Movie Propaganda Continued

A still from the movie "A Bronx Tale" 

New Mexico's mysterious Gang Task Force invites Ex-Sheriff to speak

Las Cruces, NM (March 12, 2018)BTN — The New Mexico Gang Task Force’s recent speaking invitation to Wisconsin’s controversial former sheriff, David Clarke, raised two major questions.

First, why would the task force invite a partisan — and, some claim, divisive — figure to speak to state law enforcement officers at their annual conference in April?

Second, exactly what is the New Mexico Gang Task Force? Answering the first question may be easier than the second.

The organization responded to reporters’ questions about Clarke, the former sheriff of Milwaukee County, with a written statement that also was posted on its website. The task force’s bottom line: Clarke’s 15 years in law enforcement, a career critics say has been pock-marked by outlandish statements and right-wing politics — though, he was elected as a Democrat — would be valuable to share with those in the profession.

However, neither of the only two officials listed on the group’s website — Dana “Duke” Kouri, the task force’s program manager, and “gang specialist” 

Antoinette Apodaca — responded to repeated phone calls and emails asking about the structure, financing and history of the gang task force.

New Mexico State Public Safety Secretary Scott Weaver said last week that for years his department was the pass-through agency that received funds from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program and distributed them to the task force. But, Weaver said, beginning in fiscal year 2016, those funds dried up. It’s not clear how the task force has been funded since then.

Besides his involvement in the task force, Kouri is listed as executive director of the New Mexico Police Athletic League, a position he’s held since the 1990s. According to his LinkedIn page, he’s also worked at former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White’s private investigation company and is a certified police instructor at the state Department of Public Safety.

Although the invitation to Clarke was blasted by at least two major police agencies in the state, even those agencies that were critical had mostly good things to say about the task force’s training programs and its role in facilitating the sharing of intelligence about gangs among various law enforcement agencies.

A long-term problem

The subject of gangs is a big one in New Mexico. Between the late 1980s and late ’90s, reports of gang violence were commonplace in New Mexico media. In Santa Fe, that culminated in the 1997 gang shooting on the Plaza during La Fiesta de Santa Fe that resulted in the death of Carlos Santiago Romero, 19. Two others were injured by gunfire that night.

Though gang-violence eruptions have declined in the years since, those in law enforcement say it never went away. The New Mexico Gang Task Force’s website says, in fact, that it’s gotten worse.

“The gang problem in New Mexico has escalated in the last two decades from relatively traditional neighborhood gangs, found primarily in the state’s urban areas, to criminal gangs statewide,” the site says. “New Mexico’s gangs have evolved and continue to be more mobile, more violent, and more involved in high-level criminal activities.”

The FBI-established National Gang Intelligence Center, in its most recent report in 2015, said “gangs of all types remain steadfast in their objectives to generate revenue and gain control of the territories they inhabit; and in their dedication to these objectives, gangs continue to grow in numbers and expand in their criminal activities.”

That report doesn’t break down statistics by state. It does mention one New Mexico incident, a fight between members of the Banditos and Wheels of Soul motorcycle clubs in March 2015 at an Applebee’s restaurant in Albuquerque. One Wheels of Soul member sustained a nonfatal gunshot wound. He refused to cooperate with authorities during the investigation.

According to the New Mexico Gang Task Force website, the main goal of the group is to provide federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies with training, information and funding to enhance interdiction and enforcement efforts with the goal of reducing criminal gang activity, including narcotics trafficking, throughout the state of New Mexico.

Other goals include training on gang activities and interdiction techniques, compiling data on gang trends and becoming “the centralized clearinghouse for New Mexico in the area of juvenile and gang violence,” according to the website.

Benefits of membership

Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said his agency has been a member of the task force since its inception in the late ’90s.

There are no annual dues for an agency to join, Gallegos said, except for training. The task force’s website says there is an $80 charge for each officer participating in this year’s conference in April. Closer to the event, the price goes up to $100.

The Albuquerque Police Department “shares gang intelligence with other New Mexico agencies and other out-of-state agencies on our network,” Gallegos said. Federal grant funding has been used to cover the costs of joint overtime operations targeting gang activity, he said.

“The biggest benefit is a shared interactive computer database on known gang members and their associates documented in the system,” Gallegos said. “This program has been instrumental in criminal investigations in identifying unknown suspects based on such characteristics as gang membership, tattoos, gang clothing and colors.”

Santa Fe police spokesman Greg Gurule said the department has benefited from information shared by the task force. He said a series of armed robberies and other crimes last year were carried out by a group of youth, some of whom were linked to Albuquerque gangs.

Ex-Sheriff  David Clark flashes V for victory during a recent event

“The investigation resulted in seven arrest warrants being issued and confirmation that Albuquerque gangs such as the Only the Family [OTF] and the Get Hard Crew were operating in Santa Fe,” Gurule said. “If it weren’t for the sharing of information between agencies and collaboration through the New Mexico Gang Task Force, these gang members would have gone undetected within the city of Santa Fe.”

Gallegos described the training offered by the task force as “state of the art.”

Juan Ríos, a spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, agreed.

“This is training dealing with large criminal organizations,” Ríos said. “We’re not talking about the West Side Locos,” he said, referring to a Santa Fe gang that was active here in the 1990's.

