Governor wants new anti-gang center for Waco

Waco, Texas, USA (February 8, 2019) BTN — Hoping to build on the successes of six anti-gang centers across the state, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is proposing to add two new crime-fighting centers, including one in Waco.

Abbott announced plans for new Texas anti-gang centers in Waco and Tyler in September and reiterated his resolve to fund the creation of the two new centers and to give additional funding for the six existing centers, during his state of the state address this week.

Aftermath of police massacre in Waco, Texas  

“The State of Texas is sending a message to criminals and gang members that any attempts to compromise the safety of our communities will not be tolerated,” Abbott said. “My top priority as governor is keeping Texans safe, and these latest proposals will help me do just that.”

The anti-gang centers involve local, state and federal law enforcement brought together under one roof to cooperate, share information and crack down on violent criminal activity, officials have said. The existing centers in Houston, San Antonio, McAllen, El Paso, Lubbock and Dallas, have achieved significant success in curbing gang activity governor’s office spokesman John Whitman said.

“The governor has said we know that these work because we have seen the results,” Whitman said. “In 2017, 1,400 criminals associated with gang-related activity were taken off the street in the Houston area. We have seen the results and we need to replicate that around the state, and the next two places we are proposing to do that are Waco and Tyler.”

Related | Waco: Police Opened Fired On Bikers Witnesses Say

Archive | Waco Shooting History

Abbott has requested $7.1 million to continue funding for existing anti-gang centers and the two proposed centers, Whitman said. The Waco City Council approved a resolution Tuesday for the city to submit a $3.5 million criminal justice grant request to the governor’s office to fund the Waco center. If awarded, there would be no matching local funds required, Whitman said.

Funding is contingent on approval from the Texas Legislature, but Whitman said the governor has widespread support from lawmakers for most of his criminal justice proposals. The grant awards will be released in September, he said.

Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said if the money is allocated for the center in Waco, there is no specific timeline to have it operational. He said it will take time to find an appropriate location, furnish and equip it and select and possibly train officers who will participate.

Waco police Sgt.W. Patrick Swanton still in denial of what really happened

“As a department, we are very proud that the governor thought enough of us to ask us to be a part of this,” Swanton said. “It also is a big deal for our community because it will make our city safer. If you look at our past history, we know that gangs are here. We had outlaw motorcycle gangs that disrupted our community several years ago. There are prison gangs. MS-13 is here. Mexican Mafia members are here. Other prison gangs, the Bloods, Crips, they are here. We kind of run the gamut from everything from large organized prison gangs to your little neighborhood wannabe gangs. The officers will deal with those and try to cut off the head of the snake.”

Swanton said Waco likely was selected because of its central location, its gang presence and the May 2015 midday shootout at the former Twin Peaks restaurant between rival biker groups, Bandidos and Cossacks, that left nine dead and 20 wounded. 

“Gang members are some of the worst criminals out there, and our history with the Bandidos and Cossacks show the level they are capable of,” Swanton said. “They could care less about the citizenry. When you have a shootout in a very open mall area in the middle of the day, they don’t care about citizens and their safety. They could care less about who is in their way or who gets hurt, and that is what we are trying to combat.”

Cover up continues - Follow the money

Besides local agencies like police departments and sheriff’s offices, anti-gang centers typically include investigators from the Texas Department of Public Safety and federal agencies, including possibly the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Homeland Security, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service, DPS spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said. Anti-gang officers also work closely with state and federal prosecutors, Cesinger said.

The state’s first anti-gang center was established in Houston in 2012.

“Gangs and their associates are a significant threat to public safety, not only because of their penchant for violence and criminal activity, but also their relationships with other criminal organizations, such as Mexican cartels,” DPS Director Steven McCraw said in a statement. “The TAG centers utilize a proven strategy to increase safety in our communities by seamlessly coordinating local, state and federal resources in an effort to identify, disrupt and prosecute ruthless gangs operating in our communities.”

State Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson, R-Waco, said he expects support for the measure in the House and Senate. He said Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 77 provide natural corridors for drug and human traffickers, and Abbott’s proposed anti-gang center will help combat those major crime areas.

