Bullet-holed body of slain motorcycle gang leader Richard Roberts.

Bullet-holed body of slain motorcycle gang leader Richard Roberts. Australia's motorcycle gangs are at war and police in the national capital are out in the streets making sure vengeance is left to another day.

'He was a hard-working man, a heart of gold. He was respected by many people,' Rebels Motorcycle Club national president Alex Vella said at the funeral of the convicted drug dealer.

Killings, fire-bombings and drive-by shootings have led state governments to promise legislation making the Rebels and other gangs illegal. Roberts, whose flag-draped coffin was followed by 300 motorcycles, may be the last to get a big send-off from his mates. 'Your days are up. It's finished,' declared New South Wales state Premier Nathan Rees. 'We'll move whatever laws we need to stop it occurring.' Leaders in other jurisdictions have pledged to follow suit, fearing that a crackdown in one state will see the hoodlums setting up somewhere else.
Ross Coulthart, who has written extensively about gangs, welcomes a change in the public perception of motorcycle gangs. Gone is the notion that members are unreconstructed Anglo-Saxon males who hold down jobs during the week and like drinking and getting into fights at the weekend. The reality now is that some motorcycle clubs are criminal gangs and that the sometimes deadly skirmishing is over control of the drug trade. 'Much of the present bikie wars is a simple battle for dominance between gangs, sparked by the entrance onto the local drug-dealing scene of a self-styled Middle Eastern bikie gang calling itself Notorious,' Coulthart wrote. Australian Crime Commission head John Lawler has spoken of the difficulty of taking on motorcycle gangs. A vow of silence means those dragged in for questioning opt to be charged for obstructing police rather than give evidence. There is terrible retribution for those who break ranks. 'They are quasi-military groups who depend on strong bonds of internal trust and honour, which is what makes them so hard for police to counter,' says Duncan McNab, author of a book on the Bandidos club. In the past, the clubs themselves kept each other in line. But the big money to be had in drug dealing has led to defections and the formation of clubs where the focus is amphetamines, not Harley Davidsons, and where money-laundering is what's important rather than weekends away. Many, perhaps most members of motorcycle gangs, still maintain they are law-abiding citizens who join for the camaraderie, the joy of riding bikes and the fun to be had in patches and leather. Yet many of those who claim to abhor drugs and violence were in Canberra to pay tribute to Roberts, who had just served seven years on drug offences and was up on an assault charge when he was shot dead.

Notorious club president Allan Sarkis was arrested last week and charged with possessing drugs. He denies he's the head of a crime gang and denies dealing in drugs. 'We don't want to be portrayed to the public as we've been,' Sarkis said. 'We want to be acknowledged and respected as a motorcycle club, not as gangsters.'

Criminologists question whether Rees and other state leaders have the stomach to take on motorcycle gangs. They note that anti-gang laws on the books since 1929 are not being used for fear of touching off an all-out war. Monash University's Professor Arthur Veno is the pre-eminent authority on Australia's motorcycle gangs. He see the solution not in a police crackdown but in club leaders meeting together to thrash out their differences.

Peter Zervas, 32, underwent emergency surgery after being shot in the right shoulder, hip, foot and chest as the Hells Angel motorcycle gang member sa

Peter Zervas, 32, underwent emergency surgery after being shot in the right shoulder, hip, foot and chest as the Hells Angel motorcycle gang member sat in his car in the driveway of his Lakemba unit about 11.30pm (AEDT) on Sunday.Hells Angel bikie gunned down outside his home may have been a key witness to the Sydney airport bashing murder of his brother, but a Comancheros lawyer says that doesn't mean the Comancheros shot him.An unidentified man with shoulder-length dark hair was seen running from the scene."It is an extraordinary level of violence (for) someone to be shot in their driveway, in their car," Superintendent Peter Lennon of Campsie police told reporters."He's very lucky to be alive."It is the latest incident in an escalation of bikie violence that has prompted the formation of a 75-strong police taskforce and plans for tough new anti-association laws targeting gang members. Zervas was in a stable condition in Sydney's St George Hospital on Monday, with his parents and senior Hells Angels - including president Derek Wainohu - spending time at his bedside.Supt Lennon said officers had already spoken to the victim, whom they have not publicly named, and they expected that he and his family would cooperate.He would not be drawn on whether the victim had been offered protection prior to the shooting, but in Sydney's Central Local Court on Monday police indicated he "may have been a potential witness" in the affray case against five members of the Comancheros, a rival outlaw motorcycle gang.The Comancheros and Hells Angels clashed violently at Sydney airport on March 22 in front of hundreds of passengers, leaving 29-year-old Anthony Zervas with "blunt force and sharp force injuries" that proved fatal.Peter Zervas was with his brother as he died. His family buried him on Friday in a funeral attended also by Bandidos gang members.

"Every person is going to think logically that the number one suspect (in the shooting) is somebody said to be associated with the Comancheros," the gang's barrister John Korn said.

But he said he was sure every police officer "who has turned his mind to the matter, would also conclude that there are other people, other groups, who would have a significant in the matter as well"."The president of the Comancheros wants peace and somebody takes action to ensure that can't happen - doesn't that seem to you slightly incongruous?" he asked of reporters.Mr Korn was speaking outside Sydney's Central Local Court after a bail application for Christian Menzies was adjourned until Wednesday.
Menzies, 26, of Matraville, on Friday became the fifth Comanchero refused bail on an affray charge following the airport brawl.The shooting is the third attack on the Hells Angels in two months, taking into account the airport brawl and the February 4 bombing of the Hells Angel's Petersham clubhouse.NSW Premier Nathan Rees was meeting on Monday with his cabinet to discuss planned laws allowing police to prohibit bikies associating with each other.Applications would have to be made in the Supreme Court and would not need to be based on known criminal behaviour.

Gold Coast Bikie invasion

Bikie numbers on the Gold Coast could dramatically swell if proposed tough new laws to ban them are passed in NSW.A leading criminologist has warned that passing such laws in the southern state could see a surge of the outlaw gangs move across the border where they were legally allowed to operate.University of Queensland organised crime expert Dr Andreas Schloenhardt also said banning the gangs would magnify the problems as clubs went underground.
He said he strongly believed NSW's push for jail terms of two to five years for bikie gang members caught associating with one another after the gang was banned would not work.A Supreme Court judge would decide the fate of the outlaw clubs and if they should be banned.
The fatal brawl between rival gangs the Hell Angels and the Comancheros in Sydney last Sunday prompted the proposal to change the legislation.

Bikie war has never stopped.

Bikie war has never stopped. Since the Milperra massacre in Sydney a quarter of a century ago, it has seethed in the underworld of our main cities, with only a few dumped corpses and bombings occasionally surfacing in the news pages. This is also not the first time bikies have brawled on our streets. In one celebrated clash a few years back, two bikie gangs slugged it out on the steps of the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney as police and court officials watched on. bikie culture has changed dramatically from the old romantic notion of bikers as big-hearted, big drinking Harley-Davidson lovers who do the odd charity drive for children's hospitals and enjoy the odd bit of biff. While there are still a few of the old-guard bikers who stay away from crime, he says bikie gangs have morphed into highly sophisticated fronts for organised crime and the violent clashes being waged between them for dominance are likely to get worse.

"It's a new violence," he says.
"In the old days the rule was: 'Never at work, never at home, never in front of women and children.' "Nowadays they don't give a shit. They will do it anywhere."

