Eugene police have arrested three members of the outlaw Mongols Motorcycle Club on felony charges, accusing them of trying to run a pair of investigators off the road during a rush-hour confrontation.
The Mongols -- identified as Justin J. "Mooch" DeLoretto, 26, of Turner; Nathan A. Cassidy, 22, of Eugene; and Matthew A. Weiss, 24, of Creswell -- were held on charges of second-degree attempted assault, police said.
» Previous story: "Police fear violence as outlaw bikers move to Oregon"
The incident occurred Wednesday when Eugene police Detective Dave Burroughs and federal agent Jimmy Packard drove to a spot near Turner, south of Salem, looking for the home of DeLoretto, president of Oregon's Mongols.
Police described DeLoretto as a person of interest in a recent assault at a downtown Eugene music club.
Police say DeLoretto saw Packard's SUV on his driveway and followed it in a pickup to Salem, then to Eugene on Interstate 5. Soon, the detectives were flanked by two other vehicles driven by Mongols, both of which swerved dangerously to cut off the detectives, police allege.
The Mongols are a California-based outlaw club decribed by authorities as one of the country's most violent biker gangs. They opened Oregon's first chapter last October.
********************************************************************
Thursday 24 April 2008
The public prosecution department said on Thursday it has decided not to continue efforts to have 22 Hells Angels jailed for being part of a criminal organisation.
The case was dismissed by judges in Amsterdam in December because the department broke rules on evidence. It failed to destroy transcripts of secretly recorded phone calls between the suspect and their lawyers.
The NRC reports that the decision appears to end efforts by public prosecutors to criminalise the motorcycle gang. Efforts to use civil law to have it branded an illegal organisation have failed repeatedly at courts across the country.
And three murder charges brought against a number of Hells Angels also failed to result in any convictions, the NRC says.
*************************************************************************************
Hells Angels founder sues HBO LOS ANGELES, April 21 (UPI) -- The founder of the Hells Angels motorcycle club is suing HBO in federal court in Los Angeles, claiming he was pushed out of a new biker-themed show.
Sonny Barger is going after HBO, White Mountain Co., and producer Michael Tolkin because he says they failed to properly credit him for helping to come up with the idea for the drama "1%," The Hollywood Reporter said Sunday. The amount being sought in damages was not provided.
Barger reportedly argues the network, White Mountain and Tolkin violated his publicity rights when he called for alterations to the plot. He said he should be credited in the project because many of the names, places and events in the show were very close to his real-life story.
Barger and his attorney, Fritz Clapp, are preparing to convince the court to order that the "1% Script" is a collaborative product of Sonny Barger Prods and Tolkin. They also want the judge to prohibit Tolkin and HBO from showing or selling the show and give Barger compensation for the violation of his publicity rig
***********************************************************************************
Breed leader gets 36 years (for the whole story)PHILADELPHIA — To hear his wife tell it, the leader of Bucks County's Breed motorcycle gang — who was also the boss of a massive methamphetamine ring — wouldn't allow drugs into his Bristol Township home. In fact, John Napoli even booted his homeless, crack-addicted sister out of his house on Appletree Drive, Napoli's common-law wife told a federal judge Wednesday.
“He didn't tolerate drug use in his house,” Saidy Kinney Napoli testified at her husband's sentencing hearing for running the drug ring and other crimes. “He's actually a very good man. ... He was not a crazy outlaw fighting all the time.”
Saidy Kinney Napoli praised her husband before federal Judge Harvey Bartle III as he considered whether to sentence the 35-year-old Napoli to life in prison. Napoli eventually was sentenced to 36 years in a federal penitentiary.
Saidy Kinney Napoli, dabbing her tear-swollen face with a tissue, told the judge that her husband was a devout family man who sat down to dinner with her and their 8-year-old son every night. He wouldn't let the house phone ring after 9 p.m. He was a man who took nieces and nephews into his home, instilled in them hardworking values and paid for their car insurance..........................(see link above for whole story)
************************************************************************************
Ex-biker to be paid $450000 by police Betsy Powell Courts Bureau
Toronto Star, Canada A former member of the downtown Toronto chapter of the Hells Angels testified yesterday that he will be paid about $450,000 to work as a police agent during an 18-month investigation targeting members of the outlaw motorcycle group.
