Sydney, Australia (March 5, 2019) BTN — A member of the Nomads motorcycle club has been charged after allegedly having sexual intercourse with a 12-year-old girl he met at a train station in Sydney's south-west.
Police will allege in court the pair spoke at a railway station and while on the train, before the 27-year-old man led the girl to a home in Chester Hill and sexually assaulted her on February 14.
Following inquiries, detectives attended a Chester Hill home in the early hours of February 28, where the man was arrested after a violent struggle.
One officer broke their hand and another received leg injuries during the altercation, police said.
The man was taken to Bankstown Police Station, where he was treated by paramedics for a head injury before being taken to hospital for further treatment.
Police charged the man with having sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10 and 14, and resisting or hindering a police officer in execution of their duty.
A bedside hearing was conducted, and he was refused bail to appear at Liverpool Local Court on March 13.
The man remains in hospital under police guard.
SOURCE: The Sydney Morning Herald
22
Showing posts with label Biker Trash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biker Trash. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Monday, November 26, 2018
Hells Angels colors not cool with Salvation Army
Valparaiso, IN (November
25, 2018) BTN — Controversial “Aryan”
patches worn by bell-ringing volunteers in Valparaiso do not match Salvation
Army values, officials from the charity said Sunday.
Two days after images of bell ringers sporting controversial
patches on leather jackets outside the Valparaiso Walmart went viral on social
media, the Salvation Army released a statement on the matter.
Hells Angels members volunteering outside a Valparaiso, Indiana Walmart
Lt. Christopher Nicolai, of The Salvation Army of Porter
County, said in a written statement Sunday that the bell ringers in question,
members of a local Hells Angels motorcycle club, violated the charitable
organization's dress code and would not be allowed to do bell ringing in the
future.
"Our commitment to nondiscrimination includes a dress
code for bell ringers, requiring that they wear red Salvation Army aprons, and
making it clear that no "symbol, marking or lettering that is viewed as
discrimination" may be worn, Nicolai said in the statement. "Clearly,
the bell ringers in question did not comply with this dress code. They will not
be allowed to volunteer in the future. We are embarrassed that we were unable
to prevent this incident, and apologize to all who were offended, as were
we."
Images shared on Facebook and with The Times show men with
leather jackets, one with a patch reading "Aryan" and another with a
Confederate flag patch ringing the bell Friday for the Salvation Army.
The bell ringers in question were confirmed to be members of
the Hells Angels Northwest Indiana Region Motorcycle Club.
They confirmed through a Facebook post Sunday that the
Salvation Army had canceled another bell-ringing event the club had scheduled.
"Due to all the negative comments about our holiday
charity work. The Salvation Army was forced to cancel our upcoming bell ringing
date in December. We hope all that responded negatively, will donate their time
ringing the bell for the Salvation Army," the post stated.
On Friday, the motorcycle club responded to the criticism
and attempted to explain the controversial patches.
"Our worldwide multinational, multiracial motorcycle
club excepts motorcyclists from all walks of life," a representative for
the motorcycle club said.
The representative said some members may wear
"heritage-based" patches, such as Latinos wearing "LATINO,"
Japanese wearing "BUSHIDO" and whites wearing "ARYAN." He
also said most members do not sport these types of patches.
"That's not what our clubs is about," the
representative said. "However like all Americans, we love exercising our
freedom. Sometimes freedom means you see and hear things you may not like. We
accept that. The focus of today has nothing to do with freedom though. It has
to do with charity and sacrificing for you community.
"I'd suggest to those making negative comments that
maybe a little less time should be spent exercising your freedom of speech and
a little more be spent to making a positive difference in our society."
The Hells Angels Northwest Indiana Region advertised their
plans to bell ring on their Facebook page Friday morning. The post, including a
graphic depicting the well-known red Salvation Army bucket and logos, shared
that Hells Angels members would be collecting donations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday at the Valparaiso Walmart.
On Saturday, the Hells Angels posted again — this time
including their own photos of members dressed in vests with patches and Santa
hats next to the Salvation Army's "Doing the Most Good" sign and
buckets. One appeared to be sporting the "Aryan" patch that attracted
attention in the original Facebook post that went viral.
"Thank you Valparaiso for showing your support for our
less fortunate neighbors," the Hells Angels NWI Region Facebook post read.
"You helped us fill 6 buckets fulla cash! Big thanks to the Salvation Army
for the opportunity to help our community."
The original Facebook post was shared more than 10,000 times
before being taken down.
The woman who made the original post on Facebook said the
photos were taken by her mother.
The poster, whose name is being withheld, said her mother
notified a Walmart manager about the men and their vests. The manager asked the
men to remove the vests, and they refused.
The poster said she received several threats regarding her
post.
“People thought I was going after the Hells Angels,"
the poster told The Times. "No, the Hells Angels does a lot of good and
commendable things. … I have friends that are bikers, and I love them dearly.
It’s not that I have anything against bikers.”
SOURCE: Northwest Times
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Hells Angels MC member targeted for murder
Surrey, B.C. (November 20, 2018) BTN — A man described by
homicide investigators as a member of the Hells Angels has been identified as
the victim of a suspected targeted slaying in Metro Vancouver.
He says detectives will be working with gang enforcement
experts to avoid any retaliation.
In November 2008, Wilson and a co-accused were acquitted by a jury in South Dakota of attempted murder for a 2006 gunfight that injured members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
Five people were hurt in an exchange of gunfire. Wilson told his trial that he fired in self-defence after the Outlaws started shooting.
Cpl. Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation
Team says the body of 43-year-old Chad Wilson was found Sunday morning in Maple
Ridge, where he was living.
Jang says Wilson was a member of the Hells Angels and
describes the killing of a member of the biker-club as “unsettling news.”
Wilson had a previous criminal conviction in the United
States stemming from a shooting in South Dakota in 2006 that injured five
affiliate members of a rival motorcycle club and Jang says officers are looking
into his past.
Police are also appealing to Wilson’s friends in the Hells
Angels to come forward.
Jang said Tuesday that members of the Hells Angels may have
“intimate knowledge” of what happened and he urged them to speak to officers,
regardless of their current involvement in criminal activity.
“We will go to wherever you are, we will sit down and speak with you and we will treat you with the utmost respect. We want to solve your friend’s — your associate’s — murder as much as you do,” Jang told a news conference in Surrey.
The cause of Wilson’s death has not been released but Jang says the homicide team is working with Ridge Meadows RCMP, forensic specialists, the BC Coroners Service and gang enforcement units from across Metro Vancouver.
The cause of Wilson’s death has not been released but Jang says the homicide team is working with Ridge Meadows RCMP, forensic specialists, the BC Coroners Service and gang enforcement units from across Metro Vancouver.
Wilson’s body was found near the banks of the Fraser River
under the Golden Ears Bridge.
