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Sunday, October 2, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Authorities say they have arrested a former Hells Angels leader at a park in Honolulu.
FBI agents and Honolulu police took Stephen Sanders, former head of the San Diego Hells Angels, into custody without incident in Ala Moana Park on Thursday, Agent Tom Simon said. The 42-year-old Sanders was wanted in California in connection with a 2007 robbery and kidnapping. The Hawaii arrest comes the same day that more than two dozen members of the Hells Angels and their associates were apprehended in a series of San Diego County raids. FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth told the San Diego Union-Tribune (http://bit.ly/rmikpu ) that the 26 arrests came at the end of a violent crimes task force investigation. Simon said Sanders' arrest on the same day of the raids was a coincidence.
Hells Angel slaying suspect arrested in San Fran
University of California, San Francisco police have arrested the suspect in the slaying of the president of a Hells Angels chapter at a Nevada casino. UCSF Assistant Police Chief Paul Berlin says 53-year-old Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez was taken into custody after he was spotted by an officer just a block from campus police headquarters around 8:20 p.m. Thursday. Gonzalez was apparently in a parked 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. He is being held pending the arrival of police from Sparks, Nev., where he is accused of killing Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew inside a casino on Sept. 23. Authorities say Gonzalez is an alleged member of the Vagos gang and shot the 51-year-old Pettigrew four times in the back. Pettigrew was the president of the San Jose chapter of the Hells Angels.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Rejecting the Oncoming River
This is an article I've already written for my campus newspaper called The Vanguard. You can see the Vanguard here.
At 12:00 am on Tuesday Sept. 20, theDon’t Ask Don’t Tell policy of the United States military officially expiredfollowing a repeal after Congressional, Executive and military approval lastDecember.
Since the Obama administration waselected, there have been significant victories for the gay equality movement:government extension of benefits to gay couples, U.S. Census 2020 introductionof counting same-sex marriages, and probe into housing discrimination towardgay couples.
In addition, passport parental genderneutrality was introduced to the State Department and now gay soldiers canserve openly and proudly in the military. Finally, the Justice Department willno longer support the Defense of Marriage Act that defines marriage between aman and woman.
On the state level, over the past 4years Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York have all passed legislation orcourts have decided that marriage discrimination is immoral and should beillegal (although these victories are not attributable to the Obamaadministration).
These changes represent the momentumthat the movement is gaining especially as the majority of Americans (a slimone) support gay marriage.
The most recent state to passmarriage equality was New York which did so rather half-handedly. Today the lawthat was passed is being hailed as a possible framework for a national law onthe issue. This, one must solidly reject.
The main concession by pro-gay rightspoliticians was to allow an exemption for religious institutions andorganizations whereby they could discriminate against gays in job placement inorder to protect their religious beliefs.
This brings to light the religiousnature of the largest aggressors against gay equality. Since no respectablescientist would denounce homosexuality (the evidence is overwhelmingly in thefavor of gay rights advocates), religious protection is the only stance left totake.
It is also important to realize thatthe fight isn’t just related to marriage. We live in a country where it isstill legal to discriminate against someone in an interview based on theirsexual orientation, and the list goes on.
With this stance, deniers argue thatyou can’t force a church to accept a gay couple, or a religious organization tohire a gay person because their religious beliefs teach them that homosexualityis immoral.
It bears the question that alwaysfosters circumlocution by opponents of gay equality: Is religious hatred morejustified than secular hatred? To this, the answer is undeniably: No.
A fundamental aspect of ourconstitution, moral system, and judicial precedent holds that everyone isentitled to their own freedoms, so long as they don’t infringe on the freedomsof others; that is where the line is drawn. In this case, this is where it mustbe drawn.
If a religious book teaches someoneto hate or discriminate, it is immoral to apply it beyond the breadth of yourmind and unconstitutional to institutionalize it through personaldiscrimination.You are allowed your religiousconvictions so long as they don’t restrict the rights of others.
The EEOC should be suing an employeror even a priest if he won’t hire a gay person into his religious organizationbecause of the applicant’s sexual orientation. Religious homophobia should beas quickly denounced as secular anti-Semitism.
Marriages today only have a 50%chance of lasting, and yet we find millions of people across this countryfighting for just that; fighting equity in marriage, what straight people haveas an option and throw away ½ the time.
This fight for marriage and jobequality as well as suicide prevention and couple benefits is cemented in thefoundations of this country. In a world of innumerable one night stands and theJersey Shore, gays and allies are fighting for nothing less than love.
Love for themselves to preventsuicide, love to each other to be recognized by the government, and love for expressingtheir passion through a job. If that sounds corny, the so be it.
Gay equality is inevitable, andopponents are rejecting what is bound to come. The poetic lyrics of Bob Dylancome to mind: “Then you better start swimmin’, or you’ll sink like a stone, Forthe times they are a-changin.” This time around, the river is colored withstreaks of the rainbow.
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Danish court jails 15 motorbike gang members for murder attempts on rivals
Danish court has sentenced 15 motorbike gang members to jail for six murder attempts on rival gang members. The court said Thursday the bikers would spend from three to 15 years in prison, following the country’s biggest biker-related trial. Loading... Comments Weigh InCorrections? Copenhagen’s city court ruled earlier this month that members of the Hells Angels and their support group, AK81, were guilty of a series of shootings in the Danish capital in 2009. No one was killed but one victim had his leg amputated. The gangs have been feuding over control of criminal markets, including drug trade.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Hells Angels' president killed in Sparks shooting
Police confirm the president of the San Jose chapter of the Hell's Angels, Jeffrey Pettigrew died while two Vagos club members are being treated for their injuries. Sparks Police say a group of members from the Hell's Angels and Vagos motorcycle clubs got into a fight near the Trader Dick's bar late Friday night. Police have made no arrests for the murder or shootings of the other victims.
Gang violence at Sparks Nugget Hotel results in shooting of Sacramento biker
More details are becoming available in shooting death in Sparks, Nevada involving the Hells Angels and a rival motorcycle gang. The shooting late Friday night at the John Asguaga's Nugget Hotel resulted in the death of a Hells Angel leader from San Jose and injuries to 2 rival Vagos gang members. The gang members were among thousands of attendees at the annual Sparks "street vibrations" event. Concern about retaliation led local and state officials to declare a to a state of emergency, which was eventually lifted around 5 p.m. on Saturday. A Sacramento gang detective investigating the case in Nevada said one of the gang members shot at in retaliation is from Sacramento. That gang member was shot twice in the chest Saturday morning. He was expected to survive. In response to concerns about retaliation, a Sacramento ATF agent said, "We always try to be aware of crimes of violence in our community. We try to anticipate when and where there will be violations of the federal firearm and explosive laws. We are watching this very closely," said Graham Barlowe, ATF Sacramento's Resident Agent in Charge.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Dunedin gang members arrested following clash
Hells Angels and Vagos Motorcycle Gangs Go to War in Nevada Casino
The Hells Angels motorcycle gang is minus one California leader after a wild shootout in a Nevada casino. The Vagos motorcycle gang survived the fight with two members wounded. The violent fight caused the city's Mayor to temporarily declare a state of emergency and stop a biker festival. It wasn't long before a drive-by shooting wounded another biker in retaliation.
