Hell’s Angel gunned down; police fear gang war brewing

[cntryboy0531]

Can you share those minutes for our collective amusement?

I second that :D

[Odin]

Are the Pagans big enough to contend with the Angels?

It's not the sheer size of the group, but the willingness of the members to take action. The HA have more members, but the Pagans are heavily concentrated in the PA area and they seem to have fewer casual* memebrs and a lot of very dedicated* members.

*Casual meaning members who are unlikely to commit felonies for the club, dedicated meaning likely to commit felonies for the club.

In Texas we don't have to contend with 1%er club wars because the Bandidos have a lock on the state. The only other 1% club I'm aware of in Texas is the Banshees, and they are very low profile and small compared to the Bandidos.

The NE seems to be the place where there is a lot of turf war stuff going on right now, between the HA and other clubs. It's big business to them so they're willing to fight for it.

[Odin]

This is an interesting read on the HA from a few years back.

Article

[retdetsgt]

That was a long time ago, but they had fines for talking out of turn (seriously), for being late to the meeting, etc. They were really strict on rules, which cracked me up considering they look down on "citizens".

All they talked about was the next "run" they were going to do. The Gypsy Jokers would make a long distance call to their Boise chapter during the meeting and all it concerned was the weather there and did anybody there go to jail during the week. The call was a ritual with no real purpose.

Obviously, there was no real reason for the meetings other than they want to do it so they could call themselves a club, just like juveniles.

I was trying to make a connection with the outlaw bikers and meth manufacturing. They were making it, but not as a club per se. Although the Gypsy Jokers and Outsiders were opposing clubs, members of each club often collaborated to make it. The fact they did that showed that there was no conspiracy within the club, just that some bikers made meth. Maybe the H.A.'s are in criminal conspiracies, but the ones up here are too dumb.

There was a sign in one I'll have to post in the restricted area. Otherwise ngscubutterbar will have a heartattack. :D

[Group9]

The victim, identified as Thomas Woods, 36, was shot in the head and perhaps elsewhere as he sat behind the wheel of a gray GMC pickup headed in the direction of Center City. The truck then crashed into the fence of a used car lot near Vare Avenue and New Hope Street.


That's a real shame (about the truck I mean).

[explorerunit]

lol group9 i second that, and i would pay money to watch the bloods and hell angels vs the crips pegans and (insert biker gang name here) vs all the asain gangs vs all the asain gangs, AS LONG as i was behind a 12 foot wall of bullet proof glass lol

[Valor55]

There was an incident in Fairfax County years ago where a Pagan was inducting a new member. The new guy was instructed to pick somebody in in traffic, follow them, and kill them. So they pick a dude driving a van and start following him. It's a weekend but the guy in the van is going to work. They follow him into the parking lot at work. Since he works at the regional HQ for H&K he was doing a demo for the military and had his van loaded up. He of course sees the bikers following him and figures they are up to no good. Said employee exits van with loaded MP5. The biker eggs on his rookie to finish the deed if he wants in with the gang. All he has is his switchblade. When he advances on the employee, "BBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRBBBBBB." Dead Pagan, half empty magazine. Interesting trivia, Fairfax County Police bought the building and built their Academy in it.

The Pagans there were also planning on blowing up a rival biker bar or clubhouse but the dude transporting the explosives blew himself up.

The Pagans aren't really a presence in that county any more. RDS is right about their marginal living skills.

This whole Pagan vs. HA in Philly would be funny except they aren't smart enough to contain the violence and we all know they will catch innocents in the cross fire.

[Johninaustin]

In Texas we don't have to contend with 1%er club wars because the Bandidos have a lock on the state. The only other 1% club I'm aware of in Texas is the Banshees, and they are very low profile and small compared to the Bandidos.

I suggest you do a little more research on the subject. HA especially has a very strong presence in this state. HA greenlighted the Mongols just a couple of months ago.

[Group9]

They can be dumb as sticks.

We were tapping the phone of a Hell's Angel associate several years ago and our tech guy accidently unplugged the associates phone service when he was hooking up the tap. We finally figured it out and send him back out there to fix it the next day.

The very first phone call is from a patched Hell's Angel who asks the associate what was wrong with his phone, because he had been trying to call him all night. The associate says, "Who knows, the feds were probably trying to tap my phone and F****** it up."

They both laughed and then proceeded to discuss a four kilogram cocaine deal that they both ended up going to prison for. :D

[Odin]

I suggest you do a little more research on the subject. HA especially has a very strong presence in this state. HA greenlighted the Mongols just a couple of months ago.

??? I have a hard time believing this. I have been riding Harley's since 1986, been to most of the major rallies and been around more club members than I can count. I've never once seen a HA (wearing colors) in Texas nor have I ever spoken to anyone who claims to have seen an HA in Texas. Club members are easy to spot wearing their colors, and I have yet to see any red & white club colors in Texas. Also, as a musician I've been hired to play for several of the bigger clubs and never saw any HA at any of the parties or rallies. Clubs that are on friendly terms with each other usually invite other clubs to their parties, so it would make sense that the HA would have shown up to at least one of them.

And for the HA to "greenlight" the Mongols is even more confusing to me. The Mongols are on friendly terms with the Bandidos, Outlaws and Sons of Silence. The Mongols ( who are in CA, OK, CO, AZ, MN & NV) are sworn enemies of the Hells Angels and would never seek "permission" from the HA to do anything. Anyone wanting to open a club charter in Texas needs to "officially" contact the Texas Confederation of Clubs and "unofficially" make sure it doesn't cause a problem for the Bandidos. But the HA don't have anything to do with who comes to Texas. Also, remember that it was the HA and the Mongols who shot it out in the casino in Laughlin just a little over a year ago. These are not 2 clubs who cooperate with each other.

If the Hells Angels had a presence in Texas wouldn't there have been at least one mention of it somewhere, anywhere? Or maybe a single incident of violence involving the HA? Obviously, you may have some information that nobody in the general public knows about, but I just find the concept of what you're saying very hard to grasp, knowing what I do know about the situation. I'm always open to learning somethig new if you can point me to any sources of info that I may not be aware of.

[Cinnamon]

The Pagans aren't really a presence in that county any more.

Actually there are some still around. Remember, there are three bars where they frequent.

When it comes down to it, you never know where they are, so be careful everyone! Keep up that officer safety....

[Kate]

What would drive a PO to become a turncoat like that (referring to the section in bold)?

Here's another article on the situation:

Philadelphia Inquirer article

Biker war in region probable, say police

Friday's killing probably will be avenged. "It's a pretty clear statement," said one officer. "The war has started."

By George Anastasia and Thomas J. Gibbons Jr.
Inquirer Staff Writers


Law enforcement authorities expect the Hells Angels to respond in kind to the gangland-style slaying of one of their members early Friday morning in South Philadelphia.

It's not a question of if, but when, said several investigators familiar with the biker underworld.

The shooting of Thomas Wood, 36, was considered a dramatic, but not unexpected, escalation in a simmering feud between the Angels and the Pagans, the motorcycle club that has long dominated the Philadelphia-South Jersey area.

Firebombings, brawls and beatings have occurred sporadically over the last three years as the Angels have tried to establish a presence in the region, investigators say.

"It's no secret that there's animosity between those two groups," said Lt. Kevin Rehmann of the New Jersey State Police. "It would appear that it's now coming a little more to the surface."

At a news conference on Friday, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson warned against retaliation and said, "We will not tolerate a war here in the city of Philadelphia."

But one investigator, who asked not to be identified, said of the shooting, "It's a pretty clear statement. The war has started."

Police contend that the outlaw biker clubs are heavily involved in drug dealing and prostitution, often supplying the dancers for area go-go bars. They have also provided "muscle" for the traditional La Cosa Nostra organized-crime family in whatever area they are located.

Those are some of the stakes in what authorities contend is a "turf war" between the Pagans and the Hells Angels.

Wood, of Upper Darby, was the reputed vice president of the fledgling Philadelphia chapter of the Hells Angels. The chapter, with about a dozen known members and perhaps 60 associates, has been operating out of a clubhouse in West Philadelphia for about two years, according to investigators.

Authorities believe Wood was shot after leaving a go-go bar in South Philadelphia where he and other members had been meeting.

He was driving in his pickup truck and another member was riding alongside on a Harley-Davidson, police said. Both men were wearing their "colors" - leather jackets with Hells Angels emblems.

Police said a sports utility vehicle pulled alongside the two vehicles and shots were fired.

The shooting occurred around 1:30 a.m. on a street just off the Schuylkill Expressway near Vare Avenue in South Philadelphia. Wood, who was shot in the head, was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead.

The cyclist was not hit. His name has not been released by police.

The slaying comes six weeks after another Hells Angel was brutally beaten outside a bar in Burlington County. Pagans were also suspected in that attack, according to police.

In May, quick intervention by Philadelphia police averted a major confrontation outside a clubhouse on South Juniper Street where, authorities said, members of the Pagans and Hells Angels had confronted one another.

In all, about 70 bikers, many armed with "walking sticks" (sawed-off baseball bats) were squaring off when police, tipped in advance, converged on the scene. One member of the Pagans was arrested and charged with inciting a riot.

The confrontation was similar to, but less violent, than a notorious brawl in Plainview, N.Y., in February 2002.

There, about 70 members of the Pagans armed with baseball bats and ax handles stormed the annual Hellraiser's Ball sponsored by the Hells Angels. One person was killed and 73 were arrested.

A month later, a tattoo parlor in South Philadelphia owned by one of the Pagans arrested in the brawl was firebombed.

Bar fights, stabbings and beatings have been part of an ongoing confrontation ever since, but Friday's shooting clearly upped the ante, according to investigators.

"That was an in-your-face kind of hit," said a New Jersey law enforcement official familiar with both the Pagans and the Hells Angels. "They almost have to respond."

Wood, according to several sources, was a former Pagan who "patched over" - switched allegiance to the Hells Angels - when the club began making inroads in the Philadelphia area.

The local chapter of the Hells Angels was "sponsored" by a larger club out of New Rochelle, N.Y., according to investigators. Any escalation in the confrontation, police said, could include the importing of club members from other areas to join in the fray.

