Thats interesting. For whatever reason, I just took for granted that it was a "white only" MC

I believe the Outlaws and Pagans are on good turns though,
Outlaw Jack "Milwaukee Jack" Rosga had links to Charles "Chuck" Barlow and Dennis "Chew Chew" Haldermann they were listed as alleged members of the allied Pagans Motorcycle Club.

I believe thats correct, Hollander. Unless I'm mistaken, I think along the way of all these articles about them, I read they were allies against the Hells Angles.

It doesn't surprise me. The Outlaws have always been very hostile towards the Hell's Angels, almost to a point of obsession.

I've read a book some years ago about an ATF agent who was undercover with the Outlaws in Florida and he wrote that his chapter was constantly looking for HA guys to kill. They were obsessed about it.

Yeah most 1% bikers hate the 81, I don't know why LOL

They look very serious haha but this was in the 90s who know how they look now.

Probably toothless, fat and bald. LOL

What book is this? The Charles Falco book vagos, Mongols and Outlaws?

Didn't they allow Mexicans or something like 20 years ago and it was a big part of the reason for a huge group of members switching to 81?

I can see that on the west coast, especially States like California where there is a huge Mexican population, that may have become a problem for them.

Yes. This one.

In France, The Hell's Angels and the Bandidos made a non agression pact that is still standing today.

It comes from the day the Bandidos set up their first chapter in Europe which was in Marseilles. The French Bandidos leadership met with the French HA leadership to divide territories and avoid clashes. There has never been a war between the two faction ever since then, even when The HA and Bandidos were going at it hard in Scandinavia and Germany.

Other than that pact, i would say it's also because of two factors :

- The French bandidos are strongly connected to the MC leadership in Texas because the Marseilles chapter is the Bandidos Mother Chapter in Europe and everything that is going on between the European chapters and Texas (administration stuff, prospect clubs...) goes through Marseilles. Same thing for the French HA which are strongly connected to the HA leadership in Quebec. So I'd say both MC in France are part of the bigger picture of their respective club and they are not that concerned about local feuds.

- The French bandidos and HA are also much less involved in criminal activities than their northern european counterparts so there's really no occasion for the two clubs to clash over business matters like they do in Germany or Scandinavia.

It was back east. NY, PA general areas. Lou might know.

That book is kind of a joke. I thought that part was more up northeast, not Florida. Been years since I read it. They "hunted" their enemy. Yet even though they knew where they lived, they always came up empty. And the co "author " was Kerri Droban lol.

I'll give the guy this though, he did manage to infiltrate those groups.

That was true. When Richter took over,he made Hugo "Zorro" Nieves the National VP.
This automatically gave Nieves Mother Club status.
The inclusion of Non-Caucasions is part of Richters "Blue Wave" agenda.

Pagan Motorcycle Club member found guilty of murder, other crimes.

Published: Apr. 3, 2024

Pagan Motorcycle Club member John Wolfe has been found guilty for the murder of Henry Silver.

The trial, which began on April 3rd, concluded today when the jury returned a verdict of guilty of first-degree murder, Guilty of conspiracy to commit a felony, and Guilty of use of a firearm in commission of a felony.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
FAIRMONT, W.Va (WDTV) - The prosecution alleges that John Wolfe, a member of the Pagan Motorcycle Club, conspired to murder Henry Silver on Sept. 9, 2022 in Carolina, West Virginia.

During the cross examination of several witnesses, it was revealed Silver had been in an intimate relationship with Wolfe’s partner Megan Ball.
Ball says the affair had been going on for sometime when Wolfe became aware; and that Wolfe was aware of several other affairs in the past, but had never resorted to violence.

On the day in question, Silver arrived at the Carolina Arbors apartment complex. Both Ball and Wolfe were in the apartment along with 3 children.
Ball met Silver in the stairwell telling him he had to leave. Ball left for about 25 minutes to go to Circle K in Monongah.
When Ball returned she saw a black truck speed past her and Silver was dead in in the parking lot.
Other witnesses testified they saw several men dressed in all black with ski masks shoot Silver and then speed off in a black truck.