Friday night at John Ascuaga's Nugget Hotel and Casino in Sparks, Nevada, was the scene of the bloody altercation between the two gangs. Eyewitnesses say a Hells Angels member fired the first shot and a surveillance video clearly shows a biker shooting wildly into the casino crowd. Police have charged Hells Angel, Cesar Villagrana, with assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a stolen firearm after seeing the video.
According to one witness, the shooting started when one Hells Angel was punched in the nose. He went on to say the biker jumped up with the bloody nose and pulled a gun and fired. The scene must have been horrific and must have scared the casino's patrons into taking cover. When bikers start fight, it's time to take cover.
Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, age 51, was the member of the Hells Angels killed at the casino. He was the leader of the San Jose, California, branch of the gang. The two wounded bikers were listed as 45-year-old Leonard Ramirez and 28-year-old Diego Garcia, both members of the Vagos. It's a miracle more people weren't killed or wounded. It is a good thing these guys are not better shots.
The casino fight broke out about 11:30 Friday night and by 10:49 the next morning another biker had been shot on the streets of Sparks. The town was hosting a biker festival called "Street Vibrations" where the shooting occurred. A biker was shot in the stomach by someone riding in a black BMW. Reno Police Department Lt. Amy Newman has commented that the second shooting was "definitely" revenge. Could the Hells Angels be in a continuing war with the Vagos? Only time will tell.
Police keep close watch on Ballarat as bikies visit
Hells Angels chapter president died in a casino shootout with a rival biker gang.
The city of Sparks, Nev., declared a state of emergency Saturday after a Hells Angels chapter president died in a casino shootout with a rival biker gang. Mayor Geno Martini also canceled the Street Vibrations biker festival that was under way in the city, which is located adjacent to Reno where an annual air show was canceled when a plane crashed into the grandstand earlier this month. The announcement came after the man killed in the Friday night shooting at John Ascuaga's Nugget casino was identified as Jeffrey Pettigrew, president of the San Jose, Calif., chapter of the Hells Angels. The gunfire also left two members of the rival Vagos in stable condition at an area hospital and landed another Hells Angel in jail on a charge assault with a deadly weapon. Police said in a written statement that another biker, who was not identified, was shot at a traffic light at 10:40 a.m. Saturday by a gunman driving a BMW sedan. Although the two incidents could not be definitively linked, the city decided it was time to clamp down in the situation. Along with the cancellation of the biker festival, police beefed up patrols in the downtown area.
David Glasser would-be witness against a Hells Angel with a violent reputation had turned into a nervous wreck
Friends say he lived in fear. In the months before his murder, those closest to David Glasser say the would-be witness against a Hells Angel with a violent reputation had turned into a nervous wreck. "He was getting really scattered and frantic the past couple of weeks. He couldn't even sit down -- he'd pace. You could see the fear written across his face," said Rick Reynolds, Glasser's longtime friend. "He was openly, admittedly terrified." Friends and acquaintances of Glasser's say prosecutors ignored his pleas for protection as a witness, even as he was poised to testify against a man who allegedly had threatened to kill him for cooperating with police. Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless said his office took steps to ensure Glasser's safety. Capeless described a man who said he felt safe in his apartment, preferring to stay in his Pittsfield home rather than relocate at the suggestion of police. In either case, Glasser had reason to be afraid. According to court records, Adam Lee Hall, a member of the Berkshire County chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, already had beaten Glasser with a baseball bat -- and that was just when Hall thought Glasser had stolen a carburetor from him. After that 2009 incident, authorities Advertisement persuaded Glasser to become a witness against Hall on drug, gun and assault charges. That prompted more threats from Hall, who later was accused by police of setting Glasser up to take the fall for a bogus armed robbery in an effort to keep him from testifying. Fifteen days ago, Glasser's body was found along with two of his friends, buried in a boulder-covered trench on private property in Becket. The friends -- fellow Pittsfield residents Edward S. Frampton and Robert T. Chadwell -- were killed because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, according to authorities. The discovery of the bodies came just nine days before Glasser had been scheduled to testify Sept. 19 against Hall in Berkshire Superior Court in connection with the assault and framing incidents. The discovery of the bodies came just nine days before Glasser had been scheduled to testify Sept. 19 against Hall in Berkshire Superior Court in connection with the assault and framing incidents. Police since have arrested Hall -- a 34-year-old Peru resident -- and two alleged accomplices. The three have been charged with three counts of murder, witness intimidation and kidnapping, and a fourth suspect has been charged with helping to bury the bodies. Glasser's murder has sparked an outcry from the victims' families, who say the District Attorney's Office and police didn't do enough to protect their witness. "They never did anything to help David," said Donna Randolph, whom Glasser called "Mom" and talked with at least once a week. Glasser was estranged from his family at a young age, according to Randolph, and no one in the family could be located for comment by The Eagle. However, Randolph and others close to Glasser said he had complained to them that he had gone to authorities and asked for witness protection as recently as a month before his murder. "He came to my house right after he'd been to the police one of those times," said Randolph, 67, of Pittsfield. Randolph said Glasser, 44, had been told by officers that nothing could be done and to let police know if anything happened. The Pittsfield Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police referred questions to the Berkshire County district attorney. Capeless said he's never denied a "reasonable request for protection of a witness." He insists his office did everything it could to protect Glasser, including relocating him twice at its suggestion. Capeless said that after each of the two relocations -- which were intended to be temporary -- Glasser had opted to return home, saying he felt safe. "On each occasion he said, ‘Look, I feel OK now and I'd like to go back to my apartment,' " Capeless said. "Ultimately it is his decision. We can't make witnesses relocate." Capeless said it's normal for witnesses to want to stay in their homes. "They want to control their lives." Capeless said. But Glasser's friends say he only stayed in his apartment because he had nowhere else to go. "He wasn't there because he wanted to be," Randolph said. The state has a witness protection fund, which pays for lodging, living and transportation expenses. District attorneys can submit petitions to fund the relocation of a key witness. Capeless said his office never submitted such a petition. Capeless declined to go into detail about his office's two temporary relocations of Glasser. Capeless wouldn't say when they took place, where Glasser was relocated to, or how long he stayed. Capeless said that speaking more about steps his office took to protect Glasser could compromise the safety of other witnesses against Hall who have opted to relocate. But no one who knew Glasser said they had heard anything about his being relocated by the District Attorney's Office. Asked about that, Capeless said: "People aren't supposed to know about it. That's the point." But Glasser's friends say they don't believe Capeless. "It's not true," Randolph said. "They never, never relocated David. They never did anything to help David. He would have let me know. He was like my son. We were very close. He would have told my husband and me one way or another." Likewise, Glasser's friend Rick Reynolds -- along with three other friends contacted by The Eagle who asked not to be identified -- said Glasser hadn't been relocated and never got the help he was asking for. The Eagle got some insight into Glasser's psyche in 2005. In an eloquently worded letter to the editor published that year, Glasser said in the first sentence that he was "mentally