Much was made this week of how the president of the Comancheros bikie gang, Mick Hawi, had banned all his members from wearing their distinctive gang colours or patches or riding their bikes.
This was spun as a conciliatory gesture to ease public fears.
But in the outlaw motorcycle gang fraternity, another explanation was circulating. Talk was that members of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang had issued a "shoot to kill" order on any Comancheros. "This is a declaration of war," the gang insider says. "All other gang members have been told to keep their heads down or face the consequences." Much of the present bikie wars is a simple battle for dominance between gangs, sparked partly by the entrance on to the local drug dealing scene of a self-styled Middle Eastern bikie gang calling itself Notorious. One factor fuelling this conflict is racial anger among traditional bikies at the "Leb boys" muscling in on their patch. But, as always, it is mostly about the money. As Sunday Night revealed a few weeks ago (despite government claims the trade was now impossible) bikies are still buying huge quantities of over-the-counter cough medicines containing pseudoephedrine and turning them into hugely lucrative speed or ice.

A former methamphetamine cook, Stevan Utah, now on the run from the Bandidos, told how $1000 of cough medicine could earn up to $250,000 "deal for deal" on the street.

Now Notorious wants a piece of the action that bikie gangs have been quietly controlling for years because the money to be made is huge.
"I've been in houses where every room is full of money wrapped up in bundles," the gang insider tells Sunday Night. "They couldn't move it. They need laundromats for the money." The view among the traditional bikie gang fraternity is that Notorious is not a genuine motorcycle gang at all but a criminal gang that is using the brand value of being a bikie gang to add cachet and fear to their efforts to muscle in on to the Sydney drug scene. They have even created their own patch and its publication in one Sydney newspaper served only to enhance the desired feared reputation. What Notorious has learned is what bikie gangs in Australia have known for years: police are reluctant to confront bikies.
"The cops are scared of them," the gang insider says. "They have lost control. Gang members are caught with guns, drugs or shooting people, and they get a bit of community service. It's a pussyfoot approach. Anybody else would get the book thrown at them but these guys get away with it." This week, one self-styled gang expert proclaimed that police and politicians should bring gang leaders together to broker a peace before a feud escalates. The same academic also naively suggested in the pages of another Sydney newspaper that outlaw motorcycle gangs "perform an invaluable social service by keeping some ofthe most disturbed and unstable members of society in check through rigid internal structures".

Gang insiders laugh at such claims. They say that to dignify the gangs' inflated sense of their own importance by brokering some implicit peace deal through them is precisely what is wrong with present policing approaches. Whatever any gang leader ever told the police, he would do anything to stay dominant. And even if gangs are banned by the proposed new laws, the killings will continue on behind the scenes as they have done for decades. The only way to nip the gangs in the bud is to harass their control of the drugs trade with the sort of anti-racketeering laws used in the US that target the money that drives the crime. One of the reasons Notorious's entrance on to the bikie scene is so threatening is because, as the money rolls in, they are wooing Middle Eastern gang members from other gangs, such as the Hell's Angels, Comancheros and Bandidos.

This is a direct threat to the institutional control of the main gangs because most "full-patched" gang members know too much about the gang's dealer network and protection rackets to be allowed to leave. To be inside the gang is all too often to be privy to a major criminal enterprise. "Nobody can walk away," the gang insider says. "You can retire or step back but never walk away. If they go to another club, they give all the club secrets away, all the areas they deal. Many of the shootings in recent weeks are a case of: 'You steal our f--ing drugs and this is what happens."'

Anzac Day is traditionally a big day on the bikie calendar and this year it is likely to be a flashpoint for further violence. The speculation is that the Hell's Angels will not brook anything less than complete capitulation by the Comancheros as a sub-club of the Angels. Anything else would be bad for business.

Tony Sobey local president of the Gypsy Jokers is a keeper of secrets

Tony Sobey.The former bikie gang leader bought the lemon-coloured split-level in 2002 for $383,000 and settled in with wife Tracey and the kids. The family has now moved out after the property sold last month for $880,000. Skye is a preserve of quiet privilege in the Adelaide foothills, which would have suited Sobey down to the ground. He has come a long way since he was local president of the Gypsy Jokers, one of the country's most notorious outlaw motorcycle outfits, and a target of the crackdown in South Australia that gained national traction this week after the rampage by bikies through Sydney Airport left 29-year-old Hells Angels associate Anthony Zervas dead. Sobey is a keeper of secrets. His leathers to riches story is a case study in how bikies, far from being marginalised by anti-social gang behaviour, have prospered. If South Australian Police Commissioner Mal Hyde gets his way, Sobey and others prominent in bikie circles may have some explaining to do. Mr Hyde says the state police are seeking additional powers to make bikies and ex-bikies account for "unexplained wealth". "Everyone knows the person who doesn't work and has a two-storey mansion in the street, and everyone wonders what in the world this guy does for an income," Mr Hyde told The Weekend Australian. "So one of the things we are looking at is ... unexplained wealth. What that means, basically, is if a criminal has more wealth then their income would allow, they have to explain where it came from ... if you can't show you legitimately acquired it, then you lose it." The idea, Mr Hyde said, was to disrupt the business of being a bikie. Nationally, there are about 4000 bikie gang members. Their illegal dealings are said to run to drugs -- especially amphetamines -- stolen cars, prostitution and extortion. The proceeds have been laundered through legitimately-established front companies. "There is no single answer here in terms of what you do to deal with them," Mr Hyde said. "What you have to do is really think about them being in business ... and how you actually deal with disabling or disrupting that business."

Determining exactly what Sobey, 53, does for a living is certainly a challenge. One former neighbour in Skye was surprised he drove a top-of-the-range Mercedes when he had "no obvious form of employment".