“I really appreciate the governor supporting law enforcement in our area that way,” Anderson said. “There are others around the state that have done well, and I am pleased the governor is helping to protect us in our area and I believe it most likely will come to fruition.”

SOURCE:  WacoTribune-Herald

Hells Angels want clubhouse back

Haarlem, Amsterdam (February 7, 2019) BTN — The Hells Angels Haarlem Foundation fights Tuesday morning at the Council of State the closure of their home base at the Baljuwslaan.

Hells Angels MC Clubhouse in Haarlem

The Haarlem motorcycle club has stepped to the Council of State to have the closure of the building undone.

Mayor Jos Wienen decided in 2017 that the clubhouse of the Hells Angels had to be closed. According to Wienen, the reason to close the building was - firearms and drugs were found in a raid – and are very convincing. 

The club does not agree with the Mayor, who refuses reopening of the building

But according to the lawyer for the Hells Angels, the 'bad apples' have been removed from the club and the clubhouse could be opened again. A decision must be made within 6 weeks. The foundation claims that it has not been proven that the public order is disrupted by the reopening of the club house.

SOURCE:  HaarlemsWeekblad

Cop and firefighter ringleaders in drug ring

Middletown, NY  (February 6, 2019) BTN — A Middletown firefighter and a retired Spring Valley police officer were among the dozens arrested as part of a sweep of allegedly drug dealing bikers in Orange County Tuesday.

Authorities say more than 20 people were taken into custody when search warrants were executed at 15 locations in connection with two separate drug rings, with the same man -- fire Lieutenant Paul Young -- at the center of both.

Related | New York State Police Press Release

In all, 29 people were targeted for arrest, and investigators say leaders of the drug rings were so brazen that they sometimes met at the fire house.

Officials say the investigation, dubbed "Operation Bread, White and Blues," centered on several motorcycle organizations that allegedly distributed cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana and steroids.

The suspects were identified as:

--Paul Smith, 48, of Deerpark

--Robert Dunham, 46, of Middletown

--Marquis Gable, 34, of Nyack

--John Beltempo, 49, of New Windsor

--Kenneth Nunez, 39, of Spring Valley

--Garry Michel, 48, of Wallkill

--Joel Gamble, 44, of Cuddebackville

--Samuel Marino, 30, of Campbell Hall

--Arthur Mays, 30, of Middletown

--George Thomas, 61, of Bloomingburg

--David Lebel, 55, of Middletown

--Jennifer Peterson, 46, of Chester

--Vincenza Ferrante, 35, of New Windsor

--Shawn Daniels, 52, of Monroe

--Salvatore DiStefano, 36, of Westtown

--Melissa Delrosso, 35, of Middletown

--Raymond Chong, 49, of Middletown

--Tara Schoonmaker, 48, of Wurtsboro

--Crystal Crozier, 36, of Middletown

--Donald Johnston, 46, of Middletown

--Anthony Fields, 44, of Middletown

--Desmon Pierson, 36, of Middletown

--Dominick Guardino, 55, of Middletown

--Sunshine Wall, 40, of Cuddebackville

--Nicholas Ciccone, 47, of Port Jervis

--Charles Kavanaugh, 31, of Newburgh

--Gary Caldwell, 33, of Wappingers

--Justin Antona, 27, of Slate Hill

--Andrew Bendig, 23, of Middletown

The drugs reportedly came from both domestic and foreign sources, with the suspect allegedly selling the drugs throughout Orange County.

Most raided locations were in Orange County, but one location where the bikers allegedly purchased the drugs was at the Warren Hills apartment complex in Nyack, Rockland County. Authorities say they were then sold in Orange County.

State police, DEA agents and the FBI agents executed the warrants. Law enforcement officials recovered more than $200,000 in cash, 25 handguns, one assault rifle, multiple rifles, 10 vehicles, two motorcycles, more than 2.5 pounds of cocaine and 1,300 Fentanyl pills.

Authorities say Smith, a paid lieutenant of the City of Middletown Fire Department, has been charged with crimes including operating as a major trafficker as the alleged ringleader of both operations, working in tandem with Dunham.

