POLICE: Rival Motorcycle Clubs in Australia Join Forces

New South Wales, Australia (December 10, 2017) —  RIVAL bikie clubs engaged in bloody warfare for decades are burying the hatchet and merging into super clubs to chase millions in criminal profits. Police have seen an outbreak of co-operation as notorious bikie clubs headhunt the best money launderers and drug dealers from rival firms or share their skills and expertise.

In a recent report, the powerful NSW Crime Commission said the highly organised gangs are difficult to police because “much of the organisation is co-ordinated offshore”. Police have seen an outbreak of co-operation as notorious bikie clubs headhunt the best money launderers and drug dealers from rival firms.

Picture: NSW Police

The report found one-time fierce rivals such as the Hells Angels and Comanchero — the two clubs involved in an infamous fatal brawl at Sydney airport in 2009 — had decided it was more lucrative to be in bed together on “significant criminal enterprises”, including international drug shipments.

“Co-operation among organised crime groups is flourishing with traditional animosities between such members or associates as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, the Comanchero Motorcycle Club and the Lone Wolf Motorcycle Club diminishing,” the Crime Commission said.

Bikie clubs are joining forces to gain access to millions in criminal profits.

The NSW Police State Crime Command’s Criminal Groups Squad director Deborah Wallace said bikies remained enemies at low levels while their bosses did business together.

“At the upper level they are quite prepared to work together to progress their criminal activity and they’ll seek out facilitators — that could be accountants, anything at all,” Detective Superintendent Wallace said.

“At the bottom level they rely on that brotherhood, that romantic side, because they need to recruit people to do their dirty work. The whole ethos that you’re a particular chapter forever, is gone. (Bikie clubs) are certainly alive and well, they’re just morphing into a different look, more like organised crime than a group of bike riders.”

Picture: NSW Police

Police have cracked down on bikie gangs across Australia. 

A recent police restructure merged the Middle Eastern Organised Crime and the Gangs squads into the one Criminal Groups Squad, reflecting the merging of bikies with other organised criminals.

Australian Federal Police have discovered the same trend, arresting 12 men in May who they claim were running drug distribution for the Hells Angels, Gypsy Jokers, Descendants and Bandidos in South ­Australia. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission also found rival gangs sharing drug distributors.

“Many groups that previously operated in isolation now work collaboratively to access broader distribution networks and ultimately maximise profits,” its ­August organised crime report said.
Police have merged the Middle Eastern Organised Crime and the Gangs squads into the one Criminal Groups Squad as bikies join other organised criminals.

Picture: NSW Police

But Western Sydney University organised crime lecturer and former detective Dr Michael Kennedy said police should be under no illusion that the bloodshed between bikie clubs was over.

“They’ll just come together on a business deal,” Dr Kennedy said. “They’re not friends, they’ve got nothing in common and they’ll kill in order to make money. They will walk over each other to get the result they want.”

“They will walk over each other to get the result they want.”

A fatal 2009 brawl in Sydney Airport between the Hells Angels and Comancheros was a turning point in the fight against out-of-control bikies, prompting immediate action from state and federal politicians.
Police have swooped on several bikie gangs this year.

Picture: NSW Police

Hells Angel Anthony Zervas was bludgeoned to death in front of stunned travellers and one-time Comanchero boss Mahmoud “Mick” Hawi was convicted of his murder.

There has not been an all-out bikie war since 2012, after forces such as the bikie-busting Strike Force Raptor smothered the club culture of guns, bikes, tattoos and grimy headquarters.

Raptor has closed more than 60 clubhouses, confiscated more than 1300 firearms and put more than 3700 bikies before the courts.

But bikies are determined to survive as they pursue profits in Sydney’s booming drug market, where there are astronomical mark-ups for drugs like cocaine, particularly in the affluent eastern suburbs.

Quarterly crime figures released yesterday showed cocaine use and possession up an average 160 per cent in each of the last two years in the Waverley LGA.

SOURCE: The Daily Telegraph 

Outlaws MC member enraged before girlfriends slaying

Joliet, IL (December 9, 2017) —  Hours before Kaitlyn Kearns was killed, the 24-year-old bartender was serving drinks to customers, including her boyfriend, on a Sunday night last month at Woody’s Bar in Joliet when her boss called and told her it was time to close up shop, authorities said.