Company records show Sobey is the director of a number of companies, some of which are now in the throes of being liquidated. The name of one of them, Simple Loan Pty Ltd, gives away a line of business he has been into. Sobey told the Federal Court in 2006 he was collecting commissions on $7 million in funds from other investors he had directed into a seemingly high-yield scheme run by Adelaide businessman Giuseppe Mercorella, which was in fact a giant pyramid scam. The initially juicy returns were coming from new investors, not investment income. By the time Mercorella's house of cards came tumbling down in 2005 Sobey said he had also pumped in $2million of his own cash. All up, an estimated $94 million in investors' funds went down with the fraudster, who was jailed for five years. There is no indication in corporate or court records of impropriety concerning Simple Loan, and The Weekend Australian does not suggest this was the case. But asked in the Federal Court, as part of an examination by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission into the Mercorella debacle, to detail where he had obtained the $2 million he sank into the investment scheme, Sobey said in February 2006 he could not recall details of his numerous business dealings. Pressed on the point, he said he earned money from share trading, gambling on horses and the commission he had received on putting other investors into the Mercorella scheme. The 4 per cent per month Mercorella returned, before the fund went bust, was "average" compared to what he could have earned lending money, Sobey said. Another area of known interest for bikies is the nightclub scene, and Sobey was into that, too. In March 2006, the Licensing Court of South Australia found he had part of deal involving "deliberate flouting" of licensing laws for a Adelaide nightclub called Heaven. District Court judge Paul Rice described how Sobey and another former Gypsy Joker, convicted Melbourne cocaine dealer Paul Pavlovski, effectively took control of the nightclub from licensee John Richard Pike through a corporate play. Pike had started associating with Sobey in November 2002, about six months after the latter had moved up to Skye. In 2004, Pike restructured his company, Adelaide City Entertainment Pty Ltd. Sobey's company, Sobey Pty Ltd, was issued 10 per cent of the holding shares. Pike later complained that the deal was "forced upon him" by Pavlovski, landlord of the hotel in which the club operated. He and Sobey often turned up at the hotel together, Pike told the Licensing Court. For two years, Pavlovski skimmed $5000 a week in cash from the club, money he had "no right to take", the court found. While Sobey had set his wife up as sole director and shareholder of Sobey Pty Ltd, there was no doubt who had control. "Mrs Sobey was, in reality, no more than a front for Mr Sobey and the Gypsy Jokers," the judge found. Judge Rice said it was open to infer that Pike, in knowing "Sobey was involved with the Gypsy Jokers Club ... was allowing and permitting an element of organised crime to infiltrate the ownership and management" of the nightclub. Pike was declared unfit to hold a liquor licence, and the nightclub folded. It has since reopened with a new name and under new management. In a sense, the Licensing Court proceedings marked a turning point for Sobey, who was well acquainted with the courts in Adelaide. In 2002, he had been charged with possessing a controlled substance, but the case was dropped by the prosecution within months. Two years later, he was charged with intentionally making a false statement and importing prohibited goods. After the false statement count was withdrawn, he pleaded guilty to the importation charge, and was fined $2000. In 2005, he was charged with a minor assault charge, but this prosecution was discontinued in 2007. By then, Sobey had other problems. He was fighting legal battles on a number of fronts. Having claimed security of $17.4 million over what was left of Mercorella's assets, Sobey was hit with a bill from the Taxation Office of $1,519,607.87 for unpaid income tax and interest, mainly on the commission and interest he had earned from the pyramid scheme ahead of its implosion. Sobey decided to wheel in the heavy legal artillery, and engaged top-drawer Melbourne barrister, Peter Hayes QC, to prosecute his claim to the Mercorella assets. The two men evidently hit it off personally. Hayes flew to Adelaide on May 10, 2007, for a hearing in the Federal Court; that night, he had dinner at Skye with Sobey, Tracey and their six children. Next morning, after Hayes failed to meet him as arranged, Sobey found the lawyer unconscious in his hotel room. Hayes had overdosed on a cocktail of illegal drugs allegedly provided by one of a number of prostitutes who were in his room; nearly two years on, the South Australian coroner is still weighing whether to order an inquest into his death, according to the state's Courts Administration Authority. Sobey, meanwhile, has dropped his claim over the Mercorella assets in what has been described as a "favourable" settlement with the scheme's liquidators. He remains in dispute with the tax office, which issued a bankruptcy notice in the Federal Court against him in 2007. The bankruptcy notice has since been set aside by consent and Sobey is now challenging the assessment of his income.

200 arrests frozen more than $10 million in bikie gang assets

200 arrests frozen more than $10 million in bikie gang assets since being formed in late 2007 when the Coffin Cheaters’ Bayswater clubhouse was firebombed by the powerful Sydney-based Comancheros.
“Having read the review, I will be putting together a proposal to the Police Commissioner for Jupiter to be a fixture in the fight against outlaw motorcycle gangs in WA,” Assistant Commissioner Wayne Gregson said. “But I won’t elaborate further because I don’t want to compromise the operational integrity of what we’re doing right now.” Mr Gregson yesterday praised the success of Jupiter but after this week’s bloodshed in NSW and Canberra warned the “bikie scourge” was as potent as ever. “These groups continue to trade in illicit markets and will adapt and change,” he said. “Our focus is to dismantle and disrupt them or stop them from further establishing themselves in WA.” The most notable shift in the WA bikie landscape came last year when members of the South Australian Finks crossed the border to set up shop under an arrangement with ousted Coffin Cheater Troy Mercanti. It was met with a quick response. Shots were fired as part of an ambush while Mercanti and three Finks rode near the Lakes Roadhouse in Wooroloo. One of the four men was hit in the shoulder but the shooter has never been found. Despite Mercanti’s jailing in December for a nightclub assault, the ties between him and the gang appear close. Finks members and associates share a house in Olney Court, Balga, which was bought in July last year by Mercanti’s wife Tammy for $335,000.
A month earlier, a company was registered by Mrs Mercanti and a relative of senior Finks bikie Francesco Condo. Its name — Mercondo Investments — is testament to the union.

The Finks are under threat in South Australia after the State Government took its first steps under tough new legislation to outlaw the gang

. “It is important that we use the most effective law enforcement and legislative powers we can to tackle the gangs head on,” Mr Gregson said. “But in regards to what’s happening in South Australia, these are matters for our Parliament to debate.” Crime confiscation laws in WA have so far provided the best weapon against the bikie networks — seizing assets from drug dealers and tying them up in protracted court cases. “Operation Jupiter has given us an improved picture of the level and structure of criminality within these groups — their businesses and shelf companies,” Mr Gregson said. “We’ll continue to build on that.”

Gerald (Skinny) Ward was found guilty of directing the commission of a criminal offence for the benefit of a criminal organization.

Senior member of the Hells Angels get nine years in prison for ordering associates to deal cocaine.Gerald (Skinny) Ward was found guilty of directing the commission of a criminal offence for the benefit of a criminal organization.The 61-year-old founding member of the Niagara Hells Angels chapter had pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking and possessing the proceeds of crime.Court heard Ward directed five other members and associates of the Hells Angels to deliver four kilograms of high-grade cocaine to a former member of the Oshawa chapter of the gang who became a police agent.Justice John McMahon says Ward was clearly behind the drug transactions.
McMahon said 14 years is an appropriate sentence for Ward, but credited Ward with five years already served in prison since his arrest in September 2006.

Sydney police picked up 27-year-old Mahmoud Dib, a senior member of the Bandidos gang, and charged him with six firearms offences.

Four men have been charged over the death of the 28-year-old at Sydney’s domestic terminal. He suffered a fractured skull when hit with a metal post used to rope off the check-in area.Hours after the Canberra shooting, Sydney police picked up 27-year-old Mahmoud Dib, a senior member of the Bandidos gang, and charged him with six firearms offences. A loaded gun was found in his car and police are examining it to see if it was used in any of the 11 drive-by shootings of the past six days.
In the shootings, unidentified people have shot indiscriminately into houses, including Dib’s, in what police believe are tit-for-tat attacks. Rival gangs have firebombed each other’s headquarters and gang members have been shot in the legs.
Police suspect the gang warfare is over control of the drug trade.Former New South Wales deputy police commissioner Clive Small said that in the four years to 2002, 20 gang members had died and that this was the latest round in a turf war.
“There is an attitude in motorcycle outlaw gangs that they don’t care about the community, they don’t care about innocent people, and they think they are the boss and we will do what we want,” Small said.Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised a national response. “This sort of behavior by bikies and others engaged in organized criminal activity is unacceptable in Australia, absolutely unacceptable,” Rudd said during a visit to the United States

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Mark Edward Walker was a full-patch member of the motorcycle gang, The Outlaws.arrested

Arrested Mark Edward Walker and Margaret Rose Berg-teed.
Participating in the raid were 13 members of the Missouri State Water Patrol S.W.A.T. Team, two Deputy U.S. Marshals, two members of the Mid-Mo Drug Task Force, eight Morgan County Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T Team members and Sheriff Jim Petty.
Walker, 42, of Florida had a warrant from Marion County, Fla. for Attempted Second Degree Murder with a Firearm. This stems from an incident in the city of Ocala, Fla., that occurred in August 2008.
The U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force received information that Mark Walker was living in Ivy Bend with his brother, Andrew David Walker, 47. Andrew Walker has been in the Morgan County Detention Center since Feb. 14, 2009 for an unrelated charge of Driving While Revoked.
Margaret Rose Berg-teed, 56, of Missouri was also arrested Tuesday.
Mark Walker was arrested without incident and is currently being held in the Morgan County Jail without bond. Charges on Margaret Rose Berg-teed are pending, and she is also being held at this time in the Morgan County Jail without bond.
Information received by the Morgan County Sheriff's Office indicated, and was later confirmed by deputies, that Mark Edward Walker was a full-patch member of the motorcycle gang, The Outlaws.

