Oops

SeaCat

Hey, my Halo is smoking
Joined
Sep 23, 2003
Posts
15,378
Now this was interesting to read. I'm wondering how this is going to change things, if it does.

At Least 31 Arrested In Motorcycle Gang Bust CBS 2 / KCAL 9 Los Angeles LOS ANGELES – Dozens of burly, tattoo-covered members of the Mongol motorcycle gang were arrested Tuesday by federal agents in six states following a three-year investigation in which undercover agents infiltrated the group.

More than 60 members of the Southern California-based Mongol Motorcycle Club were arrested under a federal racketeering indictment that included charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, as well as gun and drug violations, said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesman Mike Hoffman.

During some arrests, sharpshooters stood guard on surrounding rooftops as motorcycles were lined up and confiscated.

"It's going to be a large hit to their organization. We are arresting many of their top members," Hoffman said.

U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said he believed it to be the highest number of arrests of a motorcycle gang in the nation's history.

His staff planned to ask a judge for an injunction to seize the Mongols' trademarked name, a first for federal authorities. If the order is approved, no member would be able to wear a jacket or ride a bike bearing the gang's name.

"It would allow law enforcement to seize the leather jackets right off their back," O'Brien said.

Federal and local agents had 110 federal arrest warrants and 160 search warrants that were being served across Southern California and in Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Ohio. The sweep, dubbed Operation Black Rain, was to continue throughout the day Tuesday, agents said.

Among those arrested were the gang's former national president, Ruben Cavazos.

Hoffman said the Mongols had been recruiting members of Los Angeles street gangs to assist in their operations.

The Mongols are primarily Latino and formed because the Hells Angels refused to allow Hispanic members.

Four ATF agents infiltrated the gang and were accepted as full members, a difficult process that requires winning the trust of the gang's top leaders over a period of months, Hoffman said.

The agents were required to live away from their families in homes set up to make it look like they lived a Mongols lifestyle, Hoffman said. Four undercover women ATF agents also were involved in the operation, pretending to be biker girlfriends and attending parties with the agents; women are not allowed to become full members of the gang.

"If you go to a party all the time and you don't ever bring a girl around, it's kind of weird," Hoffman said. "Someone might get suspicious."

To be accepted in the gang, the ATF agents had to run errands and were subject to a background check by private detectives.

Outside Cavazos' home in West Covina, about 18 miles east of Los Angeles, a red, custom-modified Harley-Davidson motorbike sat outside. No occupants were home but several police and ATF agents were seen going through items in the house.

Cavazos wrote a memoir titled "Honor Few, Fear None: The Life and Times of a Mongol," published by HarperCollins in June. HarperCollins publicist Sarah Burningham in New York City said she only handles book-related issues for Cavazos, but would forward an e-mail from The Associated Press requesting comment.

Another former Mongols national president, Roger Pinney, alleged in an interview with The Associated Press that Cavazos was the problem, not the club in general.

"They were just on the verge of cleaning up their act," said Pinney, who is no longer a member and is serving probation from his role in an infamous brawl at Laughlin, Nev., in 2002 in which three people died. "It's not a club-run deal. It's individuals who are the ones who decide to commit crimes."

Pinney said he warned other club members that Cavazos was trouble.

"He was throwing all the good members out and bringing gang members in," Pinney said. "He was trying to be a drug lord or something."

Pinney doesn't believe the raid will force the Mongols off the road. "The Mongols aren't going away, and neither are the Hells Angels," he said.

Cat
 
Kudos to the cops or ATF who arrested these guys, especially those brave enough to go undercover, but I think all this has done is create a vacuum that other criminals will soon fill -- maybe by tomorrow. I've seen a lot of arrests like this around here growing up. It's never long before the sounds of more Harleys in the distance are heard after the jail door slams shut.
 
It's great they got these guys but that part about getting an injunction on their name is worrisome. Making it legal for cops to simply take a jacket off someone's back because it bears a name or logo...free speech anyone?

We've got a big enough problem in public schools with officials hammering down on dress codes due to gang activity. Are we going to reach a point where we have dress codes like that for everyone in society.
 
that part about getting an injunction on their name is worrisome. Making it legal for cops to simply take a jacket off someone's back because it bears a name or logo...free speech anyone?

That bothers me too because it sound more like petty revenge than it does anything else.
 
Props to the cops for their hard work. But I fear it wont put a dent in anything let along stop it. Might slow them down for a bit. But you have to try to put a stop to crime.
 
Mongols

Since they arrested former presidents, I'm guessing it is just the current leaders way of shutting them up. Get the Feds to do the dirty work for him.
 
It's great they got these guys but that part about getting an injunction on their name is worrisome. Making it legal for cops to simply take a jacket off someone's back because it bears a name or logo...free speech anyone?

We've got a big enough problem in public schools with officials hammering down on dress codes due to gang activity. Are we going to reach a point where we have dress codes like that for everyone in society.

Trademark law has nothing to do with the Constitutional right to free speech. Different areas of law alltogether.
 
That bothers me too because it sound more like petty revenge than it does anything else.

This bothers me as well. It does seem petty. Why don't we just let the authorities line them up and machine-gun them instead. Much less petty.
 
It's great they got these guys but that part about getting an injunction on their name is worrisome. Making it legal for cops to simply take a jacket off someone's back because it bears a name or logo...free speech anyone?

We've got a big enough problem in public schools with officials hammering down on dress codes due to gang activity. Are we going to reach a point where we have dress codes like that for everyone in society.
Funny. Officials get all knotted up over gang colours but no one bats an eye at fraternity rings or school ties.
 
Funny. Officials get all knotted up over gang colours but no one bats an eye at fraternity rings or school ties.

Maybe once fraternities and school alumni begin an organized trade in crack cocaine and start engaging in drive-by shootings they will.
 
Funny. Officials get all knotted up over gang colours but no one bats an eye at fraternity rings or school ties.

It helps that those people give thousands of dollars to the local schools. Of course, in public schools, they'll crack down on anything if more than three people are wearing it. Like the school that dropped the hammer on a bunch of kids wearing a t-shirt to memorialize the death of a student.
 
Hmmmmm,

I can understand some of the replies and comments here. Especially about the banning or outlawing of the colors which makes it legal for the Police to confiscate the colors.

I personally don't agree with it 100% but I do understand their reasoning.

To a Bike Club member their colors are sacred. They have to work hard to earn their colors. They have to sacrifice things to get their colors. No one but a member of their club can wear their colors. It shows their attachment to the select group. They would rather die than allow their colors to fall into the hands of a rivals club. They would rather kill rather than allow another to bad talk or dishonor their colors.

You have to understand the Bike Club Culture to understand their feelings. Once you understand their feelings then you can at least understand why the police want to have this groups colors banned. (I'm surprised though that they are limiting themselves to the colors of just this one club.)

I personally don't see this ban lsting very long. It will be challenged in court and be ruled a violation of rights. (As has been mentioned before in this thread.)

The only way to go after the 1% Bike Clubs now is through the R.I.C.O. Act, the I.R.S. and weapons laws. Even so they will be around forever.

Cat
 
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