Charges dropped against Pagans MC members in bar fight

Pittsburgh, PA (November 15, 2018) BTN— The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office has withdrawn charges filed against members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club in the wake of a bar fight on the South Side last month.

The fight, which was caught on surveillance video on Oct. 12 at Kopy’s Bar, involved members of the Pagan Motorcycle Club and undercover officers.

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“The video posed problems for law enforcement, as a result of the actions that occurred there. I think that… I was looking forward for an opportunity to start cross-examining the officers,” said defense attorney Lee Rothman.

Photo Credit: KDKA

Following the fight, Rothman’s client, Frank DeLuca, a known member of the Pagan Motorcycle Club, and three other members were charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy and riot.

But the Allegheny County DA’s Office released a statement Wednesday, saying those charges have been withdrawn based on evidence.

The full statement goes on to say they reserve the option to re-file the charges, and acknowledged the uniformed officers who responded to the incident:

“This afternoon our office withdrew all charges filed against 4 individuals in the wake of an altercation inside of Kopy’s Bar on Oct. 12, 2018. The withdrawal of the charges was based on evidentiary reasons and issues and our office reserves the option of refiling. Our office wishes to acknowledge the actions of the uniformed officers who responded to the altercation, doing so in a calm and professional manor despite being faced with a chaotic situation.”

Last month, defense attorneys said it was the undercover officers who should be charged in the incident. The attorneys say the officers were allegedly drunk, brandished firearms and provoked the entire confrontation.

DeLuca was seen in the video being pinned in place against the bar while an unidentified undercover officer repeatedly punched him in the head.

DeLuca’s attorney said Wednesday that his client never should have been charged.

“Those undercover officers acted in a manner that, I believe, was excessive, and that caused injuries to my client,” said Rothman.

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police issued this statement Wednesday night in response to the charges being withdrawn:

“We respect the District Attorney’s decision to withdraw the charges, with an option to refile later. “The PBP takes all incidents that involve the use of force seriously, which is why we always conduct full reviews when such force is required. These internal investigations are a part of our protocol.

“We also prioritize transparency, which is why we asked OMI and the FBI to further investigate this matter. If it is determined that internal discipline or administrative actions should be taken, such actions will be taken. “The public and our officers deserve an impartial examination of the facts. There are three separate independent investigations regarding this incident, and we continue to cooperate with each of them.”

District Attorney Zappala and U.S. Attorney Scott Brady met last month about opening a possible federal probe into the incident.

SOURCE: KDKA2

Rhode Island grand jury indicts MC members and associates

Providence, R.I. (November 9, 2018) BTN — A statewide grand jury has indicted 41 of 61 people arrested this spring in a state police undercover investigation into alleged assaults, drug-dealing and gun-running by Rhode Island motorcycle club members or their associates.

Guns, drugs and a rocket launcher was seized during the May 23 raids 

The state attorney general’s office released the 171-page indictment on Thursday that listed 424 counts of alleged crimes.

Sixteen others have already waived their right to have their cases presented to the grand jury and pleaded guilty, said Amy Kempe, spokeswoman for Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin.

Some of the weapons confiscated during the May 23rd raids

Four others had their cases referred to the state’s Drug Court or to the attorney general’s Adult Diversion Unit, which serves as an alternative to prosecution for first-time nonviolent felony offenders.

Arraignments for those indicted are scheduled to begin December 5th before Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause

In the predawn hours of May 23, more than 150 state and federal investigators swarmed through northern Rhode Island, carrying out at least 29 separate raids of homes, businesses and at least one motorcycle club headquarters.

For almost a year beforehand, authorities have said, they had been gathering information through at least one confidential informant and wiretaps on several cell phones used by a Burrillville man about the Pagans Motorcycle Club trying to establish a Rhode Island chapter and that biker rivalries were spawning violence.

Those recorded conversations between Deric “Tuna” McGuire and his associates also led them to believe McGuire was not just a motorcycle club leader but the head of a Woonsocket-based drug enterprise.

McGuire, who is named in the indictment, faces more than 220 counts of narcotics and weapons charges.

Display of items confiscated during Operation Patched Out carried out on May 23rd

The raids produced a stash of weapons and drugs — even one rocket launcher. And they came just weeks after a member of the Massachusetts Pagans was shot on Route 95 in Connecticut.

Mugshots: Operation Patched Out

State police officials said at the time they decided to move in when they did to prevent any further violence.

SOURCE: Providence Journal

District Attorney: Police not submitting evidence against Pagans MC in bar fight

Pittsburgh, PA (November 5, 2018) Editorial — What were members of the Pittsburgh police doing drinking in a South Side bar before fighting four men, all allegedly members of the Pagans motorcycle club, earlier last month? And why are the police stonewalling the district attorney’s office as the city attempts to figure out what led to that drunken melee?

These are the questions that must be answered as serious questions have been raised about the official police account surrounding the recent brawl.

Video still of bar fight with the Pagans MC and undercover police on October 13, 2018

The Oct. 13 dust up was ostensibly the result of a drug dealing sting gone awry. According to the police, the undercover officers had their covers blown before a Pagan allegedly started pushing and throwing punches. The officers claimed the use of force was necessary for bringing down the unruly men.

All told, four alleged Pagans were arrested and charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy and causing a riot.

Video from the incident and testimony from others have revealed discrepancies in the official account

Surveillance cameras inside the bar captured officers drinking heavily for about five hours before the confrontation. Attorney Martin A. Dietz, who represents 28-year-old Erik Heitzenrater, estimated that some of the detectives had as many as 15 drinks, usually doubles and triples on the rocks.

The officers then verbally sparred with the alleged Pagans. One detective raised his shirt to display his firearm. More words were exchanged, then pushing, then fisticuffs.