and physically challenged." He went on to write that he had diabetes, which "sometimes mimics being drunk," and that he had been "wrongfully fired" from jobs and treated unfairly in other instances because of people's "misunderstanding" of the issue. Glasser's main point in the letter was that he wanted to bring "an awareness of how we treat each other." He made no other reference to his mental condition in the letter. Capeless said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on Glasser's mental capacity. Randolph said she wasn't clear about the nature of Glasser's challenges, but said he "functioned a little bit slowly." Glasser did, however, understand the danger he was in, Randolph said. "Oh, he understood," she said. "He was absolutely terrified. There's no other way to put it." The terror that filled Glasser's life is well documented. According to court records, during the 2009 baseball-bat incident, Hall beat Glasser over a missing carburetor -- leaving his face black, blue and swollen -- and forced him to sign the title of his truck over to Hall. Then, according to the records, Hall made Glasser drive himself to Berkshire Medical Center in Hall's Hummer with Hall in the passenger seat. Before Glasser got out of the car, Hall told him that if he went to the police, he would be killed, according to a transcript of an interview police conducted with Glasser. Trooper Dale Gero responded to the emergency room at BMC after the staff reported a suspected assault and battery. After being treated at BMC, Glasser was taken to the Cheshire State Police barracks for an interview, in which he recounted the incident. According to Gero's report, at the end of the interview, Glasser asked if the state police had a witness protection program, and he told the trooper he was afraid of Hall retaliating against him. After being treated at BMC, Glasser was taken to the Cheshire State Police barracks for an interview, in which he recounted the incident. According to Gero's report, at the end of the interview, Glasser asked if the state police had a witness protection program, and he told the trooper he was afraid of Hall retaliating against him. According to the report, Glasser was escorted out of the barracks and told to contact "the police if anything further happened." Two days later, Glasser came in for a follow-up interview with investigators. Just before that interview, Glasser again told police he believed Hall would kill him, according to police records. Hall was arrested that day and was released three months later on a $50,000 bond. Glasser, meanwhile, was living in the Linden Street apartment he shared with Frampton. Glasser's name doesn't appear in court records again until Hall allegedly framed Glasser for armed robbery in New York state on Aug. 14, 2010. According to police, Hall and his associates planted a gun and other evidence in Glasser's truck in an effort to connect him to the supposed robbery. Pittsfield lawyer Alexander Schmulsky was appointed to defend Glasser against the charges. They met in a jail cell in the basement of Central Berkshire District Court. "He was concerned for his safety," Schmulsky said. "He was scared." A few days later, Schmulsky got a call from the District Attorney's Office saying the charges had been dropped. Schmulsky said Glasser was in the hands of the DA's office after that and that he never heard from his client again. Meanwhile, Hall was re-arrested. He was released on bail in March of this year, on a $250,000 bond. Even though Hall had been released pending his trial, Capeless said Glasser had stopped feeling unsafe when he started working with police as a witness, adding that law enforcement had been in "regular" contact with him. Capeless declined to be more specific about the nature of the contact, but said that each time officers checked in with Glasser, Glasser told them he was fine. "After Glasser became further involved with this office, he did not express that he felt unsafe," Capeless said. "Anytime he was staying in his apartment, he remained there because he felt safe and he wanted to be in his home." Friends strongly disagree with the district attorney's assessment of Glasser's feelings. They say Glasser -- known to mind his own business -- was manipulated into testifying against Hall. "He didn't want to testify," Reynolds said. "He said he was being pressured. I think they [DA's office] used that he was angry about being jumped, being beaten, having his truck taken [to get him to testify]. It hurt his pride. I think the police used that to say, ‘Do something about it.' " Reynolds said Glasser also believed he might be charged with possession of cocaine if he didn't testify, a notion Capeless strongly disagrees with. "He felt like he was in a no-win situation," Reynolds said. Capeless denies that Glasser was pressured into doing anything he didn't want to do. He said Glasser understood that by testifying against Hall, he would be protecting himself and others, effectively ensuring that Hall would go to prison. "People have to understand that if they don't come forward, these kinds of people will be walking the street," Capeless said. Still, Glasser's former lawyer said Capeless' job is about more than just putting people behind bars. "The district attorney's only job isn't to win the trial, it's to provide justice for the people of Berkshire County," Schmulsky said. "Where's the justice for Mr. Glasser today?" Capeless said his office did the best it could with the information it had at the time. He said it's easy to second guess after the fact. Randolph, meanwhile, said her last visit with Glasser is burned in her memory. "I didn't see him but for a couple of minutes the last time," she said. "He hugged me and I hugged him, and he said, ‘I love you, Ma,' and I told him I loved him. I miss him. Every day."
Hell's Angels motorcycle club member facing charges in deadly casino brawl
member of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club was facing charges including assault with a deadly weapon Sunday after a brawl between club members devolved into a gunfight that left one person dead. Police identified the victim of the shooting at John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nevada, as Jeffrey Pettigrew, 51, president of the San Jose, California, chapter of the Hell's Angels. Two other people, both of California and members of the Vagos motorcycle club, were in stable condition at hospitals after being shot in the abdomen and the leg, respectively. Cesar Villagrana, 36, was arrested after surveillance video showed him "shooting into the crowd" during the Friday night melee, Sparks police said in a statement. "However, it cannot be confirmed at this time if any of the projectiles struck the victims." Besides assault with a deadly weapon, Villagrana also faces charges of carrying a concealed weapon; aiming a firearm at another; aiming or discharging a firearm where a person is endangered; and possession of stolen property/firearm, jail records show. His bail was set at $500,000 cash only. Authorities appealed to bystanders who may have photographed or videotaped the event to contact police. A second shooting occurred at 10:49 a.m. Saturday, police said. A motorcyclist was traveling down a street when a car pulled alongside him and he was shot in the stomach. The name of that victim was being withheld, but he was in stable condition, authorities said. Witnesses said a black four-door BMW with two people inside was seen speeding away just after the shooting. "We are unable to definitively link the two shooting incidents at this time," police said. The incidents occurred during the Street Vibrations Fall Rally, an event that began Wednesday and was expected to continue into Sunday. After the shootings, however, the Sparks portion of the event were canceled through the weekend, the city announced Saturday. The mayor of Sparks also declared a state of emergency. "Whenever you have people who enter our city with bad intentions, bad things are going to happen," Sparks Mayor Geno Martini said Saturday. Police said they have increased the number of foot and mobile patrols in the city. Authorities reported that as many as 30 people took part in the casino brawl. Police responded with assistance from overhead helicopters. There has been no violence since the Street Vibrations rally expanded into Sparks, police said. "The Sparks Police Department wants to acknowledge the acts of these two motorcycle clubs do not represent a majority of the motorcycle enthusiasts that come to the Street Vibrations event," authorities said in a statement.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Obama Loses His Backbone
This is an article I've already written for my campus newspaper called The Vanguard. You can see the Vanguard here.
