Another suspect arrested in Pagan's MC assault

Charleroi, Pennsylvania, USA (July 19, 2019) BTN -A 10th suspect has been arrested in a brutal assault by alleged members of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club at a Charleroi social club in April.

Online court records indicate the suspect who solicited the assault, Brian A. Keruskin, 57, of Charleroi, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and sent to Washington County jail without bond.

Testimony at a preliminary hearing that morning for six other suspects in the case showed that Keruskin talked on the phone after the assault at the Slovak Club with the man who let the group of Pagan's into the bar at 700 McKean Ave.

“I told him it was really bad,” Zachary Yagnich, 26, a club officer testified about his conversation with Keruskin.

“I was scared,” he said.

Prosecutors have not revealed a motive in the April 18 assault of Troy Harris, who had left the Pagan's to join a rival group known as Sutars Soldiers.

Related | Pagan's MC members charged

Harris suffered severe trauma to his head, causing him to have a stroke and cognitive problems, his wife, Michele, testified Tuesday.

District Judge Larry Hopkins, who presided over Tuesday’s hearing, found sufficient evidence to hold the six suspects for trial, and he sent them all back to area jails without bond.

The suspects who were charged with attempted homicide and other offenses are: Corey Volk, 24, of West Newton; Paul Cochran, 54, of Charleroi; John Sadvary, 39, of Penn Hills; Matthew Vasquez, 30, of Monessen; Joshua Pagliei, 43, of Monongahela; and Jason Huff, 40, of Plum.

Washington County Judge John F. DiSalle has scheduled a bond reduction hearing for the suspects at noon today.

Yagnich also faces an attempted homicide charge, and he has waived his case to court. Vasquez’ fiancée at the time, Jamie Granato, is awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges including conspiracy.

Keruskin and another suspect who was arrested in the case this week, Joseph Olinsky, 45, whose address was not immediately known, are scheduled to appear for a preliminary heating at 10 a.m. Aug. 7 before Hopkins.

All of the cases remained sealed Wednesday.

Keruskin was sentenced in October 2002 to 27 months in a federal prison after pleading guilty to one felony count of assault with a dangerous weapon, online court records show.

He was among 73 Pagan's who carried out a surprise attack on a group of Hells Angels at a motorcycle and tattoo exposition in Long Island in February of that year. One member of the Pagan's died in the attack.

SOURCE: Observer-Reporter

Last suspect arrested in Hells Angels meth bust

Modesto, California, USA (July 19, 2019) BTN — Michael Pack, 32, a prospect with the Modesto Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, has been arrested in connection with an alleged methamphetamine distribution ring.

A Department of Justice spokeswoman said that Pack was subsequently arrested after federal agents failed to locate him during a June 25 sweep that netted club president Randy Picchi, 61; his wife, Tina Picchi, 51; and Michael Mize, 61. Pack, a Modesto resident, was arraigned in federal court in Fresno on Tuesday.

Related | Modesto Hells Angels President Arrested

Search Warrants Executed at Seven Locations

Officers executed search warrants at seven locations June 25 in Stanislaus County, including the Hells Angels 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.

SOURCE: GV Wire

Pagan's MC members charged

Charleroi, Pennsylvania, USA (July 17, 2019) BTN - Six members of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club have been charged with attempted homicide after allegedly attacking a former member inside a bar in Charleroi, authorities said.

Surveillance video of the attack, which happened in April inside the Slovak Club, was shown in court Tuesday as the six men faced a judge.

The video shows the victim and his wife sitting at the bar. When the men walked in, the victim can be seen reaching out to shake hands before being punched, kicked and stomped on.

The attack lasted less than a minute, police said.


The victim, a former local chapter president of the Pagan's who is now with another motorcycle club, was flown to a hospital. He continues to recover.

Defense attorneys for the suspects argued Tuesday that the video does not capture what is happening on the ground.

The victim’s wife testified she crawled between the suspects’ kicking legs in an attempt to get to her husband.

“I went for my gun because I was afraid they were going to kill him,” she said.

The victim’s wife said her husband suffered a traumatic brain injury, two broken eye sockets, a broken nose and had a stroke. He now walks with a cane.

All six men charged in the attack are being held without bond. In addition to attempted homicide, they are charged with conspiracy.

Two more members of the Pagans have been arrested and their hearings are in August.

SOURCE: WPXI

Hells Angels MC members charged after attack

Lisbon, Portugal (July 11, 2019) BTN - Portuguese prosecutors charged 89 members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club with involvement in organized crime, attempted murder, robbery and drug trafficking. The club members were also charged with qualified extortion and possession of illegal weapons and ammunition.

"According to the indictment, the accused belong to Hells Angels Motorcycle Club," said the chief prosecutor's statement.

Dozens of the group's Portuguese and members from other countries have been arrested following a long investigation.

Out of the 89 members charged by Portugal, 37 are in pre-trial detention, five are under house arrest, and two are detained in Germany awaiting extradition to Portugal, the prosecutors said.

