Tracy Brockway said the group formed in 2001. Its original members included herself, her husband, Dave Burgert, Chezem, Michael Heit, and Paul Crosby, she said.

Chezem told the jury that members gathered medical supplies, food, clothing and firearms in case of disaster.

"We're going to have to hunt if there's a disaster," he explained about the weapons.

He was "rangemaster" for at least one firearms training for the group. Monday, Project 7 witnesses said that the group practiced checking for trip wires and booby traps and simulated an attack on law-enforcement officers.

Ultimately, Chezem became suspicious of both the group and of law enforcement.

He was leery of member Jon Erdmann, who eventually became an informant on the group for the FBI. He said Erdmann, Jason Larson and Burgert all had romantic designs on Tracy Brockway, which "isn't healthy in a survival situation." Burgert was

also "increasingly getting stressed."

Despite those dynamics, Chezem's loyalty kept him with the group for a time. They, however, began shunning him, he said.

Chezem made a work-related trip to sheriff's deputy Tom Snyder's house to work on satellite equipment. He let it be known to the group that he had been there as "a good way to test" them. Members of the group disliked law enforcement and were once said to have a hit list of officers and others they wished to assassinate. When Chezem refused to tell the group where Snyder lives, "I felt like a pariah," he said. "I had betrayed the group."

Later, Burgert staged his disappearance and some members of the group began saying he was kidnapped and killed by law enforcement, which they deemed corrupt. Everyone but Chezem knew the disappearance was staged, he said. Burgert was eventually captured and arrested after a manhunt.

Chezem ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 2002 and his loyalty to Project 7 died at about the same time. He became paranoid, he said.

Then, member Steve Morey showed up and talked about the group moving around illegal machine guns and Chezem wondered, "Is he trying to set me up or something?"

Erdmann was giving information to the FBI and agents exhumed weapons the group had buried on Crane Mountain near Bigfork. When Chezem heard that, he "decided I've got to play a game with these guys," he said.

That's how he explained an audio tape that prosecutor Kris McLean played for the jury Tuesday. Erdmann wore a body wire provided by the FBI to record a conversation between Erdmann and Chezem.

In it, Chezem quizzed Erdmann about how the authorities could have found the weapons and analyzed the problem.

Like dialogue from a spy movie, he asked Erdmann, "What was your procedure as far as checking for tails? Always try to do a perimeter search. Look for anything that doesn't look quite right."

The reason he seldom drives after dark is because he can't tell then if he's being followed, Chezem said.

He wrongly surmised that authorities had put a tracking device on Erdmann's truck that led them to the weapons.

"You guys wiped 'em down so they wouldn't have any proof there," Chezem said of the guns. He asked about a .308-caliber weapon. "Was it in the box?" that agents found, he wanted to know.

He testified that the conversation was just "playing a game" with Project 7 members. He wanted to come across as trustworthy, he said.

"The intent was to play along, to find out what was going on," Chezem said, testifying that he once had top-secret military clearance.

In his opening statement, he said prosecutors are trying to make him look like an extremist. Other members of Project 7 are testifying against him in hopes of getting reduced sentences, he said. There is no physical evidence linking him to the illegal guns in the case, he said.

He asked for a mistrial and for an acquittal at the start of his defense case. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy denied both requests. He also denied Chezem's request that McLean show him his "bar card" affirming his qualifications as an attorney.

McLean has argued that Chezem didn't have to actually possess a machine gun to be convicted of conspiring with the group.

The case has contained elements of cloak-and-dagger work on both sides. Chezem admits that when he talked about the weapons with Erdmann once, the conversation was written on notes that Chezem destroyed.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were surveilling Erdmann and others. Case agent Steve Liss said authorities were monitoring a rumor that Burgert planned an escape from the county jail.

Liss is the agent who made Erdmann an informant after Erdmann contacted the FBI. It was Liss' business card and note that was left for Project 7 members to find after authorities dug up the machine guns on Crane Mountain. The note said that officials had the weapons and suggested the finders call the FBI.

The government paid $7,088 in expenses to Erdmann for travel and communications. The payment included costs when Erdmann and his family were briefly relocated for their safety after the arrests of Project 7 members.

This morning, the jury will hear closing arguments from both sides and receive instructions from Molloy before they begin deliberating.