Hells Angels to build Harley for TV star

Sussex Way, London, England (September 20, 2019) BTN — A Hells Angels ceremony in Greece will be one of several events held in memory of a man who was beaten to death in Islington. Family and friends gathered for Alciveadis Mavredis’s funeral in a Greek Orthodox church in Sussex Way on Wednesday.

The 59-year-old, who was of Greek heritage but lived in Beach­croft Way, Upper Holloway, was celebrating his birthday at the Royal Oak pub near the Elthorne estate when he was knocked unconscious at around 1:00 am on July 13.

He spent 18 days in a coma in an east London hospital before he died.

His sisters Cleopatra and Angela Mavredis flew to the UK to attend the service. Angela said: “His death was senseless and it’s very hard for us. So I don’t think a funeral service can bring you closure, we want justice to be served.” Leon Tayler, 26, of Cornwallis Square, was charged with murder earlier this month in connection with the incident.

As the Tribune previously reported, Mr Mavredis was a skilled mechanic who starred in the MTV hit show Pimp My Ride UK from 2005-07.

Cleo and Angela Mavredis

He owned several Harley Davidson motorbikes. Floral tributes were made by his friends for the funeral – one in the shape of a motorbike and another as the Harley Davidson logo.

He was preparing to move to Greece before he died and he had made contact with the Greek branch of the Hells Angels motorcycle group, according to his sister.

Angela said: “This is all surreal, one moment to another everything is flipped upside down.

“He has a Harley in Greece that he had design plans for, so as a family we decided to fulfil it and complete the build of his bike. The Hells Angels group will design and finish it – he was going to be initiated into the group”

She added: “They are all big guys but they were like mush when they talked about Al.

The Harley Davidson floral tribute

“We have had conference calls and meetings to discuss the design. “They’re going to have a ceremony for him when it is done. There’s nothing traditional about our brother and it’s fitting for him to have a Harley ceremony.”

The Hells Angels is a motorcycle club with chapters in countries around the world that originated in America. The sisters will take Mr Mavredis’s remains back to Greece, where his elderly mother Vassiliky is waiting for a private funeral.

Part of Mr Mavredis’s desire to move to Greece was so that he could be closer to his 87-year-old mother and care for her. Cleopatra said: “Mum is a little broken right now, you can see it physically and emotionally.

“She was waiting for her son to come back and very much looking forward to this.

“We’re doing OK, it feels like I have been hit by a truck and every muscle in my body hurts, but today we put on a happy face. We were treated well by Al’s friends.”

SOURCE: Camden New Journal

Hells Angels clubhouse raided for selling booze

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (September 19, 2019) BTN — Winnipeg police raided two Manitoba Hells Angels clubhouses and charged three people with selling liquor without a licence under the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act.

The search warrants were executed in December 2018 after police said they received information from three people that the Hells Angels were selling liquor without a licence inside two clubhouses in rural Manitoba houses. One is in the rural municipality of Rosser, the other on Redonda Street in the rural municipality of Springfield.

Winnipeg police executed search warrants at two Hells Angels clubhouses in Manitoba in December 2018, including this property on Road 65 N. in the rural municipality of Rosser.

Police affidavits say the informants told investigators there is a set price for booze at the clubhouse bars and the Angels believed that law enforcement couldn't investigate them if they put up signs that said "Donations."

The details were sealed by a provincial court judge in December but the documents were recently unsealed, although some information was redacted to protect the identities of confidential informants.

"Each clubhouse advertises that any alcoholic drink or non-alcoholic drink is not for sale but individuals can 'donate' the $3 or $5 to the Hells Angels," the police affidavit says.

Police were told the Hells Angels have a book behind the bar with a running tab for people who owe money for drinks, and the motorcycle club put the money in a bank account along with proceeds of their clothing sales — an account with more than $60,000 in it, the affidavit says.

To verify some of the source information they received, police said they relied on a number of things, including statements they got from officers in the organized crime unit who had observed the bar while arresting a suspect in the Redonda Street home in 2017.

Police said they also saw photos of a fully stocked clubhouse bar and fridge on the Facebook page of a prospective member of the Hells Angels and in the background of photos of a woman wearing support gear on the Manitoba Nomads website, which sells Hells Angels support clothing to the public.

Winnipeg police search warrant documents say the Hells Angels were selling liquor inside two Manitoba clubhouses without a licence to do so, and the setup included a donation jar to keep law enforcement away. (Provincial Court of Manitoba)

"If they want money for a drink, they're gonna get money for a drink, whether it's put in a jar or handed to someone in a parking lot," said Peter Edwards, Toronto Star crime reporter and organized crime author.

"I think there's all sorts of criminal activity in Hells Angels, but I think that the liquor licence type stuff is, I don't know.… I just don't see it as something that's going to make the streets safe."

Last December following the raids, Winnipeg police charged three men for selling liquor without a licence: Dale Donovan, who now goes by the name Kelland and is the president of the Manitoba Nomads, which is a chapter of the Hells Angels; Lorne Corlett, a full patch member of the gang; and prospect Cameron Barron.