Brandon Cheville is believed to be a member of the Mongols motorcycle gang.

Brandon Cheville was charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine and violations of federal racketeering statutes.Authorities said Cheville is believed to be a member of the Mongols motorcycle gang. He was featured on the Fox show America's Most Wanted in November.Authorities said he eluded capture during a nationwide crackdown on the Mongols gang in October.U.S. Marshals Southern Iowa Fugitive Task Force made the arrest after learning Cheville had been living and working in Boone. Officials said he did not resist arrest. They said he was working as a tattoo artist.Cheville is being held in the Polk County Jail pending extradition and court hearings.

Double murder in Canberra is a dramatic escalation of bikie violence

Double murder in Canberra is a dramatic escalation of bikie violence, triggered by an increasingly brutal turf war on the eastern seaboard.Hours after police locked up high-ranking Sydney bikie Mahmoud Dib, emergency services crews were called to a southern Canberra home near where two men had been fatally shot. ACT Police would not confirm or deny media reports that the shooting at the house in Couchman Crescent, Chisholm, was linked to bikie gangs. "We are looking at all possible circumstances surrounding this incident and that will include any possible associations that these persons may have had with any groups," a spokeswoman said.
One man was found dead from gunshot wounds in the front yard of the home; another was discovered in a rear yard. A gun was recovered from the scene. A man was arrested and taken to Tuggeranong police station for questioning. One of the residents, who was too scared to be identified, said the home was clearly a drug house and was always full of young people. But he had not seen motorbikes parked outside. "It's definitely drug-related, there are always a lot of cars there, people turning up all the time," he said. Another resident said her 10-year-old daughter heard the gunfire and was terrified. "The police told us not to leave the house, and we've been stuck ever since," she said. Residents believed there could be two homes in the street occupied by bikies or their affiliates. They were concerned about possible connections between yesterday's shootings and the alleged killing by Comancheros of a Hell's Angels associate at Sydney airport on Sunday. Mr Dib was arrested at his western Sydney home on firearms offences by police investigating a string of drive-by shootings. The sergeant-at-arms of the Bandidos' Parramatta chapter was taken into custody after a pre-dawn raid by heavily armed police on his home at Auburn. The arrest followed the 11th drive-by shooting in western Sydney in the past six days, including attacks on Mr Dib's Park Street home on Monday and on the home of a relative of his in nearby Pine Road. Mr Dib, 27, was charged with six firearms offences over a loaded gun police found in his car last Monday.
Acting Superintendent Angelo Memmolo, from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad, said Mr Dib was not in the car when police found the .45 calibre semi-automatic pistol -- loaded with seven bullets -- but had been in the area. No drugs or weapons were found in the 6am raid on Mr Dib's home, but police seized two Harley-Davidson motorcycles they believe may have been stolen. Anthony Zervas -- the 29-year-old brother of a Hell's Angels member -- was bashed to death at Sydney airport on Sunday with metal bollards. Police have not ruled out that bikies were behind a western Sydney drive-by shooting on Monday targeting a Merrylands home containing two adults and three children. Yesterday, Mr Dib sat silently throughout his brief appearance at Burwood Local Court. Magistrate Michael Dakin agreed to a request for an adjournment from Mr Dib's lawyer, Mohammed Masri, for a bail hearing until Friday and formally refused bail.

Family members of Notorious may have been targeted in one of two drive-by shootings in Sydney's west.

Family members of Notorious may have been targeted in one of two drive-by shootings in Sydney's west. An elderly couple, believed to be closely related to Notorious's sergeant-at-arms, were asleep when several bullets tore through the front of their home in Doonside about midnight, narrowly missing the pair.Minutes later several bullets were fired into the front of a house at nearby Prospect. Six people, including a 15-year-old and a four-month-old, were inside but escaped injury.Police said the homes might have been targeted because of the occupants' links to Notorious. "We believe there may be links between the two locations and … the Notorious criminal group," said the commander of the Gangs Squad, Detective Superintendent Mal Lanyon, mother of Notorious's sergeant-at-arms is the owner of the Doonside home.The attacks may be retaliation for a drive-by shooting at the house of a senior member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club's Blacktown chapter early on Monday. Notorious is suspected of being behind that shooting, as well as attacks on the Nomads' clubhouse in Marrickville and the Hells Angels' clubhouse in Petersham in recent months.

Notorious, thought to have been formed in 2007, is run by a Lebanese-Australian Christian with longstanding links to one of Sydney's most well-known underworld families. Police and underworld sources have indicated that Notorious is relying heavily on "Islander muscle" and has opened a clubhouse in Kings Cross - an area traditionally treated as neutral by the older clubs.

"Since Notorious have been around things have been getting hotter and hotter," an underworld source told the Herald.

Hells Angel in Australia was killed Saturday afternoon

Hells Angel in Australia was killed Saturday afternoon during a 10-man brawl involving bikers of his group and members of a rival motorcycle gang inside the Sydney Airport.Police arrested four men involved in the melee that killed an unnamed 29-year-old man from southwestern Sydney. The man died in a hospital after his head was repeatedly smashed with metal posts by men of the Comanchero club, according to police.Other suspects escaped from the terminal by riding on taxis.An investigation in under way to determine what caused the deadly brawl witnessed by many travelers at the airport's domestic terminal.

Hells Angels biker has been killed in a huge brawl at Sydney Airport with rival club the Comancheros

Hells Angels biker has been killed in a huge brawl at Sydney Airport with rival club the Comancheros, in one of the most brazen attacks in outlaw bikie history.The man, 28, was knocked to the ground during the brawl — involving at least 10 men — and bashed repeatedly in the head with a metal bollard at the airport's terminal three — one of the most monitored public places in Australia.The attack came only hours after the Sydney-based Bandidos had engaged in another night of drive-by shootings at six homes in Auburn, though that is believed to be linked to a feud with an interstate club, Notorious.Several days ago The Age was told the Bandidos planned to fly in members from interstate to deal with the worsening feud with Notorious; it's believed the airport fight involved the new "troops".The man killed, while a Hells Angel, was friendly with the Bandidos and travelled with them. It is believed the attackers were a group of about 10 Comanchero members.Initial police reports suggested the dead man may also have been stabbed.The brawl is believed to be the result of a feud between the Hells Angels and the Comancheros that flared after the bombing of the Angels' Petersham clubhouse in February.While police have long suspected Notorious as being responsible, underworld sources have indicated the Comancheros were behind the attack. That attack led to tension between the clubs and, ultimately, yesterday's murder.NSW Premier Nathan Rees announced he would talk with Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione this morning.Police Minister Tony Kelly promised to "throw every resource" into the investigation of yesterday's violence and foreshadowed new laws to attempt to stifle the clubs' operations.It appears certain that the NSW Government will introduce legislation to deal with the bikie issue.