The backbone wasone of the greatest evolutionary mutations in the Earth’s history. Without it,the composition of every animal you can name or think of would be starklydifferent. If anything the most familiar animals we know wouldn’t be the same:Humans.
Imagine usmoving around as alien blobs with our nervous system randomly floating around.It seems that for the evolutionary development of humanity, a backbone isnecessitated. With such obvious reasoning for the backbone, it strikes me tofind that our President, Barack Obama, doesn’t seem to have one.
From the start,the former professor sought a very professorial technique to getting thingsdone: Allow “the students” to begin discussions and only guide them in theright direction. This was his approach to the healthcare debate some years agoby allowing Congress to start the debate.
More recently,he’s chosen to be more compromising to his executive leadership against aRepublican influenced Congress. When the Bush Tax cuts were set to expire, he“compromised” on a key political promise by extending them because the newlyelected Republicans were feeling powerful.
When thegovernment was on the brink of shutdown, Republicans refused to let groundagain, and the President compromised. When the U.S. Treasury was set to nolonger be able to pay its dues in full, Republican staunchness was mostpronounced; here, the President buckled as well.
The unwaveringRepublicans were even so eager to reject any compromise by the President that,for the first time in history, a Presidential request to address a JointSession of Congress late this summer was rejected by the Speaker of the House.
The eagerness ofRepublicans to regain political prowess after the Bush administration shouldn’tbe laughed at because it is only reasonable. What should be laughed at is aPresident who promised to be a compromising and understanding leader and bring about fundamental change.
The two areincompatible when juxtaposed to each other. To bring about fundamental changemeans to push your ideals as strongly as you can in the face of opposition. Tocompromise to is break from your fundamental ideals in order to resolve theissue.
Today, we seeRepublicans that are illogically uncompromising and a President that isillogically knee-buckling. The poison of our political discussions (discussionsthat shouldn’t be the norm) have saturated the bed of the President so much itseems he has no fight left in him.
In his bid toseem more presidential, reasonable, and responsible (all of which he shouldbe), he has given up too much for too little. The Bush Tax Cuts shouldn’t havebeen extended in full (thankfully they will soon expire) and the healthcaredebate should have been led from the start by the President.
A governmentshutdown would have looked bad for the President but no one is ignorant of thefact that the Tea Party is the extreme right wing driving force pushing theRepublicans to take illogical stances. The blame would have fallen both waysbut then again, government could always be fixed.
Finally, BarackObama was responsible not to let the government miss its financial obligations,however, Republicans were just as nervous of bad press as the President was.Here, he should have been more forceful on increasing taxes.
Discussing thedate of his speech would bear no purpose than to steep to the disgusting lowerdens of radical tea party extremists. A date? What’s in a day? It was justanother slap in the face of a President they don’t like because they couldn’tprove he wasn’t a citizen of the United States. With every newConservative victory came another crack at the spine of our President and withevery new swing it becomes more difficult to regrow. Extreme conservatism canonly be fought by liberalism that is ground in firm, and when necessitated,staunch reasoning.
Obama’s speechto Congress was the right start, not in content (that is debatable), but intone and forcefulness. For the sake of this country, for the sake of ourfuture, and for the sake of basic reasoning, let us pray he grows a backbonesoon.
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Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Police step up watch on Hells Angels
Police in Massachusetts are closely watching a local chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club as one of its high-ranking members sits in jail accused of triple murder. Adam Lee Hall, who court records list as the third in command of the Berkshire Hells Angels, has been charged with three counts of murder in connection with the Aug. 28 deaths of David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell. Hall, 34, of Peru, Mass.; David Chalue, 44, of North Adams and Springfield, Mass.; and Caius Veiovis, 31, of Pittsfield, Mass., formerly of Augusta, each face three counts each of murder, kidnapping and witness intimidation in connection with the triple slaying. Police haven't linked the homicides to the biker club. But over the weekend they stepped up surveillance of its clubhouse in Lee, Mass., using a "high visibility patrol operation" Saturday that coincided with the Berkshire Hells Angels' annual Lobster Fest. Police from the central Massachusetts towns of Lee, Great Barrington, Pittsfield, Lenox and Dalton assisted Massachusetts State Police as motorcyclists from across the region descended on the biker club's headquarters Saturday near October Mountain State Forest in Lee. Also on the scene were the state's environmental police and a county special response team. Police took pictures of everyone entering and exiting Woodland Road leading to the Angels' clubhouse. Many of the bikers seen in the area wore patches identifying themselves as members of the Hells Angels and other regional motorcycle clubs. Massachusetts State Police Lt. David Buell, commander of the troop's Lee barracks, said police have monitored the club's Lobster Fest event the past five years. He cited an increase in the number of police patrols this year in light of the recent homicides but declined to say how many officers were in the area. Buell reported no arrests or incidents Saturday. Several neighbors walked up to police in the area, he said, and thanked them for being there. The Berkshire Hells Angels Facebook page indicated that tickets to the Lobster Fest were $30. It warned visitors to expect heavy police presence. Meanwhile, the Berkshire District Attorney's office disclosed that the bodies of Glasser, Frampton and Chadwell were found buried on private property in Becket, Mass. Authorities declined to be more specific; they previously had refused to discuss any information about where the bodies of the three men were dumped. Glasser, Frampton and Chadwell went missing sometime between Aug. 27 and 28 from Glasser's apartment on Linden Street in Pittsfield. Police say the men killed Glasser to keep him from testifying against Hall during an upcoming trial in Berkshire Superior Court. Police said neither Chalue nor Veiovis -- formerly known in Maine as Roy Gutfinski Jr. -- are members of the Hells Angels. Court records filed last week said the men's bodies had been dumped together in a deep trench that had been covered with large boulders and dirt, with digging equipment found nearby. According to the report, Hall had inquired about the availability and location of excavation equipment in the weeks prior to the homicides. Gutfinski had been convicted in 2000 of elevated aggravated assault in Kennebec County Suprior Court, and served 71/2 years of the 10-year sentence. He changed his name to Caius Domitius Veiovis in 2008. Veiovis, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, faces the possibility of three life sentences without parole.
TRUST
Yes, us must trust us, who? Us must trust
not fuss with us, us must trust us discuss trusting us
Us must trust us, who? Us must trust
not fuss with us, us must trust us discuss thus trusting us
Trusting us, us must trust discuss
Discuss not trusting us must not fuss
Us with us means us discussing trusting us
Us must trust us, who? Us must trust
not fuss with us, us must dicuss trusting us
But am I over ya head?
~Krs
not fuss with us, us must trust us discuss trusting us
Us must trust us, who? Us must trust
not fuss with us, us must trust us discuss thus trusting us
Trusting us, us must trust discuss
Discuss not trusting us must not fuss
Us with us means us discussing trusting us
Us must trust us, who? Us must trust
not fuss with us, us must dicuss trusting us
But am I over ya head?