Related | Hells Angels MC members arrested

Prosecutors allege that the motorcycle club members tried to kill four people and seriously injured others last year at a restaurant on the outskirts of Portugal's capital, Lisbon. The restaurant was destroyed in the Hells Angels attack.

At the time of the restaurant attack, the Hell Angels was involved in a war for control of illicit guns and drug trade, according to authorities.

SOURCE: WSAV

Cops in Pagan's bar fight keep their jobs

Pittsburgh, PA (July 9, 2019) BTN — Four Pittsburgh police detectives who fought with members of the Pagan's motorcycle club on the South Side in October will remain on the police force, the city announced Tuesday.

Detectives David Honick, Brian Burgunder, David Lincoln and Brian Martin will, however, be reassigned to new positions within the bureau.

The Biker Trash Network as been covering this story from the start. 

Timeline stories below

Related | Undercover cops not charged in Pagan's beating
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Related | All 4 cops on paid leave after bar fight

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The move comes nearly nine months after the fight at Kopy’s Bar on South 12th Street, which brought heavy scrutiny to the police bureau’s narcotics and vice unit, prompted a lawsuit against the city and resulted in new internal police guidelines for undercover drinking by officers while on duty.

Police on Tuesday refused to say to where the detectives would be assigned or whether they will be working as patrol officers or as detectives in their new roles. Spokesmen for police Chief Scott Schubert, Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich and Mayor Bill Peduto said the officials declined to comment Tuesday.

Elizabeth Pittinger, executive director of the city’s Citizen Police Review Board, said she was stunned and disappointed by the decision to keep the detectives on the force.

“It’s unconscionable that they weren’t criminally charged in the first place,” she said. “And administratively, it’s shameful that they were not terminated for their behavior that night. It just is not the professionalism or the demeanor the Bureau says they aspire to.”

The Allegheny County district attorney’s office decided in February not to pursue criminal charges against the police officers, and the U.S. attorney’s office declined to prosecute federally.

The detectives had apparently been drinking at the bar for several hours before they fought with four members of the Pagan's motorcycle club on Oct. 12.

At one point during the brawl, one officer pinned a motorcycle club member against the bar while a detective punched him 19 times in the face.


The fight ended with the arrival of uniformed police officers. One sergeant deployed pepper spray into the faces of two detectives. The four Pagans members were arrested and charged with felonies; all those charges were later withdrawn. They have since sued the city, alleging excessive force.

The undercover detectives were placed on paid leave during the subsequent investigation into the incident, which revealed several other instances in which undercover police officers drank alcohol during operations. The city has assigned a new commander to the narcotics and vice unit.

Detectives Honick, Lincoln and Burgunder did not return requests for comment Tuesday. Detective Martin declined to comment.

Ms. Pittinger said the city’s decision to keep the four undercover detectives on the force erodes the public’s trust in the police bureau because they’ll continue to operate as police officers.

“They are not the finest we have,” she said. “It’s disgusting. It was an example of sadistic force. In the civilian world we would call it an assault.”

The Citizen Police Review Board has opened an inquiry into the policies and procedures that guide undercover operations, Ms. Pittinger said. She hopes the public process will shed some light on the city’s policies at the time of the incident as well as any revisions officials have made.

Pittsburgh police have refused to say whether undercover officers are allowed to drink on the job or to what extent. The police bureau’s public policy on alcohol and drug use prohibits all police members from being under the influence of alcohol or drugs while on duty.

Police said last month that the bureau established new “guidelines” for undercover alcohol use, but refused to make those guidelines public. The guidelines have not been formalized into actual policies or procedures.

SOURCE: CBS Pittsburgh 

Hells Angels MC member pleads guilty

Ontario, Canada (July 4, 2019) BTN — Mark David Heickert, 50, of Orillia pleaded guilty last week in Dartmouth provincial court to three charges: conspiracy to traffic cocaine, conspiracy to possess proceeds of crime and breaching his release conditions by having contact with members of the Hells Angels MC or affiliated clubs.

Heickert and an Eastern Shore man – Paul Francis Monahan of Ostrea Lake - were arrested in November 2017 following a nine-month police investigation that included undercover officers.

RCMP executed search warrants at homes in Ostrea Lake and Orillia and at the Hells Angels clubhouse in Musquodoboit Harbour.

Officers allegedly seized two kilograms of cocaine, a sawed-off shotgun, a large quantity of cash, motorcycle club paraphernalia, cellphones and electronics from the homes and a small quantity of hashish and marijuana, pills, gang paraphernalia, cellphones, electronics and cash from the clubhouse.

Ontario Hells Angels member Mark David Heickert is wheeled out of Dartmouth provincial court in November 2017 after his arraignment on drug conspiracy charges.

Police said Monahan is a “hang-around” member of the New Brunswick Nomads Hells Angels chapter and Heickert is a full-patch member of the Hells Angels chapter in Oshawa, Ont.

Monahan, 53, pleaded guilty this April to trafficking marijuana, conspiracy to traffic cocaine and conspiracy to possess proceeds of crime.

According to court documents, Monahan committed the trafficking offence between February and July 2017. The conspiracy offences occurred between March and November of that year.