REBELS bikie accused of bashing patrons and staff during two pub brawls has been arrested

REBELS bikie accused of bashing patrons and staff during two pub brawls has been arrested despite fearful victims who refused to press charges.Crime Gangs Task Force officers arrested the 22-year-old bikie this morning over bashings in two southern suburbs hotels last month. He was refused bail and appeared in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court this afternoon.Police claim the man entered the Aldinga Hotel on February 26 and kicked and punched four people, including staff members.They claim two days later he and three accomplices stormed the Victory Hotel at Sellicks Hill and punched and kicked an unidentified person to the ground.In each case the victims could either not be located or "were fearful of retribution " and refused to press charges, police said.Recent legislative changes which created the offences of `affray' and engaging in violent disorder enabled police to take action despite the victims' silence.Affray carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Offenders can be jailed for two years for engaging in violent disorder.The bikie has also been barred from the two hotels under new powers handed to police by changes to the Liquor Licensing Act.Detective Superintendent Des Bray said pub violence perpetrated by outlaw motorcycle gangs was "of major concern" to police.He also called on all victims of gang violence to report the incidents to police. "In the absence of victim and witness statements, police can now rely on the contents of security vision to prosecute offenders for the recently created offences," Det Supt Bray said.
"Remember, you can remain anonymous."

Kings Cross-based Notorious are embroiled in a gang war with the Hell's Angels and Rebels

Kings Cross-based Notorious are embroiled in a gang war with the Hell's Angels and Rebels over ethnic and territorial disputes.Neighbours in Taworri Rd said yesterday the home at the centre of the drive-by had been raided by police about a year ago.
But the elderly couple at the home during the drive-by said the shooting was a case of mistaken identity."I heard this bang, bang, bang more than I could count and I thought that it was an electrical problem with an appliance, maybe the stove," the 64-year-old man said."Then I felt pain in my leg and it was glass from the windows.
"(The room) was filled with haze, smoke. I've never experienced anything like this before."His 63-year-old wife escaped being shot in the head by about 15cm.
"If I had sat up in bed I would have been killed," she said.The Range Rover believed to have been used in the shootings - stolen from Waterloo on March 7 - was found burning in Blacktown.Premier Nathan Rees said yesterday he would consider changing the law to help police catch and prosecute people involved in drive-by shootings.

Paul "Stepchild" Iorio, 44, last known address 343 E. Ridge St., Nanticoke, is charged with one count of solicitation to deliver cocaine

Paul "Stepchild" Iorio, 44, last known address 343 E. Ridge St., Nanticoke, is charged with one count of solicitation to deliver cocaine, one count of possession of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility

Robert Muntz, 42, 195 West Green St., Nanticoke, is charged with one count of delivery of methamphetamine

Robert Muntz, 42, 195 West Green St., Nanticoke, is charged with one count of delivery of methamphetamine, one count of manufacturing of methamphetamine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.

Mitch "Buddah" Miller, 48, 15 Bank St., Wilkes-Barre, is charged with one count of criminal solicitation to deliver cocaine

Mitch "Buddah" Miller, 48, 15 Bank St., Wilkes-Barre, is charged with one count of criminal solicitation to deliver cocaine, one count of possession of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.

Nineteen of the defendants will be prosecuted in Luzerne County

Lazaro Salavarria, 43, 200 Park View Circle, Apt. 4101, Wilkes-Barre, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Michael Brostoski, 46, 39 Nicole Drive, Wilkes-Barre, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Kevin "K Dog" Nowakowski, 33, last known address 65 Fort St., Forty-Fort, is charged with three counts of delivery of cocaine, one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Francis Buracewski, 37, 2 Mill St., Wilkes-Barre, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Michael Scavone, 43, 246A Lake Drive, Harveys Lake, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Larry "Doctor" Gwynn, 54, 14 Allenberry Drive, Hanover Township, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Michelle Adams, 41, 12 Beech Lane, Harveys Lake, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Kenneth Koonrad, 25, 79 Grove St., Wilkes-Barre, is charged with one count ofcorrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Melissa "Missy" McEvoy, 34, 115 North Main St., Ashley, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
John Macking, 37, 9 Everhart St., Hanover Township, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Michael "Kick Start" Bafile, 38, 719 Sycamore St., Berwick, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.
Paul Czerniakowski, 44, 223 Brown St., Wilkes-Barre, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.

Patrick Brown III, 39, 39 Fern St., Dallas, is charged with one count corrupt organizations

Patrick Brown III, 39, 39 Fern St., Dallas, is charged with one count corrupt organizations, one count conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count of delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.

Michelle Ulitchney, 47, 212 Farmhouse Lane, Wapwallopen, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations

Michelle Ulitchney, 47, 212 Farmhouse Lane, Wapwallopen, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.

Joseph "Skidmark" Janick, 44, 115 N. Main St., Ashley, is charged with one count corrupt organizations

Joseph "Skidmark" Janick, 44, 115 N. Main St., Ashley, is charged with one count corrupt organizations, one count conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine, one count criminal use of a communications facility and one count prohibited offensive weapon.

John "G Unit" Gonda, 38, 224 Fern Ridge Road, White Haven, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations

John "G Unit" Gonda, 38, 224 Fern Ridge Road, White Haven, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine, one count delivery of marijuana and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.

Anthony Manchio Jr., 49, 212 Farmhouse Lane, Wapwallopen, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations

Anthony Manchio Jr., 49, 212 Farmhouse Lane, Wapwallopen, is charged with one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count delivery of cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.

John "J Bone" Ricci, 36, 52 Diamond Ave., Hanover Township, is charged with nine counts of delivery of cocaine

John "J Bone" Ricci, 36, 52 Diamond Ave., Hanover Township, is charged with nine counts of delivery of cocaine, one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, one count of delivery of marijuana, and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.

Ronald "Block" Molnar, 37, 9 Joseph Lane, Wilkes-Barre, is charged with nine counts of delivery of cocaine

Ronald "Block" Molnar, 37, 9 Joseph Lane, Wilkes-Barre, is charged with nine counts of delivery of cocaine, one count of corrupt organizations, one count of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, one count of possession with the intent to deliver cocaine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility.

Joseph Janick, president of the Wilkes-Barre chapter of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club, has also been charged

