New Roc Hells Angels facing federal drugs, racketeering
charges
NEW YORK, NY ( March 16, 2017) – Six members and associates
of the Hells Angels operating in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties are
facing several federal drug and racketeering charges.
Joon Kim, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District
of New York, said on Thursday that six members of the New Roc Hells Angels,
which operated primarily in and around Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess
counties from at least 2008 to August 2014, had been arrested.
Kim said most of their activities included narcotics
trafficking, extortion, money laundering, contraband cigarettes, and
prostitution and altered motor vehicle parts.
Thomas Schmidt, Joseph Kaplan, John Calvacchio, Jeff
Amato and Gary Paganelli were arrested in New York Thursday morning, Kim said,
and Michael Picchone was arrested near Los Angeles. The case has been assigned
to U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel in White Plains federal court.
An unknown Hells Angels MC member
The six members of the New Roc Hells Angels were charged
with various racketeering, narcotics and money laundering offenses, including
assault of a rival club member with a hammer, Kim said.
“As alleged, through the sale of cocaine, oxycodone, and
marijuana and their violent conflict with rival gangs, members of the New Roc
Hells Angels wreaked havoc on the streets of Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess
counties," Kim said in a statement. "Together with our law
enforcement partners, we are determined to combat gang and drug violence
throughout the Southern District of New York.”
The assault happened in December 2012, Kim said, when
members of the New Roc Hells Angels beat a rival motorcycle club member over
the head with a hammer in a crowded restaurant in Poughkeepsie in retaliation
for encroaching "on their territory."
FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney said clubs like
the Hells Angels often use violence and intimidation to protect their turf and
"establish themselves."
"In this case, they allegedly used those tactics by
attacking a rival club member with a hammer in the middle of a restaurant and
placing innocent people in danger," Sweeney said in a statement.
"Regardless of the name these men operate under, the FBI Westchester Safe
Streets Gang Task Force works daily to remove these alleged violent members of
our society and to create a safer community for everyone."
NEWS SOURCE: The Journal News
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