Hells Angels Member Denied Parole

Quebec, Canada (September 8, 2020) - A founding charter member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in Quebec has been denied parole on a drug-trafficking sentence — in part because he remains loyal to the motorcycle club.

Michel (Sky) Langlois, 74, also told the Parole Board of Canada he is not interested in being transferred to a halfway house because he fears contracting the coronavirus. He was denied both full parole and day parole. During a hearing held last week, Langlois’s case management team recommended day parole was acceptable in his case but full parole would be “premature.”

Langlois was arrested in April 2018 in Project Objection, a probe led by the Escouade nationale de répression contre le crime organisé (ENRCO). The investigation alleged a few Hells Angels based in Quebec, including Langlois, controlled drug networks in specific locations across the province.

An undercover agent met with Langlois and another Hells Angel on Aug. 9, 2017 at restaurant on Drummond St. in downtown Montreal to discuss the distribution of drugs in the Outaouais region. The agent learned Langlois claimed to have title over drug trafficking in Petite Nation, a regional county municipality, and was partners in the distribution of nearly 300,000 meth pills and several kilos of hashish.

On Oct. 3, 2018, Langlois pleaded guilty at the Montreal courthouse to charges of drug trafficking, conspiracy and gangsterism charges. His sentence left him with a prison term of just under 33 months. At the time, Langlois agreed with a summary of facts that were read into the court record. But he told a different story to the parole board last week — that he was merely helping a friend by selling meth and never saw the drugs being sold.

A written summary of the board’s decision indicates Langlois worked on a farm as a teenager before he left for Montreal. In 1963, he began to hang around with the Popeyes, another of Quebec’s motorcycle club at the time.

In 1977, Langlois and several members of the Popeyes were recruited into the Hells Angels and formed the clubs’s first chapter in Canada, based in Montreal. In 1997, he became a founding member of the club’s South chapter, based on the South Shore.

Langlois does not deny he is a Hells Angel but, he told the board he “never committed an offence at their incitation,” according to the summary.

“You do not consider the Hells Angels to be a criminal organization and you adhere to this group solely out of a love for motorcycles and that the group does not recommend to its members that they commit crimes,” it says.

The parole board noted Langlois has been a model inmate who worked in the penitentiary’s library before it was forced to close because of the pandemic. But the board could not overlook the fact Langlois continues to meet with organized crime figures while behind bars.

Langlois will become eligible for a statutory release sometime next year.

SOURCE: Montreal Gazette

Firearms And Club Cuts Seized

Bancroft, Ontario (April 28, 2020) BTN - Two people were arrested during a raid by the Ontario Provincial Police’s biker enforcement unit in the town of Bancroft, Ontario. On April 22, the Ontario Provincial Police unit and the Belleville police’s tactical team searched a Bancroft home.

The Belleville police claimed numerous firearms, including rifles and handguns, and various types of drugs were seized during the warrant. The Belleville police released an image of items seized, which includes leather jackets with Outlaw Motorcycle Club logos on them.

Two people, 48-year-old Brian Sturgeon and 41-year-old Laura Power, both from Bancroft, were charged with the following:

• Three counts of careless storage of a firearm 
• Two counts of breach of firearms regulations 
• Two counts of unauthorized possession of a weapon 
• Possession of a schedule I substance 
• Possession of a schedule II substance Possession of schedule III substance 
• Possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000

Both of the accused were released on bail. Belleville police are still investigating the case.

SOURCE: Big96

House burns in Hells Angels linked gambling probe

London, Ontario, Canada (December 21, 2019) BTN — A police investigation into the Hells Angels prompted in part by suspicious fires now has another to such probe – at the home of a London woman arrested in the bust of an alleged gambling ring run by the Hells Angels.

About 12 hours after the OPP announced the arrest of Habiba Kajan, 43, on Thursday, her house at 203 Commissioners Rd. E. caught fire.

She wasn’t there, remaining in custody awaiting a bail hearing in Brampton Friday.

Suspicious is the official and about the only word London police are saying so far about their investigation into the blaze, which destroyed the $1-million home located between Wortley Road and Carnegie Lane in London.

Related | Hells Angels members involved in gambling ring

They’re investigating a possible connection between the fire and the arrests, but said it’s too early to reach any conclusions, But one source close to the Hells Angels suspects the fire wasn’t random, that someone is sending a message to police that they’re not going to keep all the assets they seized.

“It’s not over. There will be more ‘lightning,’ ” the source said.

That source doesn’t buy speculation the fire might have been set to destroy evidence. It doesn’t make sense to burn the house to destroy evidence after the police search, the source said.

An aerial photo shows the home at 302 Commissioners Rd. E. the day after a Thursday night fire. The home had been raided by police on Dec. 12 as part of an organized crime sweep in Ontario. 

(Mike Hensen/The London Free Press) 

A neighbour said she called 911 after noticing flames shooting from the home shortly before 11 p.m. “It was raging and it was moving very fast,” said the neighbour, who did not want to be identified.

Firefighters and police responded at about 10:50 p.m. There were no injuries and no one was home at the time of the fire , police said. Emergency crews told the neighbouring woman and her family they had to leave for their own safety, she said, adding the flames coming from the roof were more than three metres high.

“It could have spread,” she said.

The home was searched by provincial police on Dec. 12 as part of a two-year investigation called Operation Hobart, which led to the arrests of 28 Ontario residents on 228 charges and the dismantling of an alleged multimillion-dollar, online gambling operation.

OPP say they launched the project in January 2018 in response to a spike in violence across Ontario and Quebec, including attempted murders, assaults, extortion and suspected arsons.

That led to an investigation into an alleged Mississauga gaming house and online sites, resulting in a news conference at the OPP’s headquarters in Orillia at 11 a.m. Thursday to detail the results of the probe.