Luzerne County corrections officer is one of more than 20 people arrested today for allegedly being part of a cocaine ring affiliated with the Outlaw biker gang.Attorney General Tom Corbett says Ronald Molnar was at the center of a drug ring that distributed narcotics worth $3.6 million in the Wilkes-Barre area.
Corbett says the investigation started last year with corrections officer John Gonda and led to the arrests of 22 people.Joseph Janick, president of the Wilkes-Barre chapter of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club, has also been charged. $3.6 million cocaine ring, which operated in northeast Pennsylvania over the past year by members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, was broken up today by agents from the Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation (BNI).
Attorney General Tom Corbett said the investigation, known as "Operation Avalanche," began in July 2008 after agents received information that John Gonda, a corrections officer at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, was selling large quantities of cocaine in the Wilkes-Barre area.According to the criminal complaint, agents made a series of at least 30 controlled cocaine purchases from Ronald Molnar and his main associates, John Ricci and Kevin Nowakowski.Corbett noted that Gonda, Molnar and Ricci are all associates of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, Wilkes-Barre Chapter.As the investigation unfolded, court authorized wiretaps were approved to determine the scope of the organization and help identify suppliers.Hundreds of drug related conversations were intercepted on wiretaps between Molnar, Ricci and their customers, which led agents to identify Molnar's main cocaine supplier as Anthony Manchio. Manchio is a known cocaine dealer in northeastern and central Pennsylvania.
According to the criminal complaint, Molnar or Ricci called Manchio every 10 to 14 days to order a kilo of cocaine for redistribution in Wilkes-Barre. The two had numerous customers who called regularly to place orders and make arrangements to meet at specific Wilkes-Barre locations for delivery."Anytime you have a kilo of cocaine being brought into your town every 10 days you have a significant problem," Corbett said. "The cocaine coming to Wilkes-Barre was either cut and repackaged for street-level sales or it was kept for individual use among club members."
The charges state that Manchio normally met Molnar a couple days prior to delivery in order to receive payment up front for the cocaine. The two allegedly would arrange another meeting and contact point for the delivery to take place.
Corbett said that as the investigation progressed agents identified Joseph Janick as a major sub-dealer of cocaine for Molnar and Ricci. Janick is the president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, Wilkes-Barre chapter.According to the criminal complaint, wiretaps placed on Janick's cellular phone produced thousands of drug related conversations showing that he, Molnar and Ricci had a widespread customer base throughout Luzerne County.Agents identified four of their main customers as members of the Wilkes-Barre chapter of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, including Michael Bafile, the club's past president.
Over the course of the investigation, agents seized 528 grams of cocaine, cutting agents, drug paraphernalia, more than $5,000 cash, rifles, shotguns, handguns, a bullet proof vest, the motorcycle gang's colors, a copy of the bylaws and a list of all the Outlaw associates in prison."Drug trafficking and violence are synonymous," Corbett said. "The large amount of weapons seized in this investigation demonstrates the violent capabilities this organization possessed." Agents also seized motorcycles, SUV's, sedans, a quad and a piece of farm machinery.
Corbett noted that this is part of a continuing investigation.Nineteen of the defendants will be prosecuted in Luzerne County by Deputy Attorney General Timothy Doherty of the Attorney General's Drug Strike Force Section. Three individuals will be prosecuted by Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carrol's Office.Corbett thanked the Luzerne County District Attorney's Office, Luzerne County Drug Task Force, and the Luzerne County Sheriff's Office for their assistance with the investigation.The defendants will be arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Diane Malast.

Robert Reynolds, Jason Gallo, Eric Franco and Derek Roy.Hells Angels accused of ambushing, beating and stabbing members of a rival motorcycle group

Four of the Hells Angels accused of ambushing, beating and stabbing members of a rival motorcycle group here on July 29, 2007, pleaded guilty to reduced felony charges Monday and received five-year suspended sentences and $4,000 fines.The out-of-state gang members who appeared in circuit court in somber black suits Monday were Robert Reynolds, Jason Gallo, Eric Franco and Derek Roy. Gallo and Roy may have been dressed like their lawyers, but they sported shaved heads.Christopher Sweeney is in federal prison and will appear Oct. 12. Manny Montiero has been deported to his native Portugal, but will face charges if he ever is found back in the United States, Prosecutor Tony Rogers said.Of the four Bandidos they attacked, two are dead. Rogers said one died in a motorcycle wreck in Beaumont, Texas. The other was murdered in Odessa, Texas, and police have “no good leads,” he said.Rogers told Circuit Judge Kent Crow that the case had been difficult from the beginning because the victims had refused to help the prosecution in any way.
Alan Epley, the circuit judge before Crow, had thrown out evidence and testimony, finding improper police handling. That left defense lawyers questioning whether the case could be brought to trial. But Rogers said in a press release Monday that Crow had overturned Epley’s ruling, prompting the plea bargaining.It ended with the four Hells Angels pleading guilty to a reduced felony battery charge Monday, while the prosecution dropped charges of aggravated assault with enhancement for violence in a criminal group activity.

Rogers said in a press release after court that without the cooperation of the victims, “obtaining felony convictions despite the obstacles is the best possible outcome for the citizens of Carroll County.”

Some 300 Hells Angels vacationed together in Eureka Springs in July of 2007 for a quiet weekend under heavy police observation. A spokesman said State Police “encouraged” rival Bandidos to keep away.But witnesses told police that six Bandidos were leaving the residence of a Eureka Springs Bandido at the end of the weekend to return to Texas when they met the Hells Angels on the highway.They turned around and pulled into the parking lot because they thought the Hells Angels wanted to talk to them, police were told.A red pickup pulled in front of them, attempting to block the parking lot exit, but two of the Bandidos were able to speed around the pickup, witnesses said.
Those two Bandidos saw the passenger get out of the truck with a baseball bat and begin beating the four remaining Bandidos, according to police reports.Police said at the time that an off-duty officer spotted several Hells Angels beating people on the ground of the parking lot of a vacated antique store on U. S. Highway 62.

700 Hells Angels, Gypsy Jokers, Rebels and Finks converged at the Gawler racecourse, then rode with a police escort through Barossa towns

Biker gang leaders say Premier Mike Rann has a personal axe to grind against them.
Mr Rann agrees – emphatically. "Yes, I have a personal axe to grind," he said yesterday, a day after bikies staged their protest against State Government laws which can be used to prevent members from associating with each other. "My personal axe is I am a father," Mr Rann said. "I am determined that criminal bikie gangs won't run our pubs, our clubs, or run our streets." He also called on other state governments to copy SA's legislation. In unprecedented scenes on Saturday, some of the world's most infamous bikie gangs united for a protest run through the Barossa Valley and announced plans to form their own political party to contest the next state election. About 700 Hells Angels, Gypsy Jokers, Rebels and Finks converged at the Gawler racecourse, then rode with a police escort through Barossa towns, causing traffic chaos. The protest ride coincided with a Gypsy Jokers annual run, which never before had been open to other clubs. "I know from going out there talking to real people that other parents want me to keep going," Mr Rann said. "We have tough laws against criminal bikie gangs. No decent motorcyclist has anything to run about.
"If you are involved in drugs, violence, extortion, we stand by our laws and back our police to the hilt. "I slept really well last night. That's because I have great confidence in the people of South Australia . . . No one is going to be dumb enough to vote for the bikies party." Mr Rann said supporters of the bikies would have people believe they ran "knitting circles". "They are involved in everything from murder to rape to extortion to kidnapping to running protection rackets," he said.
Asked about the strong police presence on Saturday, Mr Rann said one could imagine what would have happened if police had not been present and something had gone wrong. "I totally back the police with what they did. "This was about a demonstration by bikies who hoped we would back down. I will not back down against violent criminal gangs who are selling drugs to our kids."