David Atwell, whose nickname is "Shaky Dave," was testifying at the Superior Court trial of Thomas Bogiatzis, who is charged with trafficking cocaine and conspiracy to traffic.
Bogiatzis is not a member of the Hells Angels.
It's the first time the public has heard details of the deal struck by the man known as Agent #3859 with Ontario Provincial Police.
Atwell made $15,000 a month and $1,850 a week in expenses to wear listening devices and report on activities of biker gang members from November 2005 to April 2007. The $15,000 a month was to be held in trust with lump sum payments made once the police investigation, called Project Develop, had concluded.
Atwell continues to be paid $1,000 a week and will continue to do so until he finishes testifying in court, the jury was told.
Atwell is in witness protection and is scheduled to testify against other Hells Angels who were arrested and charged in April 2007 following a series of police raids across southern Ontario.
Defence lawyer Glen Orr, who is representing the accused, suggested the money was more than he ever earned running a security company. Atwell agreed. Orr also asked whether he had negotiated his pay package.
"It's not like applying for a job where you can bargain for more money," Atwell, a heavy set man dressed in a suit and tie, replied politely.
He added a short time later: "It's not a lot of money for having your life in danger forever."
Money was never his "sole motivation" for helping police, he testified.
The trial began earlier this week with the Crown outlining its case against Bogiatzis.
Federal Crown attorney Tanit Gilliam said the evidence will demonstrate that Atwell, under the direction of police, ordered a kilogram of cocaine from a man named Thomas Christodoulou.
The jury heard Christodoulou has already pleaded guilty to the crime.
It has seen video surveillance tape of Atwell meeting with Christodoulou and Bogiatzis on June 6, 2006, on a picnic bench at a fast food outlet, across the street from Winston Churchill Collegiate. The Crown alleges the trio were discussing a cocaine deal that would go down the next day at a hotel in Pickering.
Atwell has testified his police handlers gave him $27,500 to buy a kilogram of cocaine.
****************************************************************************************************************
Biker boss gets 36-year term
Philadelphia Daily News, PA - Four years out of prison, John Napoli took a "scruffy, disorganized" outlaw biker gang and turned it into a well-organized $6 million crystal-meth-trafficking organization. And, like the head of a crime family, Napoli, 35, president of the Breed Outlaw Motorcycle gang, used violence to keep bikers in line in the Bristol-Levittown area, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Foulkes said yesterday, urging that the defendant be sentenced to life in prison. Napoli, among his violent attacks, used an electric drill to bore into Thomas Burke's arm, and nearly crushed his face and dislocated an eye. He put a severely beaten rival in the hospital for four days. And he warned bikers who cooperate with law enforcement: "You'll be killed."
"What you did was uncivilized," said U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III yesterday before sentencing Napoli to 36 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. His treatment of Burke, who refused to sell drugs, was "horrendous, to say the least," he added. Despite Napoli's reign of terror distributing 125 pounds of methamphetamine to mid-level dealers between 2003-2006, he apparently had a domesticated side - to which his common-law wife, niece and two neighbors attested. In an impassioned plea, defense attorney Hope Lefeber asked Bartle to consider "the other side of Napoli" in fashioning a sentence.
"How can it be that a man who is capable of acts of brutality led an almost completely different life?" she asked. Napoli took in three children of his crack-addicted sister, enrolled them in school, set a 9 p.m. curfew and and "would not tolerate drug use," said a niece, Jessica Lenugan, 18. "He was like my second dad."
"John has been nothing but good to me - never laid a hand on me or our son," said Sadie Kinney, 30, Napoli's common-law wife of 9 1/2 years. "He was not a crazy outlaw all the time. We lived like everyone else, and we treated everyone with respect."
Two neighbors, Kelly Hood and Laura McDonough, both testified that Napoli had cared for them - Hood when she was seriously ill, and McDonough when her heater exploded, among other times. Instead of life in prison, as calculated under advisory sentencing guidelines, Bartle gave the construction worker six more years in prison than the 30-year sentence he gave Napoli's top aide and co-defendant, William "Tattoo Billy" Johnson, last Friday. Another co-defendant, Thomas "Fuzzy" Heilman, earlier received a 19 1/2-year sentence in federal prison. With time off for good behavior, Napoli will serve more than 30 years in federal prison, and be 65 years old when he gets out.