Five people were hurt in an exchange of gunfire. Wilson told his trial that he fired in self-defence after the Outlaws started shooting.
Following his acquittal, Wilson was subsequently convicted
by the same South Dakota court of being a non-immigrant alien in possession of
a firearm and sentenced to four years in prison.
SOURCE: The Province
Monday, November 19, 2018
Hells Angel MC member found dead under bridge
Vancouver, British Columbia (November 19, 2018) BTN — A full-patch Hells Angel MC member with the Hellside Chapter was found
murdered under the Golden Ears Bridge Sunday.
Wilson, however, pleaded guilty in April 2009 of being an alien in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to four years in jail.
Chad Wilson, a former Hells Angel in San Diego, then Haney,
joined the clubs’s newest chapter when it formed last year. Some of his buddies had reported him missing the night before his body was found in the 20000-block of Wharf Street, Postmedia has learned.
Hardside chapter of the Hells Angels, From left, Chad Wilson
(formerly of the Haney chapter); Suminder Grewal (formerly of the Haney
chapter); and Jamie Yochlowitz (formerly of the Vancouver chapter)
Firefighters were first called to the scene about 11:30 a.m.
Sunday. They immediately called in the Mounties when they found Wilson’s body.
Friends of Wilson’s, wearing their death head patched Hells
Angels vests, soon showed up at the scene.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is working with
Ridge Meadows RCMP on the case.
Wilson’s name had not yet been released by police, but
fellow bikers and family were already paying tribute to the dead 43-year-old on
Sunday night. Wilson was a high-profile and popular member of the Hells
Angels and his murder is expected to increase the volatility in the Lower
Mainland motorcycle club landscape.
In fact, he was known to police in several parts of the
world.
In 2013, Wilson was charged in Spain with B.C. Hells Angel
Jason Arkinstall and two associates after police there seized half a tonne of
cocaine from a sailboat that had arrived from Colombia.
The Spanish government said one of the B.C. bikers was on
the vessel, while the others were waiting in Spain. They were arrested in a
restaurant in Pontevedra, a port in the northwest of Spain.
Officials said the drug conspiracy was linked to a member of
the San Diego chapter of the Hells Angels – the same chapter that Wilson had
joined as a prospect on Jan. 28, 2005. Wilson became a full-patch Hells Angel a year later on Jan.
28, 2006.
Within a few months he was sitting in a jail cell in South Dakota, charged along with fellow HA member John Midmore, with attempted murder for an Aug. 8, 2006 gunfight with members of the rival Outlaws biker club.
Within a few months he was sitting in a jail cell in South Dakota, charged along with fellow HA member John Midmore, with attempted murder for an Aug. 8, 2006 gunfight with members of the rival Outlaws biker club.
Several bikers and passersby were struck. One Outlaw was
paralyzed by Wilson.
But both he and Midmore claimed self-defence and were later
acquitted.
Video on the Hells Angels put out by the Vancouver Sun
Wilson, however, pleaded guilty in April 2009 of being an alien in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to four years in jail.
In his letter to the judge, Wilson claimed that he would
have been killed if he had not shot at the Outlaws when he did.
“To have to go through this nightmare I have been through
for the past 983 days…to have people people think I am somehow at fault for the
extreme injuries that not just Mr. Neale, but others suffered as well –
psychological and physical – that is just outright wrong to do to me,” Wilson
complained. “Don’t think for one second that I don’t live with the nightmare in
my head.”
He said he had replayed the events that led to the shootout
“over and over again in my head.”
“I come up with the same answer every time. If I did not
have a gun that day – Auig. 8, 2006 – and I did not shoot back, I would be
DEAD!!” he said. “This situation was 100% out of my control. I have the right
to defend myself. I want to go home. I have everything great waiting for me, my
drilling job, my kids, my wife and my dog and the number one thing, my LIFE!!”
He said being in jail is “true hell that I’ve been through.”
SOURCE: Vancouver Sun
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Hells Angels member and wife sentenced to death
Perth, Thailand (November 15, 2018) — A Perth father turned
Hells Angels MC member and drugs trafficker and his wife have been sentenced to
death in Thailand over a failed bid to smuggle half a tonne of crystal
meth-amphetamine through the country to Australia.
Luke Joshua Cook, 35, and his Thai wife Kanyarat Wechapitak
were arrested in December at Bangkok International Airport when he returned on
a flight from Australia after local police linked him to a plot to import meth
into Thailand two years earlier.
The Thai courts sentenced the pair to death for the plan to
traffic the crystal meth, also known as ice, with an estimated street value of
$300 million. Their sentences are expected to be commuted to life in jail.
Assets linked to the pair worth $800,000 including property,
cash and cars are to be forfeited.
Veneer of boats, bars and baht fell apart in Thailand for
Perth man Luke Cook. Cook, who is believed to have two children, was born in
Duncraig in 1983 and spent part of his childhood in New Zealand and Papua New
Guinea before returning to WA as a teenager.
According to a CV he posted on LinkedIn, from mid-2003 he
spent several years working as a chef in fly-in, fly-out positions around WA
including on a fishing boat and at mine sites, as well as at the Christmas
Island immigration detention centre. After meeting his future wife online, he moved to Thailand
where he bought a bar in the beach resort town of Pattaya, set up a business
importing boats and marine parts and joined the Pattaya branch of the Hells
Angels.
Police said that in 2015, Cook took a yacht into
international waters off the Thai coast to collect 500kg of meth from a Chinese
trawler. The illicit cargo was dumped overboard after the Thai Coast
Guard came across the boat on its way back to port.
Although the patrol boat saw a man throwing bags over the
side, he escaped in the dim, early-morning light. Four sacks containing about 50kg of the meth were found
washed ashore on Mae Ramphueng Beach in Rayong province.
Thai authorities said Cook was given $15 million by
high-ranking Australian Hells Angels bikie Wayne Schneider to buy and store the
drugs for later shipment to Australia.
After the failed delivery, Schneider — a fugitive who was
wanted in Australia on multiple warrants and was deemed at the time to be the
biggest importer of narcotics into Australia — demanded his money back. He was murdered in November 2015 by members of his gang, his
naked and mutilated body found in a shallow grave by the side of a road in
Pattaya.
Cook was convicted and handed a suspended sentence over his
involvement in the Schneider murder after trying to help former Sydney gangster
Antonio Bagnato flee the country and cross the border to Cambodia. Bagnato was arrested, found guilty and sentenced to death
over the murder but the sentence was later commuted to life in prison.
The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday declined to
comment on Cook’s sentencing citing privacy reasons.
Luke Joshua Cook, 35, and his Thai wife Kanyarat Wechapitak
A spokeswoman confirmed “the Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade is providing consular assistance to an Australian in Thailand”.