The OPP contend Londoner Robert Barletta, 49, was one of three Hells Angels members who ran the gambling operation using five websites. The former president of the London chapter of the Hells Angels is facing 12 charges, largely firearms- and gambling-related and another for income tax evasion.

Nicknamed the “Teflon biker” because he’s kept a clean record, Barletta also had a bail hearing in Brampton Friday.

Kajan is charged with 10 firearms and gambling offences. Sources have linked her to Barletta.

It’s not known if either was released on bail.

The OPP allege the gambling operation had made $131 million in illegal revenue over five years and was connected to a prominent, alleged Mafia crime family.

Seized or restrained in searches across Ontario last week were 18 vehicles, gold and silver coins, luxury watches and jewelry, and 21 firearms, police said.

Nine properties valued at slightly more than $8.1 million were also seized, police said, without listing the addresses.

The head of the Ontario biker enforcement unit, Staff Sgt. Anthony Renton, directed questions to London police on Friday.

SOURCE: Toronto Sun

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Ohio: Coalition of Clubs donate 10 grand of toys to kids

Dayton, Ohio, USA (December 20, 2019) BTN — A statewide motorcycle organization generously donated time and toys for children in foster care.

The Ohio Coalition of Clubs is a group of 60 motorcycle clubs. On Saturday, they delivered donated bikes and toys for children in foster care at the Haines Children’s Center on North Main Street in Dayton.

Keith Tickle says, “The purpose was really to give back to the children to make sure they know they’re not forgotten this holiday season. We come together as a unified group of bikers to truly spread blessings this holiday season.”

Three trailers were needed to deliver all the toys, which totaled about $10 thousand.


SOURCE: WDTN

Bandidos member prosecuted for gun with license to carry

Milam County, Texas, USA (December 19, 2019) BTN — Milam County went forward with prosecuting Patrick Lewis Vaden, a member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, on Monday. This was after Vaden was accused of unlawfully carrying a weapon based on his affiliation with the Bandidos.

Vaden was pulled over in Nov. 2018 for going 67 mph in a 60 mph zone. He had a license to carry and had a gun when he was stopped.

More than 24 hours after jury selection, on Tuesday, the case abruptly ended in a mistrial and an appeal. Defense Attorney Kurt Glass told 6 News that Judge Steve Young ruled a mistrial after Glass refused to exclude a critical fact in the trial.

"What we have to appeal is whether or not Mr. Vaden and his license to carry are able to be mentioned in front of the jury," Glass said.

Glass said the prosecution filed a motion last week requesting that Vaden's license to carry, which was valid at the time of the arrest, was not to be admitted into evidence. He said Young agreed with prosecutors on Monday, but he had to risk bringing the LTC up in court regardless in order to lay the groundwork for a possible appeal after the case. He hopes it won't come to that.

"Depends upon what the court of appeals does," Glass said. "The court of appeals has the option to send the case back down with no decision, or they can tell the judge, 'Hey, you have to follow the law and allow Mr. Vaden to tell the jury he was allowed to carry a weapon.'"

Court documents state that Vaden was stopped by Department of Public Safety Trooper Michael Tice in Nov. 2018. According to a court transcript, Tice said he checked Vaden's driver's license and then confirmed Vaden was a gang member in the Texas Gang Intelligence Index. DPS later told 6 News the TxGANG database records are not to be used to independently confirm gang affiliation.

"If law enforcement performs a wanted persons check and the person being searched has been entered in TXGANG, the return will indicate that the person is a possible gang member. There is no message that states the person is “registered and confirmed as a gang member,” The Texas Department of Public Safety said in an emailed response.

Tice arrested Vaden for unlawfully carrying a weapon based on the TXGANG record and the colors Vaden was wearing, according to a court transcript.

Glass showed 6 News reporter Andrew Moore on Tuesday where in the law a license to carry should protect someone in Vaden's position.

Texas Penal Code Section 46.02(a-1)(2)(C) states a person cannot carry a handgun if they are a member of a criminal street gang, as defined by Section 71.01. The Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang has been labeled a criminal gang by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

However, Section 46.15(b)(6)(A)(B) says the previous section mentioned (Section 46.02) does not apply to a person who is carrying an LTC issued under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, provided they are carrying correctly. Glass said Vaden was carrying the gun correctly.


Young, in this case, wrote that a license to carry should not apply here and Vaden should not ride with a gun. After speaking with 6 News legal expert Liz Mitchell, she said it is not unusual for a judge to subjectively interpret laws in this situation.

"Sometimes in the penal code we do have certain statutes that may both be applicable at the same time and may even be at odds. The penal code is not going to set out specific fact patterns. That's when we get into precedent set by case law." Mitchell said. "That's where a judge might come into play -- based on his or her representation of legislative intent."

Mitchell said judges can and do make subjective decisions by interrupting law and decide what evidence should be valid in a specific jury trial, so Young is not doing anything unusual when it comes to evidence either.

SOURCE: KCENTV

Ex-cop blasts 'Strike Force Raptor' plan

Moree, New South Wales, Australia (November 27, 2019) BTN — A former Australian detective has ridiculed National's zero-tolerance approach to gangs, saying the strategy has been a "disaster" across the ditch. The opposition party yesterday proposed setting up an elite police squad - modelled on Strike Force Raptor in New South Wales - with the sole purpose of crushing gangs.

National leader Simon Bridges repeatedly described the unit as "devastatingly effective" and referenced media reports which claimed it was driving outlaw bikies into extinction.

But former NSW detective Mike Kennedy told RNZ that was "nonsense" and Mr Bridges was "living a dream" if he believed that. "He needs to pull his head out of whatever it's stuck in because ... [gangs] exist. They're always going to exist. They just go underground. "I'm not a bleeding heart liberal," he said. "But [the zero-tolerance strategy has] just been a disaster."