Video from the bar shows that when the call came in, Kearns’ boyfriend, Jeremy Boshears, argued with Kearns in person and her boss over the phone. After arguing, he slammed the phone down and left, Will County Deputy Chief Dan Jungles said.

Outlaws MC Clubhouse in Joliet, Illinois 

A short time later, Kearns would be shot once in the head.

Related |Outlaws MC member charged with murder of female bartender
Related |Outlaws clubhouse searched over murder investigation

Investigators say Boshears killed her and tried to cover it up by hiding her body and her car.
Boshears, who authorities have said is a member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Joliet, was indicted Wednesday on three counts of murder and one count of concealing a homicide.

The 32-year-old Coal City man appeared in court Friday with his attorney, Neal Patel, and pleaded not guilty. He is being held in the Will County Adult Detention Facility on $10 million bail.

Jungles said Kearns, of New Lenox Township, and other bar patrons were hanging out having drinks on Nov. 13 when her boss checked out video surveillance images and saw people still in the bar after closing time. Her boss, who was able to monitor the cameras off-site, called to tell Kearns the bar should be closed and that everyone had to leave.

Video shows a “clearly enraged” Boshears grabbed the phone from Kearns and began arguing with Kearns and her boss before slamming down the phone and leaving, Jungles said.

Jeremy Boshears (L) and Kaitlyn Kearns (R)

Boshears then drove himself to the Outlaws Motorcycle Club less than 2 miles down the road from the bar. Other bar patrons followed suit and video shows Kearns showed up at the club after she closed up the bar.

Surveillance video shows Kearns leaving the bar by herself around 12:40 a.m. and arriving at the Outlaws club, Jungles said. Though there is no video of her leaving the club, there is video showing her car leaving the club’s parking lot around 4 a.m., Jungles said.

He would not comment on what happened after Kearns’ showed up at the club.

Kearns’ family reported her missing on Nov. 14. Authorities used “electronic means” to locate Kearns’ 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee in a pole barn on private property in Kankakee Township. Kearns’ body was inside the vehicle.

Investigators do not believe other members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club played a role in Kearns’ death, Jungles said. And though authorities initially rammed down the front door of the clubhouse entrance to execute a search warrant, Jungles said club members have been cooperative with investigators.

Patel on Friday told Will County Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes he plans to issue subpoenas for evidence in the case.

Boshears is scheduled to appear in court again Dec. 28. Kearns' relatives and friends attended Friday's hearing but declined comment.

Boshears has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Nov. 20.

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

Tribesman MC moves straight into trouble

Canterbury, New Zealand (December 8, 2017) — The Tribesmen Motorcycle Club have made their way to Canterbury. But police are already on their tail, raiding club-connected properties across the region last week.

The Tribesmen have chapters set up in Otara, Rotorua, Murupara in the Bay of Plenty, and in North Canterbury, where police say the motorcycle club has been setting up a “new pad”. The spread of the Tribesmen into Canterbury adds to a number of heavy-hitting motorcycle clubs including the Bandidos, Head Hunters and Rebels, as well as other clubs such as the Mongrel Mob, Black Power, King Cobra and the Neighbourhood Crips.

New Zealand Tribesman MC member

MIGRATION: The Tribesmen Motorcycle Club originates from Otara, South Aukland and have set up chapters in Rotorua, Murupara, Bay of Plenty, and now in North Canterbury.

On Tuesday last week, scores of armed police descended on properties believed to be linked to the Tribesmen MC on Jacksons Rd, Ohoka; Lower Sefton Rd, Sefton; Barbadoes and Cranford Sts; as well as a number of storage units where methamphetamine, firearms and cash were found.

Witnesses described helicopters with a large number of armed officers landing in Swannanoa, North Canterbury.

The Tribesmen have links to the Killer Beez, an Otara street gang run by former Tribesmen president, Josh Masters, who is serving 10-years in prison for drug dealing and money laundering. In the past, the Tribesmen have had links to the New Zealand Nomads, Black Power and Bad Troublesome Ward.