Confiscated during a recent raid by the New Mexico Gang Task force

Among the classes offered at the April conference are those dealing with Mexican drug cartels, outlaw motorcycle gangs, white supremacists and “sovereign citizen” groups, Native American gangs, social media use by gangs, opioid death investigations, post traumatic stress disorder and psychological safety for officers, the task force website says.

Attendance is limited to those who work directly for public safety agencies and city, county, state or federal departments. Identification is required. And, the website says, the task force “reserves the right to refuse ineligible attendees.”

The Clarke flap - David Clarke is a controversial figure these days.

The former Wisconsin sheriff, who ran as a Democrat, stepped down from the job last year to become a spokesman for a pro-Donald Trump political action committee. He has made a second career out of saying things that delight the hard right and anger liberals. An African-American, he has compared Black Lives Matter to ISIS. He’s also advocated for suspending habeas corpus for Americans suspected of terrorist sympathies. And just recently, he suggested that Florida high school students who are pushing for gun control legislation are being controlled by liberal billionaire George Soros.

His invitation to speak in New Mexico outraged some in law enforcement.

“I don’t know why the gang task force invited this guy. I disagree with that,” said Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia.

Garcia added that if the deputy he’s sending to the conference wants to “go hear this radical speaker, he’ll have to go on his own time and spend his own money. I’m not spending any taxpayer money on this.”

Gallegos, the Albuquerque police spokesman, said in a statement: “It’s disappointing that any New Mexico organization would invite someone with such a radical disregard for civil rights and human dignity to be a keynote speaker. This invitation sends the wrong message at the wrong time, as we bring back community policing and make progress toward restoring public trust in law enforcement.”

Nevertheless, Clarke is scheduled to speak twice at the conference at Isleta Pueblo — once as the keynote speaker for attendees and once at a $150-a-plate “VIP dinner,” which is open to the public.

Responding to criticism about the invitation last month, the task force released this statement:

“Each year we look for speakers who can provide a unique experience that officers can utilize in the training…Ex-Sheriff Clarke served the people of Milwaukee County for 15 years and politics aside, his experiences are invaluable to law enforcement everywhere. … The decision to invite former Sheriff Clarke was made by the [task force] training committee, a committee of 10 volunteers. We stand by our decision to have him as our keynote speaker.”

STORY: Steve Ferrell

SOURCE: The Santa Fe New Mexican

Hells Angels Interview On Geraldo Rivera

A 1974 television interview with the Hells Angels from Good Night America, hosted by Geraldo Rivera, featuring Edward "Deacon" Proudfoot (president of the Oakland charter), Sandy Alexander (president of the New York City charter), and Vincent "Big Vinnie" Girolamo.

Propaganda: Motorcycle Gang 1957

Synopsis : A troublemaker returns to town only to find his old tearaway pals have joined a supervised motorcycle club. Friction erupts between him and the new leader about this goody-goody setup, and about the charms of gang moll Terry.

Feds warn of increase of Outlaw Bikers in Florida

“We've seen them Outlaw Bikers riding colors with their jackets on. 

MARATHON, FL ( December 3, 2016)The FBI warned local law enforcement last month that Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs are increasing their presence in South Florida, especially in the Keys.

And their presence has been particularly noticed at popular Motorcycle events like the Peterson Poker Run, held annually throughout the island chain in September.

“We’ve seen in the last couple of years, during events like the Peterson Poker Run, an increase in Outlaw Bikers participating,” said Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “We've seen them Outlaw Bikers riding colors with their jackets on. Historically, you haven’t seen that.”

“Colors” for motorcycle clubs generally are a three-part arrangement of patches depicting the club name and its location.

The FBI in November sent a memo to Keys law enforcement agencies stating that various Motorcycle Clubs are trying to gain territory in South Florida. The Outlaws MC, regarded as the dominant Motorcycle Club in the region, likely would respond by making efforts to increase its presence and influence, according to the memo.

A member of the Black Pistons MC and Outlaws MC at an event

Ramsay said the document warned of an increased incidence of Outlaw Motorcycle Club activity in the Keys, and that there could be “conflicts between club members.”

“The information put out was an FYI and to be aware and mindful,” Ramsay said.

Nora Scheland, an FBI spokeswoman, declined to comment on the warning.

City of Key West Police Department Chief Donald J. Lee said that his department also received information about Outlaw Biker Clubs would take part in the Poker Run, but he would not elaborate on which agency shared the intelligence.

“We are constantly sharing intelligence information with other law enforcement agencies, but, in the interest of public safety, do not disclose active intelligence information,” Lee said.

“As far as shared information regarding Outlaw Biker activity, we were made aware both before and during the Poker Run, that there was a chance biker gangs would be in attendance,” Lee said. “This is not the first year they’ve come to the Keys for Poker Run, by any means.”

Ramsay said life for Motorcycle Club members has changed over the years. No longer are the organizations’ membership made up solely of men whose only job is in the club.

“It used to be that groups like the Outlaws and the Pagans were made up of guys whose sole job was being involved in criminal enterprises,” Ramsay said. “They didn’t have day jobs.”

Now, he said members have “dual roles, dual lives. They’re trying to blend into two different societies.”

Indeed, a member of the Outlaws MC involved in a barroom brawl in Key West during the Poker Run in September also is a Hillsborough County firefighter.

“A lot of them are just bad guys,” Ramsay said. “But others are also firefighters or something else, riding with their friends.”

SOURCE: Florida Keys News