Bryan Perun, 35, of Lincoln Place, is charged in connection with the death of Albert Kolano, 33, of Elliott

Bryan Perun, 35, of Lincoln Place, is charged in connection with the death of Albert Kolano, 33, of Elliott, following an altercation with the Pagans at the Longview Lounge around 1:30 a.m.Mr. Perun was a city officer from 2000 to 2003, when he was fired for violating regulations in regard to a pepper-spray incident at a North Side bar. But his supervisor at the time said he had no problems with the man everyone at the East Liberty station called "Dirt.""He was one of the better officers at the station," said Phil Dacey, a lieutenant who has since retired. "He had the tattoos and he was into bikes, but I had no inkling that he was involved with the Pagans."
It's not clear when he joined the biker gang.But Allegheny County police said Mr. Perun was wearing a leather Pagans jacket Thursday when he pulled a knife, issued a threat and fired two shots at witnesses before the fatal shooting.He and three other men -- Kevin J. Doolin Jr., 43, of Sheraden; John R. Miller, 56, of Brookline; and Nathaniel J. Robinson, 34, of Allentown -- are charged with conspiracy to commit homicide.Mr. Doolin is identified in a police affidavit as the shooter, although he had not been charged with homicide as of yesterday afternoon.
This is what happened, according to an affidavit:The victim's brother, Anthony Kolano, said his wife, Tracie, received a call from Bridget Hurley that 15 to 20 Pagans were threatening her, Albert Kolano and another man, Andrew Miller, inside the bar.Anthony Kolano arrived at the bar and motioned for the three to leave. When they did, some of the Pagans followed them outside.Mr. Perun pulled a large folding knife from a coat pocket and used it to puncture the right rear tire of Anthony Kolano's vehicle, saying "You ain't going nowhere."Mr. Perun then drew a revolver and fired a shot into the ground and second into the door of the vehicle.As Anthony Kolano drove from the parking lot, he said he passed a parked sport utility vehicle. He said he saw Mr. Doolin extend his arm out the driver's side window and fire two shots at Albert Kolano's moving vehicle. Albert swerved, struck the berm and crashed into some woods.Mr. Miller, a passenger in the SUV with Mr. Doolin and Mr. Robinson, climbed out and threw an object into the woods.Anthony Kolano used his vehicle to block the SUV from leaving the parking lot.Police said all four suspects were "wearing clothing displaying membership in the Pagans" and all four "conspired with each other in the shooting death of the victim."The Longview Lounge, which sits atop a muddy hillside along Greensburg Pike, was closed yesterday. A sign at the back door advised visitors that it would remain so "until further notice."No one answered the door yesterday at Mr. Perun's house. His pickup sat outside, a Fraternal Order of Police emblem on its rear bumper.Until August 2003, Mr. Perun worked as a patrolman in the East End."He was a good young officer," said Mr. Dacey. "He got a lot of complaints because he did his job. He was aggressive. If you took off running, Bryan would chase you down."Mr. Perun was involved in one high-profile case. In 2001, he and several other officers killed James B. Lewis, 36, after he led them on a chase in Garfield and fired at them. The shooting was ruled justified after a coroner's inquest.Two years later, Mr. Perun was fired for neglect of duty, lack of truthfulness and other violations after an incident at Hi-Tops, a North Side bar that has since closed.

The details are sketchy, but while working an off-duty security detail, he used pepper spray to subdue someone. The city's Office of Municipal Investigations received a complaint about his conduct and determined that Mr. Perun didn't file reports about using the spray, as regulations required.

He contested the firing through the arbitration process but was ultimately discharged, according to city records.Had Mr. Perun been a Pagan while on the force, he would have faced termination, city officials said. Regulations prohibit officers from associating with criminal organizations.According to the FBI, the state police and the former Pennsylvania Crime Commission, the Pagans qualify -- and they've long had a substantial presence in Westmoreland County.Four biker gangs have dominated in the United States for decades: . The Pagans, who got their start in Maryland, have always been Pennsylvania's most powerful gang.Two big federal prosecutions in the 1980s hurt them here, however, when the FBI used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to dismantle the group.They declined after that but remained involved in drug dealing, particularly methamphetamines, police said.

Robert Shannon who distributed cocaine and marijuana for the Hells Angels in British Columbia was sentenced in Seattle to 20 years

Drug smuggler who distributed cocaine and marijuana for the Hells Angels in British Columbia was sentenced in Seattle to 20 years in a federal prison on Friday, and prosecutors say they will oppose any effort by Robert Shannon to serve his prison time in his native Canada.U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan said cross-border criminals such as Shannon "should not be able to further exploit their citizenship to avoid paying for their crimes."Shannon had close ties to the Hells Angels in British Columbia and, according to prosecutors, used violence and intimidation routinely.
Prosecutors wanted Shannon to serve 33 years. His defense lawyers asked for 13.The government alleged in sentencing documents that Shannon, a Langley, B.C., trucker who's boasted that he made millions from the drug trade, once paid to have a co-conspirator killed and threatened an Abbotsford, B.C., co-defendant who testified against him Friday.Dozens of others have been charged in the case, which has resulted in 39 prosecutions and the seizure of more than 1,700 pounds of cocaine, 7,000 pounds of "B.C. Bud" marijuana and $3.5 million in cash, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Bryan Perun, and three other Pittsburgh men, 43-year-old Kevin Doolin Jr., 56-year-old John Miller and 34-year-old Nathaniel Robinson hve been charged

Bryan Perun, and three other Pittsburgh men, 43-year-old Kevin Doolin Jr., 56-year-old John Miller and 34-year-old Nathaniel Robinson are charged with conspiracy to commit homicide in the shooting of 33-year-old Albert Kolano, also of Pittsburgh.four men wearing motorcycle gang colors who are charged in the fatal shooting of a man outside a suburban tavern. Allegheny County police say the suspects were in Pagan motorcycle gear when they followed Kolano outside the Longview Lounge early Thursday. Police aren't saying who fired the fatal shots that caused Kolano to wreck as he tried to drive away. The suspects are jailed after their arraignments early Friday. Court records don't show if they have attorneys

Dale Donovan,former president of the Manitoba Hells Angels has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison

Dale Donovan, 34, entered his surprise guilty plea this morning to several charges including conspiracy to traffic drugs, possession of proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal organization.The former president of the Manitoba Hells Angels has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison after admitting to his role in a drug trafficking network.Donovan and 17 other gang members and associates were arrested in December 2007 following a year-long undercover police investigation dubbed ``Project Drill`` that involved having a career criminal become a ``secret agent.``Scotty ``Taz`` Robertson was able to infiltrate the gang and conduct a series of drug and weapons deals that were caught on video and audio surveillance by police.He was paid more than $600,000 for his work and put in the witness protection program. During the investigation, police seized five machine-guns, three handguns, 11 kilograms of cocaine, 2,000 tablets of methamphetamine and 13 pounds of marijuana.
Donovan became leader of the local Hells chapter after former president Ernie Dew was arrested in a similar police sting in February 2006. Dew is now behind bars serving a 13-year sentence.

300 suspected gang members of the Vagos outlaw motorcycle gang, roared into Santa Clarita

300 suspected gang members, believed to be associated with the Vagos outlaw motorcycle gang, roared into the area Sunday morning generating calls for service and criminal complaints to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station.
Officials report that the thunderous roar of the unlawful exhaust systems on many of the motorcycles could be heard for miles around as the bikers entered and left the area. The riders stretched out for miles over Sand Canyon Road, crossing Soledad Canyon Road, ultimately congregating in the 16000 block of Sierra Highway, near Vasquez Canyon Road. Patrol resources were stretched thin during the same time period as deputies were responding to two other emergency calls and a significant traffic collision, necessitating station leaders to call in additional personnel to avoid a serious impact on service levels.Deputies respond to complaints about motorcycle gangsProactive residents expressed their complaints and concerns, reporting that the motorcyclists were at times blocking vehicle and pedestrian traffic, disturbing the public peace, and committing other unlawful acts.Deputies from the City of Santa Clarita/Sheriff's COBRA Unit and the Community Interaction Team (CIT), and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), joined patrol and traffic control deputies in the operation, which was necessitated based on the size and scope of the gathering and the unlawful actions of some of the motorcyclists. When the operation concluded and the gathering disbanded, deputies had identified more than 30 individuals, some of whom are believed to have extensive criminal history, indicative of outlaw motorcycle gang involvement. Deputies issued 24 citations for various infractions and other violations of the law. "What concerns me is this is the second time in as many months we have seen these large disruptive groups pour into the Santa Clarita area," said Captain Anthony La Berge. "Although the gathering itself is not unlawful, some of the actions of these individuals and the motorcycles they are riding are illegal. Not to mention the fact that they can be disruptive to the peace and serenity of the community. Our primary goal is to ensure public safety and peace in response to community complaints and concerns about these bikers. We will do whatever it takes to accomplish just that," he added.Santa Clarita Sheriff's Station officials referenced a 2007 Orange County Case in Newport Beach, where a bar fight involving several suspected rival motorcycle gang members escalated to a stabbing. A total of eight defendants face felony charges, including possession of firearms and controlled substances, in five criminal cases stemming from that incident, according to an Orange County District Attorney Press Release."We do not want that to happen here in Santa Clarita," concluded Captain La Berge.

