IT was a former Icelandic beauty queen who scooped the $A2.1 million reward for tipping off the FBI to the whereabouts of feared Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger, it has been revealed.

In this courtroom sketch, James "Whitey" Bulger stands during his initial appearance in a federal courtroom in Boston in June. Source:AP

Bulger, who is charged with 19 murders in the 1970s and '80s in Boston, was arrested in June in Santa Monica, California, where he had been living under an assumed name with long-term girlfriend Catherine Greig.

The FBI has steadfastly refused to disclose the identity of the tipster, again declining to comment to AFP, but the Boston Globe says it was Anna Bjornsdottir, a 57-year-old graphic designer and yoga instructor.

Bjornsdottir, who was crowned Miss Iceland in 1974 and starred in that year's Miss Universe competition, tipped off police after recognising Bulger, 81, on the television news, reports said.

She is said to have befriended Greig, 60, in Santa Monica after the two women took a shared interest in a local stray cat.

The Boston Globe reported that Bjornsdottir, star of B-movies More American Graffiti and The Sword and the Sorcerer, moved to the LA area in the late 1970s with her first husband, rock star Jakob Magnusson.

Bulger, an Irish-American whose life inspired a gritty Hollywood movie, pleaded not guilty to the string of murder charges at a court appearance in July.

Police found some $A823,000 in cash and a "fairly big arsenal" of weapons in Bulger's modest apartment after his arrest, law enforcement sources said.

Greig, who is accused of helping to shield Bulger during his time on the run, was indicted by a federal grand jury and faces up to five years in prison and a $US250,000 fine if convicted.

Bulger was the inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character in The Departed, the 2006 crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and also starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.

Bulger and Greig had lived for years under the pseudonyms Charles and Carol Gasko.

In addition to accusations that Bulger murdered mob rivals, potential witnesses and others who threatened him, prosecutors accuse him of a crime spree spanning into the 1990s that included extortion, money laundering and, at one point, running guns to Northern Ireland's IRA militants.

51-year-old man, who police believe to be a high-ranking member of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang, was questioned

 

Firearms, drugs, cash and fireworks have been seized during a raid on the Sydney home of a bikie member, police say. Officers from the NSW Gangs Squad allegedly found three rifles, a shotgun, fireworks, more than $17,000 in cash and a variety of drugs and drug paraphernalia when the they raided the Mt Druitt house in Sydney's west on Monday. A 51-year-old man, who police believe to be a high-ranking member of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang, was questioned on Tuesday night.

triple kidnapping and murder case involving the Pittsfield chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club

file photoDavid Chalue, left, Adam Hall, center, and Caius Veiovis, right. The three were arrested and charged with murder and kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of three men in a case against a Hell's Angels member. Hall and Veiovis denied the charges Tuesday in Berkshire Superior Court 

 Two of the three men indicted last week in a triple kidnapping and murder case involving the Pittsfield chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club entered innocent pleas at their arraignments Tuesday in Berkshire Superior Court.

Adam Lee Hall, 34, of Peru, andCaius Veiovis, 31, of Pittsfield, each denied all charges at separate arraignments.

Hall, Veiovis and a third man, former Springfield resident David Chalue, 44, of North Adams, were indicted by a Berkshire grand juryon three counts each of murder and kidnapping, and four counts of intimidating a witness.

The three are charged with kidnapping and then killing three Pittsfield men, David Glasser, 44, Edward Frampton, 58, and Robert Chadwell, 47. The three were last seen Aug. 28 at the Pittsfield apartment where Glasser and Frampton lived.

Police allege that Hall, considered a sergeant at arms with the local Hells Angels branch, plotted to kill Glasser to prevent him from testifying against him in another case. Police said they believe Frampton and Chadwell were killed because they were present when Glasser was taken. 

This panel of undated photos released Sept. 6, 2011 by the Berkshire District Attorney's Office shows Robert Chadwell, left, Edward Frampton, center, and David Glasser. The men were found buried on private property in Becket on Sept. 10. (AP Photo/Berkshire District Attorney's Office)

A fourth man, David Casey, 62, of Canaan, N.Y., was charged with three counts of being an accessory to murder, accessory to kidnapping, and accessory to intimidating a witness. Each of those charges are considered after the fact. Prosecutors allege that Casey used construction equipment to help bury the three bodies in Becket.

 

At Tuesday’s arraignment, Judge John Agnosti ordered each to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction without the right to bail. They are each due back in court for pre-trial hearings on March 28. 

Chalue and Casey are expected to be in court for arraignments later this week. 

10 members of the Vagos motorcycle gang suspected of drug trafficking and a rash of violence during a series of raids early Thursday across Southern California

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Authorities arrested 10 members of the Vagos motorcycle gang suspected of drug trafficking and a rash of violence during a series of raids early Thursday across Southern California, a crackdown that comes less than two weeks after a Vagos member allegedly killed a rival Hells Angels member at a Nevada casino.

