BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Two reputed white supremacists and a black associate collaborated on a plot to sell grenades and guns to a member of a national white supremacist group, according to prosecutors who put the men on trial last week.

But the buyer was really a government informant who wore hidden recording equipment.

Jurors, who have watched some of the videos and listened to audio excerpts during the federal trial, will return to court Monday.

On trial are Kenneth Zrallack of Ansonia, Alexander DeFelice of Milford and David Sutton of Milford. They’ve pleaded not guilty to a host of firearms and conspiracy charges.

The secretly recorded conversations show Sutton, who is black, and DeFelice joking about how an African-American was doing an illegal weapons deal with a white supremacist. The discussion started after undercover informant Joseph Anastasio expressed reservations about Sutton’s involvement — in keeping with his cover of being a member of the Imperial Klans of America.

Prosecutors say Zrallack, 29, is the leader of the Connecticut-based Battalion 14 white supremacist group, formerly known as the Connecticut White Wolves. They say he was looking to gain national prominence and wanted to commit a “lone wolf” act that would create chaos.

Advertisement

An expert on white supremacist groups, Robert Nill, told prosecutors that the Connecticut White Wolves claimed to have been founded on April 20, Adolf Hitler’s birthday, in 2002, and Zrallack formed the successor Battalion 14 in 2009. Court documents also say defendants in the case talked about their desires to kill President Obama and leave an explosive-filled basketball at a playground so blacks would be killed.

DeFelice, 33, is a Battalion 14 member who knows how to make explosives, prosecutors said. He and Zrallack are being detained during the trial.

Sutton, 46, lived near DeFelice and has known him for years, according to court testimony. Prosecutors say Sutton helped DeFelice make three explosive grenades that Anastasio bought for $3,000 last January and had offered to dispose of the grenades if the deal fell through.

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.