The crime is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000, up to a year in jail, and forfeiture of any items seized by law enforcement.

In the 43-page search warrant documents, police said they received photographs from other Canadian police agencies that had conducted similar raids that showed "donation bins" posted in other Hells Angels clubhouse bars.

"All chapters of the Hells Angels across Canada follow the same rules and structure. The Hells Angels have world rules, Canada rules and then chapter rules," the police affidavit said.

In search warrant documents, Winnipeg police say in September 2018 a Hells Angels prospect posted these photos on his Facebook page. Officers said the photos were taken in a Hells Angels clubhouse and show a fully stocked bar, which supports allegations they were selling liquor without a licence. (Provincial Court of Manitoba)

Police said raids were done in Kelowna, B.C., Sudbury, Ont., St. Catharines, Ont., Ottawa and Toronto. CBC News also found video on YouTube showing police in Australia have done the same.

"It's an incredibly sophisticated organization with significant financial backing, so it makes it very difficult for police to take action against them," said Kelly Sundberg, an associate professor in the department of economics, justice and policy studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

"The police are limited by geography and by budgets. The Hells Angels are not."

Sundberg said regulatory approaches are one of the only tools police have to combat criminal organizations like the Hells Angels.

Winnipeg police search warrant documents say police in Ottawa raided a Hells Angels clubhouse in December 2017 and photos showed it had a similar setup to other Hells Angels clubhouses in other parts of the country. (Provincial Court of Manitoba)

"With the hopes that by taking that regulatory action against the organization that they'll discover a criminal act that will open the door for a criminal investigation that allows them to proceed on larger charges," Sundberg said.

Edwards, who has written 10 books on organized crime, understands why police would crack down on the Hells Angels in any way that they can, but he believes investigations like this will do nothing more than garner sympathy for them.

"They're not gonna keep piles of cocaine laying on the table in their clubhouse," Edwards said.

"What they're trying to do is crack down on criminal activity, drug trafficking, and this sort of thing is kind of, it's sort of a nuisance thing but its not going to put anyone out of business."

The Hells Angels have a long record of violence in Canada, including the murder of two justice officials in Quebec in 1997. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Quebec branch of the Hells Angels was warring with a rival outlaw motorcycle gang, the Rock Machine. That resulted in an estimated 150 murders over the course of a decade, and extensive drug trafficking and related crimes in Manitoba, the RCMP and Manitoba Justice say.

In 2014, Manitoba became the first government in North America to formally list the Hells Angels as a criminal organization. Similar designations have been made in Ontario and British Columbia.

But Sundberg said over the years, the Hells Angels have worked hard to change their public image by holding fundraisers for charity and organizing community events.

"I would not be surprised if the Hells Angels secure some of the best marketing and communications people money can buy. They've done an excellent job … in steering that lens of criminality away from them and even put it into the minds of the public that they are in fact a legitimate organization."

He said the narrative the Hells Angels present today is that the negative press has been manufactured by law enforcement and that they've been unfairly targeted.

"The Hells Angels are incredibly sophisticated. They have some of the best lawyers and accountants. The resources available to them, they're global in scope," Sundberg said.

SOURCE: CBC

MC and Cops share different views over raid

Fresno, California, USA (September 10, 2019) BTN — A group of local motorcyclists say Fresno anti-gang officers overreacted in a raid on their clubhouse Saturday, but a sheriff’s spokesman said the officers had no choice after an armed Hells Angel ran and hid inside the building.

“It was crazy, bro,” said Jay Upton, vice president of the Savage Assassins. “We were racially profiled.” Upton said he is heavily tattooed, and “my appearance sometimes doesn’t accommodate people.”

The sheriff’s spokesman, Tony Botti, said there were two armed Hells Angels at the event and dismissed the idea that members of the MAGEC gang unit should have let club members eject the fleeing suspect, identified as Rey Rodriguez, 32, of Fresno, instead of serving a warrant and searching the property.

“That’s not the way it works,” said Botti. His advice: Don’t hang out with the wrong people.

Rodriguez was arrested on charges of being an armed gang member. The other man identified as an Angel, Stephen Meza, 58, of Tulare, was arrested on the same charge as well as carrying a stolen gun. Rodriguez and four others at the party were cited for obstructing an investigation and one person was held on an outstanding DUI warrant.

Related | Hours long standoff at clubhouse ends with arrests

Upton said the Savage Assassins staged an end of summer event that began Saturday afternoon at their clubhouse on Belmont Avenue east of First Street. A barbecue, cold drinks and a wet T-shirt contest were on the schedule. Upton said he noted a heavy law enforcement presence in the area early in the day, but said he talked the event over with at least one sheriff’s sergeant and it appeared there was a mutual understanding: No alcohol was being sold, only a plate of food.

