A Mesa man was sentenced to nine months in federal prison for helping a member of the Hell's Angels who was facing murder and other felony charges to obtain a fake passport and flee the country.
Robert Eugene Tutokey, 43, received the sentence in the U.S. District Court in Phoenix on Monday, nearly five months after he pleaded guilty to false statements in an application and use of a passport seven years ago, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
On July 13, 2004, Tutokey applied for a U.S. Passport, claiming on his application that his eyes were blue when he knew that his eyes are hazel. Tutokey obtained this passport for a friend, Paul Merle Eischeid, who has blue eyes. Eischeid, a member of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club, had been charged in United States District Court with the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), RICO Conspiracy, and two counts of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering, for kidnapping and murder.
The passport was in Tutokey's name with wrong identifying information and allowed Eischeid to also have an Arizona driver's license and use other forms of identification, according to a news release.
Eischeid, claiming to be Tutokey, flew from Mexico City to Buenos Aires, Argentina on Aug. 3, 2004. He was arrested last February, nearly seven years after he fled the state, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.
U.S. Marshal David Gonzales said, "Tutokey's actions were instrumental in providing a dangerous fugitive the means to flee the country. The U.S. Marshals Service will investigate and arrest those who assist fugitives in avoiding capture."
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