Innocents Caught In Toy Run Ban

About a week ago in Josephine county it was time for the 7th annual Grants Pass Toy Run.

In case you are unfamiliar with toy runs, they are about bikers of all persuasion getting together to help disadvantage children during a bad time in their life.  Or another way to say it is these are children who would have a minimal or no Christmas had it not been for the direct effort of a toy run event.  Most if not all of the toy runs are supported by ABATE members and ABATE of Oregon exists to promote the rights and interests of all motorcyclists, both patch holders and independents alike.

But, there is an unfortunate pattern developing in law enforcement in some parts of the country which was visible in Grants Pass, Oregon on October 3rd.

Officials stated that police and fire personnel would not to take part in a charity “toy run” because members of the Vagos MC were in attendance.  Specifically Deputy Chief Bill Landis told the Daily Courier that the city considers the Vagos MC to be a criminal organization and took what amounts to a “there goes the neighborhood a’tude.”

Motorcycle clubs are often prominent at charity events, such as toy runs.  The non-motorcycle riding public might conclude from the city’s police and fire personnel actions that any motorcyclist attending a toy run is possibly affiliated with a criminal enterprise.  It’s true that the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has weighed in on the topic complaining of the bad publicity for motorcycling in general caused by so-called “outlaw” clubs.  They’ve previously stated that the presence of these clubs at charity events has actually harmed the needy by driving down public participation and reducing donations. The shootout’s between rival motorcycle clubs in the midst of a charity toy drive have not helped.  In fact, they have influenced authorities in some states to attempt a ban on certain clubs from charity events, or to restrict the wearing of colors at those events.  This in turn prompted litigation in Pennsylvania on the unfair exclusions.

Before you get the wrong idea… does giving presents to boys and girls make up for bad things that some of the motorcycle club members do?  No.  But, neither should we consider ALL cops bad because some of them instead of catching criminals ARE criminals?

I’ve participated in a number of toy runs and find this maneuvering and attempt to cast a guilt by association on what otherwise would be acts of kindness for kids very disappointing.

Previous posts about the Vagos MC in Grants Pass are HERE and “Operation Everywhere” HERE.

Photo courtesy of ABATE.

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“Green Nation” Busts On Saint Patrick’s Day

If that’s not some irony…

I logged on to the blog dashboard this morning to approve comments and noticed several hundred views of an article I posted back in 2008 on the California-based Vagos Motorcycle Club.  As I made my way to the Google reader I learned that some 30+ members of the Vagos, also known as the “Green Nation” were arrested Saint Patrick’s Day in a multistate police raid.

The Vagos, formed in the late 1960s and have been the subject of numerous investigations. Back in 2006, at least 25 Vagos members were arrested for various weapons and drug violations after a three-year investigation that the Orange County Register called one of the “largest coordinated law enforcement probes ever conducted in the region.”

The “raids” on Wednesday were collectively called “Operation Everywhere” and comprised “sixty local and federal police agencies” serving warrants in four states: Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and California and involved some 400 police officers. As many as 70 locations were hit in Southern California, where police seized weapons and drugs and discovered a methamphetamine lab. The California Attorney General, Jerry Brown held a press conference releasing very few additional details on the scope of the investigation or what law enforcement plans are to eliminate the “threat” posed by the Vagos.  It’s been previously reported that the Vagos chapter in Bullhead City, Arizona has been closely scrutinized by officers of the Arizona Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission since June 2009.

Some of the news reports suggest that the arrests have a connection to the discovery of at least four booby-traps targeting Southern California gang task force officers. The cash-strapped state and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the people who set the traps, which included an attempt to blow up the gang officers’ headquarters.