The arrests were the result of an 18-month investigation led by state investigators into one of the most "violent criminal" motorcycle gangs in the nation, authorities said. Members of the gang, which started in the Inland Empire in the 1960s, face allegations of conspiracy to commit murder, rape, weapons violations, money laundering and drug violations.

"It's a dangerous organization … that's responsible for putting drugs into our communities and schools,'' said Senior Special Agent in Charge David King of the state Department of Justice in Riverside. "These individuals are armed to protect their criminal enterprise, and they've shown how quickly they are willing to use their guns in public.''

Law enforcement authorities Thursday executed 52 search warrants in San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Imperial counties. Arrest warrants also were issued for 12 high-ranking Vagos members, 10 of whom were in custody by late morning. Two associates also were arrested.

A team of officers from the San Bernardino Police Department and state Department of Justice took a battering ram to the door of Pastor Palafox of Colton, the Vagos international president, bursting into the house with weapons drawn.

The Vagos leader was gone and remains at large, though officers carted off evidence from the house. The only outside indication of who lived there was the black Harley-Davidson emblem on the home's curbside address.

Authorities also raided a Vagos clubhouse in the remote Riverside County town of Anza, as well as one in North Hollywood. More than 300 weapons were seized, including 100 from a home in Alhambra.

"This gang … has been terrorizing our community for years," San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Michael Ramos said at an afternoon news conference. "This is a major, major takedown."

Beverly Hills attorney Joseph Yanny, who has represented Vagos members in past cases, called the allegations "trumped-up nonsense" and said none of those taken into custody were members of the motorcycle club.

"Eighty percent of the men in this club are clean and sober with zero tolerance for illegal activities,'' Yanny said. "They're not a gang, they are a club."

A Northern California Vagos member has been implicated in the Sept. 23 shooting that killed Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, 51, president of the San Jose chapter of the Hells Angels, during a motorcycle festival in Sparks, Nev.

Pettigrew was inside John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort when he was shot four times in the back, authorities said. Last week, Vagos gang member Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, 53, of San Jose, was arrested in San Francisco on suspicion of murder in the shooting. Investigators from the Inland Empire are assisting with the investigation.

Authorities on Thursday also asked for the public's help in identifying the victim of a suspected gang rape by four Vagos members at the Starting Gate bar in Los Alamitos in March. The victim has yet to step forward.

"We believe she's been threatened and intimidated into not reporting the rape,'' King said. "We're trying to identify her and let her know that she will be protected.''

More than 25 Vagos members and associates were taken into custody before Thursday's raids. Authorities also had recovered a rocket launcher, grenade launcher, body armor and, in a raid in Los Angeles, 20 kilos of cocaine.

The state Department of Justice launched "Operation Simple Green" in 2010 to dismantle the Vagos' extensive narcotics operation, which included the distribution of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroinand marijuana. The Vagos' narcotics suppliers include the Mexican drug cartels, among others, San Bernardino Police Officer Erick Bennett said.

Bennett said the operation, born out of a simple narcotics investigation that led to the Vagos, eventually uncovered evidence of an unsuccessful murder-for-hire plot, two suspected rapes, extortion and auto theft.

COVERED in tattoos and hurling bricks at the media after the shooting of his 11-year-old son, bikie Mark Sandery symbolised public fears about outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Mark Sandery. Source: Supplied

Even if his anger at the reckless attack last weekend at Semaphore was understandable, Sandery's violent reaction was frightening.

It had all the hallmarks of the anti-social bikie gang member.

While the Finks were quick to deny that Sandery was a member, that the shooting had anything to do with bikies, or that they had put a bounty on those responsible, the incident highlighted how the gangs have survived State Government's vows to wipe them out.

The Government is now working up a second attempt to smash bikies after the High Court ruled core elements of its controversial anti-association laws invalid.

Attorney-General John Rau will introduce revised legislation.

However, gang insiders and the state's legal fraternity claim the war on bikies has been counter-productive and drawn bikies together against a common enemy - the Government.

Hours after November's ruling Finks, Gypsy Jokers and Descendants shared drinks and stories at Gouger St's Talbot Hotel in a remarkable and rare display of unity.

For years, the cosmopolitan strip had hosted gang battles, including a 2008 shootout where dozens of bystanders had to dive for cover.

The new Serious and Organised Crime laws again target the gangs at the institutional level. It concedes traditional laws have failed to wipe out extortion, drug trafficking, assault and arms dealing, which police say are rife in the clubs.

Instead it tries to prevent the gangs from existing at all, declaring them outlaw.

The new legislation hopes to overcome the High Court's objections, which were based on the fact the Attorney-General effectively instructed the court to make the declaration.

This time it shifts the power to declare gangs to be criminal outfits from the politicians to the Supreme Court.

It will be broad enough to apply to groups including the New Boys and Gang of 49. It retains several controversial elements including the lack of ability for a defendant to sight or challenge secret evidence against them gathered by police.