An Australian Federal Police spokesman said that it was not
appropriate to comment as it was a matter for the Thai authorities. “The AFP was briefed in relation to this matter following
the arrest by Thai authorities,” he said yesterday. “The AFP had no involvement
in the Thai investigation that resulted in this man’s arrest and subsequent
conviction.”
The arrest of Cook and his 40-year-old wife in December was
part of a series of raids by the Thai police in an operation dubbed Clipping
The Wings Of Angels as it sought to smash Australian Outlaw Motorcycle Gang-led
bikie chapters in Thailand. Several Australians were arrested and deported and at least
two remain on the run.
Thai police said the Australian men were involved in drugs,
extortion, money laundering, weapons, human trafficking for the sex industry
and posed a national threat to security.
An investigation last year found that in Thailand alone, 36 motorcycle club chapters had been established by Australian-led or affiliated gang
members, particularly around tourist resort cities of Pattaya, Phuket and
Chiang Mai and the capital Bangkok.
Chapters have also been established in Indonesia, Cambodia
and Singapore.
SOURCE: The West Australian
Monday, November 5, 2018
District Attorney: Police not submitting evidence against Pagans MC in bar fight
Pittsburgh, PA (November 5, 2018) Editorial — What were
members of the Pittsburgh police doing drinking in a South Side bar before
fighting four men, all allegedly members of the Pagans motorcycle club, earlier
last month? And why are the police stonewalling the district attorney’s office
as the city attempts to figure out what led to that drunken melee?
Related
Related
Related
Related
These are the questions that must be answered as serious
questions have been raised about the official police account surrounding the
recent brawl.
Video still of bar fight with the Pagans MC and undercover police on October 13, 2018
The Oct. 13 dust up was ostensibly the result of a drug
dealing sting gone awry. According to the police, the undercover officers had
their covers blown before a Pagan allegedly started pushing and throwing
punches. The officers claimed the use of force was necessary for bringing down
the unruly men.
All told, four alleged Pagans were arrested and charged with
aggravated assault, conspiracy and causing a riot.
Video from the incident and testimony from others have
revealed discrepancies in the official account
Surveillance cameras inside the bar captured officers
drinking heavily for about five hours before the confrontation. Attorney Martin
A. Dietz, who represents 28-year-old Erik Heitzenrater, estimated that some of
the detectives had as many as 15 drinks, usually doubles and triples on the
rocks.
The officers then verbally sparred with the alleged Pagans.
One detective raised his shirt to display his firearm. More words were
exchanged, then pushing, then fisticuffs.
Related |Pittsburgh Mayor defends drunken cops who started fight withPagans MC members
Related |Pagans MC: Bar owner says cops would not leave MC members alone
Related |Pagans MC: District attorney waits on critical info from cops
Related |Pagans MC: Attorneys say new video shows cops started bar fight
Related |Pagans MC: The cops were drunk and started the fight
After the fight broke out, video captured one defendant,
36-year-old Frank Deluca, being pinned against the bar by one officer as
another struck Mr. Deluca in the head 19 times. Mr. Deluca was hospitalized
with two black eyes, one of which was swollen shut, and bruising on his
forehead.
Another alleged Pagan can be seen getting punched by an
officer despite standing away from the scuffle. The officer then kicks that
same man on the ground.
It is clear there are significant questions to be answered
about this operation. But the police have not seemed too eager to answer them.
On Oct. 25, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A.
Zappala Jr. publicly questioned why the police have not been forthcoming with
evidence and statements about the brawl.
Not enough evidence against the Pagans MC
Mr. Zappala said that, as of this writing, he does not have
enough evidence to prosecute any of the accused Pagans. He also stated that the
police have not informed if the officers were actually undercover or on an
assignment in the bar.
Are officers permitted to drink on the job? What latitude is
afforded to undercover officers on assignment? What is the evidence supporting
the charges facing the four alleged Pagans?
Mr. Zappala is right to criticize the department for its
obfuscation, an approach he has effectively used in the past. The people of
Pittsburgh need to know that their police officers are comporting themselves in
a respectful manner and that the department will provide transparency and
accountability. They deserve answers.
Friday, November 2, 2018
Mongols MC: Rat brags how he gained trust with members
Santa Ana, California. (November 2, 2018) BTN — A veteran
federal agent who spent years undercover after infiltrating the Mongols Motorcycle
Club offered his first-hand account Thursday of a secretive culture of violence
and intimidation during testimony in an ongoing federal racketeering trial.
Related | Mongols MC: Feds going after clubs colors at racketeering trial
The three years that Darrin Kozlowski and three other U.S.
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Officers spent embedded in the outlaw
motorcycle club already has led to guilty pleas from 77 members of the Mongols.
Now, the since-retired special agents’ efforts are at the center of the
government’s attempts to seize legal control over the Mongols’ trademark name,
a move that would bar the bikers from wearing the patches that now adorn their
vests.
During a federal trial in Santa Ana this week, prosecutors
have portrayed the Mongols as a criminal organization that encourages and
rewards members who take part in violent, at-times deadly assaults, including
riots in Laughlin, Nev. and a melee at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon near Palm
Springs in 2002, and violent attacks in bars or restaurants in more recent
years in Hollywood, Pasadena, Merced, La Mirada, Wilmington and Riverside.
Kozlowski, who previously infiltrated a Hollywood chapter of
the Vagos motorcycle club and an East Coast chapter of the Warlocks motorcycle
club, worked his way up the ranks of the Cypress Park chapter of the Mongols
between 2005 and 2008, adopting the persona of “Dirty Dan” and telling other
members of the club that he had Mafia ties fostered while growing up in
Chicago.
It was a risky move, Kozlowski acknowledged during his
testimony, particularly since he had already infiltrated one outlaw motorcycle
club in Southern California. A photo of Kozlowski had also been printed in a
book written by William Queen, a since-retired ATF agent who had infiltrated
the Mongols years earlier, and whose work was well known throughout the
motorcycle gang.
Kozlowski testified to buying crystal methamphetamine from
several members of the Mongols, to being present for several brawls in clubs or
parking lots, to helping members legally barred from having firearms hide their
guns and to being told that other members of the club that they had killed
members of the Hells Angels, whose bloody rivalry with the Mongols dates back
to the 1970s.
“Members would often talk about doing things to elevate
themselves within the Mongols by doing these acts of violence,” Kozlowski said.
“It was talked about as a badge of honor.”
Kozlowski said some members of the motorcycle club were
initially suspicious of him and the other undercover agents, forcing them to
take polygraph tests before being allowed to join. He described for jurors the
inner workings of the club, including detailing the various patches members can
acquire for a variety of actions, from assaults and even murders of rivals to
explicit sexual conquests.