Heickert breached his release conditions this March while he was in Dartmouth for a court appearance.

The men will return to court in August for a sentencing hearing.

Crown attorney Mike Taylor said lawyers might have a joint recommendation for Monahan, but Heickert’s sentencing will be contested.

Heickert is free on $10,000 cash bail, while Monahan posted $7,000 with the court to secure his release.

SOURCE: The Chronicle Herald

Apache MC allegedly has colors pulled

Charleston, West Virginia, USA (July 2, 2019) BTN — Kanawha County Sheriff's deputies responded to the Apache Motorcycle Club near St. Albans Saturday. The call was for a disturbance.

When investigators arrived, they found club members "bloody and beaten." The Apache club members said they were robbed by members of two other clubs: the Pagans and the Demons.

According to the criminal complaints, witnesses told deputies that rival club members "entered the Apache Club uninvited and after some communication between club presidents, a physical altercation ensued."

The complaint continues, "The victims were physically beat up, held down, and held at gunpoint in order to be removed of their 'cuts' or motorcycle club patches or insignia."

The suspects allegedly stole guns, knives, and clothing from the victims. Investigators say they were taken by force or threat.


Deputies investigated and ended up arrested eight people on felony charges. According to the criminal complaints, these eight suspects are accused of taking part in the robbery or being present for it.

The following four suspects are charged with armed robbery: James Grim, 37, of Poca, Rhonda Brisendine, 47, of Elkview, Roger Lee Prater, II, 33, of Delbarton, and Gary Steven McDaniels, 34, of Stollings.

The following four suspects are charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery: James Overby, Jr, 47, of Lorado, Christopher Scragg, 45, of Charleston, Douglas Bailey, 51, of Charleston, and Linda Paetz, 51, of Temperance, Michigan.

Only five mugshots were available Monday morning. Brisendine, Prater II, McDaniels, Overby, and Paetz are in the South Central Regional Jail.

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Mongols MC headquarters subject to searches

Santa Ana, California, USA (June 29, 2019) BTN — A federal judge on Friday, June 28, made clear that his decision to place the Mongols motorcycle club on probation means the headquarters for the organizations mother chapter is fair game for random search by probation officers, not individual bikers themselves.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter in May ordered the Mongols organization to pay a $500,000 fine, and to serve five years on supervised probation, after a Santa Ana jury found that the Southern California-based club itself — rather than specific members — was guilty of racketeering.

The first-of-its-kind legal battle was part of a decade-plus effort by federal law enforcement to seize control of the Mongols patches, which depict an illustration of a smiling, ponytailed, Ghengis Khan-type motorcycle rider. The Santa Ana jury agreed that the government should be able to take control of the patches and trademark, but Judge Carter overrode that portion of the verdict, ruling it would be unconstitutional.

Since Carter’s decision, law enforcement agencies from across the country have reached out to federal probation officials to ask what the terms of the Mongols organizations probation means for their efforts to police individual riders, prosecutors told the judge.

Related | Mongols Motorcycle Club wins court case
Related | Mongols MC lose federal case against patch 
Related | Jury ready to decide Mongols MC fate over patch

Related | Mongols MC found guilty of racketeering

Related | Feds betting Mongols MC will not survive 

Related | A Motorcycle Club can’t conspire with itself

Related | Mongols MC trademark trial wrapping up 

Related | Jesse Ventura defends Mongols MC in federal court

Related | Feds attempt to seize Mongols MC trademarked logo

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

“I have no problem searching the mother chapter, that is where you found the guns,” Carter told prosecutors. “But this isn’t a wholesale warrant without probable cause to search anyone on the street.”

But before the government can search the Mongols’ headquarters, they are going to have to come back to the court and tell the judge where it actually is. Court filings have referred to a location in West Covina, but prosecutors on Friday noted that is a reference to the former home of Ruben “Doc” Cavazos, a former president of the Mongols who was kicked out of the club.

Prosecutors didn’t immediately provide the judge with a new address for the club’s current headquarters, just telling him it is not in West Covina. The Mongols was originally formed in Montebello in the 1970s.

The legal battle over the Mongols patch is almost certain to make its way before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and likely the U.S. Supreme Court. Carter is allowing the club to pay their $500,000 fine in monthly installments, so that they can still afford to fund the expected appeals.


The case stemmed from Operation Black Rain, an undercover investigation in which law enforcement agents infiltrated the Mongols. A separate, earlier court case against specific Mongols members led to 77 people pleading guilty to racketeering-related charges.

In the most recent trial, the Mongols as an organization were found to have taken part in drug trafficking, vicious assaults and even murder. Much of the violence was tied to a long-running rivalry between the Mongols and the Hells Angels motorcycle club, and led to attacks, some fatal, in bars and restaurants in Pasadena, Hollywood, Merced, La Mirada, Wilmington and Riverside.

Attorneys representing the current leadership of the Mongols have blamed the violence on Cavazos and his crew, who they note are no longer involved in the organization.

SOURCE: The Orange County Register