Like so many of these motorcycle club arrests they have a tendency to fall apart for the district attorney who is committed to pursuing justice.  I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that the Riverside County DA (Rod Pacheco) stepped on an ongoing ATF investigation or would I be shocked to learn that Mr. Pacheco (who has gubernatorial aspirations) made a splashy arrest for the TV cameras.  Don’t get me wrong, the Vagos aren’t immune from having criminal issues, but it does make a person wonder what’s going on.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

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SAMCRO Season 3

Book of Eli

If the first installment of “Son’s of Anarchy” (SOA), Kurt Sutter’s unique take on a motorcycle gangs modern life, served as a refreshing kick during a woeful aftermath of the financial crisis, then the 2nd installment served as a protest on assault weapon prices and the growing divide between the haves and the have-nots.

Even when viewed as mindless diversion, it’s difficult to imagine how the 3rd installment will provide bolder and grittier action for the discordant “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” crowd.

Television sequels find it difficult to live up to the glory of the previous season, especially when the original was a hit.  And according to Kurt Sutter, season 3 will deal with SOA roots and “a world that is outside their own.”  Speaking of another world, I came up with some ideas for Sutter’s “anarchists.” In a word Kurt – APOCALYPSE!

Is there anything better than an apocalypse? No food, marauding motorcycle gangs out to kill you, survival skills, a horrible lack of soap – none of its good.  Season 3 could be all about how SAMCRO survives in an apocalyptic world?  The below film examples might provide Mr. Sutter story ideas for SOA season 3:

• Introduce a dangerous loner – (The Book of Eli, 2010) – SOA could introduce a “Hatchet” Harry character like Denzel Washington who plays Eli, a dangerous loner who protects the only book that could save humankind or the SOA club. For some reason, there are a lot of people out to stop him, so Eli has to depend some handy kung-fu skills with a mini-sword to survive.  SOA would need martial-arts training to combat the loner and stay alive in a post-apocalyptic world.
• Don’t trust the military (28 Days Later, 2003) – In a country overrun by zombies, it’s completely understandable that SOA would run to “church” – the first safe haven within hundreds of miles. But when that fortress is overrun by dozens of all- male military officers who haven’t seen women in weeks, their intentions toward female companions of the club are probably less than noble.
• Conserve water (Tank Girl, 1995) – The year 2033 is basically a paradise for quirky middle-schoolers; But, drinking water is, well, harder to track down than Tiger Woods. So, don’t be surprised if the world’s most powerful corporation tries to kill everyone the club knows so they can control the water wells.
• Kidnap an orphan (Waterworld, 1995) – This post-apocalyptic future is literally a water world, so change the location of the club and the survival basics are self-evident. Some kind of flotation device will be needed. Motorcycles are exchanged for Jet-skis. And if you can manage to collect enough old milk jugs, tie them together and form the floating Sons of Anarchic city state on the open water.  Of course they would rely on filtered pee for drinking water in the endless search for an orphan with a map to the Promised Land tattooed on her back.
• Have a good, old-fashioned book-burning at the library (The Day After Tomorrow, 2004) – Sure, the effects of global warming occur over many years. But on FX what if global warming was impatient and decided to screw over SOA in just one week? Well, for one, Charming, California would get wicked cold – so cold that arctic wolves would roam the streets for food. Fortunately, the solution can be found at the local club house: members barricade inside.  Eat chips from the vending machine and start burning every book in sight. Who needs knowledge when the temperature is plummeting?
• Invent time travel (12 Monkeys, 1995) – Wouldn’t it be swell if SOA could go back in time and do things differently for the good of the club? You know, so that Charming wouldn’t have been plagued by the white supremacy “virus” that forced the SAMCRO survivors to form a new society, deep under the Earth’s crust? Good thing someone invented time travel! That way, SOA can send club members back in time to try and collect information about the “virus” so that the future-people can make a cure. Time machines don’t do much about, say, the fact that the club is pretty well damned to live in the dark with a bunch of creepy scientists for company, but whatever.
• Run! Run for your life! (Children of Men, 2006)- When every woman in Charming stops getting pregnant, civilization is bound to get a little nutty. So, imagine how SOA would react if they were in charge of protecting the sole pregnant woman on the entire planet. A friendly baby shower is out of the question and it’s best to lace up your boots and do plenty of cardio, because SAMCRO has a lot of terrorists and religious zealots to outrun.
• Outwit, outplay, outlast (Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, 1981) – You might think this IS the slogan for SOA. But when SAMCRO is trapped in the only remaining oil refinery and surrounded by a murderous gang of cagers that want your gasoline, the motto “outwit, outplay, outlast” may be what saves the club. First, try a decoy: While the bad dudes think the gas is in one place, take the real stuff somewhere else. Then get a loner with impressive kung-fu and driving skills to take out every last one of the psychopaths, while the club rides off into the unknown. You may not know where you’re going, but at least you’re going somewhere in the wind!
• Be a good dad (The Road, 2009) – The apocalypse is no excuse to abandon parenting skills. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to teach the outlaw children about peer pressure: Just because every other human on Earth has turned to murder and cannibalism to survive is no reason to adopt those habits for the club children, right? The SAMCRO offspring will not only learn valuable survival skills, but their self-esteem will be through the roof.