The Tribesmen are known for violent feuds with the Mongrel Mob. In 2010, 16-year-old Jordan Herewini was murdered by mob member Quentin Pukeroa for wearing yellow – which made him appear to be an associate of the Tribesmen – as a result of tension in Murupara between the two gangs.

He was wearing his yellow school PE shirt. The teenager was run down by Pukeroa after being struck to the ground with an axe in the middle of Murupara. Pukeroa was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

So what brings the Tribesmen to Canterbury?

Police say there is a small core group of about eight to 12 Tribesmen MC members in Canterbury but a definitive number couldn’t be supplied because of prospects and affiliates in and out of prison.

Canterbury University sociologist and gang expert, Jarrod Gilbert, said the most likely reason the Tribesmen have come to the mainland is simply migration. Associates or members have moved into the area and continued doing what they were doing back home.

“In the past, this would have been cause for war, but the whole scene is expanding. People move around and keep their affiliations alive,” he said.

Due to many club members getting older, he said the violence was decreasing.

“A lot of the older clubs have fallen away and left a gap and others have moved in,” he said.

However, he said “in a crowded room eventually some gets elbowed”.

“A lot of the older guys are handbrakes for the younger guys. Not like back when they were starting up and there was no real adult supervision. Now there are some older guys around keeping a lid on things,” he said.

Canterbury field crime manager, Detective Inspector Greg Murton, said family connections and work opportunities are reasons why they could have moved into the area.

“While they remain in Canterbury and deal methamphetamine, they will receive close attention from police on an ongoing basis,” he said.

Three were arrested in the recent raids in and around the city, which Detective Inspector Murton described as an extensive two-month investigation into a number of members and associates of the Tribesmen MC.

More than $200,000 in cash, 100g of methamphetamine and a number of sawn-off shotguns and rifles were seized in the raids.

Police also found a large amount of property including motorcycles which have been retained by the asset forfeiture unit.

As a result of the raids, three people were arrested. Andrew Michael Smith, 32, has pleaded not guilty to supplying methamphetamine, two charges of possession of the drug for supply, failing to assist an officer carrying out a search, and driving while suspended.

Smith’s 50-year-old mother, Connie Elizabeth Ross, pleaded not guilty to being a party to possession of methamphetamine for supply, being a party to the supply of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a sawn-off shotgun.

Lincoln plasterer Mitchell John Sullivan, 18, has been charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply, possession of cannabis, possession of a utensil for using the class A drug and failing to assist a police officer carrying out a search.

Six other Tribesmen MC members and associates have also been arrested over the past few months. They face a variety of charges relating to firearms, drugs, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and receiving stolen property, Detective Inspector Murton said.

“These search warrants and arrests are the culmination of several months’ work targeting suppliers of methamphetamine, to reduce the harm it causes within our community,” he said.

On November 1, police and customs officers intercepted $50 million of methamphetamine in an airfreight consignment sent from Mexico.

It was the largest methamphetamine bust in the South Island. Jonathan Seal, 25, and Michael Harrison-Cooper, 31, were charged with importing a Class A drug and possession of methamphetamine for supply.

Detective Inspector Murton said there was no link that he was aware of between the Tribesmen MC and the Mexican meth import.

SOURCE: Star Kiwi 

Outlaws MC in London staying put

London, Canada (December 6, 2017) — The Outlaws MC in London hasn’t disappeared, it just moved to another location. And it’s now supported by a new puppet club called the "Filthy 15", police confirm. With the recent arrests of four members and the closing of a clubhouse only months after opening, it appeared the Outlaws’ resurgence — in a city supposedly dominated by the Hells Angels —was short-lived.

But what sources say is a new and bigger clubhouse has opened up, with about 15 full patch members, and half as many Filthy 15 puppet club members. Meanwhile, what may be early tensions between the Outlaws MC and Hells Angels MC have spilled into the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, the provincial jail in London, sources say.

Outlaws leader Ryan Mark Daigneault, 41, was charged with counselling to commit murder in October and was being held at EMDC. One source at EMDC says there’s a price on Daigneault’s head, and there was an attempted assault on him in the jail.

“In regards to an occurrence at the EMDC, we have been made aware of an alleged incident; however, there was no request or complaint, as is required, to initiate an investigation,” London police Const. Sandasha Bough said.

