Pagan's Motorcycle Club

Pagan's Motorcycle Club , ( Engl. For Pagan Motorcycle Club ) and The Pagans or Pagan MC called, is a American motorcycle club , who at the Outlaw Motorcycle gangs are counted. It is classified as a criminal organization by the authorities. The club was founded in 1959 by Lou Dobkin in Prince George's County , Maryland . The club expanded rapidly until 1965. After that, the club, which originally wore blue denim jackets and only drove Triumph Motorcycles branded motorcycles , began to develop into a typical one-center motorcycle club.

The Pagans are perceived by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a criminal organization and an outlaw motorcycle club. They are known to be involved in territorial disputes with their rivals from the Hells Angels and their supporter clubs. The club today consists of around 900 members in 44 chapters. He currently operates in thirteen states: Delaware , Florida , Kentucky , Maryland , New Jersey , New York , North Carolina , Ohio , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , Michigan , Virginia, and West Virginia .

history

The club was founded in 1959 in Prince George County, Maryland by first President Lou Dobkin. The club initially wore denim jackets and rode Triumph Motorcycles. At first the club consisted of only 13 members. In the 1960s, the club adopted a constitution and named a national president. The club was not violent until 1965, when it began to come to terms with La Cosa Nostra . Violence began to rise under President John “Satan” Marron. The Pagans spread mainly through the takeover of smaller MCs.

organization

The main club has no specific location, but is traditionally located in the northeastern United States. The top of the organization consists of 13 to 18 members, each of whom preside over the largest local groups (" chapters ") of Philadelphia. According to police investigations, the level of organization is about as complex and varied as that of the Hells Angels. However, of the four largest outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMG), the Pagan MC is the one with the greatest discipline and the best structured club.

Members must be male, over 21 years old and " Caucasian ". It is mandatory to own an American-made motorcycle.

Identification mark

Members usually wear blue denim vests (called "cuts" or "cutoffs") with club patches on the front and back. The patch of the Pagans MC depicts the Nordic fire giant Surt , who swings a sword while sitting on the sun. Above it is the Pagan’s (sic!) Lettering in red, white and blue. It is unusual that it is not mandatory that the chapter must be named on the denim jacket. However, some members wear a smaller patch that signals the chapter. The usual patches include the "16" (stands for the letter P = Pagan's) and the two club mottos LPDP ("Live Pagan's, Die Pagan's", for example: "Live as Pagan, die as Pagan") and PFFP ("Pagan's Forever , Forever Pagan's "). The club members often wear symbols from the Nazi era or the White Power scene on the front .

Criminal activity

The Pagan MC is involved in the manufacture and smuggling of various illegal drugs, including methamphetamines , marijuana , cocaine , heroin and PCP . They also have links with organized crime, particularly in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Pagans often use smaller support clubs and drug trafficking gangs. Other crimes that have been committed by individual members of the Pagans include assault, arson, bomb attacks and murder.

New Jersey

On July 17, 1994, at least eight pagans attended a Tri-County MC charity event in Hackettstown , New Jersey. They tried to recruit other OMG members there. There was a fight in the course of which two Pagan members were shot. Two Tri-County members were seriously injured.

New York / Pennsylvania

On February 23, 2002, 73 pagans were arrested in Long Island , New York after showing up at a motorcycle and tattoo exhibition called the Hellraiser Ball. The pagans attended the event to confront the local Hells Angels. A mass brawl broke out in the course of which a pagan was shot. Two weeks later, strangers attacked a Pagans tattoo shop in South Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. In 2005, the Pagans shot and killed the Philadelphia Charter vice president.

In September 2010, nineteen members were arrested in Rocky Point , New York, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder. The members were also charged with assault, cocaine and oxycodone trafficking, dating to blackmail and violating the gun law. The target of the attack would probably have been members of the Hells Angels in Hampstead. Previously, federal officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had infiltrated the Pagan MC. One would even have been named Sergeant-at-Arms (head of security), the second highest hierarchy level in the chapter. Allegedly hand-made grenades should be used for the attack.

In June 2011, Dennis Katona, then national president of the Pagan MC, was arrested by the Pennsylvania State Police in Herminie , near Pittsburgh . He is accused of drug possession and trafficking.

