ut aside those notions of the freedom of the road, the wind whipping
through your hair, leather chaps and jacket flapping � motorcycle gangs are
big business now and the old-style outsiders who shun society have been
replaced by formal institutions that are just as much organized crime as
the Italian mobsters at the corner candy store.
History
The American outlaw motorcycle club grew out of the restlessness
experienced by a small number of soldiers � mostly airmen � who returned
from World War II unable to reintegrate into the quiet society they left.
With a desire to relive a bit of the excitement they missed from the war,
some vets began drifting around the country on large-block Harley Davidson
and Indian motorcycles.
Hollywood latched onto the idea of the rebel on the open road and pumped
out high-and low-budget films about the gangs with stars like Marlon
Brando, Jack Nicholson and, of course, Dennis Hopper in �Easy Rider.�
The first incident of violence directly linked to motorcycle gangs was the
Hollister, California incident on July 4, 1946 when the American Motorcycle
Association sponsored its annual Dirt Hill Climb Races. Hollister, with its
police force of seven men was ill-equipped for the number of bikers who
came from all over to participate. The �Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington�
and the �Market Street Commandos� were two of the larger gangs in
attendance and street racing and fights were common. When a member of the
POBOB was jailed for disturbing the peace, a large group of bikers tore the
town apart trying to free the man.
The myth of the American biker was born.
Today
The Hell�s Angels are the most prominent international motorcycle group and
are formally incorporated to prevent abuse of the Hell�s Angels name and
image. The incorporation fits the modern Angels: they are a business. They
are known for producing methamphetamines (crank), PCP and LSD. The club
grows and distributes marijuana and most chapters have loansharking and
prostitution businesses as well.
Besides the Hell�s Angeles, the Pagans motorcycle club ranks as one of the
most feared in America. Active mostly in America�s Eastern area, the Pagans
reportedly have more than 900 members in 44 chapters. They are considered
one of the more nomadic gangs, as well.
Law enforcement intelligence reports that the Pagans make a great deal of
money through prostitution. Many of their prostitutes are young runaways
who are coerced into the practice through threats, violence and
intimidation. More than any other gang, the Pagans enjoy a close
relationship with traditional ethnic organized crime.
According to the Connecticut Attorney General�s office, the Pagans
distribute approximately $15 million per year in methamphetamines. Security
is taken care of by the Black T-shirt Gang. There is reportedly only one
penalty for violating gang law: a .38 automatic fired into the back of the
head.
The Bandidos were formed in 1966 in Houston, Texas. The gang is also known
as the Bandido Nation and is the fastest-growing outlaw gang in America.
Active in the American Southwest, the gang reportedly has 500 members. The
gang is allied with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
Harry J. Bowman
In 1999, the FBI arrested Harry Joseph Bowman, head of the Outlaws who had
been on the FBI�s Most Wanted List since 1997. He disappeared after being
indicted for a variety of racketeering charges.
Bowman, who goes by the name Taco, was accused of murdering two Outlaws
members in Florida and Indiana and the slaying of the president of a rival
gang, the Warlocks. The racketeering charges against him included bombing
two rival clubs� headquarters.
�Their dislike of Hell's Angels is expressed in their slogans �AHAMD,� or
�All Hell's Angels Must Die,� and �ADIOS,� or �Angel's Die in Outlaws
States.� They also dislike the Pagans and the Warlocks,� according to
information filed with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
For most of Bowman�s term as leader of the Outlaws, Wayne "Joe Black" Hicks
was his right-hand man.
Hicks became Florida's regional president in 1990. At a meeting with
Bowman, Hicks reported that Alan "Greaser" Wolfe, an Outlaw, had testified
before a grand jury. Bowman, who distributed Outlaws tee shirts bearing the
slogan "snitches are a dying breed," told Hicks to take care of him. Hicks
and another member revoked Wolfe's membership and beat him.
The next year, Bowman ordered an Outlaw probationer, �Dirt� Ankerich, to
murder a third man, �Bear� Chaffin. Ankerich went into Chaffin's garage,
shot Chaffin four times in the back of the head, and ran away, thus earning
his Outlaws patch and the special lightening bolts denoting him as a killer.
In June 1994, numerous Outlaws descended on Gary, Indiana, to attend an
event at a local speedway. This event was also customarily attended by the
Invaders, another motorcycle club. The Outlaws suspected that the Invaders
were affiliated with the Hell's Angels.
On the night before the event, Bowman met with attending Outlaw presidents.
Randy "Mad" Yager, the president of the Gary Outlaws, also held a meeting
with the attending Outlaws and announced that they were to attack the
Invaders at the speedway. To carry out this attack, the Outlaws planned to
use a "war wagon," or a vehicle modified with steel plating and several gun
ports. The war wagon was equipped with firearms and other weapons to
facilitate the attack.
The Outlaws drove the war wagon to the speedway, but no Invaders ever
arrived. After the war wagon left, it was stopped by Gary police officers.
The officers seized firearms, ammunition, and smoke grenades from inside
the war wagon.
In 2000, Bowman was convicted of multiple racketeering counts and sentenced
to life in prison. He subsequently appealed his conviction because the
federal government had empanelled an anonymous jury to hear the charges
against him. The appellate court unanimously rejected his appeal.
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