“While we are aware the Outlaws are still in London, we will not comment on the location of any possible clubhouses. We are also aware of the Outlaws puppet club called the Filthy 15,” Bough said.

Police wouldn’t comment on its estimates of the membership numbers of either club.

The building identified by sources as the new clubhouse is located on Brydges Street, not far from where a clubhouse opened last spring. The previous clubhouse boasted an AOA (American Outlaws Association) sign, and motorcycles with the Outlaws skull and pistons logo were parked outside.

What might be a new clubhouse has no signs, but does have four high-resolution security cameras covering several steel doors. The only glass door is covered so nothing is visible from the outside.

An employee at a business next door said he had no idea what went on behind the walls of his neighbor and didn’t care to. The owner of the building says she was told some kind of repair work was being done out of that space, but was checking further.

An Outlaws supporter said the club has deep roots in London and the new clubhouse — wherever it is — will be well fortified.

“And the Hells Angels do have something to be worried about in London because the Outlaws MC are not going away,” he said.

London police haven’t said who the target was in the charges against Daigneault of counselling to commit murder. Also arrested in the alleged murder plot was a 30-year-old London man, charged with possession of a restricted firearm and another weapons offence.

Earlier in October, the OPP’s biker enforcement unit laid 18 drug and weapons charges against two members of the Outlaws MC's London chapter, resulting from an investigation into cocaine trafficking in the London area. Opening a London chapter in 1977, the Outlaws dominated the city’s criminal biker scene for decades until the Hells Angels MC opened a prospect chapter in 2001.

Several prominent Outlaws — including the chapter president — patched over to their bitter rivals. Then a province wide police bust in 2002, called Project Retire, put dozens of Ontario Outlaws MC members behind bars, though relatively few ended up serving much time.

Some remaining Outlaws MC members tried to start a Bandidos MC chapter, which was destroyed by the massacre of eight Bandidos in 2006 and prison terms for six others. The clubhouse on Egerton Street was demolished in 2009.

SOURCE: London Free Press

Hells Angels MC members arrested in Thailand

Pattaya, Thailand (December 7, 2017) — A huge police operation swooped on five locations in the Pattaya area and arrested eight Hells Angels members. They all face at least expulsion from Thailand and possibly a lot more after police claimed they were a threat to Thai society and discovered a cache of guns, knives and ammunition.

Two cars were also seized in the raids at housing estates across Bang Lamung and Nong Prue.

The operation was mounted by the tourist police headed by chief Surachet Hakpan who has been tasked by the Thai government to clear up the foreign trash masquerading as tourists.

Confiscated Hells Angels MC Patches 

Surachet's men were assisted by 191 special branch, drugs suppression officers and cops from the Pattaya and Nong Prue stations who all appeared at tourist police HQ yesterday to announce the news.

Three of the men arrested were Australians and one Canadian. The nationalities of the other four were not reported yet.

Police recovered 9mm guns, BB guns, a host of knives and ammunition. An Audi sports car and a Ford G-T were also seized - the cars and all the individuals will be DNA tested to prove their link to crime.

Confiscated items from Hells Angels MC 

Police say the arrests are over money laundering, extortion and human trafficking. Penalties if those offences are proven could be severe.

But so far the eight individuals have had their permission to be in Thailand revoked with their visas removed.

The operation was given the title in Thai of "Clipping the Wings of the Angels".

SOURCE: Daily News

Bandidos MC Members arrested over alleged drug supply

Albury, Australia (December 6, 2017) — TWO members of the Bandidos MC have been charged with drug supply offences in Albury as part of Strike Force Stoutland.

Police from the southern NSW city will allege the strike force unveiled a significant drug network run by Motorcycle clubs.

Local police today arrested a 34-year-old Bandidos member and charged him with a range of drug-related offences including five counts of supplying a prohibited drug, two counts of offering to supply a prohibited drug, two counts of fraud and participating in a criminal group.

Members of the Bandidos MC on a motorcycle run

Detectives also arrested a 66-year-old man, who is now facing charges of participating in a criminal group and multiple drug-supply charges.