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After the fight broke out, video captured one defendant, 36-year-old Frank Deluca, being pinned against the bar by one officer as another struck Mr. Deluca in the head 19 times. Mr. Deluca was hospitalized with two black eyes, one of which was swollen shut, and bruising on his forehead.

Another alleged Pagan can be seen getting punched by an officer despite standing away from the scuffle. The officer then kicks that same man on the ground.

It is clear there are significant questions to be answered about this operation. But the police have not seemed too eager to answer them.

On Oct. 25, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. publicly questioned why the police have not been forthcoming with evidence and statements about the brawl.

Not enough evidence against the Pagans MC 

Mr. Zappala said that, as of this writing, he does not have enough evidence to prosecute any of the accused Pagans. He also stated that the police have not informed if the officers were actually undercover or on an assignment in the bar.

Are officers permitted to drink on the job? What latitude is afforded to undercover officers on assignment? What is the evidence supporting the charges facing the four alleged Pagans?

Mr. Zappala is right to criticize the department for its obfuscation, an approach he has effectively used in the past. The people of Pittsburgh need to know that their police officers are comporting themselves in a respectful manner and that the department will provide transparency and accountability. They deserve answers.

SOURCE:The Editorial Board - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mongols MC: Rat brags how he gained trust with members

Santa Ana, California. (November 2, 2018) BTN — A veteran federal agent who spent years undercover after infiltrating the Mongols Motorcycle Club offered his first-hand account Thursday of a secretive culture of violence and intimidation during testimony in an ongoing federal racketeering trial.

The three years that Darrin Kozlowski and three other U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Officers spent embedded in the outlaw motorcycle club already has led to guilty pleas from 77 members of the Mongols. 

Now, the since-retired special agents’ efforts are at the center of the government’s attempts to seize legal control over the Mongols’ trademark name, a move that would bar the bikers from wearing the patches that now adorn their vests.

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During a federal trial in Santa Ana this week, prosecutors have portrayed the Mongols as a criminal organization that encourages and rewards members who take part in violent, at-times deadly assaults, including riots in Laughlin, Nev. and a melee at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon near Palm Springs in 2002, and violent attacks in bars or restaurants in more recent years in Hollywood, Pasadena, Merced, La Mirada, Wilmington and Riverside.

Kozlowski, who previously infiltrated a Hollywood chapter of the Vagos motorcycle club and an East Coast chapter of the Warlocks motorcycle club, worked his way up the ranks of the Cypress Park chapter of the Mongols between 2005 and 2008, adopting the persona of “Dirty Dan” and telling other members of the club that he had Mafia ties fostered while growing up in Chicago.

It was a risky move, Kozlowski acknowledged during his testimony, particularly since he had already infiltrated one outlaw motorcycle club in Southern California. A photo of Kozlowski had also been printed in a book written by William Queen, a since-retired ATF agent who had infiltrated the Mongols years earlier, and whose work was well known throughout the motorcycle gang.

Kozlowski testified to buying crystal methamphetamine from several members of the Mongols, to being present for several brawls in clubs or parking lots, to helping members legally barred from having firearms hide their guns and to being told that other members of the club that they had killed members of the Hells Angels, whose bloody rivalry with the Mongols dates back to the 1970s.

“Members would often talk about doing things to elevate themselves within the Mongols by doing these acts of violence,” Kozlowski said. “It was talked about as a badge of honor.”

Kozlowski said some members of the motorcycle club were initially suspicious of him and the other undercover agents, forcing them to take polygraph tests before being allowed to join. He described for jurors the inner workings of the club, including detailing the various patches members can acquire for a variety of actions, from assaults and even murders of rivals to explicit sexual conquests.

To bolster his false identity, Kozlowski said he once offered to fly his chapter president to Chicago for a tour of what he claimed were his childhood neighborhoods. The chapter president unexpectedly accepted the invitation, Kozlowski testified, and law enforcement officials were forced to set up a dinner in Chicago with other agents posing as Italian organized crime bosses who told the Mongols leader they had worked with Kozlowski on past criminal endeavors.

There were several times Kozlowski said he believed the other Mongols were on the verge of realizing he was a law enforcement officer. He recalled once entering the home of Mongols leadership to see several members holding Queen’s book and looking at the photographs, and immediately believing he had been set up before realizing it was simply a coincidence. The president of his chapter eventually saw the photo of Kozlowski in the book, and had to be convinced it wasn’t him.

“Why would a member of the ATF who infiltrated the Vagos in this area come back and be a member of the Mongols?” Kozlowski testified about telling his chapter president.

Attorney Joseph Yanny, who is representing the Mongols, has acknowledged that members of the club broke the law, but told jurors that those individuals had been kicked out for their actions. On other occasions, Yanny told jurors, the club members acted in self-defense or were induced into drug deals by undercover agents.

Kozlowski testified that during his time with the motorcycle club he never saw anyone kicked out for illegal behavior, including individuals convicted of felonies. Prosecutors have previously indicated that if they are successful in their efforts to gain legal control over the Mongols’ trademark, they could literally take the jacket off the bikers backs anywhere in the country. The club traces its roots to Montebello in the 1970s.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who is presiding over the trial, was angered late Thursday morning when four bikers, including one wearing sunglasses, appeared in the courtroom. The judge initially believed that it was a violation of an agreement the club had made to only have two of its members in the courtroom at a time, but learned that two of the visitors were from other motorcycle clubs.

Carter, who noted that 40 to 50 Mongol members attended some pretrial hearings, said anyone has a right to watch the trial. But he also made clear that for every member of the Mongol’s who attends, he will have an equal number of U.S. Marshal’s in the courtroom.

“You can have 50 people in here, but I’ll match them,” Carter warned the clubs leaders. “My jury is not going to be intimidated.”

SOURCE: The Orange County Register