There you have it.  A few potential plot ideas for season 3.  I left off the possible extended two-hour episode of club hostages incorporating the Stockholm Syndrome into the tyrannical ways of the club.

Thank me later Kurt.

Photo courtesy of Comic Con and Tommy Lee Edwards.

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Kurt Sutter Shout Out

The business of blogs is big business.

Then there are moments which reaffirm that blogs are not about selling, but for CONNECTING.  It’s about putting it all out there unfiltered, getting into disagreements, not afraid to look like a tool.  It’s the honesty that grabs you.

Kurt Sutter is about dishing up honesty and plays the new media game where the rules are being made up as we go.   People follow him because he is so provocative, so interesting that they want to tune in.  You may know him as the writer/producer of the FX television series called Sons of Anarchy.  He is an Academy Award-winning writer, actor and is well known for his work on The Shield.

He recently did an interview HERE about blogging and provided some insight on the TV show.  He also provides a shout-out about this blog as one of his favorite motorcycle blogs.  Huh?  Sure, I’ve posted on the series, but I’ve certainly not been slobbering all over myself about the show.  In fact, I’ve been somewhat critical due to a number of episodes that I feel go beyond developing characters (Gemma’s rape; Tig bites the nose off a guys face) for the purpose of “goosing up” ratings with violence.   So where does that leave us?  Did Mr. Sutter “work” me?  I’ve been worked before.  I recognize it when I see it.  I’m not sure this time as Kurt is not some backwoods uneducated nit-wit who is clueless about the new media business.

Blind Faith once sang, it’s time to come down off your throne.  Mr. Sutter does that and for a split-second I felt like the blog mattered.  That’s the power of blogs.  You are momentarily CONNECTED.

Sutter is on Facebook, Twitter and blogs at sutterink.

Photo courtesy of FX and SOA.

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Street Vibrations Snippet

The weather, the gambling action, the leather and the chrome all attracted higher attendance for Street Vibration 2009.  Maybe the lack of hype or the “sky is falling” press about impending club-on-club violence helped?  There was a positive “vibe” in the city which I’ve not observed in a couple years.  I ask and didn’t hear much from street vendors about the current recession is the new normal… yada, yada.

As I roared out of Reno yesterday on my way home I thought about this video — “Rockin’ The Beer Gut” — a bit of truth wrapped up in a humorous ditty that tells us even though we have dangerous unemployment and we may not be perfect, don’t work on Wall Street making millions, it doesn’t mean we can’t have fun!  And fun at Street Vibrations we had!  The 546 mile ride back gave me plenty of time to try and recall what stood out from years past — there was that monster jump at the Grand Sierra Resort by Ryan Capes who broke the standing 254 foot (ramp-to-ramp) record and then turned around and broke his own new record by clearing 316 feet on a motorcycle, then there were the Motorcycle “Clubs,” more than a dozen all getting along, but mostly it was about the scenic journey on two-lane tarmac with green mountains to sage brush desert which was fantastic.  The weather (mid-90’s) didn’t hurt and put the FUN back into the experience.  As well as tens of millions to the local economy.  I certainly left my small share!