The government is seeking a $6 million judgment against Napoli - the wholesale value of illicit drugs sold. To prevent his Levittown home from forfeiture, Napoli agreed not to contest the government's seizure of three motorcycles, four vehicles, 20 firearms, including a machine gun, and $223,500. Last Oct. 4, Napoli was convicted of conspiracy to distribute crystal meth, violent acts in the aid of racketeering, extortion, three counts of possession of firearms, including a machine gun, and ammunition by a convicted felon.
************************************************************************************
Ex-Bandido wanted in stabbing
Canada.com, Canada - A man with past ties to the Bandidos biker gang in Montreal is now wanted as a suspect in a violent attack that is likely to leave the victim blind in one eye.The Montreal police issued an arrest warrant for Benoit Fortin, 39, Wednesday afternoon. He is suspected of stabbing his roommate, a 41-year-old man, in the face during an argument in their apartment on 12th Ave. in the Lachine borough late Tuesday night. The victim was taken to a hospital to be treated for stab wounds, including a serious injury to his eye, said Montreal police Constable Anie Lemieux. The suspect in the case fled the apartment before midnight Tuesday. In 2004, Fortin was sentenced to four years and 10 months for the crimes he was convicted of in Operation Amigo, a 2002 investigation and roundup of the Bandidos biker gang in Montreal. Gang members and associates were charged with crimes related to Quebec's biker gang war between the Bandidos and the Hells Angels. The Bandidos, an international outlaw motorcycle gang, have since folded their chapters in Quebec.
During one trial held in connection with Operation Amigo, it was revealed that Fortin tried to burn down the Chez Parée strip club on Stanley St. in May 2001. He also tried to torch a Montreal workout gym a month later. The strip bar was targeted because two members of the Bandidos were assaulted there the night before by men tied to the Hells Angels. The gym was chosen because the Bandidos thought it was a Hells Angels hangout. The arson attempts earned Fortin his patch in the Killerbeez, a former Bandidos puppet gang. Fortin is described as white, 5-foot-9 and 181 pounds. He has several tattoos, including one of a dragon on his chest, a skull on his left arm and an eagle on his right arm.
****************************************************************************************************************
Extra precaution needed if biker case went to trial
By: Joe Fantauzzi
Had the case against a former Bandidos Motorcycle Club member gone to trial, special steps would have to be taken to protect the safety of jurors.
Francesco (Cisco) Lenti, 60, of Vaughan, wearing a black shirt and black pants, appeared in a Newmarket courtroom Monday and pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of David John (Dread) Buchanan, 32, the sergeant at arms for the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club West Toronto chapter.
He also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the Dec. 2006 woundings of Hells Angels member Dana Carnegie and then-Hells Angels prospect Carlo Verrelli at Club Pro, in the Jane Street and Hwy. 7 area.
According to court records, during a hearing Feb. 22, the judge ruled that should the case go to a full trial: • Jury members would be referred to by their juror number or seat; • During jury selection, the court registrar would read out only the juror number and occupation when each was called forward and; • The jury panel list showing numbers, names addresses and occupations would be provided by photocopy to Crown prosecutor Peter Westgate and Mr. Lenti’s defence lawyer Louie Genova one week before jury selection, which was scheduled to begin Monday.
The court also ruled that list would not be further photocopied and neither Mr. Westgate nor Mr. Genova would reveal the names or addresses of the people on the list to anyone. After jury selection, both lawyers were to return their photocopied list for shredding. All other jury panel lists and juror cards were to be sealed and placed in the court file and not opened except by a court order.
Mr. Genova had argued the order for juror anonymity would hurt Mr. Lenti’s chances of a fair trial because the jury would conclude he was dangerous, according to court records. The agreed statement of facts from Monday’s hearing shows Mr. Lenti was a member of a number of outlaw motorcycle clubs, including Satan’s Choice, Outlaws, Rebels and Loners, for more than three decades and had been the victim of a 1995 car bombing, from which he received life-threatening injuries.
Undercover sting
In June 2006, members of the Hells Angels and the Alberta Nomads chapter — who were former Bandidos — met at a restaurant north of Toronto.