It also shifts much of the onus of proof onto the defendant, rather than their accuser.

Mr Rau has expressed discomfort with curtailing long-established legal rights, but says it is a necessary evil in fighting a greater one.

"We are still shocked by violent crimes and many people do not feel as safe as they should," he said. "This means more has to be done. Organised criminal groups are responsible for much of serious community crime.

"Although random acts of violence can never be entirely eliminated, organised criminal activity can be and must be hit hard."

But a senior bikie told The Advertiser that prominence given to the war on gangs had boosted membership and enticed many disenfranchised young men with an even harder edge than the older generation. Those "rebellious" men sometimes operated outside the accepted bikie club culture which made them unpredictable and difficult to control.

"A mate said to me that if the cops just left us alone we would have just about died out and gone away by now," the source said.

Sandery publicly quit the Finks, but under the new laws he could struggle to prove that before a court. The retrospective nature of them means past activity can be used as evidence for issuing a control order and having one removed would be difficult.

A clause in the new laws also means anyone wearing gang colours or tattoos at the time of an offence "will be presumed to be participating in the criminal organisation".

Law Society SA President Ralph Bonig said the new Serious and Organised Crime laws were legally cleaner than those which came before, but more objectionable in principle.

"In terms of an overall general invasion of people's rights and rights of association, it goes much further than the first round," he said.

"The breadth of the powers could capture people who have never been engaged in serious criminal activity, because they're in a gang or may have had minor criminal activity."

He flagged new challenges from gang members seeking to have the laws struck down on civil libertarian or human rights grounds.

"The question is: Is this about tackling serious and organised crime or is this about giving law enforcement agencies extensive powers to curtail and to limit people's general rights?" Mr Bonig said. "I would say it's about the latter and it should be about the former."

Hell's Angels biker gangs shut down in Frankfurt

 

Hell's Angels motorbike gangs have been outlawed from the German city of Frankfurt. State authorities banned the bikers after accusing of them of criminal activity and seizing control of the streets.   State authorities have banned the Hell's Angels motorbike gangs in Frankfurt, on the grounds that they were engaged in criminal activity. Boris Rhein, interior minister for the state of Hesse, accused the gangs of running drug and prosecution rackets through which they had seized control of the streets. "This is a clear signal that we won't allow a state within the state," said Rhein, adding that the gangs were disciplined by a vow of silence. All assets of the outlawed Westend and Frankfurt chapters of the Hell's Angels were seized under the ban. Each chapter is believed that have around 90 members. Two other Hell's Angels groups were banned in other parts of Germany in June and last year, although gangs in the rest of Germany remain legal.

Manchester gang shooting earns veteran a 10-20 year prison sentence

 

prospective member of an outlaw motorcycle gang has received a rare maximum sentence for assault, following the shooting of a teen following a gang melee at a pizza joint last year. Kristofer Haken, 32, formerly of Londonderry, was sentenced to 10-20 years in prison by Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge Gillian Abramson on Wednesday. Haken had pleaded guilty to second-degree assault for shooting a high school student during a gang turf war at Luigi’s Pizza Bar and Grill, according to Hillsborough County Attorney Dennis Hogan. Police were called to the restaurant at 712 Valley Street around 8:30 p.m. on April 16, 2010 following what Hogan described as a “tense confrontation.” Members of two motorcycle gangs, the Hell’s Angels and the Outlaws, began fighting in the parking lot and the bar’s owner, Petros Kostakis, fired several rounds from a handgun into the air to try and break up the melee, Hogan said. Shortly after that, Haken, who was a prospective member of one of the motorcycle groups, went into his girlfriend, Alica Cote’s, vehicle and retrieved a .20 gauge shotgun, got into the passenger seat and fired the gun out the window as Cote drove away, Hogan said. The blast was toward three high school boys, who were completely unconnected to the gangs, and hit one of them in the hand and leg causing serious injuries, Hogan said. At the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Haken’s lawyers presented evidence that he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder after serving in the military in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hogan said. But Manchester Police Chief David Mara testified at the hearing – also a relatively rare occurrence – that a long sentence would send a message that Manchester will not tolerate gang violence, Hogan said. In the end, Abramson sentenced Haken to the maximum sentence for the felony assault charge, suspending 21⁄2 of the minimum term, Hogan said.

