Funeral of murdered Bandidos member "Rosco" Brand.

Hundreds of mourners are expected to farewell Brand at a service at the Tuckers Funeral Home, followed by a burial service at Geelong Eastern Cemetery. funeral of murdered Bandidos member "Rosco" Brand.
Brand, a senior Bandidos member with a long criminal record, died in hospital after being gunned down while leaving the bikie gang's Geelong clubhouse with three other men last week. A volley of shots was fired from a white twin-cab ute parked outside the clubhouse in an industrial area of the Geelong suburb of Breakwater.
The Bandidos have been involved in a long-running bloody feud with rival bikie gang the Rebels; however, the Rebels have denied having anything to do with Brand's murder. A Victoria Police spokeswoman said officers would be attending the funeral and procession and were prepared to "assist or intervene to deal with any circumstances that might arise''. The funeral procession begins at midday at the Bandidos clubhouse in Leather St and will travel to the funeral home. After the service, the procession will then travel back towards the clubhouse to the nearby Geelong Eastern Cemetery. "Motorists may wish to organise alternative routes to avoid any inconvenience; however, we are confident any disruptions will be minimal,'' police said. Brand, 51, had prior convictions for violence, firearms and weapons. Homicide Squad detective inspector Steve Clark has said police were keeping an open mind on the shooting and were not necessarily assuming it was carried out by a rival gang.

Mark Stephenson and Remond Akleh, conspired to kill rival Frank Lenti and counselled another biker, Stephen Gault, to do the deed.

Mark Stephenson and Remond Akleh, conspired to kill rival Frank Lenti and counselled another biker, Stephen Gault, to do the deed.Mr. Akleh and Mr. Stephenson have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit murder and counselling to commit murder.Mr. Scott told jurors they'll hear testimony from Mr. Gault, a man who has worked as an agent for police since 2005, that he had discussions with both men about a plot to murder Mr. Lenti.In his opening address to jurors, Mr. Scott said evidence will show Mr. Gault, a full-patch member of the Oshawa chapter of the Hells Angels, appeared to the accused men to be "the perfect, trusted guy" based on his lengthy criminal resume of violent offences."The one piece they didn't know? He'd (Mr. Gault) signed on in April of 2005 as a police agent," Mr. Scott said, telling jurors they'll hear recorded conversations of Mr. Gault meeting with Mr. Stephenson, president of the Oshawa chapter, and Mr. Akleh, a member of the Angels' elite Nomads organization.Those conversations occurred at Mr. Stephenson's home near Sunderland and at Mr. Akleh's Cobourg-area home, jurors heard.The Crown alleges that Mr. Akleh and Mr. Stephenson approached Mr. Gault in June of 2006 with a plan to kill Mr. Lenti, a man with a lengthy history of involvement in outlaw biker gangs. The Angels had failed in attempts to recruit Mr. Lenti and feared his association with the Bandidos -- bitter enemies of the Hells Angels -- could tip the balance of power, Mr. Scott said."Frank Lenti was seen as a threat," Mr. Scott said. "Frank Lenti . . . was someone who could bring people together."The murder plot was never acted on and Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Akleh were arrested in September of 2006 along with several other bikers in a provincewide strike against the Hells Angels. The majority of those arrested as a result of Project Tandem were busted on drug charges, many of them on the strength of evidence provided by Mr. Gault, Mr. Scott said. In fact, the alleged murder plot arose while Mr. Gault was acting as a police agent, buying cocaine from bikers, he said."This (alleged murder plot) just came along, out of the blue," Mr. Scott told jurors.The first witness called to the stand was Sergeant Kenneth Davis of Thunder Bay police, a member of the provincial Biker Enforcement Unit and an acknowledged expert on biker gangs.
The trial, presided over by Superior Court Justice Bruce Glass in Whitby, was interrupted Tuesday when a juror fell ill.

Harold Reynolds, known as "Face," 40, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with racketeering influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO)