Gamble and Michel, also charged with crimes including operating as major trafficker, are alleged to have been "profiteers" in the conspiracies to sell cocaine and narcotics pills. It is alleged that it was Gamble's role to provide cocaine to other members of the conspiracy, while Michel was to sell narcotic pills that were marketed to buyers as containing oxycodone but which actually contained fentanyl.

The pills were colored, stamped, and marked to appear to be oxycodone pills.

Beltempo previously worked for the Village of Spring Valley Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff's office and the Town of Wallkill Police Department.

SOURCE:  ABC7 

Alleged Montréal Hells Angel member nabbed

Montréal, Québec  (February 6, 2019) BTN — An alleged member of the Hells Angels’ Montreal chapter is expected to appear before a judge at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday after having avoided arrest in an organized crime investigation for 10 months.

In April last year, the Sûreté du Québec alleged Daniel-André Giroux was a member of the gang’s Montreal chapter, which is now more than four decades old. The SQ had just arrested dozens of people in Project Objection, a lengthy investigation into four drug trafficking networks throughout Quebec that had tentacles that reached into Ontario and New Brunswick.

Giroux, 48, was one of several men who could not be found when members of the Escouade nationale de répression du crime organisé (ENRCO) carried out arrests and search warrants. On Tuesday, the Sûreté du Québec tweeted that Giroux was arrested in Dominican Republic and that he is expected to be formally charged at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday. The provincial police force noted that Giroux was on Quebec’s 10 most wanted list before the arrest was made.

Giroux faces five charges in Project Objection including two counts related to drug trafficking, another two alleging he committed crimes for the benefit of a criminal organization and conspiracy.

He was charged on an indictment along with 11 other people, including three other full-patch members of the biker gang; Michel (Sky) Langlois, Louis Matte and Stéphane Maheu. In October, Maheu, a member of the gang’s South chapter, ended his run on the lam and pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, gangsterism and conspiracy on the same day he made his first court appearance and was sentenced to a six-year prison term, the longest sentence in Project Objection so far.

SOURCE: The MontrealGazette

Outlaws MC member can't have job back

Tampa, FL (February 5, 2019) BTN — A federal arbitrator says Hillsborough County was justified in firing a Fire Rescue medic who belonged to the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, noting the negative attention his membership brought the county.

Clinton Neal Walker, 35, of Bradenton, was fired a year ago after an internal investigation concluded he had “unwavering loyalty” to the Outlaws, long considered the state’s dominant motorcycle club.

He was the first Hillsborough employee to be investigated for gang activity under a series of county ordinances that prohibit membership in any organization the state or federal government considers criminal, including the Outlaws St. Petersburg Chapter where Walker was a member.

Arbitrator Charlotte Gold released her ruling in mid-January, ending a year-long fight by the local chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters to save Walker’s job. Her report provided new insight into biker gang culture within the county’s fire department and throughout the Tampa Bay area.

“HCFR employees, including chiefs and a fire medic, attended MC (motorcycle club) events,” Gold wrote, and “many of its members were ex-military.”

Walker earned a Bronze Star, among other medals and awards, while in the U.S. Marine Corps. And as a county firefighter he was awarded a Medal of Valor. 

But Walker also had a long disciplinary history and “conducted himself in a manner that was detrimental to the department,” Gold wrote.

“The conclusion is inescapable that he affected the county’s standing in the community,’’ Gold wrote in her report. “His behavior ultimately reflected poorly on the county and his profession in general.”

Walker testified he had resigned from the Outlaws in October 2016, before the county issued a directive prohibiting all employees from “being a member of or voluntarily participating with any outside gang, as defined in the FBI’s 2015 National Gang Report.” The ban came two months after Walker was arrested in Key West for throwing the first punch in a bar fight that left two employees injured and involved as many as 15 other Outlaws, one wearing a T-shirt with a swastika on it and others who used racial slurs.

Walker ultimately negotiated a plea deal for the Key West fight and received a paid suspension from the county for 30 days. He was still serving that suspension when now-retired Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Captain James Costa, then president of the Outlaws St. Petersburg chapter, was shot by members of the rival 69ers Motorcycle Club while riding his motorcycle in south Hillsborough in July 2017. 

According to the report, Costa fired back. The shooting has since been tied to the shooting death of another Outlaw, Paul Anderson, in December 2017.