Maryland

A leader of the Pagans MCs was arrested on May 9, 2007. Several small arms , explosives and 13 rifles with which he is alleged to have committed violent crimes were seized from him. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

On October 6, 2009, National President David "Bart" Barbeito's home in Myersville was raided. He was arrested for illegally possessing arms and pleaded guilty of arms smuggling in June 2010. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Further investigation

In 2009, a total of 55 Pagan members and allies from West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Florida were arrested and charged under the RICO Act . The charges include kidnapping, smuggling, robbery, extortion, and conspiracy to commit murder. Many of the accused pleaded guilty and were released on payment of small sums of money or short sentences. There was insufficient evidence to induce a conviction. Thomas J. "Grumpy" Morris, ex-president of Avengers MC, was convicted of the kidnapping date and sentenced to 28 months in prison.

Floyd "Jesse" Moore, the former vice president of the Pagan MC, was sentenced to four years and 9 months on February 25, 2011. He has been found guilty of arms smuggling. He is also said to have planned to kill a woman.

literature

• Kerrie Droban and Anthony "LT" Menginie: Hell on Two Wheels - Pagans: Mortal Enemies of the Hells Angels (An insider unpacks ...) . Hannibal Verlag, Höfen 2012, ISBN 978-3-85445-371-0 (Original edition: Prodigal Father, Pagnan Son )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Stephen L. Mallory: Understanding Organized Crime . Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2007, ISBN 0-7637-4108-6 , pp. 157–160 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
2. ↑ Tom Barker: One Percent Biker Clubs - A Description . In: Springer New York (ed.): Trends in Organized Crime . No. September 9 , 2005, ISSN  1084-4791 .
3. ↑ A memorial for a Brother from FAMC (No longer available online.) In: hellsangelsbaltimore.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; accessed on January 9, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Pagan's Biker Gang Busted In Plot To Off Hells Angels. (No longer available online.) Gothamist.com, September 15, 2010, archived from the original on June 22, 2014 ; Retrieved December 18, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Feds arrest members of Pagan Motorcycle Club in multistate sweep
6. ↑ Torim: Biker Tattoos. In: tattoos.lovetoknow.com. Retrieved January 9, 2015 . 
7. ↑ ^{a b c d} Drugs and Crime Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Profile ( Memento from January 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF file)
8. ↑ ^{a b} Gang Library: Pagans. (No longer available online.) Washington / Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), archived from the original on February 25, 2013 ; Retrieved December 17, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ Tom Quigley: Bikers Still Claiming Turf. The Express-Times, January 6, 2003, accessed December 17, 2011 . 
10. ^ Joseph D. Wilcox: 12 local Pagans indicted in melee. (No longer available online.) Pittsburgh Tribune Review, March 13, 2002, archived from the original on April 7, 2014 ; Retrieved December 17, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
11. ↑ Charlie Leduff: A Biker Shot Dead Is Laid to Rest, And a Bloody Turf War Rages On. The New York Times , May 5, 2002, accessed December 17, 2011 . 
12. ↑ Lorraine Gennaro: First blood in possible biker war. South Philly Review, January 20, 2005, accessed December 17, 2011 . 
13. ↑ Members of Pagan Motorcycle Gang arrested on Long Island. Eyewitness News, September 15, 2010, accessed December 17, 2011 . 
14. ↑ John Marzulli: Pagans biker gang plotted to kill rival Hells Angels with grenade attacks, say Feds . In: Daily News . New York September 15, 2010 ( nydailynews.com ). Pagans biker gang plotted to kill rival Hells Angels with grenade attacks, say Feds ( Memento of the original from March 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ↑ Torsten Ove: Pagans leader jailed after Hempfield raid. Pittsburg Post-Gazette, June 30, 2011, accessed December 17, 2011 . 
16. ^ Pagan Motorcycle Club President Sentenced To over Two Years In Federal Prison for Being a Felon in Posession of 19 Guns. (No longer available online.) Usdoj.gov, August 8, 2008, archived from the original on September 8, 2009 ; Retrieved December 17, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
17. ^ Andrew Clevenger: Pagans president sentenced to 30 months on gun charges. The Charleston Gazette, December 20, 2010, accessed December 17, 2011 . 
18. ↑ Virginia McCabe: 55 members of Pagans motorcycle club arrested by FBI on RICO violations. Examiner.com , October 6, 2009, accessed December 18, 2011 . 
19. ^ Andrew Clevenger: Avengers president sentenced to prison in Pagans case. The Charleston Gazette, February 5, 2011, accessed December 18, 2011 . 
20. ^ Former national Vice President of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club Sentenced. (No longer available online.) WVVA.com, February 25, 2011, archived from the original on March 1, 2011 ; Retrieved December 18, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.