bloody gang war between bikers and youths of immigrant origin has shattered Copenhagen's customary calm

bloody gang war between bikers and youths of immigrant origin has shattered Copenhagen's customary calm, prompting officials into threatening draconian legislation.

The latest street violence was sparked in August 2008 when a young Turkish man was killed, supposedly by a member of the Hells Angels group.

Since then, the conflict has left dozens dead or wounded - some innocent bystanders.
In DEPTH

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undercover agent who infiltrated the Hells Angels motorcycle club from 2001 to 2003.

Jay Anthony Dobyns (born 1961), alias Jaybird, is a United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) undercover agent who infiltrated the Hells Angels motorcycle club from 2001 to 2003. He was offered membership into the gang after faking the murder of a rival Mongols Motorcycle Club member and providing ‘evidence’ of the staged murder to Hells Angels leaders. Dobyns’ exploits during Operation Black Biscuit are memorialized in the novels Angels of Death, written by authors Julian Sher and William Marsden, Running With The Devil written by author Kerrie Droban

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former member of the Red Scorpions was sentenced by a BC Supreme court judge

Life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, times two.
That sentence handed down today to a gangster who killed two men.

Anton Hooites-Meursing has pleaded guilty to the first-degree murders of Randy McLeod in 2001 and Gurpreet Rehal in 2003.

The 39-year old former member of the Red Scorpions was sentenced by a BC Supreme court judge in New Westminster.

The 22-year old McLeod was killed in Surrey and his body was then dumped in Langley.

The 19-year old Rehal was gunned down at his home in Abbotsford, and died later in hospital.

Another charge in the October 2003 murder of 24-year old crime boss, John Lahn, has been stayed.

He was shot and killed in Burnaby

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city reeling from its worst financial crisis in decades, the LAPD has stopped paying officers overtime wages, except in rare situations.

One of the LAPD's most productive homicide investigators sat idle for six weeks, unable to follow any leads on old cases or pick up new ones. Kouri was not being punished for misconduct or for botching an investigation. He was benched for working too hard -- and he is not the only one.

With the city reeling from its worst financial crisis in decades, the LAPD has stopped paying officers overtime wages, except in rare situations. In lieu of cash, officials have implemented a strict policy of forcing cops to take time off when they accrue large amounts of overtime hours. Because of demanding work schedules that routinely require them to investigate a case into the night or through the weekend, homicide detectives have been among the first officers to be sent home in significant numbers.

The drain on homicide squads has hampered investigations, several detectives and top department officials said in interviews. Detectives said their investigations are frequently put on hold while they take days off, delaying witness interviews and other potentially important leads. And, in the crucial first hours after a killing, several supervisors said they now dispatch fewer detectives to the crime scene.

A rash of homicides in recent weeks has compounded the problem, placing increased strain on detectives already running up against overtime limits and leaving homicide supervisors to worry that a prolonged surge in killings will quickly overwhelm the stop-gap measures they are currently using to get by.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has used the rise in killings to underscore his frequent warnings to city lawmakers that further cuts to the department's budget would continue to compromise its ability to fight crime.

"The hours have to come from someplace," Beck said last week at a meeting with the Los Angeles Police Commission, which oversees the department. "It has a serious impact on our ability to respond to some of the large, violent incidents we've been experiencing lately. That is especially true of homicide investigations because of the long hours they demand."

In past years, the LAPD typically spent about $100 million in overtime. The department is planning to set aside less than $10 million for the upcoming fiscal year to cover certain work scenarios mandated under federal labor laws.

Before the city's fiscal crisis, an agreement between the department and police union called for officers to build up a bank of about 100 hours of overtime and then be paid cash for hours worked beyond that. Late last year, the department renegotiated the agreement and now officers are not paid until they have accrued 400 hours of extra work. To make sure no officer reaches that trigger point, the department's new policy forbids them from banking more than 250 hours.

In the Southeast Division, where Kouri works, the 11-person homicide squad was ordered to take off 700 hours in February -- a month when they opened five new investigations. The same group responded to five killings last February, but worked 500 hours of overtime to solve them.

Nine of the 14 killings this year in the Southeast area remain unsolved.

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escape of over 4,000 prisoners — including some of Port-au-Prince’s most notorious gang leaders — Haiti would soon see the return of the violence

escape of over 4,000 prisoners — including some of Port-au-Prince’s most notorious gang leaders — Haiti would soon see the return of the violence and criminality that had plagued the country in recent years. It was assumed, however, that as long as U.S. forces were present throughout the country, violence would be minimal; the real trouble would emerge once American troops began to withdraw. “Right now we’ve got (foreign) military crawling all over the island,” USIP’s Bob Perito explained at the time. “But they won’t be there forever.”