Walker was one of about 10 Outlaws who got a call from Costa and another Hillsborough County Fire Rescue medic telling them that Costa was being taken to a medical center in Manatee County with bullet wounds. 

Though he wasn’t on duty, Walker dressed in his Fire Rescue uniform and accompanied Costa into the hospital, taking his motorcycle vest with Outlaw insignia and initially refusing to turn it over to law enforcement.

“By wearing his HCFR t-shirt at the hospital, he gained favor for himself in violation of the county’s uniform regulations,” Gold wrote in her report. “He then proceeded to place the interests of a friend and mentor — an individual who continued a strong relationship with a motorcycle gang — over and above those of law enforcement.”

According to the report, Fire Rescue management has known about both Walker and Costa’s membership in the Outlaws since about 2008. Costa joined the Outlaws in 2002, and recruited Walker while working as his supervisor in Sun City Center’s Fire Station 28.

The new rules, and the ensuing investigation into Walker’s conduct, happened as a wave of bar brawls, bad behavior and execution-style killings between rival biker gangs swept across the Tampa Bay area, implicating firefighters in Hillsborough, Polk and Pasco counties.

SOURCE:  Tampa BayTimes

Two Pagan's MC members plead guilty

Jacksonville, FL (February 4, 2019) BTN – Two local men are among the 17 people who have been taken down as part of an anti-drug trafficking operation targeting what the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida calls “outlaw motorcycle clubs”.

Prosecutors say these conspirators, some of who are part of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club, are responsible for hundreds of grams of meth being on the streets of Florida, including in Jacksonville and St. Augustine.

Robert Foster, of St. Augustine, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess meth with intent to distribute and possession of meth with intent to distribute. His plea agreement says he took part in a group that was responsible for distributing kilos of meth from Georgia to other trafficking groups in Florida. The drugs were largely moved to Central Florida, but the plea agreement says they were brought to St. Augustine as well. Foster specifically admits to conspiring to distribute at least 150 grams of meth. He further admits to, on a single occasion in April 2018, purchasing 137 grams of meth that was 99% pure.

Salvador Rivas, of Jacksonville, has pleaded guilty to his part in a related organization, although not directly the operation that Foster was involved in. He faces one count of possession of meth with intent to distribute and two counts of distribution of meth. The leader of the organization Rivas was in is responsible for distributing kilos of meth in Florida, according to court records, with some of that coming to Jacksonville. Rivas served as a runner, and his plea agreement says he conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of meth from around November 2017 through September 2018. He further admits to distributing nine ounces of 96% pure meth in exchange for $1800 in one incident in Daytona Beach, and exchanging 561 grams of 92% pure meth for $3800 in an incident in Jacksonville.

The other suspects who have pleaded guilty as part of this targeted investigation include 47-year-old Barbara Caylor-Hernandez, of Ormond Beach; 44-year-old Ramiro Fraire-Chavarria, of Dalton, GA; 47-year-old Michael Babin, of Daytone Beach; 28-year-old Melanie Kerr, of Daytona Beach; 41-year-old Keith Simmons, of Oak Hill; 51-year-old Carla Ray, of Oak Hill; 49-year-old Spencer Burkard, of New Smyrna Beach; 54-year-old Daniel Barbarino, of Daytona Beach; 33-year-old Andrew Shettler, of Palm Coast; 47-year-old Brian Burt, of Port Orange; 55-year-old Lawrence Sann, of Bunnell; 33-year-old Michael Andrews; 38-year-old Jason Stringer, of Daytona Beach; 35-year-old Melissa Ford, of Daytona Beach; and 53-year-old Theodore Bilski, of Daytona Beach.

Both local suspects could face up to life in prison. Their sentencing dates have not yet been set.

These indictments stemmed from FBI and DEA investigations that involved controlled drug purchases by an undercover officer and several confidential informants, as well as intercepted telephone conversations.

SOURCE:  WOKV

Former Bandidos MC member found guilty

Jones County, Texas (February 1, 2019) BTN – A jury found Wesley Dale Mason guilty of murder in the shooting death of an Abilene man Wednesday.

Mason, who is a former member of the Bandidos motorcycle club, shot and killed Dusty Childress in March 2017 on County Road 341, just east of the Abilene Environmental Landfill.