Motorcycle gangs extending reach in Alberta

 

Seven years ago, Shannon Trottier was left with a gaping hole in her life when she watched her 34-year-old son die in her arms. Joey Campbell, also known as Joey Morin, was rushed to hospital after he was sprayed with bullets outside a west-end strip club, but his injuries were too severe to overcome. A second man, Robert Simpson, died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. Both men were affiliated with outlaw motorcycle gangs — at that time the Bandidos — and the killer has yet to be brought to justice. The shooting marks the last time any significant violence among bikers erupted onto city streets and police are holding their breath it will stay that way given the province’s changing biker club scene. According to Sgt. Marc Labonte of the Edmonton Integrated Intelligence Unit for the RCMP, during the last two years Alberta has seen one of the largest increases in outlaw motorcycle gangs across the country. Labonte wouldn’t name the specific clubs that have set up shop in the province, but said there are now four main clubs referred to as “one-percenters” — a term given to outlaw motorcycle clubs that aren’t always just out for a good time — as opposed to one main group with four chapters. Two new one-percenters showed up in the last year, and each one has one to three chapters. In addition, police have identified at least eight “puppet” clubs or associate clubs, which consists of members aspiring to become part of the main clubs, so they conduct certain business to prove themselves worthy. In early 2009, Labonte said there were maybe two or three associate clubs in the province. The bikers are also spreading their wings. Two or three years ago, Labonte said the one-percenters were limited to Edmonton and Calgary, but they have since spread to cities throughout the province, and it’s largely attributed to the booming economy. “The economy was good, so there was money. Where there’s money, there is always a criminality,” said Labonte. Police are closely keeping tabs on the most recent outlaw motorcycle clubs to arrive in the province. But Labonte isn’t expecting an all-out turf war to erupt any time soon — like the one going on between the Hells Angels and Rock Machine in Winnipeg, which experienced a series of firebombings and shootings, including one that put a 14-year-old boy in hospital with gunshot wounds. In the past, some of the biker gangs in Alberta have been responsible for homicides, home invasions, drugs, prostitution, money laundering and extortion. Labonte said there has been an increase in criminality among the clubs in recent years — the most notable were home invasions where “somebody didn’t pay up.” But often crimes such as this go undetected, making it difficult for law enforcement to get involved. “The victim, who’s a criminal usually, will not report it to police because they know what these guys can do,” said Labonte, who noted biker gangs try to keep violence from spilling onto the street. “They don’t want to make a big scene. They will be very low profile because they don’t want the public against them. They are like a business. They don’t want to be known as bad guys.” Although police aren’t concerned there will be an all-out turf war in Alberta, Mounties are cognizant things could change since many of the clubs are connected regionally and nationally. In 2004, Criminal Intelligence Service Canada listed the Hell's Angels as the largest and most powerful outlaw motorcycle gang in Canada, with approximately 500 members belonging to 34 chapters across the country, in which at least three were in Alberta. The following year, the director of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Alberta told the Sun the Hells Angels wouldn’t allow any competitors to set up shop in Alberta. But police believe the momentum has changed since then. Labonte noted there are about five or six one-percenters in the U.S. Alberta now has four of them — and they seem to be talking and negotiating with each other. Police have heard of instances where one group has stolen another group’s patch, which sends a message you are not allowed to be here. So far the bikers seem to be using the gesture as a way to start talking to one another and lay grounds for respect, said Labonte. Whether those talks are peaceful remains to be seen. “It’s always troublesome. It happened in Edmonton and a small rural community, so now we have to be careful because that could escalate,” said Labonte. “Some of them are into criminality. It doesn’t mean they are all into criminality.”

WHOEVER shot the son of Mark Sandery broke "the paramount rule" of outlaw bikies, sources close to the gangs have warned.

 Two men broke into this Semaphore house, smashed windows and shot the son of Finks club member Mark Sandery. Source: Sunday Mail (SA) 

 A Finks member, right, who was at this Semaphore house where the son, 11, of notorious Fink Mark Sandery was shot on Friday night. Picture: Digitally enhanced imageSource: AdelaideNow 

 

The Advertiser  has been told the shooting of the boy, 11, goes against the core values of bikies.

"When it comes to dealing with rivals, there are no hard and fast rules except for two," a source said yesterday.

"You try not to do it in public, and the paramount rule is that you never, ever hurt the wife or the kids.

"To a lot of the guys, their children mean everything ... that's why you just don't do it."

Sandery was a member of the Finks Outlaw Motorcycle Club, but there are conflicting reports on whether he remains a member.

His son was injured when two male intruders burst into a home on Military Rd, Semaphore, on Friday night.

Alleged hit-run death case on hold until next year

 

trial over an alleged hit-and-run death of a man in the rural area of Darwin has been put off until March next year. Hells Angels member Nicholas Frank "Shonky" Cassidy has been charged with causing the death of Levi Griffiths, whose body was found on the side of the Stuart Highway at Coolalinga last month. It is alleged he was hit by a utility and that his body was moved. Darwin Magistrates Court heard today that more than 100 witnesses will be called in the case. The court was told that all of the prosecution's forensic evidence has not been handed in yet. Cassidy's bail was continued.

OUTLAW bikies are believed to have put a $500,000 price on the heads of gang members who allegedly shot the son of a former Finks member.

Former Finks Bikie gang member Mark Sandery outside the Adelaide Magistrates Court.

South Australian police are aware of the offer, which leaves them in no doubt club members want to handle reprisals for the shooting of the 11-year-old without their intervention.