The trial is expected to last 3 days. Stay connected to 5 News for more details around the alleged conspiracy.

Feds charge 2 high-ranking members of Pagans motorcycle gang with assault against rival

Federal authorities continued their attack on the Pagans Motorcycle Club on Monday, charging two high-ranking members of the outlaw gang with assault for allegedly beating an associate of a rival gang three years ago.

Luis Arocho, 43, of Keansburg, and Maurice Guzman, 51, of Newark, will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre this afternoon to answer allegations that they attacked Jeffrey Shank for wearing a shirt that signaled an alliance with the Pagans' archnemesis, the Hells Angels.

The two men, along with associates of their own club, allegedly saw Shank filling his motorcycle with gasoline on April 24, 2018, at an Elizabeth Avenue gas station about a quarter-mile from the Angels' Newark clubhouse, according to a complaint filed by an agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

Mongols: Cops alarmed over new NJ motorcycle gang. Boss says, 'I try to be friends with everybody'

Robert Deronde, a Pagan, walked up behind the man, who was sitting on his bike, and hit him in the head with an ax handle, according to both the complaint and surveillance video released in 2019.
The video shows two men joining the attack as Shank fell to the ground. The men beat Shank with their fists, their feet and another ax handle, and one of them struck him in the back of the head, dropping him as the rest fled. 

The attack left Shank with "significant injuries," including fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. Deronde, known by the nickname "Hellboy," was sentenced to four years in prison for the attack. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said Monday that federal authorities were charging Arocho and Guzman with aggravated assault in aid of racketeering, which could land each man in prison for a maximum of 20 years. 

The charges were filed as part of a federal investigation led by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, Honig’s office said.
Authorities have used wiretaps, undercover cops and several search warrants to seize 10 guns and more than 800 grams of methamphetamine and to arrest 11 members, Honig said. This includes the group's national president, Keith Richter, who was arrested in East Windsor in February after law enforcement found a loaded 45-caliber pistol in a secret compartment in his car. 

"Today's charges are simply an example of the successes that we have been able to achieve by working cooperatively and in a coordinated fashion," Honig said during a Monday news conference.

Elsewhere in New Jersey: Camden shutters motorcycle club

Law enforcement considers the Pagans, founded in 1959 as a fellowship of 13 motorcyclists in Maryland, to be among the largest and most violent outlaw motorcycle clubs in the country, according to a September report from the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation.

The report said the Pagans dramatically expanded their membership during the past three years and boosted the number of New Jersey chapters to 17 in 2020, up from 10 in 2016.

Though authorities estimate that the club has about 200 members statewide, the commission believes that number is actually far greater.

Traditionally, the gang has dabbled in a host of criminal activities including assault, shootings, extortion, debt collection, weapons possession and the drug trade, the report said. 

More members and an ambitious expansion plan have pushed the Pagans out from their South Jersey foundations into such areas as Bergen County, which has long been dominated by the Hells Angels. 

This friction has exploded into public, bloody clashes that sometimes happen in broad daylight, the report said. 

"Law enforcement experts told the Commission that there were more incidents of violence committed by the Pagans during a recent 18-month period than the prior 10 years combined, but the actual tally was likely higher because many incidents go unreported," the report said. 

The Pagans and their rivals — groups such as the Angels, Outlaws, Bandidos and Sons of Silence — have enough national impact for federal prosecutors to charge them under the U.S. Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the report said. 
"Our full investigation crushed the Pagans' hierarchy," Susan Gibson, the agent in charge of the federal Drug Enforcement

Administration's New Jersey division, said Monday. "Our state is a safer place today with the arrests of these violent individuals." 
Steve Janoski covers law enforcement for NorthJersey.com.

