Motorcycle Gangs
Motorcycle Gangs
or
Motorcycle Mafia?
by Sergeant Steve Tretheway
Arizona Department of Public Safety
and Lieutenant Terry Katz
Criminal Intelligence Division, Maryland State Police
Once considered nothing
more than rowdy toughs on two-wheelers, motorcycle gangs
have evolved into crime units that are sufficiently well-oiled
and well-organized to rival the Mafia. It's not just police
officers who lump these groups together. Documented evidence
in state, provincial and federal courts throughout the United
States, Canada, Europe and Australia suggests that motorcycle
gangs have become organized crime entities equal to the
Mafia on many fronts. Biker gangs are organized internationally,
with chapters in Europe, Australia, South America and Africa.
As retired Illinois State Police Sergeant Joe Satercier
noted in 1993 at a Chicago-area Outlaw Motorcycle Gang training
seminar, "Biker gangs are the only sophisticated organized
crime groups that we export from the United States."
The international problem
has become clearer through Interpol's "Project Rockers,"
which demonstrated that American-based motorcycle gangs
such as the Bandidos, Hell's Angels and Outlaws (three of
the larger gangs) use their networks to spread criminal
activity overseas. Indeed, at least six motorcycle gangs
in the United States now have chapters outside the country's
borders. The Hell's Angels gang alone has chapters in 20
countries and is expanding so rapidly that it's difficult
to keep up with prospective new chapters. By moving outside
the United States, biker gangs can enhance their international
criminal connections through involvement with the Italian
Mafia, Columbian cartels and other organized crime enterprises.
Most motorcycle gangs are
well-organized. They have written constitutions, bylaws,
and a hierarchical leadership structure. Members pay dues
and attend regular meetings to confirm loyalty to the gang
leadership. Enforced gang member contact is achieved by
mandated attendance at club-sanctioned functions (runs).
If members break rules or bylaws, their misdeeds are punished
with penalties ranging from fines to murder. Many motorcycle
gangs have incorporated; some have trademarked their gang
logos. Some call their meeting nights "church."
According to some sources, the Hell's Angels gang maintains
its own Church of the Angels. This is significant since
a gang that owns its own church gives its "ministers"
the right to visit members in jail. It also provides the
"church" with local, state, and federal tax exemptions.
A Closer Look
Categorizing this counterculture is complicated because
of the interrelationships and networking not only with other
motorcycle gangs, but also with prison gangs, street gangs,
racist groups, drug groups, and traditional organized crime
families. Adding layers of insulation to the network are
the gang associates who do not wear a gang patch (set of
denim or leather colors with the gang's logo or patch on
the back). Estimates suggest that for every gang member,
there are 10 associates doing work for the gang. They may
obtain utility or criminal justice information, provide
sophisticated weapons and other equipment through military
connections, or offer their services as chemists, thieves,
prostitutes and even contract hit men.
Unlike the traditional Mafia,
motorcycle gang members flaunt their membership and proudly
acknowledge an existence outside of society's norms. Most
are overt about their affiliation, advertising their identity
by sporting gang colors, gang tattoos, or T-shirts with
the gang's insignia. To increase the shock value, gang colors,
patches, tattoos and nicknames often incorporate Nazi symbols,
devils' heads, skulls, vulgar phrases and satanic types
of symbolism.
Historical Perspective
Motorcycle gangs got a kick-start after World War II, when
they were thought to be nothing more than a symbol of youthful
rebellion. Thanks to a few high-profile Hollywood movies
and other well-publicized events, gangs gained substantial
notoriety as the years went by. The Wild Ones in 1954 and
Easy Rider in 1969 both served to glamorize gang activity
and the biker lifestyle. The Hell's Angels gained broader
exposure when they were hired to handle security for a Rolling
Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway in California in
1969. Sometime during the show, some members of the Angels
reportedly turned on the audience and killed a fan. These
events helped capture the imagination of many, who swelled
the ranks of the outlaw motorcycle gangs.
During the 1970s, nearly
900 outlaw biker gangs--some of them with numerous chapters--operated
inside the United States. By the '80s, the FBI had recognized
motorcycle gangs as a priority in its organized crime program,
just behind La Cosa Nostra. Other federal law enforcement
agencies, such as ATF and DEA, also initiated successful
conspiracy investigations. Federal agencies have joined
with state and local police in task force operations to
arrest and convict members of the major motorcycle gangs.
Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) investigations,
which used gang members-turned-witnesses, were devastating
to these gangs, which had been convinced that no one--least
of all their own members--would testify against them.
While these concentrated
law enforcement actions were disruptive, the gangs responded
by hiring attorneys who specialize in organized crime cases
and have expertise in fighting federal prosecutors and multi-agency
task forces. Some biker gangs even discovered that being
sentenced to jail had its benefits. Those who spent time
behind bars learned new and possibly more efficient criminal
techniques from other prisoners. And, as those arrested
during the '80s began to be released in the '90s, many embarked
on the next phase of their criminal careers better educated
in the world of crime, having learned from their mistakes
and developed new contacts.