The event didn’t pass without incidents, however.  More riders often means more accidents.  First, there were several motorcycle accidents on US 395 related to the set up for the monster jump.  Then there was a lady who was on the Harley-Davidson demo bike ride and wrecked.  A couple on U.S. 50 who crashed just east of Spooner Summit which sadly resulted in the only fatality at the event.  Then on our ride back from Virginia City we came upon a motorcyclist who struck a wall on Griner’s Bend, a sharp curve at the south side of Virginia City on State Route 342.  It turned out that 6 people were injured Friday afternoon, two of them seriously, in four separate accidents all involving loss of control.  The Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) reported there had been 18 motorcycle accidents over the course of the rally weekend.

The final attendance tally and the economic $$ impact will be out in a few days, but from my perspective it seemed like more people and the street crowds were bigger.  Not as record breaking as a few years ago, but none the less significant.  I plan to provide an trip chronology and will post it up over the next few days.

UPDATE: September 29, 2009 — AP is reporting that there were 72 arrest made at Street Vibrations even though LEO consider the event largely peaceful.  Most of the arrests were alcohol related, including 23 for public intoxication.  The police issued 77 traffic citations and responded to six reports of stolen motorcycles.

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Be Good And You’re Lonely

It’s not the formula used for the Sons of Anarchy script!

Speaking of television, the SOA Season 2 premiere — “Albification” — was last night and for those who missed it here is a quick recap:

1. SAMCRO has a new threat by the name of White Power.  Henry Rollins is a perfect fit/add to the cast.
2. A Mayan (rival MC) drug-dealing member is setup as the killer of Donna (Opie’s “squeeze” in season 1) and executed.
3. Opie’s retribution includes the club logo knife carving/body mutilation of said rival club member.
4. Because the execution goes sideways, Jax makes adjustments to pin it on a L.A. street gang — the One-Niner’s.
5. Gemma is carjacked then gang raped by masked men who tell her as long as SOA deals in guns she won’t be safe.

There you have it.  Guns, violence, sex, mutilation, and more gore for shock value.

Some rather disturbing moments on television to say the least.  Truly a gruesome and brutal reintroduction to Sons of Anarchy.  It makes a person wonder if the writers aren’t copycatting the crimes of antichrist-apparent Charles Manson.  Just how much more evil and gratuitous violence do we have to endure?!   What’s next Mr. Sutter?  Child pornography, body part disposal in acid, animal rituals, an ice pick stabbing in the eye, or how about another round of the old school blow torching of club tattoo’s?  How dark is dark or gory enough?  That distant growl you hear isn’t motorcycle exhaust — it’s the impending backlash of your audience saying you’ve gone too far.   The gang rape was out of bounds.  Recalibrate your violence meter.

I’ve previously posted about SAMCRO at:

Outlaw Gangs Are New Media Darlings
Men Of Mayhem
Bikes, Bullets And Brawls
Mailroom Of Life
Bottling Ideas

Photo courtesy of SOA web site.

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Public Safety Costs Cancel Snohomish Bike Show

I’ve posted previously on the unintended consequences of aggressive police staffing at biker rallies and the Snohomish Antique and Classic Motorcycle Show is the latest Northwest victim.

Until this year the Sky Valley chapter of A.B.A.T.E paid about $5,000 for security and no other event in the city had been required to have more than two police officers present although outside agencies were used for some crowd control.  Just last September the Snohomish car show organized by the Chamber of Commerce brought in an estimated 15,000 people and only two officers were on duty before and after the event.  There were volunteer Fire Explorers and organizers were charged only $1,200.

So what is the price for a bike show in 2009 as the economy sags?  City officials wanted organizers of the motorcycle show to pay $30,360 for 44 police officers to staff this event!  Never mind there have been no major incidents in the previous 12 years of the show with an estimated 22,000 people in attendance.  The Snohomish Police Chief initially requested for 70 police officers stating a need for more officers because they are “concerned” about the potential for motorcycle gang violence.

Quick to recognize the potential political backlash the Snohomish Mayor Randy Hamlin stated at the City Council meeting the decision had to do with public safety and “It’s not to discriminate against this [motorcycle] group”.  Then why bring it up, Randy?  And why the “fear-based” discussions centered on Outlaw motorcycle groups attending the show?  Why were no business owners consulted on the police policy changes?  With no troubled past, is law enforcement being hyper-cautious or are members of the motorcycle community being sent a message?

With few alternatives and a short window to accommodate an abrupt rise in expenses the organizers cancelled the show.  Most unfortunate are donations from the show ($4000 last year) to local charities that disappear as well as the $$ the motorcycle riding public would have spent in Snohomish!

UPDATE: May 20, 2009 – thousands of bikers show up in Snohomish even with the bike show being cancelled.  So do  a lot of police…  See HeraldNet news article for more information.

Photo courtesy of event web site.

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Gang Threat Level Orange

As a biker, I know there is a difference between the true image of brothers in the wind and public perceptions.  This becomes acute when it’s time to work on serious issues like association rights, enhanced “affiliation” penalties, noise mandates, ordinances to eliminate rallies and deal with 1%’ers. 

Unfortunately, it seems when legislators deal with serious motorcycle issues they do so with little knowledge, act as  experts and spray paint so called fixes on everyone.  And at least one community is to blame — the media — for often failing to report unbiased information regarding motorcycle “clubs” or gangs.   More often than not the reporting tends to lean towards the sensational.  Bloggers are guilty too.

So, before I get a bunch of email stating how the term Motorcycle “gangs” indicates my bias or how they are misunderstood and are really a bunch of biker dads who love leather…let’s review the 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment (PDF) which was recently released.  While much of the report is skewed toward “street gangs” (examples: Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, Ñeta, MS 13, Sureños 13 etc.,) there is a lot of information about outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMG) (examples: Bandidos, Hells Angels, Mongols, Outlaws, Sons of Silence, etc.) all working to control retail-level distribution of cocaine, meth, heroin, and marijuana.  The OMG designation is from the document and I’m using it to be consistent with the report.

The report conservatively estimates more than 1 MILLION gang members belong to more than 20,000 gangs.  There are between 280 and 520 Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMG) that range in size from a single chapter to hundreds of chapters worldwide. Estimates indicate that more than 20,000 OMG members reside in the U.S.  If I did the math correct, OMG membership represent about 2% of the overall gang membership and about 3% of the total number of gangs.  Not an alarming number in of itself, but somehow attracts a disproportionate share of media publicity.  A few factoids from the report:

1. Outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMG) pose a growing threat to law enforcement and public safety. Especially pronounced along the U.S.- Canada and U.S. – Mexico border. They frequently associate with criminal organizations to facilitate drug smuggling into the U.S.
2. Criminal gangs are responsible for as much as 80% of ALL crime in many communities.
3. National-level OMG criminal activity poses a serious national domestic threat. National level OMGs are a considerable concern to law enforcement because they are highly structured organizations with memberships ranging into the thousands, maintaining strong associations with transnational Drug Transport Organizations (DTOs) and other criminal organizations.
4. In the U.S. 109 regional-level OMGs have been identified by gang investigators; most support one of the national-level OMGs. Several regional-level OMGs maintain independent associations with transnational DTOs and other criminal organizations.
5. For the first time provides insight into the size and role of gangs in the military

The report goes on to highlight how the criminal organizations — like technology — seem to move fast, adopt and never stay the course with tactics.  They are most busy and seldom wait on the sidelines missing out on “revenue” or allow themselves to become marginalized.  They use cell phone voice/text messaging capabilities to conduct transactions and prearrange meetings.  They use multiple cell phones or prepaid phones which are frequently discarded after conducting operations.  Internet-based methods are being adopted and the use of social networking sites, encrypted e-mail, IP telephones, and Twitter message sites are common.  The use of social media sites such as MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook to post well-produced, self-promoting music/videos of the “gang” lifestyle.  Pre-teens are down loading propaganda ring-tones and images which glorify gangs!  There has also been an increased effort by gang members to actively “spar” on internet message boards to protect their virtual spaces as well as use internet profiling techniques to recruit.

My grip after looking over the report is the fact it doesn’t attempt to address:

1. Gang intelligence improvements that work and help reduce incidents.
2. Gang suppression techniques which are working and the role of the community.
3. Legal considerations on enforcement issues and use of gang-specific legislation.
4. Cost of anti-gang resources and return on investment – no performance measurement of the organization?

So, do you think this report will help or hurt motorcycle enthusiasts?  Do you think it will accelerate legislation to address enhanced “affiliation” penalties in the northwest?   Should we wait for the Homeland Security advisory system to monitor and report on the ongoing threat levels of the nations criminal gangs?  If so it would be set at HIGH (Orange). 

Photo courtesy of National Gang Intelligence Center.

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Custer State Park Shooting Postmortem

Dr. Michael Baden

A wild west style gunfight involving a resident alien.  Then there was a Supreme court appeal, a HBO celebrity and the appointment of a judge pulled from retirement bliss…all to serve up justice on the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC). 

It took over 2 years of South Dakota tax dollars, hundreds of hours of legal resources and 3 days of jury deliberations to find two HAMC members not guilty on 5 counts of attempted murder in the shooting of Outlaws Motorcycle Club members near Sturgis, SD.

Chad Wilson, formerly of Lynnwood, WA (now living in San Diego) and John Midmore of Indiana (a HAMC prospect from a British Columbia chapter) were on trial for an August 2006 shootout in Custer State Park at Legion Lake Resort.  Several Outlaws MC members were injured in the shooting melee where 12 shell casings were retrieved.  Reports during the trial indicated;

“A quick restroom stop at a resort area to smoke a marijuana joint [medical?] resulted in five people receiving injuries and Danny Neace (Outlaws MC) being paralyzed from the waist down.”

With a rock-star defense budget, even “Hollywood’ers” got into the act.  The notorious Dr. Michael Baden of HBO’s “Autopsy“, also a Fox News contributor and chief forensic pathologist for the NY State Police testified.  The judge (Gene Paul Kean) had earlier separated the conspiracy charge from the main counts so, now it’s unclear if Wilson and Midmore will stand trial for that charge. 

And the twists continue with this case — turns out that Midmore has dual citizenship (Canada and Australia) and is a resident alien.  Wilson is a Canadian citizen and in the U.S. illegally.  Sure the federal government plans to deport him, but it’s unclear if he’ll return for any conspiracy trial. If interested there is post-verdict video from Keloland and more reactions were posted by the Argus Leader. Tracey Kelley (Custer County DA) and Mike Moore (Prosecutor) are trying to put their best spin on the [“respect the jury’s decision”] loss.  Congrats to David Kenner who was the HAMC Defense Attorney.  One could debate that he helped even the score a bit after the Iron Pigs weapons charges were dropped on a different case involving a HAMC shooting.

It’s not clear if a ‘more guns, less crime’ type of thinking will breed further acceptance of motorcycle club violence or if it’s just a sign of apathy from South Dakota juror’s?  I’m doing a bit of Monday morning quarterbacking here, but human behavior is influenced by three competing instincts: to act in a socially appropriate manner, to do what feels good in the moment, and to maximize one’s resources.  I wonder if this is a classic case of “broken windows” or part of a DA strategy to prevent future occurrences?  Unlikely we’ll know, but from my e-view it looks like a waste of tax dollars.

Photos courtesy of HBO website.

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Operation Black Rain Nets Oregon Mongols

It looks like a new “chapter” is about to be written for Ruben “Doc” Cavazos (former Mongol Motorcycle “Club” President).  Cavazos wrote a memoir titled “Honor Few, Fear None: The Life and Times of a Mongol” published just this past June by HarperCollins.  Cavazos was a CAT scan technician at the University of Southern California Medical Center by trade, but many knew feared him as Doc, the International President of the Mongols.

The press wires are flooded today with reports about massive raids and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives  (ATF) (press rel. HERE) infiltrating the Mongols MC after early morning arrests.  L.A. Times reports that ATF agents served more than 160 search warrants and 110 federal arrest warrants as part of a three-year, undercover investigation dubbed “Operation Black Rain”.  Most of the arrests occurred in California where over a 1000 heavily armed federal agents performed sweeps in the San Gabriel Valley.   Reports from Nevada (Reno), Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Ohio who were part of the take down are starting to filter in.  In Nevada they arrested 7 of 11 members.  In Colorado, 10 of the 11 members were arrested along with several other people mixed up drug trafficking charges. Nothing as of yet out of Oregon press. In Oregon authorities made no arrest, but did issue several search warrants.

I’ve written previously about motorcycle “clubs” and the Mongols in the Northwest HERE, HERE and HERE.

Interestingly the ATF used multiple undercover agents who were highly experience in deep cover.  According to Tom Mangan of the ATF;

“They were so experienced… they became full-patch members of the Mongols, which is an outlawed motorcycle gang. They were living and breathing day to day with those guys”.  Mangan went on to say that four undercover women ATF agents were involved in the operation as biker girlfriends to help legitimize the operation.

One of the more important parts of this action isn’t the large number of people taken down or how ATF achieved such deep cover inside the operation… it’s the move by the government to seize the intellectual property of a ‘club.’  Of course all the RICO laws apply, but the U.S. Attorney, Thomas O’Brien is seeking the ability for the government to “own” the IP…that would mean they own the design, the trademarks, who has access to patch usage etc., and have the ability to then have LEO stop any member wearing the Mongol “patch” and could literally take the colors from anyone in the furture.  That could essentially shut them down…at least with these colors dating back to the 1970’s.

Lastly there were news references to the Mongols MC recruiting Hispanic (non-motorcycle riding) street gangs into the club which was creating a rif.  This is somewhat similar to the many reports coming out of Denmark/Copenhagen where the AK-81 (HAMC support group) has increased the armed conflict with immigrant gangs over territory.  Sean Royce has detailed a great deal of this activity since at one time the apartment he lived in looked directly at the HAMC club house.  The point being it’s not just a U.S. issue.

Again these are allegations by LE at this point – we do have presumed innocence in the U.S. – I’ll follow details and update the post with Northwest related news as appropriate. 

UPDATE: October 22, 2008 – KPTV/Fox reported that northwest homes raided yesterday were in Turner, St. Helens, Vancouver and Milwaukie.  Video HERE.  Police didn’t arrest anyone in Oregon or Washington but investigators said they confiscated 18 firearms, about two pounds of marijuana and a computer.

UPDATE: October 23, 2008 – AP reporting that U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper granted an injunction that prohibits Mongols “club” members, their family members and associates from wearing, licensing, selling or distributing the Mongols logo.  That is unprecedented court action!  Full 177-page federal grand jury indictment located HERE (.pdf). Courtesy of InsideSoCal.

UPDATE: October 9, 2009  —  Under RICO, the U.S. Government tried to strip the Mongols MC of their logo, and make it the property of the government. After getting a preliminary ruling allowing them to do so, the Feds have been going into private property of American citizens to confiscate patches, including by some reports breaking into cars and homes to do so.  Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled last month that a) the government can’t take the trademark, and b) even if they could, they have no right to go around confiscating patches or other items containing the mark from private citizens who are not under indictment.  And, even if the Court were to assume that the collective membership mark is subject to forfeiture, the Court found no statutory authority to seize property bearing the mark from third parties…. only defendants’ interests in the RICO enterprise and the proceeds from their racketeering activity are subject to forfeiture.  The net of all this is the Mongols MC get to keep their patch, and the Feds have to stop making searches and seizures on the basis of merely possessing it.  The .pdf of the ruling is HERE.

Cover artwork courtesy of HarperCollins web site.

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