Mark Sandery's son was shot twice in the leg after armed intruders forced their way into a Semaphore house on Friday night. Police have received no co-operation from witnesses.

A source told Melbourne's Herald Sun: "The Finks are offering $500,000 to bring this bloke into any clubhouse in Australia. Every crook in Australia knows about it."

The Advertiser understands the Women's and Children's Hospital, where the boy is recovering, remains on high security alert, with some staff said to be terrified there could be further outbreaks of violence.

Twenty-Six members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang gathered in a federal courtroom Monday

 

 

Twenty-Six members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang gathered in a federal courtroom Monday, but only one of the arrested individuals received a hearing.

Martin Thomas Forschner, an alleged member of the gang, was one of the 26 arrested Thursday..

Evidence from a wiretap was brought forth in his hearing, which the prosecutor said showed him involved in a meth delivery at another defendant’s house. Forschner had served time in jail, and also had several instances where he failed to appear in court.

However his attorney said that in the past five years since his release, he has behaved well, taking care of his wife and mother-and-law and working at an automotive repair shop. Still, with his record, the magistrate said that he still posed a risk of flight. He was ordered detained.

Eleven others were given stipulated custody without bail at the hearing. The remaining suspects were delayed, and may be heard Thursday instead. One attorney told the family of a defendant that he would be asking for a later hearing, as the judge was in a “deny, deny, deny” mood.

Police and FBI officials are still on the lookout for four fugitives who evaded arrest.

Former Hells Angels leader to be extradited to California

 

former president of the San Diego Hells Angels will be extradited to California before the end of the month to face charges of kidnapping, robbing and torturing a fellow gang member in San Diego. Stephen Sanders, 42, surrendered Thursday night to federal and local authorities at Ala Moana Beach Park. He will be held without bail at Oahu Community Correctional Center until he is returned to San Diego before Nov. 1. Circuit Judge Steve Alm approved the extradition order this afternoon. Sanders was one of four men wanted in the 2007 incident, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The four men are accused of kidnapping, torturing, assaulting and robbing a man who informed the club that he no longer wanted to be a member . He faces charges of aggravated mayhem, kidnapping for ransom, robbery and torture. The man was beaten, and his Hells Angels tattoos, which ran up three sides of his neck and both arms, were tattooed over. The assailants forced him to sign over the title to his motorcycle, the newspaper reported.

Authorities say they have arrested a former Hells Angels leader at a park in Honolulu.

 FBI agents and Honolulu police took Stephen Sanders, former head of the San Diego Hells Angels, into custody without incident in Ala Moana Park on Thursday, Agent Tom Simon said. The 42-year-old Sanders was wanted in California in connection with a 2007 robbery and kidnapping. The Hawaii arrest comes the same day that more than two dozen members of the Hells Angels and their associates were apprehended in a series of San Diego County raids. FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth told the San Diego Union-Tribune (http://bit.ly/rmikpu ) that the 26 arrests came at the end of a violent crimes task force investigation. Simon said Sanders' arrest on the same day of the raids was a coincidence.

Hells Angel slaying suspect arrested in San Fran

 

University of California, San Francisco police have arrested the suspect in the slaying of the president of a Hells Angels chapter at a Nevada casino. UCSF Assistant Police Chief Paul Berlin says 53-year-old Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez was taken into custody after he was spotted by an officer just a block from campus police headquarters around 8:20 p.m. Thursday. Gonzalez was apparently in a parked 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. He is being held pending the arrival of police from Sparks, Nev., where he is accused of killing Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew inside a casino on Sept. 23. Authorities say Gonzalez is an alleged member of the Vagos gang and shot the 51-year-old Pettigrew four times in the back. Pettigrew was the president of the San Jose chapter of the Hells Angels.

Danish court jails 15 motorbike gang members for murder attempts on rivals

 

Danish court has sentenced 15 motorbike gang members to jail for six murder attempts on rival gang members. The court said Thursday the bikers would spend from three to 15 years in prison, following the country’s biggest biker-related trial. Loading... Comments Weigh InCorrections? Copenhagen’s city court ruled earlier this month that members of the Hells Angels and their support group, AK81, were guilty of a series of shootings in the Danish capital in 2009. No one was killed but one victim had his leg amputated. The gangs have been feuding over control of criminal markets, including drug trade.

Hells Angels' president killed in Sparks shooting

 

Police confirm the president of the San Jose chapter of the Hell's Angels, Jeffrey Pettigrew died while two Vagos club members are being treated for their injuries. Sparks Police say a group of members from the Hell's Angels and Vagos motorcycle clubs got into a fight near the Trader Dick's bar late Friday night. Police have made no arrests for the murder or shootings of the other victims.