Increasing Sophistication
Clearly, today's motorcycle gangs are little like those
in the early years. Realizing that they need to be more
covert about their criminal activities to survive, these
gangs have become sophisticated criminal enterprises over
the last 50 years, refining their criminal skills by associating
with and learning from traditional crime families and other
criminal groups and gangs. Motorcycle gangs have learned
to manipulate the criminal justice system with courtroom
maneuvers, such as filing numerous discovery motions. These
motions have nothing to do with the specific case, but are
intended to gather information, such as the names of informants
and law enforcement investigative techniques. The discovery
process gives gangs the information they need in order to
intimidate witnesses through "private investigators,"
who will report the witnesses' addresses to the gang.
Another way today's motorcycle
gangs attempt to manipulate the criminal justice system
is through bribery. Documented evidence shows that gangs
will use money, drugs or sexual favors to develop intelligence
files on rival gangs, as well as on the police. This corruption
has even been known to include the occasional police officer.
Better dressed and better
educated, many of today's biker gang members and associates
are earning college-level degrees in computer science, finance,
business, criminal justice, and law. These curricula improve
the gang's expertise in highly profitable criminal enterprises.
Education has allowed gang associates to entrench themselves
in government positions (including the military) and other
legitimate professions. These legitimate jobs give gang
associates access to technology, weapons and other informational
banks where security records, motor vehicle files, personal
data and police reports are maintained. Furthermore, like
traditional organized crime groups, biker gangs have made
a concentrated effort to invest their illegal gains into
legitimate businesses. The result is that biker gangs in
the '90s have more power and wealth than most people realize.
Armed with an education, organizational wealth and criminal
savvy, gangs can more easily chisel out a larger slice of
the criminal pie.
Of course, none of this
means that motorcycle gangs have abandoned violence as the
most efficient method of furthering their criminal enterprises.
Similar to traditional organized crime syndicates, motorcycle
gangs continue to protect their drug distribution networks
through whatever means necessary--including murders, rapes,
arsons, assaults, intimidation and torturous interrogations.
Because of their desire to deal with issues swiftly and
violently, motorcycle gangs must be considered equal to
their counterparts in organized crime families and the South
American drug cartels. Indeed, they have proven themselves
capable of beating organized crime families at their own
game.
A Growing Threat
Biker gangs have re-established themselves during the past
decade. And because law enforcement efforts have been channeled
in other directions, such as narcotic or street gangs, the
biker gang threat is growing. Finding they could not afford
the manpower to work both biker and street gangs, police
administrators in many departments have been forced to make
painful choices. Although there is no comparison between
the violence levels of motorcycle and street gangs, street
gangs have gained attention because they are involved in
well-publicized violent crimes. This publicity has prompted
communities to demand political solutions; politicians have
responded by making street gangs the target of violent crime
task forces.
Since street gang enforcement
typically yields high arrest ratios with less effort, the
natural inclination is to use scarce resources in this fashion,
further eroding the officers' availability to conduct the
long-term covert operation investigations needed for organized
motorcycle gangs. In the meantime, biker gang sophistication
continues to escalate with the use of modern business technologies:
computers keep club records, fax machines bring out-of-country
chapters closer together, cellular telephones and pagers
make communications easier for gang members to conduct business,
and even Internet websites are common among motorcycle gangs
in the '90s.
Some gang members and associates
operate spy shops, and make good use of surveillance equipment,
including electronic bugging and countermeasures equipment.
Some of the bigger and more powerful gangs have the financial
backing to obtain the most sophisticated weapons and equipment,
while police department budgets continue to shrink--making
it extremely difficult for law enforcement to keep pace.
For example, some gangs now use private investigators to
polygraph suspected informants, while other gangs have bought
and operate voice stress analyzers to test potential members.
Gangs often use "smoke
screens" in their attempt to deceive the public. They
want people to believe that while they may look bad on the
outside, they have hearts of gold. Some of their "philanthropic"
gestures have included raising funds for the Statue of Liberty
restoration, carrying the Olympic torch, conducting benefits
for disabled children, organizing blood drives, and involving
themselves in other kinds of charity events. This has been
somewhat successful, as some people still consider bikers
as fashionable rebels in leather attire. It is an image
that is promoted when movies, the fashion industry, TV commercials,
actors, athletes and politicians embrace the "bad boy"
image and lifestyle.
And gang trends have blended
into the "RUBs"--rich, urban bikers. Larger gangs
recognize this and use it to their advantage. They insulate
their operations not only with puppet clubs (smaller gangs),
but also with other associates who believe motorcycle gangs
are nothing more than fun-loving bike riders. The gangs'
own mottos, however, offer insight as to how they should
be viewed:
