FARGO - The case is Operation Speed Racer. Sneaky has confessed. Razor wants his name left out of it.

It's not a Hollywood script. The nicknames are part of a drug conspiracy case that has included more than 60 defendants and charges for murder, money laundering, continuing criminal enterprise and attempted escape from jail.

The attorney for Ramon "Razor" Martinez wants his client's nickname stricken from the court record in an upcoming scheduled trial, especially if a jury is asked to decide whether Martinez tried to break out of a Rugby jail.

"The nickname has obvious negative connotations," defense attorney Ross Espiseth said in an interview. "It's prejudicial to my client."

Prosecutors say nicknames often are the only way to identify some defendants. The government also has used nicknames in Operation Speed Racer for Jorge "Sneaky" Arandas, Kenneth "Buzz" Medenwald Jr., Jesse "Captain" Jongeward, Erik "Julio" Madrid and Ignacio "Nacho" Vasquez.

"We don't do it to be cute or clever or funny," U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley said. "When people are only known by certain names within the organization, it's the only meaningful way to discuss it with them."

Espiseth argued at a hearing last month that jurors could associate the nickname "Razor" with cutting bars. Martinez is accused of using a saw blade to cut through a window at the Rugby jail. Authorities said the plot was foiled when the blades were found during a search.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Myers argued against striking the nickname. He said there would be no evidence offered in the escape trial that would allege Martinez used a razor to try to break out of jail.

"The defendant's nickname is 'Razor.' It's not 'Hacksaw,'" Myers said at the hearing.

Espiseth said outside the courtroom that most of the scheduled witnesses against Martinez know him personally.

"The law is very clear that if the alias needs to be used for identification purposes, it can be used," Espiseth said.

"I don't think it's necessary in this case." Espiseth said he did not know the origination of Martinez's nickname. "Sometimes, there are things we prefer not to know," the defense attorney said.

Arandas, considered the ringleader of the drug conspiracy, pleaded guilty to 13 federal counts, including murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise. His attorney, Steve Mottinger, said he would have asked to quash the "Sneaky" nickname if the case had gone to trial.

"I know that my client from time to time has been upset about (the nickname reference)," Mottinger said. While some are proud of their nicknames, he said, "I find it problematic in some cases."

U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson said "Razor" does not appear to be "highly prejudicial," but said he might ask attorneys to work around the nickname. Another hearing in the case is scheduled today.

"When I go back to my hometown most people still know me by my nickname," Erickson said in court, though he did not reveal it. "That's the way it goes."