A 26-year-old woman was also arrested and charged with offences relating to drug supply, proceeds of crime, using false documents and participating in a criminal group.

Across the Victorian border, a 26-year-old member of the Bandidos was also arrested.
He was extradited to Albury, where he faces a raft of charges including dishonestly obtain financial advantage, using false documents and participating in a criminal group.

The four faced court today, with police expecting to make further arrests.

SOURCE: Daily Telegraph

Hells Angels MC verdict reached

Rockford, Illinois (December 5, 2017) — Three members of the Hells Angels MC are found not guilty of battery and robbery charges.

Christopher Lawson, John Savalick and Richard Todd were in court Monday morning for their bench trial for the beating and stabbing of then-president Josh Johnson.

Hells Angels MC Patch

"The defendants and attorneys are very grateful to Judge McGraw for being such a thoughtful jurist that he paid close attention to all the evidence, that he considered all of the evidence," says Attorney for John Savalik and Richard Todd John Palmer.

All three men were found not guilty of four counts of aggravated battery and four counts of armed robbery.

"Josh Johnson clearly was the aggressor in this situation," says Attorney for Christopher Lawson David J. Brown.

"Legally, if someone is attacking you, you have rights to defend yourself. And that's exactly what happened in 2013 with these guys. They defended themselves against a much, much larger, violent person says Palmer.

Investigators say Johnson was stabbed and beaten at the Hells Angels clubhouse at 1109 Rock Street back in June of 2013.

SOURCE: 23WIFR

Kingsmen MC clubhouse showdown explained in bail hearing

Buffalo, NY (December 2, 2017) — Andre Jenkins was eager to distance himself from his murder of two fellow Kingsmen MC members in North Tonawanda, NY on a late summer day in 2014, when he hopped on his motorcycle and returned to the clubhouse in Tennessee, according to prosecutors.

But what greeted Jenkins was far from a welcome home party.

Inside, the Kingsmen also known as Little Bear discovered a scene right out of "Sons of Anarchy": a room covered in plastic and several Kingsmen Motorcycle Club members pointing guns at his head, prosecutors say.

Kingsman MC Patch

Jenkins pleaded for his life.

"He kept saying, 'Call Pirk, call Pirk, call Pirk," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi said during a court appearance last week.

The call was made, Tripi said, and Kingsmen President David Pirk, the man accused of orchestrating the double murder in North Tonawanda, ordered the Tennessee chapter members to back off.

"Pirk gave the stand-down word, and they let Jenkins go," Tripi told U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer.

Pirk's intervention on behalf of the man who eventually went to prison for killing Daniel “DJ” Szymanski and Paul Maue is proof that he planned and directed the murders, prosecutors allege.

Jenkins, who is also charged in the federal case, is serving life without parole.

The story of Jenkins' confrontation in Tennessee, revealed during a recent court appearance, is the latest development in a federal prosecution that cast a spotlight on the local and national biker scene.

At the core of the case is the allegation that the Kingsmen went from a small motorcycle club, founded in Lockport 60 years ago, to a violent outlaw gang.

Prosecutors say Pirk was the driving force, not only behind the murders, but behind the club's transition to a “one-percenters” club.

With Pirk's trial only six weeks away, it's clear the government's chief target is the 66-year-old North Tonawanda native with the distinctive long white hair and beard.

Obviously, his defense doesn't buy the federal prosecutors' theory.

"The government argues that because he ordered the Tennessee chapter to stand down, he's guilty of a crime," said William T. Easton, one of Pirk's defense lawyers. "It seems they got it backward."

Two years in the making, the trial before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford is the culmination of a case that rocked the local biker community.

Before the indictment early last year, the Kingsmen patch — a gold knight’s helmet and red feather — was a common sight in Western New York. Yes, there were other biker clubs here, but none as large or with roots as deep in the community as the one with the motto, “Live Kingsmen, Die Kingsmen.”

Pirk, a Florida resident, and 15 other Kingsmen were charged in the original grand jury indictment. Five of those defendants took plea deals, and some may testify against Pirk and the other Kingsmen on trial.

From the start, there were questions as to whether any Kingsmen would turn against the club, but the defendants who took plea deals acknowledged the club was a criminal organization that sold drugs and guns, and followed a strict chain of command with Pirk at the top of the hierarchy.