Local outlaw motorcycle gang leader sentenced to serve 10 years in state prison on illegal firearm, drug, and other charges

Published, Friday, October 28, 2022

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and Colonel Darnell S. Weaver announced today that the leader of the Rhode Island chapter of the Pagans Motorcycle Club has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve 10 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after pleading to multiple felony charges stemming from an investigation by the Rhode Island State Police (RISP) in 2017 and 2018 into outlaw motorcycle gangs, known as “Operation Patched Out.”

Deric “Tuna” McGuire (age 38) of Burrillville, entered a plea of nolo contendere to one count of possession of one ounce to one kilogram of cocaine; one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person; one count of conspiracy to violate Rhode Island’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act by agreeing to deliver cocaine; one count of conspiracy to violate Rhode Island’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act by agreeing to deliver cocaine and marijuana; one count of conspiracy to sell concealable weapons without proper paperwork and sell firearms to prohibited persons; one count of conspiracy to violate Rhode Island’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act by agreeing to deliver controlled substances; one count of conspiracy to provide a false document to a public official; one count of conspiracy to receive stolen goods over $10,000; and one count of knowingly providing a false statement for the purposes of procuring a loan.

On October 27, 2022, at a hearing before Superior Court Justice Robert D. Krause, the Court sentenced the defendant to 20 years, with 10 years to serve at the ACI and a 10-year suspended sentence with 20 years of probation. The defendant will also forfeit $80,229 and six cars stemming from his criminal activity.

“Make no mistake, the defendant and the organized criminal enterprise he stood at the center of represent a significant risk to the safety of Rhode Islanders,” said Attorney General Neronha. “The defendant made it his job to place guns in the hands of those who could otherwise not pass a background check. He funded his criminal enterprise by trafficking drugs and stealing valuables from others.

Through the hard work of the Rhode Island State Police, in partnership with our prosecutors, this defendant and his associates are off the streets and unable to threaten public safety.”

“I applaud the exhaustive investigative efforts of our Troopers during this investigation into serious organized criminal activity in Rhode Island,” said Colonel Weaver. “Today’s sentencing represents a significant blow to the threat that outlaw motorcycle gangs pose to public safety in our state. As always, I appreciate the great collaborative efforts of our Troopers and prosecutors at the Attorney General’s Office in bringing this defendant to justice.”

Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that between 2017 and 2018, the defendant, as the leader of the Rhode Island chapter of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, participated in a criminal enterprise involving illegal possession and distribution of narcotics, illegal possession and sale of firearms, and illegal possession and theft of stolen property.

The defendant was known to law enforcement as the president of the Rhode Island chapter of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, designated as an outlaw motorcycle gang by the United states Department of Justice, that is involved in criminal activity in Rhode Island and nationally through club chapters in numerous states.
 
Between 2017 and 2018, the RISP conducted an extensive investigation into outlaw motorcycle gangs in Rhode Island, including the defendant and his associates.

On May 23, 2018, investigators executed multiple search warrants at locations in Burrillville, Woonsocket, and North Smithfield, including at the defendant’s home on Central Street in Burrillville.

From his residence and a garage bay next to the Pagans clubhouse in Woonsocket, investigators seized approximately 327 grams of cocaine, approximately $29,800 in cash, and eight handguns, including two Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handguns, Smith & Wesson .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, two Glock 23 .40 caliber semi-automatic handguns, two Glock model 27 .40 caliber semi-automatic handguns, and a Cobra .380 semi-automatic handgun.

Under Rhode Island law, individuals convicted of certain violent crimes are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. The defendant was previously convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon in 2014.

During their investigation, the RISP determined that the defendant conspired with his associates to distribute significant amounts of cocaine and marijuana.

The RISP also determined that the defendant conspired to sell firearms, including ghost guns, to individuals otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm.

During that time, the defendant also conspired to steal a Bobcat loader, valued at more than $10,000, as part of a scheme to fence lawn and construction equipment.

Additionally, the defendant conspired to provide a letter to the Rhode Island Parole Board stating that an incarcerated associate had secured employment in an effort to convince the Parole Board to grant him parole.