To bolster his false identity, Kozlowski said he once
offered to fly his chapter president to Chicago for a tour of what he claimed
were his childhood neighborhoods. The chapter president unexpectedly accepted
the invitation, Kozlowski testified, and law enforcement officials were forced
to set up a dinner in Chicago with other agents posing as Italian organized
crime bosses who told the Mongols leader they had worked with Kozlowski on past
criminal endeavors.
There were several times Kozlowski said he believed the
other Mongols were on the verge of realizing he was a law enforcement officer.
He recalled once entering the home of Mongols leadership to see several members
holding Queen’s book and looking at the photographs, and immediately believing
he had been set up before realizing it was simply a coincidence. The president
of his chapter eventually saw the photo of Kozlowski in the book, and had to be
convinced it wasn’t him.
“Why would a member of the ATF who infiltrated the Vagos in
this area come back and be a member of the Mongols?” Kozlowski testified about
telling his chapter president.
Attorney Joseph Yanny, who is representing the Mongols, has
acknowledged that members of the club broke the law, but told jurors that those
individuals had been kicked out for their actions. On other occasions, Yanny
told jurors, the club members acted in self-defense or were induced into drug
deals by undercover agents.
Kozlowski testified that during his time with the motorcycle
club he never saw anyone kicked out for illegal behavior, including individuals
convicted of felonies. Prosecutors have previously indicated that if they are
successful in their efforts to gain legal control over the Mongols’ trademark,
they could literally take the jacket off the bikers backs anywhere in the
country. The club traces its roots to Montebello in the 1970s.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who is presiding over
the trial, was angered late Thursday morning when four bikers, including one
wearing sunglasses, appeared in the courtroom. The judge initially believed
that it was a violation of an agreement the club had made to only have two of
its members in the courtroom at a time, but learned that two of the visitors
were from other motorcycle clubs.
Carter, who noted that 40 to 50 Mongol members attended some
pretrial hearings, said anyone has a right to watch the trial. But he also made
clear that for every member of the Mongol’s who attends, he will have an equal
number of U.S. Marshal’s in the courtroom.
“You can have 50 people in here, but I’ll match them,”
Carter warned the clubs leaders. “My jury is not going to be intimidated.”
SOURCE: The Orange County Register
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Feds move forward with new tattoo recognition tech in prisons
Gaithersburg, MD (November 1, 2018) BTN — The National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) partnered with the FBI to evaluate
a tattoo recognition software to be implemented in federal prisons.
The software evaluates tattoos for political beliefs,
religious beliefs and any organizational affiliation, including criminal.
NIST said the Tattoo Recognition Technology Program is
designed to assess and measure the capability of systems to perform automated
image-based tattoo recognition. Organizations like the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) question the legitimacy of how this technology benefits
American citizens.
“One of the emerging technologies is tattoo recognition,”
Dave Maass said. “We really would like to challenge, then criticize it before
it really becomes as widespread as some of the other technologies that are out
there.”
Maass is a senior investigative researcher at EFF and has
followed NIST’s program since 2015, one year after its start.
NIST is reviewing this technology for use in federal
prisons, and they used images of inmates’ tattoos for their Tattoo Recognition
Technology Challenge (Tatt-C). NIST failed to obtain the required human
subjects protection review until after the experiment. This review ensures the
protection of human subjects in research and is required prior to starting the
research.
“NIST regrets that its formal human subjects protection
review occurred while the Tatt-C publications were being drafted and not prior
to the start of the project as required,” NIST said.
Remy Cross is a sociology and criminology professor at
Webster University. Cross has conducted research involving prisoners. He said
prisoners, current patients and children require the greatest attention when
dealing with informed consent.
“I have to meet a very high standard as a social scientist
to be able to conduct research with prisoners through the National Institute of
Justice and through the Department of Justice,” Cross said. “The problem is
this research is coming out of [the Department of Commerce] which does not have
the same understanding and the same duty to protection of these populations.”
NIST said after a full human subjects protection review was
conducted, Tatt-C did not meet the criteria for human subjects research as
defined by federal regulations. Since the general human subjects protection
regulations did not apply, the section of the regulations related to prisoners
also did not apply.
Since the conclusion of Tatt-C, NIST said it hired
additional human subjects protection experts and expanded and enhanced training
for its staff. NIST began conducting Tattoo Recognition Technology Evaluation
(Tatt-E) in 2016 as a continuation of Tatt-C, and plans to commence this fall.
Maass said he worries the reasons for incarceration are
becoming more about data collection. He said he fears people will be
incarcerated in order to get pictures of their tattoos or get their DNA.
“It’s really important that you realize that just because
you’re arrested doesn’t mean you’ve actually committed a crime,” Maass said.
“And yet by being booked into the system, you have all of those things robbed
of you, your images relating to your body. But I think that with tattoos,
there’s a lot of room for error in there and that it doesn’t serve the causes
of justice.”
Cross said the belief that tattoos and criminality go hand in hand has been around for hundreds of years, and research shows it is not true.
“What you have here is myth and the Department of Commerce
attempting to replicate the Soviet-era criminal tattoo tracking program, but
using fancy technology for it and in the face of the fact that these tattoo
tracking things are not proven to be very effective,” Cross said.
Cross said when someone gets a tattoo with criminal ties, it
can be for a variety of reasons that are not criminal reasons. Other people
have tattoos from a criminal past that they moved on from. Cross said this
technology tries to assign people into different categories based on their
tattoos without allowing them to explain their meaning for the tattoo.
Maas fears this technology will expand from solely being
used in federal prisons.
“We’re not just talking about inmates,” Maass said. “We’re
talking about potentially having this being used against immigrants, being used
in deportation efforts, being used to add people to gang databases that even if
they aren’t a gang member, being added to a database could follow them their
entire lives.”
NIST’s original documents from Tatt-C mention how tattoos
can identify a person’s ritualistic beliefs, religions and interests. After EFF
questioned this profiling method, Maas said NIST retracted information about
people’s beliefs from their papers, presentations and website.
Cross said this technology could potentially place innocent
American citizens under surveillance because of their tattoos. These people do
not get to know what category their tattoo places them in, or what assumptions
are made from those categories. He said this situation could deny someone a
federal position, chance for parole and other opportunities based on
surveillance of their tattoo.
The tattoo recognition software is made up of algorithms
created by outside companies like the MITRE Corporation. Cross said researchers
argue algorithms cannot be biased, but Cross disagrees.
“Algorithms are made by people who put their own biases into
these things when they say ‘It’s just tattoo recognition,’ yeah, but who’s
putting the meaning in for these tattoos,” Cross said. “Somebody’s doing that
and when they do that, they’re making assumptions about it, and because of
that, the potential for harm is tremendous.”