Jessica Andrea Gordon, 21,who was charged in the shooting death of a Hells Angels associate last year has been granted immunity

A Mill Valley woman who was charged in the shooting death of a Hells Angels associate last year has been granted immunity in exchange for her testimony against the alleged gunman.Prosecutors dismissed the charges last week against Jessica Andrea Gordon, 21, who was driving the vehicle from which the gunshots were fired. Gordon has agreed to testify against Joseph Andrew Farnsworth, 20, who is charged with firing the gun that killed William Maclean on Highway 101."She is a witness against Mr. Farnsworth," said District Attorney Ed Berberian.Gordon's defense attorney, Douglas Horngrad, said the prosecution's decision to drop the charges "affirm that Jessica Gordon committed no crime.""She had no foreknowledge of this shooting, and only became aware of it after it happened," Horngrad said. "She shares the government's view that Mr. Maclean's death was a tragic one, and she mourns the loss of life."According to the documents, the shooting on May 24 occurred while Gordon was driving on northbound Highway 101 in a red Dodge Durango carrying Farnsworth and his girlfriend.As the vehicle was approaching Corte Madera, Farnsworth pulled down the window in the back seat and fired two shots at the pickup truck in the next lane, authorities said. One bullet struck Maclean, who was in the passenger seat, in the chest.Maclean, 25, of San Leandro, who was the son of one Hells Angels leader and the brother-in-law of another, was riding in a procession of Hells Angels
returning from a member's funeral. But sheriff's investigators described the shooting as "a random act of violence associated with road rage," not an attack on the Hells Angels.The Dodge Durango drove off after the shooting, but investigators were able to identify it through witness accounts and surveillance video from the Golden Gate Bridge. Gordon was arrested on May 28, and investigators found Farnsworth three days later.Gordon was charged with being an accessory after the fact, shooting at an occupied vehicle, permitting another person to shoot from a vehicle, possession of ecstasy and possession of cocaine. Those charges were dismissed under the immunity deal.
Farnsworth, an El Cerrito resident, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, shooting a firearm from a vehicle and shooting at an occupied vehicle. He remains in custody at the Marin County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail.A preliminary examination of the evidence is set for March 23 before Judge Kelly Simmons.

Angels of Death: Inside the Biker Gangs.

Angels of Death: Inside the Biker Gangs.

Pagans and the Outlaws battle at Philly Tat Convention

Rival motorcycle gangs brawled at a tattoo convention held at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel, with eight members of the groups injured.
About 40 police swarmed the hotel at 17th and Race Streets after fisticuffs broke out around 3 p.m. between the Pagans and the Outlaws, according to Chief Inspector Joseph Sullivan.Police made several arrests in connection with the fight, which spilled from the hotel lobby into the street, and charges were pending. No one was seriously hurt."What happened is what ordinarily happens when two gangs get together - violence broke out," Sullivan said.One of the combatants had a firearm with a legal permit, and both the gun and permit were confiscated, Sullivan said.
Eyewitness Bob Thiede, 37, of Westville, said the fight was between a man with skinhead tattooed on his back and several others wearing Pagan T-shirts."They hit the skinhead with a broomstick," said Thiede, who was accompanied by girlfriend "Miss Angie," who declined to give her last name.Thiede said the man "had broomstick marks all over him."Troy Timpel, who ran the convention and owns Tattooed Kingpin in Society Hill, noted that the violence did not occur in the convention area on the hotel's second and third floors. About 175 exhibitors and 8,000 attendees came to the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention over its three-day run, which ended yesterday."They had nothing to do with us," Timpel said. "Motorcycle-club enthusiasts come every year, and we've never had any problems with anyone. This year, there was a minor incident."Timpel said the convention began nine years ago and hosts tattoo artists from countries around the world, including Germany, Japan, England, Italy, and Finland.

Members of the Mongols motorcycle gang indicted on a federal racketeering case already pleaded guilty

Members of the Mongols motorcycle gang indicted on a federal racketeering case already pleaded guilty before the trial begins this summer, according to court records. Because documents related to the plea agreements and sentencing were sealed, federal authorities on Friday wouldn't say how many of the 79 Mongols members indicted in the case already pled. However, court records show a plea agreement was filed Jan. 22. On Jan. 23, there was a hearing where a plea was accepted. There were no defendants named and the associated documents were sealed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reema El-Amamy said a trial is set for July 21 in the federal courthouse in Los Angeles for those who have not pled.On Wednesday, a judge approved the request by federal prosecutors to seal the records about any pleas. El-Amamy wrote in the request that defendants who wish to plead guilty and cooperate with the prosecution face retaliation from the gang. They and their families could be killed. She pointed out that the Mongols' association with the prison-based Mexican Mafia which regularly orders the killing of people by its associates "raises significant concerns about the safety of the defendants who choose to plead guilty and/or cooperate, as well as the safety of their families." A federal grand jury indicted 79 members and associates of the Mongols gang on Oct. 9, 2008 after a two-year investigation. The 86-count federal racketeering indictment included allegations of murder, attempted murder, assaults, hate crimes, gun violations and drug trafficking. The defendants include Mongols Motorcycle Club national president Ruben Cavazos . Cavazos' attorney, Angel Navarro , said on Friday he wasn't at liberty to discuss the case when asked if his client accepted a plea bargain. About 61 members and associates of the gang were arrested in a federal nationwide sweep in October. Half of the 121 search warrants served in the Southland were in the San Gabriel Valley and Whittier areas. Authorities also seized seven pounds of methamphetamine, 71 guns and 70 motorcycle.

John Vasilantonakis wanted for a bikers' brawl outside the former Sorrento Hotel on The Kingsway

John Vasilantonakis wanted for a bikers' brawl outside the former Sorrento Hotel on The Kingsway almost 17 years ago is now in police custody. Greater Sudbury Police said in a release Saturday that two rival motorcycle gangs got into a fight Sept. 6, 1992. One biker was shot, two were knifed and others were struck with a two-by-four piece of lumber and a tire iron. "Although the injuries were serious all have since recovered," police said. Police in Sudbury issued an arrest warrant for John Vasilantonakis, 47, for allegedly attacking a man, who was 38 at the time, with the lumber. He eluded police until Friday, when he came into contact with the Toronto Police Service. Officers there discovered the warrant issued by Sudbury police. Vasilantonakis was arrested and has been returned to Sudbury, where he is scheduled for a bailing hearing by video on Sunday on a charge of assault with a weapon.