Dr Kennedy spent much of his time with the police as an undercover officer working in organised crime and is now a senior lecturer at Western Sydney University. He said there was no evidence to suggest that gang numbers had fallen dramatically since the formation of Strike Force Raptor a decade ago. "Outlaw motorcycle gangs are unregulated, so how would you know?" he said. "They're not required to pay a fee ... and register with government. So any suggestion that the numbers are down is just nonsense."

Dr Kennedy said the problem had just been driven underground. "People don't stop being members of groups just because they've been arrested. They go into jail, they reinforce themselves, they come out, [and] they get more of a reason to remain in the group they're in."

Police officers needed a working relationship with communities, including gang members, so they would cooperate with investigations, he said.

"You need this community to trust you so that when things need to be brought into line, the police are able to go in and speak to people and find out who's ... behaving really badly, and who needs to be put in jail," Dr Kennedy said. "If you want those families to help the police ... then you can't just tar them all with the same brush. And that's what Raptor does."

National's law and order discussion document describes Strike Force Raptor as a "proactive, high-impact specialist unit" designed to target outlaw motorcycle gangs and associated criminal enterprises.


The elite military-style unit was set up in 2009 following a deadly clash between the Hells Angels and Comancheros at Sydney Airport. The strike force is designed to punish gang members via all legal avenues, coming after them for any infraction, no matter how minor, from a parking fine to a punch-up.

A Nine News report earlier this year stated Strike Force Raptor had made more than 5000 arrests and laid more than 12,000 charges over the past decade. The unit had also seized 1700 illegal firearms and shut down more than 50 clubhouses, it said.

NSW Police declined to provide RNZ with evidence of Strike Force Raptor's success, saying it was not "appropriate" for it to comment on a matter "out of our jurisdiction". The media team also refused to reveal the size of the unit or its annual operating cost.

Speaking to Morning Report, Mr Bridges promised the party would release figures "in the next little while" which would prove the unit's effectiveness. "We are at this moment, in fact, talking to the government in New South Wales to compile the data."

SOURCE: RNZ

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Sentencing in Outlaws MC Prez's murder

Tampa, Florida, USA (November 20, 2019) BTN – A federal judge will decide Wednesday if Christopher “Durty” Cosimano and Michael “Pumpkin” Mencher should spend the rest of their lives in prison for crimes related to their involvement in the 69′ers Motorcycle Club.

Both men were found guilty this summer in a trial that centered on the December 2017 assassination of Paul Anderson, president of the Pasco County chapter of the rival Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Anderson was shot repeatedly while his pickup truck was stopped in rush-hour traffic off the Suncoast Parkway.

Prosecutors said the killing was the culmination of a months-long campaign of violence that began with the beating of two 69′ers and the theft of their biker vests.

The story of the feud and the resulting criminal cases against five 69′ers has been widely told. Less discussed are the details of how such groups operate in the Tampa Bay area and elsewhere. Images and documents used as evidence in the trial offer a look at the inner workings of the 69′ers, a motorcycle club governed by strict rules, part of a subculture seldom glimpsed by outsiders.

In the hours after Anderson was murdered on Dec. 21, 2017, investigators from Pasco County and the federal government turned their attention to a modest house on Riverview Drive east of U.S. 41 in Hillsborough County. The home sits a few hundred feet north of the banks of the Alafia River.

Shaded by tall oaks, with a flagpole and mailbox out front, the house doesn’t appear much different from others in the working-class neighborhood near a large phosphate mine. But behind its walls investigators found biker vests, weapons, drugs and photographs of 69′er gatherings. A front garage housed a set of motorcycles.

A photograph used as evidence in the federal trial of Chrisopher Cosimano and Michael Mencher shows the bar area inside the clubhouse of the local chapter of the 69'ers Motorcycle Club. [U.S. District Court] [U.S. District Court]

A rear garage served as the 69′ers “clubhouse,” a headquarters for the local chapter they called “Killsborough.” Inside was a liquor bar with walls adorned with banners and posters featuring the menacing red-tongued wolf that is the centerpiece of the 69′ers logo. There are framed snapshots of members donning their vests, which bear the patches denoting their status as part of the “1%” — the small fraction of bikers who shirk society’s rules.

The men who pose in the photos are mostly white, though some appear to be people of color. Some make obscene hand gestures for the camera. In the trial, prosecutors showed a jury a nine-page constitution which outlines the national rules governing all local chapters of the 69′ers Motorcycle Club.

A photograph used as evidence in the federal trial of Christopher Cosimano and Michael Mencher shows the inside of the Hillsborough clubhouse of the 69'ers Motorcycle Club. [U.S. District Court] [U.S. District Court]

All chapters are overseen by a collection of officers known as “The Council,” according to the document. The Council meets twice a year. Their task is to maintain standards for all 69′er chapters.

The document details each chapter’s internal structure. It mandates four officers, including a president who must “rule with an iron fist,” vice president, sergeant at arms and treasurer. The constitution dictates that each chapter must be registered as a non-profit, and that a club accountant must file a tax return for the group each year.

“It is the responsibility of all officers to maintain their position with the highest level of respect for all members, property, family and employment,” the document reads.

Related | Outlaws MC President was killed over club colors

Related | Outlaws MC President gunned down in Florida, suspects arrested

Related | Sheriff: Motorcycle MC member targeted in deadly shooting in Florida

The membership requirements: you must be at least 18 years old, own an American-made motorcycle, possess a valid motorcycle license, have never been a member of law enforcement, complete a one-year period as a “prospect” and meet the approval of all members. A member can retire from the club with the approval of the Council after five consecutive years of service to the club. The document forbids fighting among members.