~Krs
Monday, September 19, 2011
Missing Pittsfiled men were found buried in Beckett
New details are emerging in the case of three Western Massachusetts men whose deaths are allegedly linked to a Hells Angels member. Police say the bodies of the three Pittsfield men had been buried by boulders in Beckett. David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell were found last week, nearly two weeks after they disappeared. Ranking local Hells Angels member Adam Lee Hall and two friends, David Chalue and Caius Veiovis, have pleaded not guilty to charges. Authorities say they killed the men because Glasser was set to testify against Hall.
Dhak Gang Member Targeted in Surrey Shooting
ujhar Singh Khun-Khun is fighting for his life after being shot several times Friday night. And his shooting could be linked to the dispute between his gang and a group of Hells Angels who have been doing a lot of finger-pointing since the Aug. 14 Kelowna attack that killed Jonathan Bacon and wounded Hells Angel Larry Amero and Independent Soldier James Riach. Khun-Khun, at 24, has a long history with police already. And he is a close associate of Sukh Dhak, brother of the late Gurmit Dhak. When Gurmit was gunned down outside Metrotown Mall last October, it was the beginning of a series of tit-for-tat shootings. Sukh Dhak was close by Khun-Khun when he was shot. Dhak has now been picked up on a breach and is in custody. Police are concerned about the escalating tension. On one side is Dhak, the Duhre brothers and their associates and some United Nations gang members. On the other are some Hells Angels, the remaining Red Scorpions, the IS and other associated individuals. It is a constantly-shifting mess that is disturbing to police. And they are working hard to prevent more violence and to make arrests in the Bacon death and now the Khun-Khun shooting.
Hells Angels guilty of murder attempts
Copenhagen's city court has found 15 Hells Angels guilty of six murder attempts on members of other biker gangs. The court said that members of the Angels and their support group, AK81, were behind a series of shootings in 2009 in Copenhagen. No-one was killed, but one victim had his leg amputated in a series of escalating criminal feuds.
The largest ever trial involving Danish motrocycle gangs has resulted in 15 out of 16 charged individuals being convicted of attempted murder and assault.
Leading Hells Angel, Brian Sandberg, has been found guilty of attempted murder today (Photo: Scanpix) The largest ever trial involving Danish motrocycle gangs has resulted in 15 out of 16 charged individuals being convicted of attempted murder and assault. One man was released on Monday without charge. The trial of four full members of the Hells Angels – including leader Brian Sandberg – and 12 henchmen has taken six months and was based mostly around the testimony of the 25-year-old informant MFP. The 15 individuals were charged with having carried out four shootings, planning a further two as well carrying out assaults using weapons. Their victims were mostly young men with immigrant backgrounds. One of the shooting targets was ‘Little A’ (Lille A) who is a leading member of the rival Blågårds Square Group (Blågårds Plads Gruppen) in Nørrebro. The city court recognised that MFP’s testimony was supported by technical evidence, witness statements, telephone recordings and video surveillance which the judge stated was necessary in order to convict the accused. MFP told to the court before the summer holiday who had participated in the various shootings and assaults, who gave the orders and why they happened. He has already been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by the High Court for his part in five shootings though his sentence has been reduced due to his cooperation with the police. But throughout the trial the defence has attempted to question his credibility and have accused him of lying about important events. The Hells Angels have called the case a “well-planned miscarriage of justice”. The arrest of many of the bikers most notorious members involved in the gang conflict, has meant the Hells Angles have been effectively shut down. Hells Angels spokesperson Jørn “Jønke” Nielsen has moved to Jutland and many of the remaining leaders are being held in custody. It is now thought that the Hells Angels group in Ishøj have taken over much of the power base from the Copenhagen region and that they are starting to recover. The arrest of Brian Sandberg in autumn last year has led to a calming of tensions between the immigrant gangs and the bikers. Conflict has since broken out within the immigrant gangs and also between the Hells Angels and rival biker gang, Bandido’s, in Esbjerg. Sandberg was found not guilty of attempted murder at an incident at a Vesterbro kiosk as the court found MFP’s testimony about the event to not be reliable. His testimony was still used by the court to convict other bikers of the attempted murder however. Sandberg was convicted of manslaughter in a shooting at the Surf’n Play-café on Rantzausgade in Nørrebro. He alleges, however, that his car was shot at earlier in the evening. The 15 men will be sentenced next week.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Victims' burial site is in Becket
The bodies of David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell were found buried on private property in Becket, according to the District Attorney’s office. Authorities declined to be more specific and released no other new information about the case. Until this week, law enforcement officials had refused to even release the location of what they described as a "burial site," where the bodies of the three men were dumped and covered with boulders and dirt. Meanwhile, state and local police conducted what they described as a "high visibility patrol operation" Saturday in Lee, coinciding with the Berkshire Chapter of the Hells Angels’ annual party, Lobster Fest. Adam Lee Hall, who court records list as the third in command of the Berkshire Hells Angels, has been charged with three counts of murder in connection to the men’s disappearance. Otherwise, police haven’t linked the murders to the local motorcycle club, which has put up its clubhouse to cover Hall’s bail in an earlier case, according to court records. Police from Lee, Great Barrington, Pittsfield, Lenox and Dalton assisted State Police, who watched as motorcyclists from across the region descended on the Berkshire biker’s headquarters on Woodland Road in Lee, just past the entrance to October Mountain State Forest. Also on the scene were the state’s Environmental Police and the county’s Special Response Team. Police Advertisement took pictures of everyone entering and exiting Woodland Road leading to the Angels’ clubhouse. Many of the bikers seen in the area wore patches identifying themselves as members of the Hells Angels and other regional motorcycle clubs. State Police Lt. David Buell, the station commander at the troop’s Lee Barracks, said the club’s Lobster Fest is an annual event. He said police have conducted high-visibility patrols coinciding with the party for the past five years. He said police increased the number of patrols this year in light of the recent murders, but he declined to say how many officers were in the area. Buell said there were no arrests or incidents on Saturday, although he said several neighbors walked up to police in the area and thanked them for being there. Members of the Hells Angels were not immediately reachable for comment on Saturday. The group’s Facebook page indicated that tickets to the event were $30. It warned visitors to expect heavy police presence. Glasser, Frampton and Chadwell went missing sometime between Aug. 27 and 28 from Glasser’s apartment on Linden Street in Pittsfield. Hall, 34, of Peru, David Chalue, 44, of North Adams and Springfield, and Caius Veiovis, 31, of Pittsfield, have been charged with three counts each of murder, kidnapping and witness intimidation. Police said neither Chalue nor Veiovis are members of the Hells Angels. Police say the men killed Glasser to keep him from testifying against Hall during an upcoming trial in Berkshire Superior Court. Court records filed last week said men’s bodies had been dumped together in a deep trench that had been covered with large boulders and dirt, with digging equipment found nearby. According to the report, Hall had inquired about the availability and location of excavation equipment in the weeks prior to the murder.