Gang violence at Sparks Nugget Hotel results in shooting of Sacramento biker

 

More details are becoming available in shooting death in Sparks, Nevada involving the Hells Angels and a rival motorcycle gang. The shooting late Friday night at the John Asguaga's Nugget Hotel resulted in the death of a Hells Angel leader from San Jose and injuries to 2 rival Vagos gang members. The gang members were among thousands of attendees at the annual Sparks "street vibrations" event. Concern about retaliation led local and state officials to declare a to a state of emergency, which was eventually lifted around 5 p.m. on Saturday. A Sacramento gang detective investigating the case in Nevada said one of the gang members shot at in retaliation is from Sacramento. That gang member was shot twice in the chest Saturday morning. He was expected to survive. In response to concerns about retaliation, a Sacramento ATF agent said, "We always try to be aware of crimes of violence in our community. We try to anticipate when and where there will be violations of the federal firearm and explosive laws. We are watching this very closely," said Graham Barlowe, ATF Sacramento's Resident Agent in Charge.

Dunedin gang members arrested following clash

 

Armed police have been guarding a residential street in Dunedin overnight after a clash between rival gangs involving baseball bats and guns. Police arrived at the known gang address on Allenby Ave in Pine Hill just after 4pm yesterday after dozens of calls from worried residents. Half an hour later, a gang member was discovered at Dunedin hospital with a gun shot wound to the arm. Ten gang members were taken into custody - five Mongrel Mob members, five Black Power.

Hells Angels and Vagos Motorcycle Gangs Go to War in Nevada Casino

The Hells Angels motorcycle gang is minus one California leader after a wild shootout in a Nevada casino. The Vagos motorcycle gang survived the fight with two members wounded. The violent fight caused the city's Mayor to temporarily declare a state of emergency and stop a biker festival. It wasn't long before a drive-by shooting wounded another biker in retaliation.

Friday night at John Ascuaga's Nugget Hotel and Casino in Sparks, Nevada, was the scene of the bloody altercation between the two gangs. Eyewitnesses say a Hells Angels member fired the first shot and a surveillance video clearly shows a biker shooting wildly into the casino crowd. Police have charged Hells Angel, Cesar Villagrana, with assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a stolen firearm after seeing the video.

According to one witness, the shooting started when one Hells Angel was punched in the nose. He went on to say the biker jumped up with the bloody nose and pulled a gun and fired. The scene must have been horrific and must have scared the casino's patrons into taking cover. When bikers start fight, it's time to take cover.

Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, age 51, was the member of the Hells Angels killed at the casino. He was the leader of the San Jose, California, branch of the gang. The two wounded bikers were listed as 45-year-old Leonard Ramirez and 28-year-old Diego Garcia, both members of the Vagos. It's a miracle more people weren't killed or wounded. It is a good thing these guys are not better shots.

The casino fight broke out about 11:30 Friday night and by 10:49 the next morning another biker had been shot on the streets of Sparks. The town was hosting a biker festival called "Street Vibrations" where the shooting occurred. A biker was shot in the stomach by someone riding in a black BMW. Reno Police Department Lt. Amy Newman has commented that the second shooting was "definitely" revenge. Could the Hells Angels be in a continuing war with the Vagos? Only time will tell.

 

 

Police keep close watch on Ballarat as bikies visit

 

POLICE hit Ballarat’s streets in force on Saturday night for a high-visibility public order operation, coinciding with a visit from the Finks Outlaw Motorcycle Club. While Victoria Police would not confirm the gathering was a prelude to any increased bikie presence in Ballarat, they said they would continue to maintain increased vigilance over any potential illegal activities. As part of the operation, a Victoria Police marked camera van was parked for extended periods in the northbound lane of Doveton Street, with a clear view down Grainery Lane. Men wearing colours and insignia representing the Finks Motorcycle Club and its supporter groups were seen coming and going from a red-brick building in Grainery Lane during the day and into the night. Several men bearing the club’s insignia also stood at the entrance to Grainery Lane for much of the night. Ballarat police divisional superintendent Andrew Allen said there was no confirmation the Finks were establishing a chapter in Ballarat. He also said it was the “first time there’s been any activity from them” in the area. “I can confirm that a number of people who we believe to be part of the Finks Outlaw Motorcycle Club were visiting a location in Ballarat on Saturday night,” he said. “We believe they’re from a Melbourne chapter.” Superintendent Allen said police were aware of the visit well in advance and involved the state’s bikie-gang taskforce to assist with the high-visibility police operation. “We received some intelligence that suggested members of the Finks might be going to visit Ballarat, so we involved Taskforce Echo,” he said. “The use of the marked police camera van was to prevent and detect offences and it has been quite successful in the past.”

Hells Angels chapter president died in a casino shootout with a rival biker gang.