Cross said some of the experts cited in NIST’s report are
good at identifying tattoos for Hispanic and certain Chinese gangs, but they
almost always miss nationalist gangs and one percenter motorcycle gangs. He
said if this margin of error gets encoded into the algorithm, the algorithm
will have higher hit rates on Asian and Latino suspects, but miss white
supremacist, white nationalist and white biker gang suspects.
Cross worked on a surveillance project with a Department of
Defense grant that aimed to assist police. The technology took audio and video
from public places, and Cross found that some officers shared lewd images from
the surveillance, or viewed it as a goldmine to gather information.
He found that engineers do not usually receive the same
ethical training around human subjects as researchers or scientists. As a
result, Cross said the engineers are not as focused on the potential harm their
technology brings to the public.
“I think [NIST], as researchers, they need to take a hard
look at how this kind of technology will be used to oppress people and then
make a decision whether they want to be involved in that kind of research,”
Maass said.
SOURCE: The Webster Journal
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Mongols MC: Feds going after clubs colors at racketeering trial
Santa Ana, California. (October 31, 2018) BTN —The feds have
called the Mongol Nation "the most violent and dangerous" biker gang
in the country, and they're trying an unusual tactic to dismantle them:
Stripping them of the trademarked patches that are prized by members and feared
by rivals.
A racketeering trial is set to begin in Santa Ana,
California, later this week — opening arguments begin Wednesday — in which
prosecutors accuse Mongol Nation of operating as an organized criminal
enterprise involved in murder, attempted murder, assault, drug-dealing and
more.
The Feds are going after the Trademarked colors of the Mongols MC
And prosecutors want to force the organization to forfeit
"any and all marks" that include the organization's logo — the word
"Mongols" and a drawing of a Genghis Khan-styled rider on a
motorcycle.
That caricature is serious business for the Mongols, court
papers say.
Higher-ups in the estimated 600-person gang "will
frequently bear patches that indicate that they are officers in the
enterprise," and they earn those patches through violence and mayhem,
prosecutors say.
"The Mongols Gang is a violent, drug trafficking
organization that advocates and rewards its members and associates for
committing violent crimes, including, and specifically, assaults and murders,
on behalf of the gang and in order to promote what the gang terms 'respect,'
prosecutors wrote in one court filing.
In another filing, they said the club's 'Mother
Chapter' may award a specific Mongols member a 'skull and crossbones' or
'Respect Few Fear None' patch to those members who have committed murder or
engaged acts of violence on behalf of the Mongols."
The Feds showing off motorcycles and colors they confiscated from the Mongols MC
The U.S. Attorney's Office for California's Central District
has been trying to go after the patches for a decade. Then-U.S. Attorney Thomas
O'Brien first announced the unusual legal bid after 79 members of the gang were
indicted in 2008.
“If the court grants our request ... then if any law
enforcement officer sees a Mongol wearing his patch, he will be authorized to
stop that gang member and literally take the jacket right off his back,"
O'Brien said at the time, according to a McClatchy report.
But that bid and a later one got shot down in court. A
federal appeals court gave prosecutors the green light to try again last year. Opening arguments are is set to begin for the expected eight
week trial on Wednesday. Prosecutors say they expect to call 96 witnesses
detailing the gang's criminal history.
Defense lawyers say the motorcycle group is simply a loose
configuration of riders in the Southwest, not an organized criminal enterprise.
They also maintain that the government doesn't have the right to seize the
patches of members who haven't been involved in any criminal activity.
In court filings, the group's lawyers say they plan to call
former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura as an expert witness on the group and
its history. Ventura — also a former professional wrestler and actor — was a
member of the the group in the 1970s. Defense lawyers also want to call journalist Lisa Ling, who
interviewed the group for a CNN documentary in 2015, to testify about the
"organization and structure of the club."
The government has objected to both Ventura and Ling being
called as witnesses, saying neither is an expert.
SOURCE: NBC News
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Bandidos MC: Maximum security prison only option for former member
Moncton, N.B. (October 30, 2018) —A “charismatic” former
member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club serving a life sentence for a brutal
Toronto-area murder has lost a bid to get out of the highest-security prison on
the East Coast.
A New Brunswick judge has ruled that Randolph Brown — once
connected to the Bandidos MV — will keep his new “maximum security” status and
be housed at the Atlantic Institution near Renous, N.B.
Brown, 47, was handed a life sentence in 2008 with no parole
eligibility until June 2016 after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
Confiscated vest with Bandidos MC colors
He had spent much of his time at New Brunswick’s
minimum-security Westmoreland Institution before being moved to the nearby
medium-security Dorchester Penitentiary in 2017, and then to the Atlantic
Institution in August 2018.
Brown, originally from Jackson’s Point, Ont., went to court
to fight the reclassification.
Justice Denise LeBlanc of New Brunswick’s Court of Queens
Bench described two sides of Brown in her ruling this month. Officials describe him as “charismatic and well-spoken,”
with one saying she had always found him personable and easy to talk to. He was
described as “a forthcoming and cognizant individual, someone who possessed the
ability to succeed.”
But he was also an integral part of Dorchester’s
“sub-culture activities, including intimidation, extortion, muscling, assault,
trading in and possession and distribution of contraband/unauthorized items,
possession of stolen property,” according to LeBlanc’s ruling.
Brown was seen on camera “collecting” items from other
inmates, and head-butting another prisoner.
Corrections officials argued his transfer would alleviate “a
major hold held over general population offenders and reducing the risk of
creating either more associate participation or potential victims of the
sub-culture hierarchy.”
The warden felt Brown had needs that required a highly
structured environment, the judge said.
“In protecting the safety and security of the institution, I
have no alternative but to approve the proposed involuntary transfer to higher
security,” the warden said in a report.
In her ruling, LeBlanc said the warden’s decision was
reasonable and justified, and she rejected Brown’s bid and ordered him to pay
$750 in costs. Brown is one of four men who pleaded guilty in the 2005
death of Shawn Douse, a Keswick, Ont., drug dealer.
Another biker was upset that Douse had been selling cocaine
to family members. Brown admitted he stuffed a T-shirt into Douse’s throat to
kill him, after he was beaten unconscious.
Douse’s body was found in a Pickering, Ont., field on Dec.
8, 2005. He had been bound and gagged, with a bag over his head, and set on
fire.
SOURCE: The Star
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Pittsburgh Mayor defends drunken cops who started fight with Pagans MC members
Pittsburgh, PA (October 27, 2018) BTN — Pittsburgh Mayor
Bill Peduto on Friday pushed back against Allegheny County District Attorney
Stephen A. Zappala’s characterization of the city police investigation of a
brawl between undercover officers and members of the Pagans motorcycle club.
Related
Related
Related
Kopy's Bar in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Mr. Peduto called Mr. Zappala’s statement that he had
problems with police management “disappointing” and “unfortunate,” and said he
had not yet decided whether the undercover detectives used appropriate force
when they fought with four Pagans in Kopy’s Bar on the South Side on Oct. 12.