Case summary reveals the size of Astapa corruption in Estepona
The judge in the Astapa case, regarding corruption in Estepona Town Hall, has more than 40 million € belonging to the 99 indicted in the case frozen, and Hacienda has detected a missing 20 million from appraisals on four real estate deals. These are named a El Ángel, Valle Romano, Arroyo Enmedio Este and Camino del Cerrillar. The case summary shows that as many as 1,800 properties have been impounded in the case, along with 50 vehicles, and a stud with 38 horses. One of the papers dated December 2010 shows that police have requested information from more than 100 local companies, most of them hotels, banks or builders and from what was obtained have concluded that the Town Hall and the political parties organised events and other items paid for by third parties, or by the people alleged to be at the centre of the case. El País reports that the ex Chairman of the Caja Jaén is among those implicated for bribery. José Antonio Arcos Moya, is alleged to have been involved in the payments surrounding concessions made by the Town Hall in 2007 regarding the first occupancy licence for La Reserva de Selwo Golf S.L. The case summary notes the high life style of the ex Councillor, José Ignacio Crespo and says there are indications that he received a 40,000 € payment from a company with town planning interests in the town. The tax authorities are investigating more than 120 companies and individuals and the police continue to wade through 160 boxes of files and 100 hard disks of information.
Motorcycle gangs extending reach in Alberta
Seven years ago, Shannon Trottier was left with a gaping hole in her life when she watched her 34-year-old son die in her arms. Joey Campbell, also known as Joey Morin, was rushed to hospital after he was sprayed with bullets outside a west-end strip club, but his injuries were too severe to overcome. A second man, Robert Simpson, died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. Both men were affiliated with outlaw motorcycle gangs — at that time the Bandidos — and the killer has yet to be brought to justice. The shooting marks the last time any significant violence among bikers erupted onto city streets and police are holding their breath it will stay that way given the province’s changing biker club scene. According to Sgt. Marc Labonte of the Edmonton Integrated Intelligence Unit for the RCMP, during the last two years Alberta has seen one of the largest increases in outlaw motorcycle gangs across the country. Labonte wouldn’t name the specific clubs that have set up shop in the province, but said there are now four main clubs referred to as “one-percenters” — a term given to outlaw motorcycle clubs that aren’t always just out for a good time — as opposed to one main group with four chapters. Two new one-percenters showed up in the last year, and each one has one to three chapters. In addition, police have identified at least eight “puppet” clubs or associate clubs, which consists of members aspiring to become part of the main clubs, so they conduct certain business to prove themselves worthy. In early 2009, Labonte said there were maybe two or three associate clubs in the province. The bikers are also spreading their wings. Two or three years ago, Labonte said the one-percenters were limited to Edmonton and Calgary, but they have since spread to cities throughout the province, and it’s largely attributed to the booming economy. “The economy was good, so there was money. Where there’s money, there is always a criminality,” said Labonte. Police are closely keeping tabs on the most recent outlaw motorcycle clubs to arrive in the province. But Labonte isn’t expecting an all-out turf war to erupt any time soon — like the one going on between the Hells Angels and Rock Machine in Winnipeg, which experienced a series of firebombings and shootings, including one that put a 14-year-old boy in hospital with gunshot wounds. In the past, some of the biker gangs in Alberta have been responsible for homicides, home invasions, drugs, prostitution, money laundering and extortion. Labonte said there has been an increase in criminality among the clubs in recent years — the most notable were home invasions where “somebody didn’t pay up.” But often crimes such as this go undetected, making it difficult for law enforcement to get involved. “The victim, who’s a criminal usually, will not report it to police because they know what these guys can do,” said Labonte, who noted biker gangs try to keep violence from spilling onto the street. “They don’t want to make a big scene. They will be very low profile because they don’t want the public against them. They are like a business. They don’t want to be known as bad guys.” Although police aren’t concerned there will be an all-out turf war in Alberta, Mounties are cognizant things could change since many of the clubs are connected regionally and nationally. In 2004, Criminal Intelligence Service Canada listed the Hell's Angels as the largest and most powerful outlaw motorcycle gang in Canada, with approximately 500 members belonging to 34 chapters across the country, in which at least three were in Alberta. The following year, the director of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Alberta told the Sun the Hells Angels wouldn’t allow any competitors to set up shop in Alberta. But police believe the momentum has changed since then. Labonte noted there are about five or six one-percenters in the U.S. Alberta now has four of them — and they seem to be talking and negotiating with each other. Police have heard of instances where one group has stolen another group’s patch, which sends a message you are not allowed to be here. So far the bikers seem to be using the gesture as a way to start talking to one another and lay grounds for respect, said Labonte. Whether those talks are peaceful remains to be seen. “It’s always troublesome. It happened in Edmonton and a small rural community, so now we have to be careful because that could escalate,” said Labonte. “Some of them are into criminality. It doesn’t mean they are all into criminality.”
Friday, September 16, 2011
Judge denies Hells Angel's request for furlough
federal judge today refused to allow Hells Angels sergeant-at-arms Ricky W. Jenks out of jail so he can help with his girlfriend’s pregnancy. U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush ripped Jenks during the hearing, saying Jenks hadn’t “earned” much consideration from him. “His record is not one that generates a great deal of sympathy,” Quackenbush said of Jenks. “But here he is escaping another major, major multiyear sentence.” Jenks, 33, was arrested following a March 3 raid at the motorcycle gang’s clubhouse, 1308 E. Sprague Ave., and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jenks previously pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in connection to the 2001 killing of a Spokane Valley man who was making methamphetamine. Federal prosecutors and defense attorney Tracy Collins have worked out a plea agreement that includes a joint-recommendation for two years in federal prison. Quackenbush earlier had questioned the deal, noting that Jenks faced substantially more time in prison if the case had gone to trial. Collins said Quackenbush has indicated he will honor the deal during sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 7. “We were hoping for the release for the stress it would relieve for Brittany’s pregnancy,” Collins said of Jenks’ girlfriend and mother of his 2-year-old child. Jenks also has a 5-year-old child with another woman. Jenks’ girlfriend and family members declined comment. Quackenbush said some judges might agree to the release if Jenks, himself, was seeking a medical procedure. “It’s not that I think Mr. Jenks is a risk of flight. To his credit, and he needs some credit, he is not one to flee,” the judge said. “But, he commits those crimes.” Shortly after his release on the manslaughter conviction, Jenks was indicted as part of a 2006 federal racketeering charge that led to the conviction of chapter president Richard “Smilin’ Rick” Fabel. As part of that case, Jenks later pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by threats or violence and was sentenced to 16 months in prison with credit for time served in jail awaiting trial. “With this record now, if he is again before a court on a felony or violation of release conditions, Mr. Ricky Jenks needs to be locked up for all or a substantial portion of his life just to protect society,” Quackenbush said. “It’s those children Mr. Jenks should think about when he has, and he will with his record and associates, the opportunity to violate the law.”