 

The city of Sparks, Nev., declared a state of emergency Saturday after a Hells Angels chapter president died in a casino shootout with a rival biker gang. Mayor Geno Martini also canceled the Street Vibrations biker festival that was under way in the city, which is located adjacent to Reno where an annual air show was canceled when a plane crashed into the grandstand earlier this month. The announcement came after the man killed in the Friday night shooting at John Ascuaga's Nugget casino was identified as Jeffrey Pettigrew, president of the San Jose, Calif., chapter of the Hells Angels. The gunfire also left two members of the rival Vagos in stable condition at an area hospital and landed another Hells Angel in jail on a charge assault with a deadly weapon. Police said in a written statement that another biker, who was not identified, was shot at a traffic light at 10:40 a.m. Saturday by a gunman driving a BMW sedan. Although the two incidents could not be definitively linked, the city decided it was time to clamp down in the situation. Along with the cancellation of the biker festival, police beefed up patrols in the downtown area.

David Glasser would-be witness against a Hells Angel with a violent reputation had turned into a nervous wreck

 

Friends say he lived in fear. In the months before his murder, those closest to David Glasser say the would-be witness against a Hells Angel with a violent reputation had turned into a nervous wreck. "He was getting really scattered and frantic the past couple of weeks. He couldn't even sit down -- he'd pace. You could see the fear written across his face," said Rick Reynolds, Glasser's longtime friend. "He was openly, admittedly terrified." Friends and acquaintances of Glasser's say prosecutors ignored his pleas for protection as a witness, even as he was poised to testify against a man who allegedly had threatened to kill him for cooperating with police. Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless said his office took steps to ensure Glasser's safety. Capeless described a man who said he felt safe in his apartment, preferring to stay in his Pittsfield home rather than relocate at the suggestion of police. In either case, Glasser had reason to be afraid. According to court records, Adam Lee Hall, a member of the Berkshire County chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, already had beaten Glasser with a baseball bat -- and that was just when Hall thought Glasser had stolen a carburetor from him. After that 2009 incident, authorities Advertisement persuaded Glasser to become a witness against Hall on drug, gun and assault charges. That prompted more threats from Hall, who later was accused by police of setting Glasser up to take the fall for a bogus armed robbery in an effort to keep him from testifying. Fifteen days ago, Glasser's body was found along with two of his friends, buried in a boulder-covered trench on private property in Becket. The friends -- fellow Pittsfield residents Edward S. Frampton and Robert T. Chadwell -- were killed because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, according to authorities. The discovery of the bodies came just nine days before Glasser had been scheduled to testify Sept. 19 against Hall in Berkshire Superior Court in connection with the assault and framing incidents. The discovery of the bodies came just nine days before Glasser had been scheduled to testify Sept. 19 against Hall in Berkshire Superior Court in connection with the assault and framing incidents. Police since have arrested Hall -- a 34-year-old Peru resident -- and two alleged accomplices. The three have been charged with three counts of murder, witness intimidation and kidnapping, and a fourth suspect has been charged with helping to bury the bodies. Glasser's murder has sparked an outcry from the victims' families, who say the District Attorney's Office and police didn't do enough to protect their witness. "They never did anything to help David," said Donna Randolph, whom Glasser called "Mom" and talked with at least once a week. Glasser was estranged from his family at a young age, according to Randolph, and no one in the family could be located for comment by The Eagle. However, Randolph and others close to Glasser said he had complained to them that he had gone to authorities and asked for witness protection as recently as a month before his murder. "He came to my house right after he'd been to the police one of those times," said Randolph, 67, of Pittsfield. Randolph said Glasser, 44, had been told by officers that nothing could be done and to let police know if anything happened. The Pittsfield Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police referred questions to the Berkshire County district attorney. Capeless said he's never denied a "reasonable request for protection of a witness." He insists his office did everything it could to protect Glasser, including relocating him twice at its suggestion. Capeless said that after each of the two relocations -- which were intended to be temporary -- Glasser had opted to return home, saying he felt safe. "On each occasion he said, ‘Look, I feel OK now and I'd like to go back to my apartment,' " Capeless said. "Ultimately it is his decision. We can't make witnesses relocate." Capeless said it's normal for witnesses to want to stay in their homes. "They want to control their lives." Capeless said. But Glasser's friends say he only stayed in his apartment because he had nowhere else to go. "He wasn't there because he wanted to be," Randolph said. The state has a witness protection fund, which pays for lodging, living and transportation expenses. District attorneys can submit petitions to fund the relocation of a key witness. Capeless said his office never submitted such a petition. Capeless declined to go into detail about his office's two temporary relocations of Glasser. Capeless wouldn't say when they took place, where Glasser was relocated to, or how long he stayed. Capeless said that speaking more about steps his office took to protect Glasser could compromise the safety of other witnesses against Hall who have opted to relocate. But no one who knew Glasser said they had heard anything about his being relocated by the District Attorney's Office. Asked about that, Capeless said: "People aren't supposed to know about it. That's the point." But Glasser's friends say they don't believe Capeless. "It's not