Flyer for the Savage Assassins MC party

Upton said Christian biker groups were also at the event. “I’m not here to make a nuisance in my city,” he said. Things went south when a MAGEC detective reported seeing that Rodriguez was armed. Confronted, Rodriguez fled inside a steel fence and others inside locked the gate, Botti said. Upton refused permission for officers to go inside to detain Rodriguez. “Not my call,” he said. The Savage Assassins wanted to see a warrant.

That led to officers obtaining one. In the hours that followed, Upton said party goers were detained with zip ties. Some of the detainees, including Upton’s father, Mike, were in their 60s and 70s, he said. Upton added that his father, who suffers from a heart ailment and COPD, is still in the hospital as a result of the stress.

Upton said MAGEC detectives “destroyed the clubhouse and damaged a steel door at a next-door radiator shop in a search for weapons. Botti said a total of three were recovered: two in possession of Rodriguez and Meza, and one on a motorcycle.

Upton said the incident was “blown way out of proportion,” but members of his club were suffering consequences Monday when they went back to work: “Their jobs are in jeopardy.” Botti said the party goers have themselves to blame for obstructing the investigation: “As the night went on, a lot of them were drunk,” and uncooperative.

As for the potential of any unwarranted damages, Botti said a claim could be filed with the county’s risk management unit.

SOURCE: The Fresno Bee

Ex-Gypsy Joker MC member fears retaliation in custody

Portland, Oregon, USA  (September 10, 2019) BTN – A former member of the Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club facing federal racketeering, kidnapping and murder charges argued Monday that he’s at more risk of retaliation behind bars than he would be outside while awaiting trial.

Joseph Duane Folkerts is a target, said his defense lawyer, Andrew Kohlmetz. “It’s easier to get to him in jail than out of custody,’’ Kohlmetz said.

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones denied the request to release Folkerts, noting that he’s currently in protective custody and faces a potential life sentence if convicted. Folkerts, 62, is one of four co-defendants who face similar charges and remain behind bars pending an April trial. Two others have pleaded guilty.

Folkerts’ attorneys, by day’s end, filed a notice they plan to appeal Jones’ ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Prosecutors said Folkerts wasn’t involved in the initial abduction of former club member Robert “Bagger’’ Huggins, 56, who was taken from a home in Northeast Portland to a rural property in southwest Washington, where he was beaten, tortured and killed.

Related | Gypsy Joker MC murder trial continues
Related | Gypsy Joker MC national president released
Related | Gypsy Joker MC members face charges

But Folkerts did witness the 2015 beating in Washington, helped restrain Huggins with zip ties around his wrists during the assault and then drove Huggins’ body to a field near Ridgefield, Washington, where it was dumped, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mygrant.

Huggins’ body was found by loggers on July 1, 2015 in the Clark County field. He had a fractured skull, a broken rib, a broken leg, a removed nipple, nails driven through his boots, slash wounds to his back and face and many blows to his face. Mygrant said Folkerts was a member of Road Brothers, a different motorcycle club at the time of Huggins’ death. After the killing, he got a patch to join the Gypsy Joker club as a reward, the prosecutor said.

Folkerts’ lawyer challenged that characterization. Kohlmetz said Folkerts was forced to join the Gypsy Jokers after the beating of Huggins. “It’s not a reward,’’ Kohlmetz said. “It’s a threat, purchasing his silence. … ‘Here’s you patch, sir. You’re in.’"

Sometime in the summer and fall of 2016, Folkerts was assaulted by a number of Gypsy Joker club members at the clubhouse and elsewhere and knocked unconscious by one of his current co-defendants, Kohlmetz told the court. Folkerts also had his motorcycle and identification stolen by Gypsy Jokers, his lawyer said.

He was basically “beat out’’ of the motorcycle club, Kohlmetz said.

When he arrived at the Multnomah County Detention Center in downtown Portland after his arrest, he learned from another inmate in his dorm that he had been “green lit,’’ meaning that word had come from co-defendant Earl Fisher that it would be OK to assault Folkerts, Kohlmetz said.

So he was moved to Inverness Jail in Northeast Portland, but once there, he came into contact with two of his co-defendants, Kohlmetz said. He was then shipped out to the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Institution in The Dalles for his own protection. Somehow, he was housed in a dorm with the son of a Gypsy Joker member and told face-to-face to “shut up," Kohlmetz said. He’s now in protective custody at his own request, according to court testimony.

The prosecutor urged the judge to consider the severity of the allegations. Huggins was water-boarded and struck in the head with a baseball bat, Mygrant said, though he conceded that Folkerts wasn’t involved in the torture. Folkerts has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping in aid of racketeering resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death and conspiracy to commit kidnapping resulting in death.

Fisher and Tiler Evan Pribbernow – two of the six charged in the kidnapping and murder - have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in racketeering. Pribbernow has been described as the government’s "star witness,’’ who delivered the fatal blow to Huggins with the bat.

A seventh defendant, Kenneth Earl Hause, the national president of the outlaw motorcycle club, was accused only in the racketeering conspiracy and released from custody in February pending trial.

SOURCE: Oregon Live