Thursday, September 15, 2011
A DAY IN THE BRONX WITH ORIGINAL OUTLAWS
A HISTORICAL RE-UNION OF THE BLACK SPADES AND THE GHETTO BROTHERS
pt1- Remembering the Black Spades
pt2 : A message to the Young Gangbanger (Black Spades 40th Anniversary
pt3-Black-Brown Unity-The Wisdom of the Ghetto Brothers
pt4:Charlie Rock Speaks from Black Spades to Zulu-Fighting White Gangs
pt1- Remembering the Black Spades
pt2 : A message to the Young Gangbanger (Black Spades 40th Anniversary
pt3-Black-Brown Unity-The Wisdom of the Ghetto Brothers
pt4:Charlie Rock Speaks from Black Spades to Zulu-Fighting White Gangs
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Hell’s Angels head for Oslo
300 members of the motorcycle club Hell’s Angels are expected to descend on Oslo from all over Europe this weekend, to take part in the Oslo chapter’s 15th anniversary celebrations. Police are gearing up for the event but wouldn’t initially say whether they will deny Hell’s Angels members entry into Norway, as they did when another club party was held in Stavanger earlier this year. “We haven’t made a decision,” Einar Aas of the Oslo Police District told newspaper Aftenposten, but he added police were “considering” turning away those with long criminal records. The main celebrations will be held at the Oslo Hell’s Angels club house on Strømsveien on Saturday, but there will also be a meeting of Hell’s Angels Europe at the Helsfyr Hotel on Friday. Police intended to maintain a presence there as well.
Monday, September 12, 2011
OLD SCHOOL PIC OF THE DAY
"ROCK CITY CREW"
COMING FROM THE UPPER WEST SIDE OF MANHATTEN
THE ROCK CITY CREW BOASTED ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR
BBOYS OF THEIR TIMES AND STILL LOVED TO THIS VERY DAY
FROSTY FREEZE WAS A MEMBER OF ROCK CITY CREW
WHEN HE INSPIRED MANY BBOYS SUCH AS KEN SWIFT AND CRAZY LEGS.
ROCK CITY CREW IS ALSO POSSIBLY THE LAST BBOY CREW TO WEAR
OUTLAW STYLE BACK PATCHES (LATE 70's) UNTIL POPMASTER FABEL CRAZY LEGS, AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ROCK STEADY CREW
UNVEILED THEIR COLORS IN 2003
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Adam Lee Hall is the sergeant-at-arms of the Berkshire County chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club,Bodies of missing Pittsfield men found, three others charged with murder
The search for three missing Pittsfield men has ended with the discovery of their bodies and murder charges against three other Massachusetts men. Berkshire County District Attorney David Capeless says 34-year-old Adam Lee Hall of Pittsfield and Peru, 44-year-old David Chalue of Springfield, and 31-year-old Caius Veiovis (also known as Roy Gutfinski) of Pittsfield were arrested on Saturday and are being charged with murder, kidnapping, and witness intimidation. The three are accused of killing 44-year-old David Glasser of Pittsfield, 58-year-old Edward S. Frampton of Pittsfield, and 47-year-old Robert T. Chadwell of Pittsfield who were last seen at an apartment at 254 Lindon Street in Pittsfield on August 28th. Capeless tells FOX23 News, "We feel - as we have charged the three with intimidation of a witness - this had to do with Glasser's being a witness in a pending criminal case. Unfortunately, we believe that Frampton and Chadwell were in the wrong place at the wrong time." The district attorney says Adam Lee Hall is the sergeant-at-arms of the Berkshire County chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. Capeless says police are procession five locations and two vehicles for evidence.
Hells Angels boss faces charges over vicious dog attacks
In the worst-case scenario, Frank Hanebuth could face charges of grievous bodily harm. It is still not clear how the two dogs got out of his heavily guarded property. “The question of whether this was a deliberate act still remains,” officials said on Saturday.
The aggressive dogs had been running lose in the district of Wedemark, north of Hannover, on Thursday evening. They bit five people, causing serious injuries to two of them.
In a newspaper interview Hanebuth apologized publically to those who had been attacked.
“It was a terrible accident. I hugely regret what happened to the victims,” Hanebuth told the Neue Presse. “It is absolutely clear that I will use all the means at my disposal to take responsibility for the incident.” The 46-year-old owner had himself gone to the police on Friday.
According to the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, Hanebuth’s lawyer expects his client to only be charged with bodily injury caused by negligence. However, there is also the prospect that he could face the more serious charge of grievous bodily harm.
Hanebuth said he was “horrified and shocked” by what had happened. The dogs had been trained and had never attacked anyone before. “They weren’t beasts,” he said.
Friday, September 9, 2011
ORIGINAL BRONX BBOY'S COME TOGETHER FINALLY!!!! by JoJo co-founder of Rock Steady Crew
At first I was a one man b-boy show, I did things by myself as far as b-boying went. So, one day this DJ named Sisco came by to tell me that there was this crew up the block by the name the CC Crew. So I asked my brother b-boy Easy Mike to come with me to meet them. As soon as we got there, there was this black kid sitting there in the hall way. I went up to him and asked him, "where is b-boy Spy and Shorty rock" and he asked me "why". I told him "I am here to take him out" and the black kid ran upstairs and came back down with the whole crew. At first Easy Mike and I were like damn, but then we looked at each other and said "lets do this". So, we battled for a while and the battle ended in a tie. Spy then asked Easy Mike and I if we wanted to get down with his crew.
In mid-1979, When Bboy Easy Mike( My brother )and I both part of The C.C.Crew at that time stop hanging out with Spy and Shorty Rock and started reppin for ourselves.Shortly after is when i met Jimmy Dee at my boy Ricky D's crib,Jimmy and I became real close Friends,and when Jimmy Dee found out that I was a Bboy he asked me to show him how to dance. I started teaching him and later became a good Bboy. At a jam in J.H.S 82 where Dj Whitehead was Djing is where I met Jimmy Lee. Jimmy saw me and asked if I could show him how to get down,I told him to meet me at my crib the following day so we could get started and he did. Soon after between the four of us started a Crew called the Untouchable Four Bboys. One day Jimmy Dee and I were at his crib came up with the idea of starting a New Crew because of other Bboys wanting to get down,so we came up with a new name The Rock Steady Crew. I remember The Rock Steady Crew being formed in 1977 the same year as the famous New York City blackout, but after speaking with Bboy Easy Mike(My brother)and Bboy Spiderweb(Ex-Bboy partner) recently both reminded me of The Rock Steady Crew being founded in 1979. In 1981 a chapter was given to Crazy Legs to take to manhattan and by the time of the Lincon Center Battle against Dynamic Rockers Jimmy Dee and I were the last remaining Original Rock Steady Crew members and the rest is HISTORY. I want to take this time to show love and respect to the other crews reppin the Bronx, The Bronx Boys Rocking Crew, C.C.Crew,and StarChild La Rock.
Sorry for my misinterpreting the years and crew members.
JoJo Co-Founder of The Original Rock Steady Crew and Original 1976 Bronx Bboy 4 LIFE.