The group's move into the Philadelphia area came at a time when the Pagans were fighting among themselves and when longtime president Steven "Gorilla" Mondevergine was jailed on racketeering charges.

Mondevergine, 49, a former Philadelphia police officer, was released from prison more than a year ago and has reportedly assumed a leadership position not only with the local chapter of the Pagans, but also with the mother club that is based in Virginia.

Police investigating the Wood shooting said on Friday that they wanted to talk with Mondevergine. Law enforcement sources in New Jersey said Mondevergine is living in Gloucester County and working as a bouncer in a bar there.

Mondevergine, who survived a 1999 assassination attempt in which he was shot nine times, was jailed on racketeering charges that included an allegation that he attempted, but failed, to gun down the man he suspected of shooting him.

At his sentencing, federal authorities alleged that the Pagans, under his leadership, were involved in drug dealing and loan-sharking.

The Pagans, according to federal and state law enforcement investigators, have long had a "working relationship" with the Philadelphia mob.

But disarray within La Cosa Nostra, say investigators, may have paved the way for the Hells Angels to make a move into Philadelphia.

The Hells Angels, said one investigator, always have had a relationship with the New York mob. In the late 1990s, one investigator said, Philadelphia mob boss Ralph Natale used his influence with the New York crime families to keep the Angels out of Philadelphia. Natale made the request, the source said, as a favor to the Pagans.

Natale was jailed in 1998 and within a year became a government witness. At that point, the law enforcement source said, the underworld agreement that kept the Hells Angels out of Philadelphia was no longer honored.

[Johninaustin]

??? I have a hard time believing this. I have been riding Harley's since 1986, been to most of the major rallies and been around more club members than I can count. I've never once seen a HA (wearing colors) in Texas nor have I ever spoken to anyone who claims to have seen an HA in Texas. Club members are easy to spot wearing their colors, and I have yet to see any red & white club colors in Texas. Also, as a musician I've been hired to play for several of the bigger clubs and never saw any HA at any of the parties or rallies. Clubs that are on friendly terms with each other usually invite other clubs to their parties, so it would make sense that the HA would have shown up to at least one of them.

And for the HA to "greenlight" the Mongols is even more confusing to me. The Mongols are on friendly terms with the Bandidos, Outlaws and Sons of Silence. The Mongols ( who are in CA, OK, CO, AZ, MN & NV) are sworn enemies of the Hells Angels and would never seek "permission" from the HA to do anything. Anyone wanting to open a club charter in Texas needs to "officially" contact the Texas Confederation of Clubs and "unofficially" make sure it doesn't cause a problem for the Bandidos. But the HA don't have anything to do with who comes to Texas. Also, remember that it was the HA and the Mongols who shot it out in the casino in Laughlin just a little over a year ago. These are not 2 clubs who cooperate with each other.

If the Hells Angels had a presence in Texas wouldn't there have been at least one mention of it somewhere, anywhere? Or maybe a single incident of violence involving the HA? Obviously, you may have some information that nobody in the general public knows about, but I just find the concept of what you're saying very hard to grasp, knowing what I do know about the situation. I'm always open to learning somethig new if you can point me to any sources of info that I may not be aware of.

"Greenlighted" as NOTHING to do with "Starting chapters"or whatever the heck you are talking about.

I'll believe the intel and FBI briefs LONG before I'll believe you , and no, I'm not going to pass that info on to someone who is not an officer.

[Odin]

"Greenlighted" as NOTHING to do with "Starting chapters"or whatever the heck you are talking about.

I'll believe the intel and FBI briefs LONG before I'll believe you , and no, I'm not going to pass that info on to someone who is not an officer.

To "greenlight" means "to give permission to proceed with". I read your comment that the HA "greenlighted" the Mongols to mean that the HA gave the Mongols permission to proceed with something. If that's not what you meant then I just misunderstood (and I'm still not sure what you meant).

I'm no expert, and I'd tend to believe the intel and the FBI briefs over me as well since those groups exist to gather this type of info and I'm merely speaking out of personal experiences (I'm not claiming to know it all on this subject). Not that law enforcement hasn't passed off some ridiculously laughable things as factual with regards to motorcycle gangs in the past (Hunter S. Thompson's mostly fictional book about the HA has been recycled into "fact" by some law enforcement folks in the past).

All I'm saying is that your statement of fact that "HA especially has a very strong presence in" Texas is a very surprising statement to me, and probably to just about anyone who has spent any time in Texas around bikers. Maybe they hide and/or don't wear their colors, never speak publicly about their affiliation, and lay so low that nobody by LE knows they're here, but they certainly aren't making much of a "strong presence" in my experiences. Most patch holders are quite proud to fly their colors, especially the outlaw clubs, so I can't see how I've missed this for the past 20 years. Being in Austin I'm sure you have come into contact with the Bandidos in the past, have you ever come into contact with Hells Angels in Austin?

[Valor55]

Actually there are some still around. Remember, there are three bars where they frequent.

When it comes down to it, you never know where they are, so be careful everyone! Keep up that officer safety....

Oh, I'm sure there are a few everywhere but not like it used to be.