Mr. Lenti, then a Bandidos member, was at the meeting and was offered a Hells Angels patch but refused, court heard. Between June and September of that year, Hells Angels members met and agreed Mr. Lenti should be slain in order to halt his attempts at Bandidos expansion in Ontario, court heard.
“Two members of the Hells Angels attempted to recruit a third member of the Hells Angels who, unbeknownst to them, was working as a paid police agent, to commit the murder,” the statement of fact reads.
“It was proposed the agent kill Lenti and leave him in the middle of the highway in his colours. Lenti couldn’t just disappear; he had to be found to prove a point.”
On Sept. 28, 2006, a York Regional Police officer was assigned to contact Mr. Lenti to ensure he hadn’t been harmed and tell him of the murder plot. Police tried a number of times to contact Mr. Lenti, indicating they wanted to meet with him. Court heard Mr. Lenti felt it was not necessary and he had information about the plot against him. His plan was to stay with the Bandidos and retire once the club got off the ground, court heard.
Mr. Lenti told police he was keeping a low profile. He started carrying a 9-millimetre handgun, court heard.
At about 10:30 p.m., Dec. 1, 2006, Mr. Lenti arrived to Club Pro, where he was employed as a “cooler”, meaning he was responsible for keeping drugs out of the building and acting as a peacekeeper.
About two hours later, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Carnegie, Mr. Verrelli and Scott Desroche, who was also a member of the Hells Angels, West Toronto Chapter, walked into Club Pro and sat at a table. Mr. Buchanan was celebrating his birthday on the night he was killed, according to a posting on a Hells Angels website after his death. At 12:53 a.m., Mr. Lenti went to the bar area to order a coffee and water. While at the bar, he noticed the men and recognized them as Hells Angels, court heard.
Mr. Lenti moved to one end of the bar and was surrounded by the men.
An argument broke out about Mr. Lenti being associated with the Bandidos and the fact he was trying to establish the club in Ontario, court heard. Knowing he was in a dark area of the club, not covered by security cameras, Mr. Lenti moved to the club’s well-lit and camera-covered lobby. The four men followed him and an argument broke out in the lobby, court heard.
Meanwhile, one of the club’s bouncers tried to intervene, but was told to shut up, pushed away and punched in the face, court heard. Mr. Buchanan then moved toward Mr. Lenti and punched him in the eye, court heard. When the punch was thrown, Mr. Verrelli and Mr. Desroche were close to Mr. Lenti. Mr. Lenti later told police he feared for his life.
Gunfire
Pulling out his 9-millimetre handgun, Mr. Lenti shot Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Carnegie and Mr. Verrelli. Mr. Desroche escaped into a utility closet when Mr. Lenti pulled out the gun, court heard. Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Verrelli collapsed to the floor, while Mr. Carnegie bolted from the club. Mr. Buchanan was trying to raise himself off the floor when Mr. Lenti shot him through his left cheek, killing him, court heard. While on his way to the club’s door, Mr. Lenti again shot Mr. Verrelli, who was on the floor in the fetal position. Mr. Lenti left the club with the gun, which has never been recovered. Court heard the entire lobby incident lasted 40 seconds.
Seven 9-millimetre cartridge casings, all from the same gun, were recovered at the scene, court heard.
The Hells Angels were not seen with any guns during the incident, court heard.
After leaving the closet, Mr. Desroche left the club briefly, but returned and turned Mr. Buchanan over, saying he was attempting CPR. Mr. Lenti surrendered himself to police the same day.
Mr. Buchanan’s funeral, held in Woodbridge, drew hundreds of bikers and was observed by police.
Mr. Lenti is scheduled for a sentencing hearing May 12.
York Regional Police declined comment following Monday’s hearing.
************************************************************************************
New Zealand: Gangs of Marlborough
Marlborough Express, New Zealand - They're not doing much, but members of the public look on nervously: Some of the jackets have a patch on the back with the words Mongrel Mob.
Usually the only place where Marlburians see patched Mongrel Mob members is out of town or on the news. And usually the news is not good news.
Although Mongrel Mob members and associates have been living in Blenheim and surrounds for years, they have mostly kept to themselves and have refrained from wearing patches in public. But that changed this year. Patched members are openly wearing their colours in town, creating an intimidating sight for some which has already driven several people to call police.
