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Showing posts with label Veterans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Veterans. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Driver found not guilty in 2019 fatal crash

Concord, New Hampshire (August 10, 2022) - A jury on Tuesday acquitted a pickup truck driver of causing the deaths of seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club in a head-on collision in northern New Hampshire back in 2019.



Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 26, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, had pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of negligent homicide, manslaughter, driving under the influence, and reckless conduct, although some of the charges were dropped during the trial. He has been in jail since the crash on June 21, 2019, in Randolph. His trial began on July 26.

Read More: Driver Acquitted in Deaths of Jarheads MC Members




Saturday, February 6, 2016

Colorado Military officials consider banning Iron Order

 Photo: Staff Sgt. Gregory Brook/Air Force
William Dulaney, a professor at the Air Force Command and Staff College, poses on his Harley in front of an HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant static display at Maxwell Air Force Base.

 Colorado - February 5, 2016
 
Army officials in Colorado say they're considering placing the Iron Order — one of the fastest-growing motorcycle clubs in the country, and particularly popular among military and law enforcement personnel — on an off-limits list of extremist groups and criminal gangs in the wake of a deadly biker brawl in Denver.

“After what happened this weekend, it is definitely under review,” said Lt. Col. Jason Brown, a spokesman for Fort Carson’s 4th Infantry Division.

One man was killed and several others critically injured when dozens of bikers from the Iron Order and Mongol motorcycle clubs collided in a gun and knife fight at a Saturday swap meet in downtown Denver last Saturday.

About half of the Iron Order bikers involved in the brawl were military veterans from the Colorado area, according to a top leader in the club.

The Mongols are among about seven dominant “Outlaw” motorcycle clubs, also known as “1-Percenters” in the biker world and recognizable by the three-piece patches they wear. Self-described as the “baddest 1%er motorcycle club known worldwide” — the Mongols have long had a reputation as one of the most violent gangs in the country and are considered off limits to military personnel by most commands.

The Iron Order is a relative newcomer, started in 2004 by a former Secret Service agent, but growing rapidly. One expert told Military Times the law enforcement-heavy Iron Order has a reputation for starting a fight then being the first to call police. The club's attorney, however, says members of the charitable organization don't want any trouble because they have important careers on the line.

Both the attorney and a report by federal investigators say violence often stems from the Iron Order's choice to wear a certain style of patch.

“The Iron Order is one of the fastest growing motorcycle clubs in the United States,” according to a 2014 Justice Department report. “Members wear a traditional three-piece patch with a State bottom rocker. The fact that they wear the State bottom rocker has infuriated the [Hells Angels Motorcycle Club], Outlaws, Iron Horsemen, Pagans and Bandidos. More importantly, many of their members are police and corrections officers, active-duty military and/or government employees and contractors.”

‘Hold off’


Fort Carson officials say the Iron Order is not on the post’s list of off-limits groups but could be soon as part of the command’s regular assessments with local law enforcement leaders.

“I can guarantee it will be part of that conversation,” Brown said.


Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Wounded Warrior Project Wasting Money



Wounded Warrior Project accused of wasting donor money: ‘It just makes me sick’

Dozens of former Wounded Warrior Project employees have accused the charity of needlessly spending millions of dollars in donations on lavish conferences and parties.

In 2014 alone, the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) received more than $300 million in donations, yet it only spent roughly 60 percent of that on vets, CBS News reported. Other respected charities for wounded veterans, like the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust and Fisher House, reportedly spent more than 90 percent of their donations on vets.

CBS News spoke to more than 40 former WWP employees who accused the charity of out-of-control spending.

“Their mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors, but what the public doesn’t see is how they spend their money,” said Army Staff Sgt. Erick Millette, who recently quit as a public speaker with WWP. “You’re using our injuries, our darkest days, our hardships, to make money. So you can have these big parties.”

Spending on conferences and meetings went from $1.7 million in 2010, to $26 million in 2014, which is the same amount the group spends on combat stress recovery, their top program, according to the charity’s tax forms obtained by CBS News.

“Let’s get a Mexican mariachi band in there, let’s get maracas made with [the] WWP logo, put them on every staff member’s desk. Let’s get it catered and have a big old party,” Sgt. Millette added.