The defendant also provided a false statement inflating his annual income in order to secure financing for the purchase of a motorcycle.

Operation Patched Out

In total, 61 individuals were arrested stemming from the investigation by the RISP between 2017 and 2018 into outlaw motorcycle gangs in Rhode Island. During their investigation, the RISP determined that the defendant formed and led the Rhode Island Branch of the Pagans Motorcycle Club.

Sergeant Ryan N. Mahoney, Detective Mathew C. Lynch, Detective Gregory DeMarco, and Detective Michael Reynolds of the Rhode Island State Police and Assistant Attorneys General James R. Baum and Joseph J. McBurney of the Office of the Attorney General led the investigation and prosecution of the cases.
 

Steven "Gorilla" Mondevergine is a former Philadelphia police officer lol.

From 2009

Feds:" The Pagans" biker gang plotted to kill and extort rivals...

National Pagans Motorcycle Club leaders and more than 50 members and associates of the outlaw biker gang are accused of plotting to kill and extort rivals to consolidate the club's power in the eastern U.S., according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The defendants include national Pagans President David Keith "Bart" Barbeito of Myersville, Md., and national Vice President Floyd B. "Jesse" Moore of St. Albans. Also named are members and associates in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Florida.

The 44-count indictment portrays Barbeito and Moore as leaders of a sprawling organization engaged in kidnapping, robbery, extortion, conspiracy to commit murder and other crimes in an effort to be the pre-eminent biker gang in the region, said Charles Miller, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Many of the charges detail violent efforts to intimidate and extort smaller biker gangs and clubs, and illegal gambling centered on raffles for nonexistent motorcycles. Other crimes listed in the 83-page document include drug dealing and weapons violations.

"The PMC and its existing support clubs unlawfully threatened and intimidated people who wanted to start a motorcycle club in the PMC territory," the indictment says.

Two of the most serious charges involve murder conspiracies. Moore and others are accused of conspiring in September 2005 with a prison guard to kill an inmate suspected of cooperating with law enforcement.
Moore also is accused of conspiring with the president of a local chapter of the Avengers Motorcycle Club to commit murder.

Neither target was actually killed, Miller said.
The indictment further accuses Moore of ordering two Pagans known as Darrell "Mr. Nice Guy" Bumgarner and David "Kicker" Cremeans to beat a member of the Road Disciples Motorcycle Club at a Huntington bar in March 2003.

Prosecutors say the men were to collect money from the rival club's president and order him to obey the Pagans or be shut down.
Court records did not indicate whether Bumgarner or Cremeans, who are in custody, have lawyers.

A federal magistrate spent much of Tuesday determining whether the defendants qualified for legal assistance and ordering most held until hearings next week.
The Pagans have about 700 members generally concentrated in the U.S. and are known for aggressive behavior, said Jim Hernandez, a criminal justice professor who teaches a course about gangs at California State University, Sacramento.

"They have a tendency, just from what I understand, to be a lot more aggressive, to be a lot more involved in service industries like meth, and they've given their patches away to people who've attacked Hells Angels," Hernandez said, referring to the rival California-based biker gang.

In 2002, 73 members of the Pagans were indicted on federal racketeering charges stemming from a fatal brawl at a Hells Angels convention in Long Island, N.Y. The fight left one man dead and at least 10 others injured.

Federal authorities targeted the Pagans' activities in the region in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning convictions against a smaller number of defendants. "At that time, we believed it was certainly a blow to the Pagans Motorcycle Club," Miller said.

Forty-nine people were arrested Tuesday morning, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said. By afternoon, at least three had been released on bond.

Barbeito and Moore are being held and prosecutors said they did not know if they had attorneys. Federal prosecutors are seeking to hold both men, along with more than 20 others, without bail.

