Debbie Cole of Delaware was visibly angry moments after watching her husband and other members of the Pagan Motorcycle gang plead guilty for last February's attack on the Hell's Angels.

"I think it's ludicrous," Cole said. "I don't think the federal government should have this kind of power. It's ridiculous."

Nine members of the Pagans motorcycle gang pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges stemming from a rumble that left one man dead at a Hell's Angels motorcycle rally and tattoo expo, federal prosecutors said. The nine pleaded guilty in Central Islip, N.Y., to federal assault and conspiracy to commit assault in the Feb. 23 incident, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Conway said.

When the bloody brawl was over, one Pagan had been shot to death, 73 others arrested, and a variety of knives, guns clubs and axes confiscated.

Authorities said the gang fight, which also left at least 10 people injured, came from turf tensions that had boiled over between the Pagans and the Hells Angels, who had sponsored the expo, called the Hellraiser Ball.

The Pagan wives insist their men were railroaded,

"The majority of them didn't have the intention to do anything up here," said Jenny Ramirez, wife of a Pagan member. "But it's a one for all. They were guilty by association and that's the way it was laid out."

"My husband drove to NY, never got out of his vehicle and is going to prison for three years," Cole said.

Sixty-six of the 73 Pagans arrested are expected to accept the prosecution's deal by week's end. They will plead guilty to one or more counts of conspiracy, assault and weapons possession, and will face two to more than five years behind bars.

"You heard the defendants. They told the judge what they did," said Joseph Ryan, defense attorney. "That's the end of the case, no matter what anybody else says. They made those statements under oath."

Prosecutors said the three men accused of orchestrating this assault, all national leaders of the Pagans, are among those who are pleading guilty. They are facing the stiffest penalties -- more than five years behind bars.

One Pagan pleaded guilty to assault charges last week. The remaining 10 Pagans have status hearings scheduled for next week, Conway said.

Authorities charged Raymond Dwyer, 38, of Oceanside, N.Y., whom they identified as a member of the Hells Angels, with second-degree murder in the expo shooting of Robert Rutherford, a purported Pagan member.

Dwyer's lawyer, William Petrillo, said his client denied the charges.

As for the Pagan wives, they say they must now return home to put their broken lives back together.

"It's devastating to think he went off for one day and he's not coming home no more," Ramirez said. "How do you tell kids?"