Mason asked the jury to decide his sentence. The jury began the sentencing phase Wednesday afternoon and continued Thursday morning. The defense brought four character witnesses to the stand in front of the jury on Thursday.

Mason's bail bondsman, who also rented a residence to the defendant, told the court that he had never had trouble with him.

A friend of Mason's for approximately five years, stated that she never felt in danger around Wesley. She mentioned that she had been around gatherings of Bandidos, but did not feel unsafe around them. She was woman that Wesley went to after the shooting in 2017.

The defendant's father, testified that he has maintained a positive and healthy relationship with his son. He stated that Wesley was in the U.S. Navy for several years and that he had two daughters. "Wesley never harmed anyone growing up, and he loved kids." Chuck is not known to have ties to the Bandidos.

Mason's mother was the last character witness to take the stand Thursday. She stated that Wesley would never kill anyone on purpose.

Closing arguments were presented and the jury deliberated for sentencing.

On Wednesday additional people took the stand like Mason's probation officer. She said the Bandidos are a dangerous gang.

Also a self proclaimed motorcycle "gang" expert said he wouldn’t feel safe being in a room with Mason.

SOURCE: San Angelo LIVE

Mongols Motorcycle Club vows to fight trademark loss

Los Angeles, California (February 1, 2019) BTN  – The federal government said they're a convicted criminal gang, and Hells Angels consider them enemies. They call themselves the Mongols Motorcycle Club - and they're one of the largest Motorcycle Clubs in the world.

"It's about honor, respect and pride," David Santillan said.

But for this East L.A.-born brotherhood, the last few years have been a fight for survival. They've been under federal indictment for the last decade. And recently, a federal jury in Santa Ana convicted the national club of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy for murder, attempted murder and drug dealing.

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Related | Feds attempt to seize Mongols MC trademarked logo

Related | Mongols MC: Feds going after clubs colors at racketeering trial

More than 75 of their members were convicted - including their former president Ruben "Doc" Cavazos. But the biggest blow of all - hit them where it hurts the most, they lost the rights to their trademarked emblem.

"What the patch means to me and to all my brothers when we ride, it's like a ring in a marriage. It symbolizes our loyalty and commitment to the Mongols Motorcycle when we're out there riding together as a club." Santillan said.

Santillan, known as "Little Dave" by club members, is the new national president of the Mongols. He's been on the front lines of the group's fight against the government, to keep the rights to their sacred symbol.

"This is a lifestyle. A culture. A way of life for us. To me, it's a lifetime commitment. I've been in this club going on 23 years," he said.

The infamous patch is a caricature of the founder of the ancient Mongol empire, Genghis Kahn. Prosecutors argue, in order to get or keep their patches, members are encouraged to commit crimes. It's why they've been fighting for years to strip the club of their logo.

There's still a lot of secrecy around the patches and how members obtain them. But if there's one thing club members, their lawyers and prosecutors agree on -- the symbol is a pivotal part of the club's identity.

"If they take away our patch, they can take away everyone else's. It would be a domino effect if they take the case in law for the future, so I don't see us going anywhere. We're just going to continue fighting until the wheels fall off," Santillan said.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter also doesn't seemed to be fully convinced about stripping the club of their logo. He's invited civil rights groups, first amendment lawyers and trademark attorneys to weigh in on the implications.

"Never before in U.S. History has the government come and tried to ban a symbol. Think about that for a second. How many symbols are there in the United States, from wedding rings to religious symbols? All kinds right?

If the government can take and ban a symbol, where does that leave everyone else? And who's next? That's really what we have to look at. That's a really slippery slope," said Mongols general counsel Stephen "Bow Tie" Stubbs.

This case is getting the attention of other motorcycle groups. It's even rumored that their arch-rivals Hells Angels, despite their checkered and deadly relationship with the Mongols, are donating money to fight the cause.

Santillan said the club has spent more than $1 million over the past decade, through fundraisers, donations and club dues, and they won't stop fighting until they win.

"It's a matter of principle at this point - and pride. We're not going away and they're not going to kick us to the curb. Like I said before, we're going to do this until the wheels fall off. We don't care, at any cost," he said

SOURCE: ABC7