Police fear turf wars as motorcycle gangs expand operations
Motorcycle gangs, who are considered by Finnish police to constitute organised crime groups, have significantly expanded their operations in the past decade. The gangs have spread so extensively throughout Finland that police fear that violent conflict might break out among them. Motorcycle gangs have set up clubhouses especially in the Helsinki region and in the south of Finland, but activities have branched out to other parts of the country as well. “Organised crime groups use the same methods as players in normal business. If there is a market somewhere, a section is set up there to secure their operations”, says Jussi Oksanen of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Police say that the three most infamous organisations, the Hell’s Angels, the Bandidos, and Cannonball have more than 40 subsections around Finland. Police calculate that there are a total of 80 organised crime groups in Finland, including the subsections. However, most of the groups using different names are not motorcycle gangs. There are nearly 1,200 members in the various groups. The newest, called the United Brotherhood, was formed out of three others, and has more than 50 members. In recent years the gangs have avoided clashes, lest their main criminal activities suffer. Most recently Finland experienced a bloody gang war in the 1990s. “There have been various clashes suggesting a resurgence of tension. In Germany and Denmark, the Hell’s Angels and the Bandidos have been on war footing. These are international criminal organisations, so the trend in other countries is reflected here as well.” Leaders of the Finnish section of the Hell’s Angels are currently under suspicion in an extensive drug smuggling and dealing case. This does not come as a surprise to Jussi Oksanen, who says that police have been collecting surveillance material on the organisation’s activities for a long time. “The Helsinki drug police, along with the West Uusimaa Police can now demonstrate that the members themselves are involved in criminal activities”, Oksanen says. According to Oksanen, actual members of the motorcycle gangs have previously been careful not to get their hands dirty. “They have let the others do the jobs where there is a risk of getting caught.” Police say that surveillance activities have revealed that the Hell’s Angels have used smaller gangs as partners. Traditionally the gang has been very careful of its image, and has avoided committing crimes that could bring bad publicity. Police say that the Hell’s Angels differ from the Bandidos, and the purely Finnish Cannonball in that it has not set up many new subsections, nor has it taken actual supporter gangs into its organisations. For instance, Bandidos has several subsections on various levels, which are seen as stepping stones by members who want to advance within the organisation. The Hell’s Angels have had about a third of the number of members as the Bandidos, which has undergone considerable expansion recently. “However, now for the first time a new group, the 1% Bad Machine 81 Finland has entered the Hell’s Angels’ official organisation. Why the group made the move right now remains unclear”, Oksanen says. He notes that one possibility is that the Hell’s Angels are flexing their muscles for possible clashes to come.
Hell’s Angels leaders suspected in massive drug case
The drugs squad of the Helsinki Police and the West Uusimaa Police have uncovered an exceptionally large drug smuggling and growing operation, in which the main suspects are members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club. Police managed to confiscate several kilos of amphetamine and cocaine as well as a number of unlicensed weapons and about EUR 200,000 in cash. Police also found the biggest cannabis growing operation ever discovered in Finland. Detective inspector Jari Pynnönen describes the case as one of the biggest in Finnish history. What makes it exceptional is that the police were able to trace the drug trafficking organisation to the very highest levels. “Six members of the Hell’s Angels organisation have been detained or arrested during the investigation. Included are people from the top leadership of the organisation all the way to the presidential level”, Pynnönen says. A total of 10 people have been held in connection with the case. The investigation began already in the late summer of 2009. Pynnönen says that the smuggling, transport, and growing of illegal drugs has continued for years. Millions of euros are believed to have been involved in the business. The street value of the drugs that were confiscated was estimated at EUR 800,000. The drugs have been smuggled from Central Europe in hiding places built in various vehicles. Smuggling has been done largely by couriers hired abroad, who have not had significant criminal records, or any direct connection with the Hell’s Angels. The drugs were brought to Helsinki, from where they were distributed throughout the greater Helsinki region, and possibly to other parts of Southern Finland. Pynnönen says that helping in the distribution have been a supporter club with close ties to the Hell’s Angels, as well as so-called “hangaround members”. Pyynönen sees the bust as a major blow to the illegal drug business in Finland for a while, but he also expects the gap to be filled up as new players enter the field. “In this respect it is important that plenty of cash and many illegal weapons were confiscated. This always slows the reorganisation of the activities.”
Missing West Vancouver man has ties to United Nations gang
West Vancouver man linked to the United Nations gang disappeared earlier this week - two days before he was to be sentenced in a drug trafficking case in Ontario. Omid Bayani, 36, was last seen Monday afternoon en route to the gym, West Vancouver police Det. Tom Wolff von Gudenberg said Thursday. His worried family reported him missing a day later, saying it was out of character for Bayani not to return home or call anyone. Police are investigating whether Bayani's gangland history has somehow caught up with him, or whether he took off to avoid his sentencing. The Crown was seeking a jail term of between eight and nine years. Bayani was arrested in 2007 along with Hells Angels in B.C. and Ontario after a massive Ontario Provincial Police undercover operation targeting the biker gang. Despite being a ranking UN gang member at the time, Bayani had worked with the rival Angels in a conspiracy to traffic 600 litres of GHB - the date rape drug. This past July, prosecutors stayed a charge of belonging to a criminal organization against Bayani and his co-accused. But Bayani was convicted on the drug charges. Wolff von Gudenberg said Bayani, who is six feet tall and weighs 240 pounds, was last seen wearing a white or grey Under Armour shirt, blue Under Armour shorts, running shoes and ankle socks. Bayani worked out at two different North Shore community centres, he said. "We don't have any confirmation that he got to the gym," Wolff von Gudenberg said. Despite his criminal history, Bayani had not been on the radar of West Vancouver Police in recent months. "It is impossible to speculate because we don't know anything about his real connections locally," Wolff von Gudenberg said. "He has been totally off our radar." He said other Lower Mainland law enforcement agencies, including the Gang Task Force, have been contacted. "Everybody's been notified just because of that history. Who knows if somebody has a source out there who knows something? He could be missing. He could have taken off," Wolff von Gudenberg said. Port Moody police Insp. Andy Richards led the B.C. component of the Ontario investigation when he was with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Richards said Thursday that he hasn't heard anything about Bayani since the 2007 arrest. "He was a player. He was a big player at one time," Richards said. And he said Bayani had gang connections far beyond the UN, as indicated by his involvement with the Hells Angels. News of Bayani's disappearance comes just a day after the head of the Gang Task Force, Supt. Tom McCluskie, said the police fear retaliation for the Aug. 14 murder of Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon and wounding of Hells Angel Larry Amero and Independent Soldier James Riach. Another West Vancouver man with gang links, Vahid Mahanian, vanished under similar circumstances June 27 and was found dead on Cypress Mountain two weeks later. Bayani came to Canada as a refugee, but was ordered deported in 1999 after a series of armed robberies in Calgary. He filed a series of unsuccessful challenges against the deportation, but was never removed from Canada.
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