“Any member caught stealing from the club or banging another member’s old lady will be ejected from the club,” it states. “Old ladies are off limits.”

“Members shall not discuss club business with citizens,” the document states in large letters. “What’s said in the house stays in the house.”

A total of five men were charged with federal crimes related to Anderson’s murder. Three of them, Allan Guinto, Erick Robinson, and Cody Wesling, signed plea agreements. Guinto and Wesling testified against Cosimano and Mencher.

They were accused of following Anderson on motorcycles through traffic on the Suncoast Parkway and shooting him through the windows of his pickup truck as he stopped at a traffic light at the end of an off-ramp at State Road 54.

Cosimano and Mencher were both found guilty in August on charges that included murder in aid of racketeering.

SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times

Ex-Gypsy Joker MC member fears retaliation in custody

Portland, Oregon, USA  (September 10, 2019) BTN – A former member of the Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club facing federal racketeering, kidnapping and murder charges argued Monday that he’s at more risk of retaliation behind bars than he would be outside while awaiting trial.

Joseph Duane Folkerts is a target, said his defense lawyer, Andrew Kohlmetz. “It’s easier to get to him in jail than out of custody,’’ Kohlmetz said.

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones denied the request to release Folkerts, noting that he’s currently in protective custody and faces a potential life sentence if convicted. Folkerts, 62, is one of four co-defendants who face similar charges and remain behind bars pending an April trial. Two others have pleaded guilty.

Folkerts’ attorneys, by day’s end, filed a notice they plan to appeal Jones’ ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Prosecutors said Folkerts wasn’t involved in the initial abduction of former club member Robert “Bagger’’ Huggins, 56, who was taken from a home in Northeast Portland to a rural property in southwest Washington, where he was beaten, tortured and killed.

Related | Gypsy Joker MC murder trial continues
Related | Gypsy Joker MC national president released
Related | Gypsy Joker MC members face charges

But Folkerts did witness the 2015 beating in Washington, helped restrain Huggins with zip ties around his wrists during the assault and then drove Huggins’ body to a field near Ridgefield, Washington, where it was dumped, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mygrant.

Huggins’ body was found by loggers on July 1, 2015 in the Clark County field. He had a fractured skull, a broken rib, a broken leg, a removed nipple, nails driven through his boots, slash wounds to his back and face and many blows to his face. Mygrant said Folkerts was a member of Road Brothers, a different motorcycle club at the time of Huggins’ death. After the killing, he got a patch to join the Gypsy Joker club as a reward, the prosecutor said.

Folkerts’ lawyer challenged that characterization. Kohlmetz said Folkerts was forced to join the Gypsy Jokers after the beating of Huggins. “It’s not a reward,’’ Kohlmetz said. “It’s a threat, purchasing his silence. … ‘Here’s you patch, sir. You’re in.’"

Sometime in the summer and fall of 2016, Folkerts was assaulted by a number of Gypsy Joker club members at the clubhouse and elsewhere and knocked unconscious by one of his current co-defendants, Kohlmetz told the court. Folkerts also had his motorcycle and identification stolen by Gypsy Jokers, his lawyer said.

He was basically “beat out’’ of the motorcycle club, Kohlmetz said.

When he arrived at the Multnomah County Detention Center in downtown Portland after his arrest, he learned from another inmate in his dorm that he had been “green lit,’’ meaning that word had come from co-defendant Earl Fisher that it would be OK to assault Folkerts, Kohlmetz said.

So he was moved to Inverness Jail in Northeast Portland, but once there, he came into contact with two of his co-defendants, Kohlmetz said. He was then shipped out to the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Institution in The Dalles for his own protection. Somehow, he was housed in a dorm with the son of a Gypsy Joker member and told face-to-face to “shut up," Kohlmetz said. He’s now in protective custody at his own request, according to court testimony.

The prosecutor urged the judge to consider the severity of the allegations. Huggins was water-boarded and struck in the head with a baseball bat, Mygrant said, though he conceded that Folkerts wasn’t involved in the torture. Folkerts has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping in aid of racketeering resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death and conspiracy to commit kidnapping resulting in death.

Fisher and Tiler Evan Pribbernow – two of the six charged in the kidnapping and murder - have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in racketeering. Pribbernow has been described as the government’s "star witness,’’ who delivered the fatal blow to Huggins with the bat.

A seventh defendant, Kenneth Earl Hause, the national president of the outlaw motorcycle club, was accused only in the racketeering conspiracy and released from custody in February pending trial.

SOURCE: Oregon Live

Hardliners MC photo provokes city officials

Haarlem, Netherlands (August 12, 2019) BTN — More than twenty members of the new motorcycle club MC Hardliners posed in full colors on the platform of the Haarlem city hall on Thursday afternoon. The photo session was with the back to the camera. MC Hardliners was founded from prison by Lysander de R., the former leader of the Haarlem Hells Angels.

Provocation

According to Noordhollands Dagblad, the municipality of Haarlem does not want to respond to this provocation and the police do not want to say much. At least 25 especially young members of MC Hardliners posed with their backs to the camera on the steps of the Haarlem city hall on Thursday afternoon. Around 5.30 pm the police asked the club members to leave the catering business in the center because wearing full colors in public is not permitted. The members left without problems. Almost a week earlier, around eight Hardliners drove through the center in Haarlem with a lot of noise on their motorbikes.

Mayor Jos Wienen

The photo session at the town hall is striking. The MC Hardliners are looking for a clubhouse in Noord-Holland and perhaps Haarlem. Earlier, mayor Jos Wienen of Haarlem closed the clubhouse of the Hells Angels. Wienen has been threatened since September 2018. It is unclear who is behind those threats, but outlaw motorcycle gangs are also mentioned in this context.