Biker Attack Is Called Clash Over L.I. Turf

Feb. 25, 2002

A deadly attack in which bat-wielding members of the Pagan Outlaw Motorcycle Club from around the East Coast invaded a catering hall here filled with Hells Angels appeared to be a carefully orchestrated response to the Angels' bid to raise their profile on Long Island, where the Pagans once dominated, investigators and those familiar with motorcycle gangs said today.

A bloody melee erupted on Saturday when 10 vanloads of Pagans stormed into the Vanderbilt, a white-columned catering hall more accustomed to holding lavish weddings and political victory parties than biker gatherings. But this weekend, it was home to the Hells Angels' Hellraiser Ball, a convention featuring performances by blues bands, an appearance by a pornographic film star, motorcycle exhibitions and a tattoo contest.

One Pagan was killed by gunfire, and 10 others were injured. About 500 guns, knives, bats, ax handles and other, more exotic weapons were seized, along with what the police said was a large amount of cocaine.

Today, the authorities charged a member of the Hells Angels with second-degree murder and said he was the only person to fire a gun during the fracas. Throughout the day, clusters of bikers were led in handcuffs from Nassau County Police Headquarters in Mineola and taken by bus to First District Court in Hempstead. In all, 75 bikers were charged, 73 of them Pagans.

Those familiar with the world of motorcycle gangs said the explosion of violence was the first such confrontation between the two gangs at a public exposition since the 1970's, and could signal a dangerous new phase in their rivalry in the United States.

''What you saw this weekend was the beginning of a war between these two gangs,'' said Yves Lavigne, of Toronto, the author of three books on the Hells Angels. Motorcycle expositions like Saturday's Hellraiser Ball -- the Hells Angels' first on Long Island -- ''are commonplace wherever they control the territory,'' Mr. Lavigne said. ''It shows they're not afraid, but this time it backfired. This was the Pagans telling them, 'We're drawing the line here.' ''

Police officials said they were investigating several possible causes of the deadly fracas, including the possibility that it was an attempt by the Pagans to retaliate against the Hells Angels because some Pagans had defected to the rival group. More arrests might follow, the authorities said.

All appeared to be going smoothly Saturday afternoon at the Vanderbilt, an expansive building with lighted, marbleized floors. Roughly 1,000 motorcycle enthusiasts perused the exhibits. Outside, a half-dozen uniformed police officers watched from across the street.

Just after 4 p.m., the authorities said, the vans arrived, some pulling up to the spot where limousines usually discharge elegantly gowned and tuxedoed couples. Out marched a collection of long-haired men with scraggly beards and faded denim vests, some of them so beefy that, later, the police had to use three sets of handcuffs to link their hands behind their backs.

As astonished attendees looked down from a sweeping, carpeted staircase, the Pagans began knocking over tables in the hall's pastel-painted lobby, the police said. It did not take long for the Angels to respond. Within minutes, the police said, Raymond Dwyer, 38, a Hells Angel and a tattoo artist from Oceanside, N.Y., opened fire at the invaders with a small-caliber handgun, wounding five people.

At least six other people were also stabbed or cut in the melee, all of them Pagans, the police said, prompting members of the group to bolt out of the Vanderbilt and into their vans.

Nassau, Suffolk and New York State police officers as well as members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who the police said had been monitoring the event, raced to the scene.

The most seriously injured were pulled out of the vans and taken by ambulance to local hospitals. Among them was a man identified as Robert Rutherford, 51, of Lancaster, Pa., who had been shot in the chest and stabbed. Mr. Rutherford died during surgery at North Shore University Hospital here.

This afternoon, friends gathered on a lawn in front of the townhouse in the working-class Lancaster neighborhood where Mr. Rutherford had lived. Neighbors described him as a postal worker who often rode motorcycles with his wife.

Mary Sexton, 55, who lives nearby, said she would not have suspected Mr. Rutherford to be a member of the Pagans.

''When I think Pagans, I think wild, crazy people,'' Ms. Sexton said. ''But I never got that impression from them. I would see them both riding their cycles and parking them in the driveway, but they were never unruly. They were just neighbors who enjoyed Harleys.''