Related |Pagans MC: Bar owner says cops would not leave MC members alone
Related |Pagans MC: District attorney waits on critical info from cops
Related |Pagans MC: Attorneys say new video shows cops started bar fight
Related |Pagans MC: The cops were drunk and started the fight
“What I saw is troubling, with the actions of escalation of
force that didn’t seem to be warranted, but without full evidence of what
actually happened, it’s very difficult to make that judgmental call,” Mr.
Peduto said. “And a district attorney’s role is to investigate first, then
comment; not comment and then do an investigation.”
Mr. Zappala said Thursday that Pittsburgh police initially
turned over only a small part of the video evidence in the case, and that his office did not
receive the rest for more than a week. Mr. Peduto said Mr. Zappala received all the evidence he
wanted within 48 hours of the request.
“I can understand why he would want information immediately,
but some of that had to be obtained by our officers, such as the cameras, the
video, and then compiled to be able to give that to him,” Mr. Peduto said. “I
think 48 hours is a fair amount of time.”
But Mr. Zappala’s spokesman, Mike Manko, said Friday it took
far longer than 48 hours. The DA’s office requested the evidence Oct. 18 and
received it Wednesday -- a day after the office was forced to postpone a
scheduled preliminary hearings for the Pagans. Additionally, Mr. Manko said, body
camera footage was delivered late Thursday afternoon.
“These requests are memorialized in dated emails,” Mr. Manko
said.
Mr. Peduto also said Kopy’s Bar was frequented by motorcycle
gangs and that area is “suspected of being a major trafficking area of illegal
drugs.”
Mr. Manko said police evidence does not support that
characterization of the bar, and an attorney for the bar, George R. Farneth II,
said Friday it’s simply not true.
“We categorically deny that allegation and would encourage
the mayor to come forward with all the evidence he has to support such an
allegation,” Mr. Farneth said. “Short of doing that, this is a veiled attempt
to cover for a police department for his city that in a lot of respects is out
of control, as evidenced by these police officers.”
Mr. Farneth said the bar has not been cited by the Liquor
Control Board or has needed to call police for more than a decade. Mr. Farneth
said Kopy’s Bar is not frequented by bikers.
“If you go on a regular day of the week, any day of the
week, the chances of a biker being in the bar are slim to none,” he said. “It’s
locals, everyday common folk.”
Six members of the Pagans motorcycle club were there Oct.
12., and four left in handcuffs. Frank Deluca, Erik Heitzenrater, Bruce Thomas
and Michael Zokaites each face several felony charges as a result of the fight,
which their attorneys contend was started by intoxicated undercover detectives.
Detectives Brian Burgunder, David Honick, Brian Martin and
David Lincoln had been drinking in the bar from 7:33 p.m. until the fight about
12:40 p.m., surveillance video shows.
Police officers are prohibited from drinking alcohol while
on duty, but Mayor Peduto said Friday there is an unwritten understanding that
undercover officers can drink while on the job to maintain their covers.
“That being said...someone would be expected while doing
undercover work to be able to consume while still being able to properly
respond,” he said. “And not being in a situation where the intoxication level
would jeopardize themselves or other officers. That’s what we’re looking at
right now. There isn’t a policy in place, it’s a common sense call.”
Attorneys for the men arrested say each of the undercover
detectives drank between 13 and 19 drinks, many on the rocks, before the fight
broke out.
The mayor said he’s asked Pittsburgh police Chief Scott
Schubert and Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich to create an alcohol
policy for undercover officers by looking at how other cities handle the
matter.
Mr. Farneth on Friday called on police to be more
transparent and said they should release body camera footage from uniformed
officers who responded to the fight to resolve any lingering questions about
how the incident and subsequent investigation were handled.
The affidavit in the case, written by Detective Burgunder,
was not finished and filed in City Court, Downtown, until 1 p.m. Oct. 12 --
nearly 12 hours after the fight. The document was approved by the District
Attorney’s office about 11 a.m.
That timeline appears to violate Pittsburgh police policy,
which typically requires officers to finish reports before the end of their
shifts. Defendants cannot be arraigned or processed at the jail until the
police affidavit is filed. Court records show the Pagans were arraigned about
6:40 p.m. Oct. 12.
Pittsburgh police spokesman Chris Togneri would not say
Friday whether Detective Burgunder was granted permission to wait to file the
paperwork. Elizabeth Pittinger, executive director of the Citizen
Police Review Board, said Friday the end-of-shift policy helps ensure that
officers can accurately recall what happened.”
“I think it’s inappropriate that it was filed so late and I
believe it’s also contrary to the policy expectation that the report be
completed prior to the end of shift, and with the rare exception and with a
supervisor's approval,” she said.
SOURCE: Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Pagans MC: District attorney waits on critical info from cops
Pittsburgh, PA (October 25, 2018) BTN — The Allegheny County District Attorney says he is waiting on critical information from Pittsburgh police about a bar fight involving undercover officers and members of the Pagan Motorcycle club.
"That's why I got cameras up and down Carson Street because I don't want to go through this nonsense," said Stephen Zappala, Allegheny County district attorney.
A lot of questions remain over what led to the fight inside Kopy's, and the role of the undercover police officers seen on the video. “I don't know what kind of games these guys are playing, but this is serious stuff," Zappala said. "That's one of the reasons I'm talking with the U.S. attorney.” Zappala says he just received more than a dozen disks of security footage from the night of the fight, nearly two weeks later. “I don't know that they're undercover," Zappala said. "I don't know why they're in the bar.
Related
Related
We haven't heard from a supervisor that they were on-duty. We haven't heard from a supervisor who the target was, if there was in fact a target.” Attorneys for the four Pagan suspects facing assault charges have criticized the officers conduct, saying they had 40 drinks between them before the fight.
Zappala said he's still waiting on critical information from police, including body camera video from the responding officers. “Controlling a situation or trying to hurt somebody are two totally different things," Zappala said. "This is the second time we've had somebody repeatedly struck in the head. I have a problem with that.”
The Pagan MC members involved in the bar fight are scheduled to be in court next month. Various news sources asked Pittsburgh police to respond to the district attorney's criticism over the handling of the investigation, but a spokesman declined to comment.
SOURCE: WPXI News
A lot of questions remain over what led to the fight inside Kopy's, and the role of the undercover police officers seen on the video. “I don't know what kind of games these guys are playing, but this is serious stuff," Zappala said. "That's one of the reasons I'm talking with the U.S. attorney.” Zappala says he just received more than a dozen disks of security footage from the night of the fight, nearly two weeks later. “I don't know that they're undercover," Zappala said. "I don't know why they're in the bar.