The same place

When it became clear in Haarlem last year that Wienen was being threatened, there was a well-attended demonstration on the Grote Markt in support of the mayor. The members of MC Hardliners posed on Thursday exactly where Wienen stood and spoke on 14 October (the landing of the town hall).

Logo The logo of MC Hardliners is very similar to that of the Hells Angels (see photo). The font of the emblems is the same, the color red-white and also the wing is prominent, but instead of a skull there is a shark.

Lysander de R.

Lysander de R., former leader of the Haarlem Hells Angels, founded MC Hardliners from prison in May. The R. was sentenced to nine years in prison last year because he was guilty of mistreatment, extortion, threat, arson and possession of weapons with two other leaders. Previously it had been claimed against him for fourteen years . He will be detained until at least November 2022. According to the court, a 'rock-hard and beastly chapter' was created under the leadership of De R. in which 'a real reign of reign' was conducted in Haarlem and the surrounding area.

Motorclub MC Hardliners poseert voor stadhuis in Haarlem https://t.co/IQgMolpXPX pic.twitter.com/T15COA5EIq

— haarlem (@haarlem) August 9, 2019

SOURCE: CrimeSite

Modesto Hells Angels President Arrested

Modesto, California, USA (June 26, 2019) BTN — The president of the Modesto Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, his wife, and two others will appear in federal court on Wednesday in Fresno, where they’ll face methamphetamine trafficking charges.

Charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday were Modesto residents Randy Picchi, 61, president of the club; his wife Tina Picchi, 51; Michael Mize, 61; and Michael Pack, 32, a prospect with the club.

Randy Picchi, Tina Picci, and Mize were arrested Tuesday and placed into custody, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

Search Warrants Executed at Seven Locations

Officers executed search warrants at seven locations Tuesday in Stanislaus County, including the Hells Angeles clubhouse in Modesto.

Court documents allege that Randy Picchi led a drug conspiracy and directed his wife to regularly deliver drugs to Mize and others in Ceres. Randy Pichi also enlisted Pack to help obtain methamphetamine on at least one occasion. Pack was stopped by law enforcement officers and was found with 499 grams of meth on him.

In addition, the court documents allege that Randy Picchi directed Tina Picchi to drive from Modesto to Redding to deliver meth to a customer. On the way, Tina Picchi was stopped by law enforcement and found with approximately 4 ounces of meth, which she had wrapped in a plastic glove and hidden in a cup of soda.

Defendants Face 10-Year Minimum Sentences

This case involved the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the IRS Criminal Investigation, the Central Valley Gang Impact Task Force, the Modesto and Turlock police departments, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the California Highway Patrol.


Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Pearson and Laurel Montoya are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a $10 million fine.

Dutch Bans Hells Angels MC

Utrecht, Netherlands (May 29, 2019) BTN — Dutch judges on Wednesday banned the motorcycle club Hells Angels and ordered all its chapters to close in the Netherlands, as authorities continue a clampdown on so-called outlaw motorcycle clubs.

"The Hells Angels is a danger to the public order," the court in the central Dutch city of Utrecht ruled.

"The Hells Angels sees itself as a one-percenter club, a club of outlaws," said the court, citing a slogan used by motorcycle clubs rejecting the authority of national laws or societal norms.

"It's a club where there's a culture of lawlessness and the authorities are kept outside their doors," the court added in a statement.

The court referred to a number of patches or so-called "colours" on the cut-off vests of the Hells Angels, called "cuts", saying "they are handed out to members who commit (serious) violence."

"The Hells Angels' profile is that of the largest and most powerful motorbike club. They believe other clubs should listen to them and that leads to long-running conflicts."

Dutch prosecutors, who have been trying for more than a decade to get the club banned, referred to an incident in the southern town of Kerkrade where a cafe frequented by rival motorcycle club, Bandidos MC was set on fire in 2015.


In another incident the following year, Hells Angels were involved in a massive brawl in the restaurant of a Rotterdam hotel, allegedly with members of another rival club. Shots were fired.

"These incidents portray an image of violence by and against the Hells Angels," the court said.

The banning of the club founded in the late 1940s in California, is the latest in attempts by Dutch authorities to shut down motorcycle clubs often involved in crimes such as drug and arms trafficking.

The same court in Utrecht in 2017 banned the Hells Angels' arch-rivals, the Bandidos, for similar reasons.

Judges also banned homegrown club Satudarah last year, saying it too "has been involved for many years in criminal activities including violence against other motorcycle clubs, manufacturing and trafficking in narcotics, the illegal possession of weapons and extortion."

SOURCE: DutchNews.nl

Firefighter fired because of Hells Angels membership

Amsterdam, Netherlands (May 23, 2019) BTN — An Amsterdam firefighter was fired for the first time because he is a member of a controversial motorcycle club, the Hells Angels. According to fire brigade commander Schaap, this is incompatible with a public function. The Hells Angels are not prohibited in the Netherlands, but there is a lawsuit against them.

Commander Schaap said last year that members of motorcycle clubs do not belong in a fire department. At that time it was not yet certain whether they could be expelled from the corps, such as with the police. "Membership of a motorcycle club does not mean that you cannot extinguish a fire," it was said. That is why he investigated what can be done about it.

Letter of resignation

Het Parool has the letter of resignation in which it says: "We find it undesirable that you are knowingly and unknowingly in environments with persons whom you can know that they are committing more or less structural crimes, advocating for it or publicly expressing it. " The board believes that employees should realize that they are part of the Amsterdam-Amstelland Fire Brigade 24 hours a day.

The dismissed man has been a member of the Hells Angels for around twenty years and has been working for more than 25 years with the fire department. He finds his dismissal unfair and therefore goes to court.

His lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops calls it very careless that the letter of resignation has been leaked to the press. The letter is sensitive to privacy and that is why the firefighter was surprised to see him partially in Het Parool this morning. In addition, Knoops finds the argumentation wrong. "The man has had an excellent track record all these years."

Strategy

The lawyer also finds the timing very remarkable. Next week's verdict in the lawsuit against the Hells Angels. "It seems like a strategy to put the Hells Angels in a bad light."

The Dutch Ministry of Defense announced yesterday that their declaration of conduct is being withdrawn because they have links with motorcycle clubs such as Satudarah or the Hells Angels. There is a good chance that this will lead to their dismissal.

SOURCE: NOS

Police on alert as Hells Angels come to town

Surrey, South East England (May 22, 2019) BTN — Up to 3,000 Hells Angels motorcycle club members  are expected in East Surrey for a three-day event culminating in a 700 motorcycle ride out to Brighton.

The ride out, which is the culmination of Hells Angels Motorcycle Club's (HAMC) ‘Euro Run’, is expected to cause major disruption in East Surrey and Sussex on Saturday June 1 while police have also warned motorists to expect a large number of bikers in the area for the duration of the event.

It is the first time the three-day event, between May 30 and June 1, has been held in the UK and is being done so to mark the 50th anniversary of the HAMC in the country.

Officers from Surrey Police and Sussex Police have had leave and rest days cancelled to cover the event, and others, in what is set to be an extremely busy week for police.


Assistant Chief Constable Nev Kemp, who is leading policing operations for both Surrey and Sussex during the period, said: “We are approaching an incredibly busy time with lots going on and thousands of visitors expected across both counties.

SOURCE: Surrey Live

Cafe shut down after fight between rival clubs

Plainville, Connecticut, USA (May 22, 2019) BTN — Central Café has been ordered to close indefinitely after police say a fight broke out between two motorcycle clubs, resulting in motorcyclists fleeing the scene in an unsafe manner.

Plainville Police Chief Matthew Catania reported that two similar incidents have occurred at the bar recently and stated that “it is not likely that we have seen the last of this type of behavior at this location,” according to a letter to restaurant permittee Shirley Papallo from Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull.

“Based upon the foregoing, DCP finds that public health, safety and welfare imperatively requires emergency action … and orders your café liquor permit suspended immediately and premises closed,” Seagull wrote in the letter. Papallo did not immediately respond to email requests for comment.

The incident Catania referred to occurred on May 16, 2019, when police responded to a fight at Central Café, 54 West Main St.

The letter says “Up to twenty motorcyclists were observed fleeing the premises at high rates of speed and driving over lawns, driving down the wrong side of the road, and driving around other vehicles in an unsafe manner, all while disobeying officers’ signals.”

Police noted that some of the individuals were seen wearing leather jackets and vests indicating membership in the two motorcycle clubs the “Diablos MC” and the “Outlaws MC.”

Inside the bar, one patron was found bleeding from a deep laceration on his head and a human bite on his arm. He refused to provide police with information beyond saying he was hanging out before being “jumped.” A second patron police believe to be an associate of the Outlaws MC was bleeding slightly from a head laceration and refused to cooperate with police.


The letter says an anonymous source told police that members of the Outlaws MC were on the outside patio when a “significant number of Diablos MC members” pulled into the parking lot and attacked the Outlaws.

All available officers were called to secure the building, where several Outlaws MC members remained, yelling obscenities at police. Upon more suspected Diablos arriving and watching police from the road, mutual aid from three surrounding towns was requested.

In an email Catania wrote to Town Manager Robert Lee, which is quoted in Seagull’s letter, he wrote, “It is common knowledge at this point that (Central Café manager Robert Papallo) has friends in the Outlaws motorcycle gang. His actual involvement with the gang has yet to be determined.”

SOURCE: WFSB News

Club member found dead

Detroit, Michigan, USA (May 21, 2019) BTN — Police are investigating a man's death at a motorcycle club Tuesday morning on Detroit's west side.

Detroit Gentlemen Motorcycle Clubhouse 

It was about 10:50 a.m. when the victim, described as "older," was found dead inside Detroit Gentlemen Motorcycle Club on the 14800 block of Grand River, said Latrice Crawford, a Detroit Police Department spokeswoman.


The victim was found with a gunshot wound, lying dead in a pool of blood. A motorcycle believed to have belonged to the victim was found on fire, parked behind the club.

SOURCE: The Detroit News

Hells Angels MC members arrested

Lisbon, Portugal (May 21, 2019) BTN - Portuguese police arrested 17 members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club on Tuesday on suspicion of organised crime activity, authorities said.

Around 150 officers, including anti-terrorism personnel, took part in raids on homes and commercial establishments across Portugal, the Judiciary Police (PJ) said in a statement.

TV channel SIC reported homes were searched in the capital Lisbon, the country’s north and the Algarve in the south where thousands of bikers gather every year for an international motorcycle event.

Police confirmed 17 men belonging to the Hells Angels and aged between 29 and 52 were detained and expected to appear in court on Wednesday, charged with criminal association - which in Portugal is punishable by up to five years in jail.

One police inquiry has focused on a March 2018 incident in which Hells Angels members allegedly attacked a rival motorcycle club and neo-Nazi associates as part of a turf war for control of illicit weapons and drug trafficking.

Dozens of Hells Angels motorcycle club members were arrested four months later and described by Portuguese police as “extremely dangerous” with long criminal records and involvement in violent organised crime.

SOURCE: New Straits Times

Bandidos MC member admits threatening informant

San Antonio, Texas, USA (May 10, 2019) BTN — A member of the Bandidos motorcycle club pleaded guilty Thursday to retaliating against an informant after he threatened to kill a witness who helped the feds convict the motorcycle club’s top two leaders. Albert DeLeon, 45, made the threat on Feb. 22 against the witness, whose name hasn’t been released, at a local H-E-B store.