Mr. Dwyer's lawyer, Michael DerGarabedian, said his client was innocent. ''He's adamant he did not pull the trigger,'' Mr. DerGarabedian said. ''He did not commit a murder.''

But prosecutors said Mr. Dwyer, a bulky man in a black Hells Angels muscle shirt, had pulled his long brown hair back into a ponytail and put on ''non-prescriptive glasses'' in an attempt to evade the police after the shooting. He was charged with second-degree murder today and ordered held without bail.
The police confiscated about 500 weapons from the Vanderbilt and the vans, and police officials displayed a selection at a news conference today: brass knuckles, batons, switchblades, daggers, guns, a fake lipstick with a blade inside.

The police said they also recovered a ''large quantity of cocaine'' inside the catering hall.

Today, a parade of bearded, denim-vested Pagans were marched into First District Court in groups of five or six. They were arraigned on charges of first-degree rioting and first-degree attempted gang assault. Some were also charged with weapons possession, and most were held in $50,000 cash bail.

A lawyer representing the group, Mark D. Lancaster of Pittsburgh, said the Pagans had come from as far as Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Ohio because they wanted ''just to participate'' in the rival group's exposition.

''They weren't there to show disrespect,'' Mr. Lancaster said.

But Bob Maganza, 52, president of the Long Island chapter of Hells Angels, said everything had gone smoothly in the ornate halls of the Vanderbilt until the Pagans abruptly interrupted the weekendlong effort to ''promote motorcycling on Long Island.''

''We are not the bad guys here,'' Mr. Maganza said. ''We were doing our own thing, we were minding our own business. The assault came to us. It turned everybody's lives upside down.''

Mr. Maganza would not speculate on why the Pagans had crashed his group's party.

''I couldn't even guess what they were thinking,'' he said. ''They're just different than we are. They're stupid. To think they're going to come into an event like this, what were they thinking? With women and children there?''

Long Island was considered prime Pagan territory until 1998, when the authorities arrested more than 30 bikers associated with the group, including its leader, on charges they had extorted thousands of dollars a year from topless dance clubs on Long Island, threatening club owners with violence and arson.
The vacuum created by the Pagans' low profile coincided with the group's refusal to sign peace contracts with the other three major American motorcycle clubs, Mr. Lavigne said, meaning the Angels were free to tread on Pagan turf.

The Pagans are known as the ''least sophisticated'' of the four major clubs -- also including the Bandidos and the Outlaws -- according to Mr. Lavigne. ''Fat, bearded, long-haired they stand out a lot,'' he said. ''The Angels today are slick, coifed and look more like business people.''

But at the Hells Angels' Long Island headquarters, a squat rectangular building next to a gas station and across the street from the Murda Ink tattoo parlor not far from the courthouse in Hempstead, a group of burly men in leather jackets declined to speak with a reporter.

''Get out,'' one man ordered from behind a green security fence topped with barbed wire and adorned with signs that read, ''Beware of Dog'' and ''No Trespassing.'' ''Get out now.''

National Pagans Motorcycle Club President is One of 55 Arrested

A man from Myersville, Maryland, considered to be the President of the National Pagans Motorcycle Club, has been accused of leading the supposedly wide-spread outlaw biker gang in extortion, robbery, kidnapping, plotting to commit murder, weapons violations, and drug dealing, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Based on a Baltimore Sun report, more than 50 members and associates of the alleged gang are accused of conspiracy to kill and extort rival bikers in order to establish themselves as the top gang of bikers in the area. Those accused are reported to be in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Florida.

According to the article, within the 44-count, 83-page indictment document against those arrested, it is stated: “The PMC and its existing support clubs unlawfully threatened and intimidated people who wanted to start a motorcycle club in the PMC territory.” The article also mentioned that federal prosecutors are in search of holding the alleged leaders, including the Maryland man, and 20 others, without bail.