-- Harold Reynolds, known as "Face," 40, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with racketeering influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
-- David Padilla, also known as "Lazy Dave," 36, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with RICO conspiracy, racketeering influenced and corrupt organizations, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
-- Ismael Padilla, also known as "Milo," 33, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
-- William Ramirez, also known as "Moreno," 38, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
-- Jason Hull, also known as "Big Jay," 33, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
-- John Babcock, also known as "Sinister," 43, of Las Vegas, charged in a state warrant with unlawful transfer of a firearm.
-- Gary Lawson, also known as "T.C.," 49, of Las Vegas was taken into custody in California as part of the operation.
"This has effectively dismantled both chapters in Southern Nevada," said Lt. David Logue, head of Metro's intelligence unit. Mongol chapters operated in Las Vegas and Henderson, he said.ro Police said at least nine motorcycles were confiscated, along with five revolvers, a chrome-plated pistol, three shotguns, numerous rifles and semi-automatic weapons. Some weapons and money were on display at a Tuesday news conference, said Bill Cassel, public information officer for Metro Police.
The federal racketeering indictment unsealed in Los Angeles also alleges the name "Mongols," which was trademarked by the gang, is subject to forfeiture.
The massive law enforcement crackdown against the Mongols, dubbed "Operation Black Rain," began three and a half years ago by various agencies, including local police, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Lt. David Logue, Metro Police intelligence chief.
Four agents outside of Nevada went undercover and earned a patch, becoming Mongol members, Logue said.Former national Mongol president Ruben Cavazos was arrested at his home near South Hills Country Club in West Covina, authorities said.
Law enforcement officers served a total of 110 federal arrest warrants and 160 search warrants in Southern California, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Washington state and Ohio. Seven of those warrants were served in Las Vegas by members of Metro Police, Henderson and North Las Vegas SWAT teams. No one resisted arrest and there were no injuries, Logue said.Mongol members have been involved in previous criminal activity in Las Vegas.Nine men, two of them Mongol members, were named in a federal grand jury indictment unsealed in April 2004 in Las Vegas on 73 counts of murder in connection with a shootout at Harrah's Laughlin casino at a 2002 gathering known as the River Run that left three people dead. Others involved were from the rival Hell's Angels motorcycle gang, authorities said. The shootout killed Salvador Barrera, Robert Tumelty and Jeremy Bell.About a half dozen people formed the gang in the 1970s because they were banned from joining the notorious Hell's Angels motorcycle group due to their Hispanic heritage. The Mongol gang began attracting members with criminal tendencies as it grew and was then labeled "outlaw" by law enforcement officials.The Mongols tend to recruit younger, more violent people from street gangs, said Thomas L. Chittum III, resident agent in charge in the Las Vegas branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Steven Gonzales named in an indictment against dozens of members of the Mongols motorcycle gang has turned himself in.

Steven Gonzales of Denver named in an indictment against dozens of members of the Mongols motorcycle gang has turned himself in.
U.S. Attorney Troy Eid says 40-year-old Steven Gonzales of Denver surrendered at a bail bonds facility Thursday.Eid says that means all 14 people indicted in the Denver case against the Mongols are now in custody.Gonzales was among 79 people named in an indictment released this week against Mongols members. The indictment describes a tightly organized group that routinely engaged in crimes including murder, torture and drug trafficking.It is unknown whether Gonzales has an attorney.

Six Mongols are charged with a shooting at a 2005 Toys for Tots charity drive in Norco that injured three people

Six Mongols are charged with a shooting at a 2005 Toys for Tots charity drive in Norco that injured three people, including a Norco firefighter. The Mongols opened fire after a fistfight with rival Hells Angels members attending the event at the Maverick Steakhouse. Alex Lozano, president of the Mongols' San Bernardino chapter, and members Manuel Armandarez, Rafael Lozano, Ricardo Gutierrez, Andres Rodriguez and Mario Angulo all are charged with attempted murder in connection with the shooting, the document states. Other gang members are charged with causing a riot at a 2002 Ultimate Fighting Match at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, where people were attacked with knives and chairs as Mongols members began kicking victims with steel-toed boots. Among those arrested Tuesday was Mongols President Ruben Cavazos. In June this year, he claimed that police were infringing on the Mongols' social organization by arresting several members after they nearly shut down Interstate 15 by performing stunts en route to a rally in San Diego. O'Brien said the evidence compiled in the indictment is proof that the gang is not a social club. "Any social organization willing to use violence poses a significant threat," O'Brien said. "These charges of drug trafficking, murder and mayhem clearly show this is not a recreational club." ATF agents served search warrants at several Inland locations beginning at 5 a.m. Tuesday. At Rafael Lozano's Orange Street home in Redlands, ATF agents broke down a deadbolted door. Agents ransacked the house and said they recovered a gun, ammunition, Mongols clothing and paraphernalia. Lozano had a "Say No to Drugs" sticker on his front door and a sticker of a Redlands police badge. A security camera monitored his front porch as a new Mercedes and a Ford Shelby Cobra sat in the driveway. Lozano had no prior criminal charges in Riverside or San Bernardino counties, other than driving violations. He is charged in the Norco shooting and with methamphetamine sales as part of the Mongols gang. The raids also hit Los Angeles, Washington, Colorado, Florida and Nevada. In the Los Angeles and Inland areas, authorities seized seven pounds of methamphetamine, about 70 motorcycles and about 71 weapons. The Mongols organization was created in Montebello during the 1970s after Hispanics were excluded from the Hells Angels gang, the indictment states. The club now boasts chapters in Canada, Mexico and Italy on its Web site. Mongols members sell methamphetamine and cocaine to raise money to pay dues to the gang leadership, the indictment states. In exchange, they receive protection from a violent feud with the Mexican Mafia and other criminal street gangs, the indictment states. Mongols award a special skull-and-bones patch to members who commit murders or shootings to increase their status in the club, according to an ATF affidavit. All 71 men arrested were expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles Federal Court and will proceed to a jury trial in their next court proceedings, U.S. Attorney's office spokesman Thom Mrozek said