true," Randolph said. "They never, never relocated David. They never did anything to help David. He would have let me know. He was like my son. We were very close. He would have told my husband and me one way or another." Likewise, Glasser's friend Rick Reynolds -- along with three other friends contacted by The Eagle who asked not to be identified -- said Glasser hadn't been relocated and never got the help he was asking for. The Eagle got some insight into Glasser's psyche in 2005. In an eloquently worded letter to the editor published that year, Glasser said in the first sentence that he was "mentally and physically challenged." He went on to write that he had diabetes, which "sometimes mimics being drunk," and that he had been "wrongfully fired" from jobs and treated unfairly in other instances because of people's "misunderstanding" of the issue. Glasser's main point in the letter was that he wanted to bring "an awareness of how we treat each other." He made no other reference to his mental condition in the letter. Capeless said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on Glasser's mental capacity. Randolph said she wasn't clear about the nature of Glasser's challenges, but said he "functioned a little bit slowly." Glasser did, however, understand the danger he was in, Randolph said. "Oh, he understood," she said. "He was absolutely terrified. There's no other way to put it." The terror that filled Glasser's life is well documented. According to court records, during the 2009 baseball-bat incident, Hall beat Glasser over a missing carburetor -- leaving his face black, blue and swollen -- and forced him to sign the title of his truck over to Hall. Then, according to the records, Hall made Glasser drive himself to Berkshire Medical Center in Hall's Hummer with Hall in the passenger seat. Before Glasser got out of the car, Hall told him that if he went to the police, he would be killed, according to a transcript of an interview police conducted with Glasser. Trooper Dale Gero responded to the emergency room at BMC after the staff reported a suspected assault and battery. After being treated at BMC, Glasser was taken to the Cheshire State Police barracks for an interview, in which he recounted the incident. According to Gero's report, at the end of the interview, Glasser asked if the state police had a witness protection program, and he told the trooper he was afraid of Hall retaliating against him. After being treated at BMC, Glasser was taken to the Cheshire State Police barracks for an interview, in which he recounted the incident. According to Gero's report, at the end of the interview, Glasser asked if the state police had a witness protection program, and he told the trooper he was afraid of Hall retaliating against him. According to the report, Glasser was escorted out of the barracks and told to contact "the police if anything further happened." Two days later, Glasser came in for a follow-up interview with investigators. Just before that interview, Glasser again told police he believed Hall would kill him, according to police records. Hall was arrested that day and was released three months later on a $50,000 bond. Glasser, meanwhile, was living in the Linden Street apartment he shared with Frampton. Glasser's name doesn't appear in court records again until Hall allegedly framed Glasser for armed robbery in New York state on Aug. 14, 2010. According to police, Hall and his associates planted a gun and other evidence in Glasser's truck in an effort to connect him to the supposed robbery. Pittsfield lawyer Alexander Schmulsky was appointed to defend Glasser against the charges. They met in a jail cell in the basement of Central Berkshire District Court. "He was concerned for his safety," Schmulsky said. "He was scared." A few days later, Schmulsky got a call from the District Attorney's Office saying the charges had been dropped. Schmulsky said Glasser was in the hands of the DA's office after that and that he never heard from his client again. Meanwhile, Hall was re-arrested. He was released on bail in March of this year, on a $250,000 bond. Even though Hall had been released pending his trial, Capeless said Glasser had stopped feeling unsafe when he started working with police as a witness, adding that law enforcement had been in "regular" contact with him. Capeless declined to be more specific about the nature of the contact, but said that each time officers checked in with Glasser, Glasser told them he was fine. "After Glasser became further involved with this office, he did not express that he felt unsafe," Capeless said. "Anytime he was staying in his apartment, he remained there because he felt safe and he wanted to be in his home." Friends strongly disagree with the district attorney's assessment of Glasser's feelings. They say Glasser -- known to mind his own business -- was manipulated into testifying against Hall. "He didn't want to testify," Reynolds said. "He said he was being pressured. I think they [DA's office] used that he was angry about being jumped, being beaten, having his truck taken [to get him to testify]. It hurt his pride. I think the police used that to say, ‘Do something about it.' " Reynolds said Glasser also believed he might be charged with possession of cocaine if he didn't testify, a notion Capeless strongly disagrees with. "He felt like he was in a no-win situation," Reynolds said. Capeless denies that Glasser was pressured into doing anything he didn't want to do. He said Glasser understood that by testifying against Hall, he would be protecting himself and others, effectively ensuring that Hall would go to prison. "People have to understand that if they don't come forward, these kinds of people will be walking the street," Capeless said. Still, Glasser's former lawyer said Capeless' job is about more than just putting people behind bars. "The district attorney's only job isn't to win the trial, it's to provide justice for the people of Berkshire County," Schmulsky said. "Where's the justice for Mr. Glasser today?" Capeless said his office did the best it could with the information it had at the time. He said it's easy to second guess after the fact. Randolph, meanwhile, said her last visit with Glasser is burned in her memory. "I didn't see him but for a couple of minutes the last time," she said. "He hugged me and I hugged him, and he said, ‘I love you, Ma,' and I told him I loved him. I miss him. Every day."