Related |Pagans MC: Attorneys say new video shows cops started bar fight
Related |Pagans MC: The cops were drunk and started the fight
We haven't heard from a supervisor that they were on-duty. We haven't heard from a supervisor who the target was, if there was in fact a target.” Attorneys for the four Pagan suspects facing assault charges have criticized the officers conduct, saying they had 40 drinks between them before the fight.
Zappala said he's still waiting on critical information from police, including body camera video from the responding officers. “Controlling a situation or trying to hurt somebody are two totally different things," Zappala said. "This is the second time we've had somebody repeatedly struck in the head. I have a problem with that.”
The Pagan MC members involved in the bar fight are scheduled to be in court next month. Various news sources asked Pittsburgh police to respond to the district attorney's criticism over the handling of the investigation, but a spokesman declined to comment.
SOURCE: WPXI News
No Surrender MC: Founder gets six years in prison
Breda, Netherlands (October 25, 2018) BTN — The founder of the No Surrender motorcycle club has been jailed for six years for assault, extortion and making threats, as well as laundering €1.3 million. Klaas Otto left one of his victims with permanent injuries and threatened to cut off his children’s ears, the district court in Breda heard.
The 51-year-old told another victim that his wife would be raped by members of his club if he refused to pay up. ‘He used the threat of severe violence to force his victims to hand over large sums of money and cars,’ judges said in passing sentence. The court said there was an ‘atmosphere of menace’ surrounding Otto, who denied all charges against him.
Several alleged victims refused to testify because they feared reprisals, but the court found Otto guilty of threatening and mistreating two car dealers. The sentence was lower than the 10 years demanded by prosecutors, partly because the court decided other charges including arson and letting off a hand grenade had not been proven. Judges also took account of the fact that Otto had been the target in a shooting incident and had been detained in custody for 18 months on a charge of threatening a prosecutor, which the court decided was not supported by the evidence.
His incarceration was ‘too long and too severe,’ the court decided. The prosecution service said last December it would seek a nationwide ban on No Surrender similar to the one imposed on rival motorcycle clubs Saturadah and Bandidos.
SOURCE: Dutch News
The 51-year-old told another victim that his wife would be raped by members of his club if he refused to pay up. ‘He used the threat of severe violence to force his victims to hand over large sums of money and cars,’ judges said in passing sentence. The court said there was an ‘atmosphere of menace’ surrounding Otto, who denied all charges against him.
Several alleged victims refused to testify because they feared reprisals, but the court found Otto guilty of threatening and mistreating two car dealers. The sentence was lower than the 10 years demanded by prosecutors, partly because the court decided other charges including arson and letting off a hand grenade had not been proven. Judges also took account of the fact that Otto had been the target in a shooting incident and had been detained in custody for 18 months on a charge of threatening a prosecutor, which the court decided was not supported by the evidence.
His incarceration was ‘too long and too severe,’ the court decided. The prosecution service said last December it would seek a nationwide ban on No Surrender similar to the one imposed on rival motorcycle clubs Saturadah and Bandidos.
SOURCE: Dutch News
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Pagans MC: Attorneys say new video shows cops started bar fight
Pittsburgh, PA (October 23, 2018) BTN — Four members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club were all charged after a brawl at Kopy’s Bar on the South Side earlier this month.
They are Frank DeLuca, Eric Heitzenrater, Bruce Thomas and Michael Zokaites.
New video was released by their attorneys on Tuesday.
Before the brawl, you can see DeLuca reaching out to shake hands with undercover officers. “Our clients are minding their own business at the bar trying to ignore them.
Related
The officers are repeatedly going over, tapping them, touching them, trying to engage them,” said attorney Wendy Williams. The attorneys believe things escalated due to the amount of alcohol they say the undercover officers were drinking. “The main aggressor in this incident is seen drinking a fifth and a half of Jack Daniels in shots over the course of four to five hours,” said Williams. “One of the officers brandished a firearm.
He could barely stand. He was wobbly. Displayed a firearm to one of the defendants,” said attorney Martin Dietz. “After this melee occurred, all seen on video, my client was restrained by four, possibly six officers and punched in the face after hair being pulled back and neck being pinched over 23 times in face and head,” said attorney Lee Rothman.
As for Thomas and Heitzenrater:
“My review of video shows he took no aggressive stance, no aggressive actions and violently thrown to the ground unprovoked,” said attorney Thomas Will. “My client absolutely engaged in no aggressive behavior and he was what we call sucker-punched twice by an undercover detective,’ said Dietz.
This case has been continued until Nov. 16.
SOURCE: KDKA2
Screenshot of the bar fight - Photo credit: KDKA
Before the brawl, you can see DeLuca reaching out to shake hands with undercover officers. “Our clients are minding their own business at the bar trying to ignore them.
Related |Pagans MC: The cops were drunk and started the fight
The officers are repeatedly going over, tapping them, touching them, trying to engage them,” said attorney Wendy Williams. The attorneys believe things escalated due to the amount of alcohol they say the undercover officers were drinking. “The main aggressor in this incident is seen drinking a fifth and a half of Jack Daniels in shots over the course of four to five hours,” said Williams. “One of the officers brandished a firearm.
He could barely stand. He was wobbly. Displayed a firearm to one of the defendants,” said attorney Martin Dietz. “After this melee occurred, all seen on video, my client was restrained by four, possibly six officers and punched in the face after hair being pulled back and neck being pinched over 23 times in face and head,” said attorney Lee Rothman.
As for Thomas and Heitzenrater:
“My review of video shows he took no aggressive stance, no aggressive actions and violently thrown to the ground unprovoked,” said attorney Thomas Will. “My client absolutely engaged in no aggressive behavior and he was what we call sucker-punched twice by an undercover detective,’ said Dietz.
This case has been continued until Nov. 16.
SOURCE: KDKA2
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Hells Angels MC: Member pleads guilty, sentenced to 4 ½ years
Fredericton, Canada (October 17, 2018) BTN — A Fredericton
man and woman associated with the Hells Angels will be incarcerated for various
drug and weapons charges.
Robin Moulton, 49, a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, was
sentenced in Woodstock Court of Queen's Bench on Wednesday to four and half
years for possession of cocaine with the intention of trafficking and
possessing a drug press intended for trafficking purposes.
Marie Antonette Bugay, 41, described by the court as an
associate of the Angels, was sentenced to 30 months in jail for possession of a
loaded firearm without a license, possession of property obtained by crime and
possession of cocaine.
Both plead guilty and, as a result, the Crown withdrew 10
additional charges, including illegal weapons possession and illegal weapons
storage. At the time of the charges, the pair were in a romantic
relationship and Bugay was associated with Moulton's company that sold clothing
representing the Angels.
