United States v. Leonard Wayne Kragness, et al, Cr. 3-84-139. Numerous defendants were convicted by jury of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and other drugs, under the RICO anti-racketeering act. The five-week trial was described by the prosecution as the largest drug case in Minnesota history. At the center of the conspiracy, which involved extensive smuggling from South America in private aircraft, was Kragness, an Alaskan gold miner. Documents in a post-trial forfeiture proceeding contain extensive detail on gold mining operations. Complete trial documents including pre-trial motions, jury instructions, Judge Devitt's trial notes, and post-trial motions. This folder contains the indictment, a newspaper article concerning the prosecutor, and the beginning of the pre-trial motions. I

United States v. Leonard Wayne Kragness, et al, Cr. 3-84-139. Numerous defendants were convicted by jury of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and other drugs, under the RICO anti-racketeering act. The five-week trial was described by the prosecution as the largest drug case in Minnesota history. At the center of the conspiracy, which involved extensive smuggling from South America in private aircraft, was Kragness, an Alaskan gold miner. Documents in a post-trial forfeiture proceeding contain extensive detail on gold mining operations. Complete trial documents including pre-trial motions, jury instructions, Judge Devitt's trial notes, and post-trial motions. This folder contains the indictment, a newspaper article concerning the prosecutor, and the beginning of the pre-trial motions. I, Folder 7, Box: 15, Folder: 7. Judge Edward J. Devitt Papers, OGLMC-1253. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections. https://archives.und.edu//repositories/2/archival_objects/13767 Accessed November 23, 2025.