Maryland residents don’t hear about criminal cases quite like this one on a normal basis. It is interesting that prosecutors apparently did not know whether the President of the National Pagans Motorcycle Club had a criminal defense attorney or not. Although the charges against this man and many others seem insurmountable at a quick glance, all citizens arrested for a crime are innocent until proven guilty. Considering that so many people were arrested, it is possible that false accusations were made, leading to charges being brought against those that were not involved with the related crimes whatsoever.

If you have been charged with a crime in the State of Maryland, time is of the essence in building you a strong defense in your particular situation. The aggressive and skilled Maryland criminal defense attorneys at Alpert Schreyer, LLC understand that every criminal case has differing circumstances, which is why we pride ourselves in having a wide range of experience handling a plethora of criminal cases. In our long-standing service of defending the rights of those accused of crimes in Maryland, we are highly familiar with what it takes to reach a successful outcome in criminal cases. Call Alpert Schreyer today for a free case evaluation at (301) 708-0819.

2 Rhode Island biker gangs toppled; 50 arrested

Rhode Island State Police issued a tree of people arrested in Wednesday's raids. [Rhode Island State Police]

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The intelligence developed by Rhode Island State Police detectives last May was alarming: Their sources were saying that some of the most violent motorcycle gangs in the country were establishing local chapters in northwestern Rhode Island.

Some of the early intel focused on a motorcycle gang named the Thugriders. It was breaking up, with the potential for violence at every turn. Seven members eventually removed their gang patches and left.

The seven former Thugriders “patched over” — a motorcycle gang term — and became members of the Rhode Island Pagans.

On Wednesday, the authorities described that transition after more than 150 investigators swarmed through northwestern Rhode Island, carried out 29 raids, seized guns, arrested 50 people and accused them of crimes tied to two Woonsocket-based motorcycle gangs, the Pagans and the Kryptmen.

Rhode Island State Police Col. Ann Assumpico said the raids were the culmination of the yearlong investigation — dubbed Operation Patched Out — in what is believed to be the “single largest take-down in Rhode Island State Police history.”

The motorcycle gangs had illegally amassed arsenals of guns and other weapons including a rocket launcher, engaged in illegal activity and feuded violently, according to state police Lt. Col. Joseph Philbin.

Philbin, who spearheaded the investigation, said the motorcycle gangs had been involved in numerous acts of violence, including three shootings that had never been reported to law enforcement.

At one point, he said, detectives learned that one of the alleged gang members was en route to commit murder. The suspect was arrested at a motor vehicle stop near the alleged victim’s house; detectives seized a loaded 9mm pistol. The suspect remains held behind bars.

The two Woonsocket gangs were “allegedly involved in gun and drug trafficking” as well as other illicit crimes, say authorities.

Through electronic surveillance and court-ordered wiretaps, state police investigators intercepted thousands of phone conversations and text messages while collecting other evidence detailed in a 1,300-page affidavit used to secure warrants for almost 30 different searches.

The investigation also revealed that the suspects were involved in widespread theft of stolen ATVs, lawn tractors, snow blowers and other equipment, as well as “fraudulent mortgage and bank activity,” Philbin said.

The gangs refer to themselves as “1 percenters.” It’s a way of saying they don’t abide by the law, said Philbin. A major concern to investigators, he said, was the potential for violence.

“Across the country there had been several violent confrontations between the motorcycle gangs,” he said. “Several of these confrontations had resulted in the loss of life.”

Then, just recently, on May 6, a member of the Massachusetts Pagans was shot on Route 95 north in Connecticut, Philbin said.

In recent days, Philbin said, the investigators decided to “take out” the gangs to prevent further violence.

The raids were carried early Wednesday morning without any shots fired and no injuries to any of the suspects or the police, Assumpico said.

A police K-9 dog was injured, receiving staples to mend torn fur, after battling a pit bull, she said.

During the raids that included searches of the gang houses in Woonsocket, the police seized weapons, gun silencers, ballistic vests, suspected marijuana, heroin and cocaine, motorcycle patches and a large Pagans banner.