Indictment alleges the Mongols organization was involved in a wide range of criminal activity, including murder, hate crimes against Black people, ass

Indictment alleges the Mongols organization was involved in a wide range of criminal activity, including murder, hate crimes against Black people, assaults, firearm violations and drug trafficking.The organization of the Mongols gang “from top to bottom has been charged and targeted,” said Michael Sullivan, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.“We believe it puts a stake in the heart of the Mongols,” Sullivan told reporters at a downtown Los Angeles news briefing.Among those taken into custody were former Mongols National President Ruben “Doc” Cavazos, along with several chapter presidents and various officials of local chapters in conjunction with 162 search warrants executed in California, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Florida and Ohio.
Ten other defendants were arrested previously as part of “Operation Black Rain.”The investigation involved four male ATF agents — supported by four female ATF agents — who infiltrated the gang and were involved in “some of the most harrowing undercover work” that U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien said he had seen.
The male agents went through the Mongols’ recruitment process and submitted to lie detector tests, according to O’Brien, who said their lives were in danger “virtually every day.”The four female agents accompanied the undercover agents to a number of functions, the U.S. attorney said.Investigators seized more than 70 motorcycles, 86 firearms, one explosive device and a quantity of drugs, including more than six pounds of methamphetamine.The U.S. attorney, who stood in front of about 20 of the seized bikes, said the evidence shows clearly the Mongols are “not a recreational motorcycle club,” and noted the indictment seeks the forfeiture of the trademarked Mongols name.Authorities have filed papers seeking a court order to prevent Mongols gang members from using or displaying the gang’s name and to allow law enforcement officers to stop anyone wearing a Mongols vest and to remove it, O’Brien said.He said the Mongols logo has been used as a source of “intimidation.”
“Our message today is that’s going to stop,” O’Brien said.Some of the defendants are facing life in federal prison if convicted of murder, and most of those arrested are potentially “facing decades” behind bars, the U.S. attorney said, adding that investigators had “dealt a massive blow to the Mongols motorcycle gang.”ATF Special Agent in Charge John Torres said the vision of the undercover investigation was to “literally stop the violence” involving Mongols gang members, which he said has been accomplished.Authorities said the nationwide organization’s membership includes former members of several street gangs.The multi-agency investigation included personnel from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Montebello Police Department, Las Vegas Metro Police Department and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Bandido Boss Ross Brand died in hospital after being gunned down while leaving the bikie gang's Geelong clubhouse

Bandido Boss Ross Brand died in hospital on Thursday after being gunned down while leaving the bikie gang's Geelong clubhouse on Wednesday night with three other men.
A second man was undergoing surgery on Thursday to remove shotgun pellets in his buttocks, thigh and arms while the other two escaped injury and later gave their accounts of the ambush to police.A volley of shots was fired from a white twin-cab ute parked outside the clubhouse as the men left it just after 6pm (AEDT), near the corner of Bayldon Court and Leather Street in an industrial area of the Geelong suburb of Breakwater.Bandidos throughout Australia and around the world have sent condolences to the Geelong chapter of the global gang.Among the messages on the gang's website are several stating "God forgives, Bandidos don't."Police said they were keeping an open mind on the motive for the shooting, although it was well known the Bandidos had been in a bloody feud with rival Geelong gang the Rebels for at least two years.Detective Inspector Steve Clark said police were not assuming it was carried out by a rival gang."It's too early at this stage to determine whether the shooting was linked to any outlaw motorcycle groups," Det Insp Clark told reporters."Certainly we don't have a closed mind and have views that the shooting was necessarily done by another outlaw motorcycle gang."We need to review all the evidence we have got and see where it takes us."He said Mr Brand appeared to the victim of a "targeted shooting".Det Insp Clark said Mr Brand, 51, was a "fully-patched" member of the Bandidos and had prior convictions for violence, firearms and weapons offences.His Torquay home had been shot at earlier this year.Det Insp Clark said police were hopeful gang members would help the investigation and not hide behind a wall of silence."We're pleased with the cooperation so far and have no reason to suspect that people won't talk to us," he said.The shooting is the second on the Bandidos' clubhouse in the past 18 months and bullet holes from the previous attack are still visible in its roller door.In April, the Rebels' Geelong headquarters was firebombed and, in June, two gunmen shot four Rebels gang members at a nightclub in Adelaide.