The two killings stemmed from a split in the Kingsmen between club members in Western New York who didn’t want to be one-percenters and the guys in Florida who did, according to the FBI.

Investigators say the murders were also a warning to Kingsmen thinking of leaving the gang for a rival club, the Niagara County-based Nickel City Nomads.

At every step in the prosecution, Pirk's lawyers — Easton and Cheryl Meyers Buth — have argued that he had nothing to do with the murders. He also pleaded not guilty to the other charges against him.

In custody since his arrest in March of last year, Pirk continues to be the subject of widespread media attention, and often the news accounts of his criminal prosecution come with a copy of his mug shot.

Easton and Meyers Buth have pointed to the pre-trial publicity in an effort to move Pirk's trial to Rochester.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, continue to argue that Pirk was instrumental in planning and carrying out the killings, and that Jenkins acted on his orders.

Kingsman MC Clubhouse

It was during a bail hearing early last week that prosecutor Tripi revealed the story about Jenkins' near-fatal confrontation in Tennessee and Pirk's alleged role in protecting him.

"It sounds a little too dramatic," said Michael S. Deal, one of Jenkins' lawyers, of the plastic on the floor and drawn guns. "But regardless, it doesn't implicate my client in any way."

Tripi said the Tennessee chapter knew Jenkins had been in Buffalo but didn't know about Pirk's involvement in the murders.

He also said Jimmy Ray Fritts, the Kingsmen who was seeking bail last week, was one of the Kingmen pointing a gun at Jenkins' head that day in 2014.

"They put him in a clubhouse, put a gun to his head and said they were going to kill him," Tripi said of Jenkins.

At that point, according to the government, Jenkins pleaded with his fellow Kingsmen to call Pirk, and that's when Pirk gave the order to stand down.

Tripi said phone records will verify the calls and that a government witness is prepared to testify about what happened inside the Tennessee clubhouse that day.

Fritts' defense lawyer says the 67-year-old Kingsmen knew nothing about the murders and is not implicated in any of the other violent acts outlined in the indictment.

"Mr. Fritts, who admits he was part of this organization, is being held accountable for the conduct of other people," said defense attorney Daniel M. Griebel.

Fritts was ordered released but restricted to home detention with an ankle bracelet.

With roots dating back to the 1950s, the Kingsmen grew over the years and, until recently, operated a dozen clubhouses throughout the region, including rural areas such as Attica, Arcade and Gowanda. They also have a presence in Florida, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

Prosecutors say the clubhouses served as a venue for membership gatherings, also known as "church" meetings, but also doubled as a place to store drugs and weapons.

SOURCE: The Buffalo News

FACT:

"Some people aren't your friends 

They're just scared to be your enemy"

Hells Angels MC members charged

San Francisco, California (November 20, 2017) —Biker Trash Network— Federal prosecutors in San Francisco have charged nine members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club with running a criminal organization responsible for multiple robberies and assaults and one murder.

The U.S. Attorney's office and FBI announced the charges on Monday. Most of the defendants are members of the group's Sonoma County chapter in Northern California.

Related | Feds lead police raid at bar during Hells Angelsend of summer run

The most serious crime, however, took place when Jonathan “Jon Jon” Nelson, the president of the Sonoma County chapter of the Hells Angels, told an unnamed victim to meet with Brian Wendt, the president of the Fresno County chapter of the Hells Angels—with Wendt then murdering the victim, the indictment states.
Other crimes laid against the gang members include drug trafficking, assault, robbery, illegal guns and witness intimidation.

“This week we have taken a significant step toward bringing to justice an alleged conspiracy whose aim has been to commit violent crimes,” U.S. Attorney Brian Stretch, of the Northern District of California, said in a statement Monday confirmed by BTN.

Another Hells Angels member sexually assaulted someone identified only as “Victim 6” last year, threatening during the attack to hurt Victim 6’s family if they reported the assault.

The head of the FBI's San Francisco division, Jack Bennett, said their crimes were intended to instill fear in parts of the city of Santa Rosa.

The indictment also includes multiple charges of intimidating witnesses.

SOURCE:  Newsweek