The leaders of both groups, Deric “Tuna” McGuire of the Pagans, and Rodney Lambert of the Kryptmen, were both in custody Wednesday afternoon.

Lambert had been arrested in March, and he was already at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston.

Search warrants were executed in Woonsocket, Burrillville, Chepachet, North Smithfield and Warwick; as well as in Massachusetts in Bellingham, Blackstone, Charlton and Milford.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin said that about eight suspects were released on bail and 33 would be held without bail pending their appearance in Superior Court, Providence, on Thursday.

Some suspects would be extradited from Massachusetts, he said. At the time of the announcement on Wednesday, 10 people were still wanted by police.

The sheer number of suspects and charges was overwhelming. One of the gang leaders faced more than 230 charges.

“There are so many players and so many charges,” said Kilmartin. “It’s hard to break them down at a press conference.”

“It’s very involved,” he said. “It’s very deep.”

Arrested

Misael Alicea, Emmanuel Alvarez, Gabriel Alvarez, Pedro Alvarez, Kirsten Anthony, Sabina Archambault, Alexis Cartagena, Marie Cingolani, Ashley Cullerton, Christine Despain, Mark Dipillo, Brandon Douangmala, Daniel Douangmala, Jennifer Doura, Eric Dubois, Jason Elias, Christopher Gauthier, Kim Kaszyk, Christopher Martin, Justin Menard, Kyle Minot, Alexander Negron, Phousith Norsavanh, Marcel Peloquin, David Rivera, Kyle Rivera, Okin Sanethavong, all of Woonsocket.

Pedro Alvarez, Catherine Glaude and Deric McGuire, Nathaniel Pessini, Jared Rodenbaugh, all of Burrillville.

Hana Daher, of Smithfield; Michael Demers and Samuel Steere, of Glocester; David Dunham, Sarina Dunham, Jonathan Giers, Shawn Glassey, Shannon Millette, of Cumberland.

Robert Hamilton, of Franklin, Mass.; Lisa Kakazu, of Bellingham, Mass.; Marc Bunnell, of Blackstone, Mass.; Jason Oliver, of Fall River.

Rodney Lambert, of Cranston; David Leech, Wendy Riccitelli, of North Smithfield. Yevgeniy Mazo, of North Providence; Thomas Mulcahey of North Scituate; and James Peloquin, of Lincoln.

Wanted by police

Christian Castro, Maurice Godin, Brian Guy, Andrew Palin, Joshua Vega, all of Woonsocket; Tyson Rasco, of North Smithfield; Robert Gill, of Blackstone, Mass.; Robert Minior, of Milford, Mass.; Joejihao Qian, of Norwood, Mass.; Jason Lajoye, of Archbald, Penn.

List of those arrested or still being sought

Dates give better context....

NY have you ever read a biker book? You should try one of the Pagans ones.

Operation Patched Out was conducted by the Rhode Island state police in 2017 and 2018.
Deric "Tuna "McGuire was the Pag*ns Rhode island President and was hand picked by Conan Richter to execute the "Blue Wave" expansion in that state.
A large part of the case was based on wiretaps,which were declared inadmissible due to procedural errors in obtaining them,so the most serious racketeering charges never saw the light of day.
In 2022,Tuna was sentenced to 20 years with 10 to serve and 20 years probation.

Yes, I totally agree, AC. I usually include the dates to these articles. Otherwise how the heck can the reader know when the incident took place. I didn't realize this one's was missing. Apologies.

....Thanks for the date, LP

No, I can't say that I have. Over the years I've read many news articles about the HA, Pagans and a few others. But I never a full fledged book on the subject. And certainly not a book about the Pagans.

Why? Have you read one that you enjoyed and can suggest to me?

You might enjoy Prodigal Father, Pagan Son. Maybe. It's probably only 3 or 4 bucks on Abebooks or ebay. Or free at a library.

Thanks, I'll check it out.