“He was a personal friend of the witness and felt horribly betrayed, and let off some steam when he confronted him at the grocery store,” DeLeon’s lawyer, Jesse Rivera, said in an interview.

Several informants — most of them former members of the club from San Antonio who got reduced sentences for their crimes — testified last year at the three-month trial of then-national president Jeffrey Fay Pike of Conroe and ex-national vice president John Xavier Portillo of San Antonio.

The organization’s leaders were sentenced to life in federal prison in September after being found guilty of crimes that included racketeering conspiracy, murder, extortion and drug dealing. The trial gave a vivid look inside the Bandidos’ secretive operations.

It also delineated attacks the Bandidos plotted or carried out on rival bikers as the club flexed its muscle to protect what it considered its home turf — the state of Texas. The trial also shed light on internal bickering that resulted in a split of the Bandidos in North America with its numerous chapters in Europe and Asia. Government witnesses testified that the leading dissidents were violently ousted on orders from Pike.

DeLeon’s plea agreement said DeLeon made eye contact with the witness inside a local HEB.

DeLeon called another Bandidos member to the scene. Together, they approached the witness outside the store as he was in his car, and DeLeon mouthed off, according to court records. The statements included: “Get out, you’re going to die today,” “You’re a (expletive) snitch, we saw you on the news,” “It’s your fault everyone in the club went down,” I”m going to (expletive) kill you,” and “Jeff and John went down because of you.”

DeLeon also pulled a handgun from his waistband and “cocked it” to put a round in the chamber, but put the weapon away when other shoppers looked toward them, the plea deal said. The witness quickly left the scene.

DeLeon faces up to 20 years in prison, without parole, when Biery sentences him in August.

SOURCE: My San Antonio

Former Hells Angels MC president goes to court

Manitoba, Canada (April 30, 2019) BTN — The former president of the Manitoba Hells Angels is taking the Correctional Service of Canada to court for allegedly infringing on his "right to life, liberty and security of person" when it reclassified his security threat level and moved him from a minimum-security unit to medium.

Dale Jason Sweeney, 48, is currently serving the remainder of a 10-year prison sentence at Stony Mountain Institution for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring. He was arrested in March 2012 as part of a Winnipeg police investigation dubbed Project Flatlined and later pleaded guilty to instructing someone to commit an offence for a criminal organization and possession of property obtained by crime.

Manitoba Justice seized hundreds of thousands of dollars in property and cash from Sweeney's Autumnview Drive home, including a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Police raided Sweeney's Autumnview Drive home in 2012 and seized a number of items, including a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Sweeney was sentenced to 10-years in prison for instructing someone to commit an offence for a criminal organization and possession of property obtained by crime.

In a March 2019 affidavit filed in the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, Sweeney said in the summer of 2015, while serving his sentence at Stony Mountain, the correctional service assessed him to be a minimum security risk and he was moved to a minimum-security unit of the prison.

Sweeney said he participated in offender programming and has had "no serious disciplinary offences of any kind." Despite that, in August 2018 his security threat level was increased and he was sent back to a medium security unit.

Police raided Sweeney's Autumnview Drive home in 2012 and seized a number of items, including a Harley Davidson motorcycle. 

Sweeney was denied parole in 2017.

His lawyer says he is up for parole again in June. "This is the second time that this has occurred with Mr. Sweeney," said Sweeney's lawyer, StephanThliveris.

In 2017, a few months before Sweeney was to appear before the Parole Board of Canada, his security level was increased from minimum to medium and as a result, his parole was denied, said Thliveris. Sweeney will be up for parole again in a few months, and Thliveris alleges his client's security level was increased in an effort to thwart his application.

Allegations 'completely fabricated': lawyer 

"Every time his parole comes up, all of a sudden there's these security intelligence officer reports that allege all these shenanigans, for lack of a better phrase, and they increase the security classification," said Thliveris.

Thliveris said there is no substance to the allegations, which he said include accusations of drug trafficking. He said if the correctional service had any evidence against Sweeney, his client would have been charged under the Criminal Code, or at the very least would have faced institutional charges.

"It's our position that these are completely fabricated charges, which is done in a deliberate attempt to get as much time out of him, to make him serve as much time as possible, and really just trump any sort of chance he has before the parole board," said Thliveris.

In 2017, Sweeney filed what's called a writ of habeas corpus application to fight his security level reclassification. His lawyer said when the matter appeared before a judge, the Attorney General of Canada conceded its case and signed a consent order.

Within 72 hours, his client was back in a minimum-security unit where he remained until he was moved to a medium-security unit last August, said Thliveris.

"I've been doing work with inmates for the better part of a decade now, I've never quite seen anything as egregious as this. They're really doing everything they can to hamper his ability to have a proper parole hearing and be able to present his position properly," said Thliveris.

'People get killed all the time' In January, Sweeney filed another writ of habeas corpus application.

The writ of habeas corpus is very serious, said Thlivaris. The deprivation of liberty is the moste severe punishment in Canadian society, which doesn't have the death penalty, so placing someone in an unnecessarily high security classification is "a major no no," he said.

There is a vast difference between life in a minimum-security unit versus medium security, he said. In minimum, inmates have an abundance of freedom and are able to move around the unit with ease. There is no wall or fence forcing offenders to stay to a certain area. They are even allowed to cook their own meals.

In medium security, life is a lot more dangerous and the environment is more restrictive, said Thliveris.

"You'll go to lockdown and people get killed all the time in medium security. This is often not reported in the papers, because they don't want people knowing about it," said Thliveris.

Sweeney still a Hells Angel 

This is not the first time Sweeney has served time in prison. He was convicted of discharging a firearm with intent after a brazen 2001 daylight shootout with a rival gang member on Portage Avenue. He's also been convicted of assault, break and enter and commit mischief, attempt to obstruct justice and attempting fraud under $5,000.