Sources say the change is because of the arrival of Mongrel Mob associates from Christchurch and Timaru. Their intentions are not clear. Some say they are here to gather new members and secure their presence in town, others say they are simply here to take advantage of work available in the vineyard industry.
Members of the gang have every right to work and earn money for themselves and their families, says one vineyard contractor. Judge someone on their individual character, not their supposed reputation, he advises. Whatever the case may be, the Mongrel Mob is making it known they are here.
So far the gang, which consists of just a handful of patched members and a small contingent of associates and prospects, have not actually been charged with any major offences.
A few Mongrel Mob associates have appeared in Blenheim's court for minor crimes such as unlawful assembly, threatening behaviour and shoplifting.
According to Blenheim police figures, since July last year 14 Mongrel Mob members and associates have been arrested on minor matters. Two people were arrested twice.
But the appearance of red gang colours have raised questions.
Are the Mongrel Mob reacting to the demise of the Lone Legion Motorcycle Club's headquarters, pulled down after the shooting of Blenheim man Carl MacDonald?
Four Lone Legion members will stand trial for the murder, which happened outside the Gascoigne St club house.
Before the shooting, the Lone Legion had kept a low profile for years, and since the shooting they've done the same possibly because many of them are in custody.
"This town no longer belongs to Lone Legion observes New Zealand gang expert and Canterbury University researcher Jared Gilbert. "When a vacuum is created it will always be filled."
Mr Gilbert cannot place a direct link between the murder of Carl MacDonald and the subsequent removal of the Lone Legion's clubhouse by the gang itself, but doesn't rule it out.
It also doesn't mean the Lone Legion, which has been in Blenheim since the 1970s, has gone away.
A few weeks ago, patched Lone Legion motorcyclists were seen in Blenheim among a larger group of black-clad motorcyclists, among them Epitaph Riders and others from as far south as Dunedin. Though their weekend visit was a quiet one in fact, it was probably an annual one some say it is a sign they could have been flying the flag against rival gangs in town. Mr Gilbert says the group described make up what is known as "the A-Team", which includes affiliated gangs such as, the Southern Vikings, Sinn Fein and the Lost Breed.
A criminologist and former police officer says he has seen signs of Lone Legion members trying to increase their influence in the area by wearing their patches.
Andrew MacDonald has made a study of New Zealand gangs, is a relative of slain man Carl MacDonald and has close ties with Blenheim and Rangitane.
The reason why Lone Legion and the Mongrel Mob may both be showing their patches could be simple, he says: "People need an image and you can't have an image without an audience.
"The A-Team are rebunching and the Notorious (Mongrel Mob) are rebunching and prospecting. To me, the Notorious are imaging to show they are here: The A-Team are imaging to show they have back-up."
Communication between key members of the community is vital, Mr MacDonald says, to prevent a polarisation of groups. "I would hope that people in power start talking to the community. Have meetings been called? Does someone need to be shot before this happens?"
Mr MacDonald says that after the death of Carl MacDonald some people in Blenheim were in "a state of anxiety" as people wait for the next move would there be retribution? Would there be more violence?
As yet, the only event brought before the courts was a violent assault on Lone Legion associates six women and two men in central Blenheim on January 13. The alleged attackers were said to be MacDonald family sympathisers and police removed a man and a woman from the home of Carl MacDonald's parents after the event.
Apart from that, nothing else has been apparent to the public. Jared Gilbert also believes the motorcycle club is still active. But he says motorcycle gangs seem to be fading from popularity partly because it's cooler for a young person to be seen behind the wheel of a souped-up Nissan Skyline then a Harley Davidson. The apparent shift of gang power in Blenheim seems to be in line with what's happening throughout the South Island, in particular in Timaru where both the Mongrel Mob and rival gang Black Power are jostling for elbow room.
Motorcycle gangs are going down, ethnic street gangs are moving in to take the turf, says Mr Gilbert. SEE ABOVE LINK FOR THE REST OF THE STORY
Thanks to
BIker Bits for the above stories
Add to Technorati Favorites
Haven't seen the chapter doing much of late. However one member, Kat, did apparently grab the bull by the horns and worked her butt of to get into area schools to present a motorcycle awareness program to the students.