Both were sentenced together as part of a joint indictment
stemming from their arrest on Aug. 22, 2017. They were apprehended by police as
part of an ongoing joint-force investigation into motorcycle club activities in New Brunswick. Moulton, described by the court as a full-patch Hells Angels
member for 12 years, sat next to Bugay during Wednesday's sentencing.
Moulton, wearing a black long-sleeve shirt with a grey
goatee and his grey hair in a ponytail, kept his gaze lowered for most of the
proceeding, occasionally sharing glances with Bugay, who wore a black shirt
with a grey vest and black thick-rimmed glasses.
The investigation
During the delivery of the facts by Justice Richard G.
Petrie, the court heard that Moulton had been under police surveillance as a
part of Operation J-Trident. Police witnessed Moulton using three storage
lockers in Fredericton and one in the Woodstock area. On May 11, 2017, Moulton
was observed by police to be moving a large hydraulic shop press from a storage
locker in Fredericton to a storage locker in Woodstock.
Robin Moulton being led away in handcuffs
Police determined that to be significant as it is often used
as a tool to compress cocaine. After obtaining a general warrant, police
covertly entered the Woodstock storage locker and found trace amounts of
cocaine on metal blocks and the hydraulic press.
A second warrant allowed officers to covertly place a
motion-activated camera inside the locker, and another warrant led police to
find a 9-millimetre Berretta pistol stuffed inside a mitten. Police disabled
the weapon before returning it. When the handgun was later analyzed, Bugay's
DNA was found on the trigger.
The camera installed in the storage locker captured images
of Moulton using the hydraulic press to compress a white powdered substance
into bricks, which were then put into clear bags and placed into a duffel bag
before leaving.
Police then followed Moulton, pulled over his rental car
and, upon searching the vehicle, found 272.4 grams of cocaine at about 35 per
cent purity valued at between $12,000 and $24,000. Moulton was arrested,
leading to search warrants at his residence, Bugay's residence and the
additional search lockers in Fredericton. Police found 28.9 grams of cocaine valued at between $1,400
and $4,000 at Bugay's home. She was later arrested while in her vehicle, where
a duffel bag stuffed with $77,000 in cash was discovered. It was determined
this to be the proceeds of crime.
In addition to prison time, both Bugay and Moulton are
ordered to provide a sample of DNA for a databank. Bugay will be required to
forfeit the $77,000 seized by police, is prohibited from owning a firearm for
10 years and was fined $600 in victim surcharges, while Moulton is banned for
life from owning a firearm and was fined $400 in victim surcharges. Bugay had no prior charges before her arrest. The court
mentioned that Moulton also had a prior drug possession charge from about 10
years ago.
Previous incarceration
Although not mentioned as a part of Wednesday's court
proceedings, Moulton was previously sentenced to five
years and four months in federal prison for trafficking cocaine and for possessing
a prohibited or restricted weapon with ammunition.
His sentence began on July 30, 2008, but he was released on
February 17, 2012, with special conditions.
Moulton was not to associate with anyone known or believed
to be involved in criminal activity or associate with club members, including
the Angels. He was also ordered to provide his parole officer with financial
records as well as to reside at a specific place.
SOURCE: CBC Radio-Canada
Monday, October 15, 2018
Pagans MC: The cops were drunk and started the fight
Pittsburgh, PA (October 15, 2018) BTN — Four members of the
Pagans motorcycle club are facing charges after brawling with undercover police
officers in a South Side bar last weekend. Video of the brawl at Kopy's quickly
surfaced and spread on social media.
According to the criminal complaint, members of the Pagans
came into the bar on South 12th Street, and one of the club members realized
who the police were and blew their cover.
One of the club members became hostile and detectives tried
to control the situation, the complaint said.
Bruce Thomas, one of the men charged, disputes those claims.
He told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 that the undercover officers were visibly
intoxicated and initiated the encounter.
"Next thing you know, one of them said something
disrespectful, and one of our guys got mad and we never knew they were
cops," Thomas said.
Video from the fight shows Thomas being taken down by one of
the undercover officers.
"I got handcuffed, kicked in the ribs, and kneed in the
back and the spine," Thomas said. "I didn't even hit anybody. We
didn't think police would be in a bar drinking."
Surveillance video from the bar was turned over to
Pittsburgh police.
Pittsburgh's Citizen Police Review Board is investigating
the force used and the demeanor of the officers during the incident, and is
asking anyone with information.
SOURCE: Pittsburg Action News
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Rebels MC: Strike Force Raptor intercepts National Run
Moree, New South Wales, AU. (October 9, 2018) BTN — Police have intercepted dozens of Rebels MC members during
a week-long operation involving local and interstate officers.
The blitz, code-named "Operation Morpheus", saw officers swarm
Moree, as the Rebels MC members took part in their club’s national run.
But several riders made a u-turn at Moree, and north of the
town, after they were met with the men and white in blue, the commander of the club's squad said.
Strike Force Raptor raiding a Rebels MC clubhouse
As part of Operation Morpheus, the Criminal Groups Squad’s
Strike Force Raptor joined their counterparts from Queensland Police Service
and Victoria Police to proactively target the Rebels National Run from
Sunday, September 30, 2018 to Sunday, October 7, 2018.
Operation Morpheus is a National Anti-Gangs Squad
initiative, combining the resources of all Australian state and territory
police agencies and key Commonwealth agencies, to detect, deter, and disrupt
any illicit activity of motorccyle members and associates.
During the operation – which began in Queensland and
travelled through Moree, Dubbo, Parkes and Albury – seven people were issued
court attendance notices for a range of offences, including possess prohibited
drug, possess drug equipment, drive while suspended, assault police, and
custody of a knife in a public place.
Officers also issued 104 traffic infringement notices and 61
defect notices to several Rebels MC members, and searched 33 people; seizing cash, a knife
and prohibited drugs.
Criminal Groups Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent
Deborah Wallace, said motorcycle club members should expect more operations such as this
as interstate law enforcement agencies continue to work together.
“We know outlaw motorcycle gangs are not confined to one
particular state or criminal activity, and, by working together with our
interstate colleagues, it allows us a united front to further disrupt their
criminal enterprises,” she said.
As part of our proactive strategies, we had several members turn back near Moree to return to Queensland. In fact, attendance for
this event was significantly lower than previous years.
Detective Superintendent Deborah Wallace
“As part of our proactive strategies, we had several Rebels MC members turn back near Moree to return to Queensland. In fact, attendance for
this event was significantly lower than previous years."
“We make no apology for conducting these operations. If you
are an motorcycle club member and commit any illegal activities in NSW, you should expect
to deal with our Strike Force Raptor officers.”
Strike Force Raptor was established in 2009 and conducts
proactive investigations and intelligence-based, high-impact policing
operations to prevent and disrupt conflicts, and dismantle any network engaged
in serious organised criminal activity.
SOURCE: The Northern Daily Leader