According to parole board documents, despite spending the past few years in prison, Sweeney is still a member of the Hells Angels. In 2017, he told the parole board that he plans to leave the motorcycle club when his is "able to quit face to face", and that he needs to do it "with a handshake" when he is released from prison.

Sweeney's writ of habeas corpus application is scheduled to appear in court on May 13, about a month before his next parole board hearing.

If Sweeney's parole application is successful, he will be out of prison at the end of June, said Thliveris. Otherwise, he said his client is up for statutory release in December after serving two-thirds of his sentence. 

SOURCE: CBC

Mongols MC President Arrested

El Paso, Texas, USA (April 30, 2019) BTN — The president of the El Paso chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club was arrested Monday during an early Monday raid at his Northeast home, police said.

Charles Edward Anderson Jr. is accused of assaulting a former rival club member earlier this month at a motorcycle garage, El Paso police said.

The Mongols Motorcycle Club are a recent arrival in El Paso and one of the world's largest "1 percenter" clubs, which law enforcement considers an outlaw biker gang. Anderson, 46, was arrested on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity-assault causing bodily injury.

Anderson allegedly assaulted David Griego , 48, on April 5 at the Busted Knuckle Motorcycle Garage on Hondo Pass Drive, police said in a news release.

The garage is owned by Anderson, according to county business records.

Anderson was arrested at 4:45 a.m. Monday when a multi-agency law enforcement team raided his home in the 8300 block of Mount Latona Drive, police said.

The arrest and search warrants were served by a team including the police SWAT team and Gang Unit, Texas Department of Public Safety, FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

A jail log shows that Anderson was later released from jail on Monday on a $25,000 bond.

The Mongols are a recent arrival in El Paso and one of three major motorcycle clubs in the city, a police gang [sic] investigator testified earlier this year in the trial of a member of the Kinfolk MC convicted of killing the El Paso Bandidos chapter president.

Kinfolk member Javier "Jake" Gonzalez was sentenced to 56 years in prison in the murder of Juan "Compa" Martinez Jr. and wounding three other bikers in a bar shooting.

The Bandidos have been in El Paso for more than 50 years and the Kinfolk began in 2016.

Last August, Anderson was identified by El Paso police as a member of the Heathen Horde Motorcycle Club. Anderson was among Heathen Horde members arrested for allegedly assaulting members of the Valley Boys Motorcycle Club at the 5 Points Bistro in the Five Points neighborhood.

Anderson is scheduled to go on trial in June on aggravated assault charges in that case. Social media posts show at least one other then-member of the Heathen Horde now displays Mongols membership.

The Mongols began 50 years ago with 15 members in the East Los Angeles before expanding to other parts of Southern California. The Mongols display the diamond-shaped "1 %" patch used by what law enforcement term outlaw motorcycle gangs.

The term "1 percenter" originated after the 1947 biker riot in Hollister, California, when the American Motorcyclist Association declared that 99 percent of motorcyclists were good, law-abiding citizens, implying that one percent were outlaws.

The Mongols now have chapters across the U.S. and a dozen countries. The Mongols website lists 11 chapters in Texas, though El Paso is not one of the cities on the list.

SOURCE: KTSM

Hells Angels MC in Woodbridge grows

Toronto, ON (April 28, 2019) BTN — There was cake, hockey on TV and no reports of arrests at a party in Woodbridge on Saturday night to welcome Prince Edward Island bikers into the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. The Charlotteown bikers were given their winged skulls patches at the party, announcing full membership into the motorcycle club, which now has 467 charters in 58 countries.

The addition of the new Maritime charter comes as Quebec Hells Angels have re-rebounded on the streets in Quebec and Ontario after dozens of members were imprisoned in the early 2000's. Quebec police hit the club with a string of massive operations targeting drug trafficking and marijuana production in the 2000's that seriously hobbled the club.

In 2009, there were just eight members in good standing in Quebec on the streets and another four junior members, LaPresse newspaper reported. The rest of the club’s members were in prison, dead or fugitives.

At the start of 2000, the Hells Angels had 18 charters in Canada. The Woodbridge Hells Angels sponsored the Martimers for membership in the club, which now has 44 charters in Canada, including two in the Maritimes.

There are five charters in Quebec, 10 in B.C., 6 in Alberta, 2 each in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, 17 in Ontario and one in New Brunswick, according to the club’s website.

The Ontario charters are in Keswick, Kitchener, Oshawa, Simcoe County, Toronto, East Toronto, West Toronto, Windsor, Woodbridge, North Toronto, London, Hamilton, Niagara, Brantford, Thunder Bay, Brooklin and a chapter called the Nomads, based near Ottawa.

Prince Edward Island bikers began wearing patches with “Woodbridge” on them two years ago, announcing their connection to the Ontario bikers.

At that point, they were considered a “hangaround” charter but they have now grown into a full charter of the international club. Only bikers who have been voted into the club are allowed to wear the club’s distinctive wings skull patch. The Hells Angels were driven out of the Maritimes in 2001, when police shut down the Halifax charter.

During that police operation, four of the club’s seven Halifax members went to prison and authorities seized the clubhouse. The Woodbridge charter of the Hells Angels played host last month to more that 350 bikers from across Canada and at least one from the Dominican Republic at the funeral of murdered Mississauga Hells Angel Michael (Diaz) Deabaitua-Schulde.

Deabaitua-Schulde was shot dead shortly before noon on March 11, 2019, outside a gym in Mississauga. Three Montreal men have been charged with first-degree murder for Deabaitua-Schulde’s death and another Montreal man has been charged with complicity after the fact.

SOURCE: The Star