Judging from reports in the Washington Post and the Associated Press within the last week, it appears that events in Haiti are unfolding very much along the lines predicted by Perito and others. U.S. troops have been drawing down steadily in the last two months; what remains is a force of roughly 2,000 engineers and logisticians tasked with rubble-clearing and reconstruction. Meanwhile, the escaped gang leaders have reconstituted their posses and are now competing for control of their old turf. Kidnappings have increased in recent weeks, forcing aid groups to impose curfews and implement increased security measures. The gangs regularly terrorize vulnerable Haitians in the settlement camps throughout Port-au-Prince.

Gang members have also grown increasingly brazen in confronting the Haitian National Police (HNP), a force which was badly damaged in the quake, but has since established a reasonable patrolling presence throughout the capital city. Postcorrespondent Manuel Roig-Franzia described an incident in which gang members assaulted an HNP checkpoint, slaughtering a veteran of the force; HNP officers, according to Roig-Franzia, are frequently outgunned by the well-armed criminals.

Needless to say, in the months ahead, MINUSTAH — the 9,000-strong, Brazilian-led UN peacekeeping force in Haiti — and the HNP will be put to the test. Not only is gang violence likely to increase, but the two forces will be expected to provide security and stability prior to the postponed parliamentary and presidential elections, which are likely to be held late this year. Adding to the challenge, national police chief Mario Adresol has cited concerns, according to the Post, that political parties may be sponsoring and supporting armed groups in order to threaten opponents and otherwise create disorder prior to the elections — a tactic not without precedent in Haiti’s recent history.

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500 Los Angeles Hispanic gangs outnumbered the combined armies of all the Crips and Blood gangs by more than double

500 Los Angeles Hispanic gangs outnumbered the combined armies of all the Crips and Blood gangs by more than double; the Southern California Hispanic gangs are united under the umbrella "Sureños;" and that Sureños include the three biggest gangs—Florence 13, 18^th Street and rival Mara Salvatrucha 13—you might give that title to the Sureños.

In Southern California, the Sureño gangs are the most active criminally, and the most prolific in gang killings by far. The African-American gangs are normally the victims of Sureños in hate-crime incidents, and the Sureños are invading Northern California cities by the hundreds, not vice versa.

The Sureños serve their masters—the Mexican Mafia (known as La Eme, the letter "M" in Spanish) prison gang. This alliance is the most dangerous prison gang and disruptive group combination. They control the majority of the California Department of Corrections facilities. In and out of custody, if one Eme member or Sureño becomes involved in a fight with law enforcement, all Sureños are required to assist the gang member against the police. Any Sureño in the vicinity must assault any other cop or prison staff member in the area. This Eme-Sureño coalition is rapidly gaining footholds in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The American media and even law enforcement, unfamiliar with the dynamics of real prison gangs, often try to compare these apples to oranges. Prison gangs are a quantum leap from street gangs, no matter how big or how powerful the street gang may be. Only traditional organized crime and large drug cartels can compare.

The prison gang's power over street gangs was dramatically illustrated in an incident that occurred in November of 1995.

Two years earlier, the Mexican Mafia had issued three edicts to Southern California Hispanic street gangs: Take over drug areas formally controlled by African-American gangs; tax illegal-alien drug dealers operating in Sureño controlled areas; and stop drive-by shootings. This was publically advertised in the newspapers, on radio and on TV as a "Hispanic peace initiative."

It was actually an attempt to reduce collateral casualties in the gang wars that drew unfriendly public attention and heavy police response that was interfering with their lucrative drug business. The gangs were encouraged to continue killing in face-to-face "walk-ups."

But the drive-by tactic was a bad habit that was hard to break for old school Latino cholo gangs. Some young unsophisticated gang members failed to take the Mexican Mafia's edicts seriously. These gangsters became human pin cushions in jail after being arrested by the cops.

The Florence 13 (F-13) gang dates back to the early '50s and dominates a wide geographic area in South Los Angeles. This major Hispanic gang had expanded from its traditional Florence District to the southeastern suburbs of Cudahy, Bell Gardens, Maywood, Bell and Huntington Park. It had become an international, or "transnational," gang that spread across the country (a restaurant in New York bears the gang name) and into Europe, and South America. Florence drug dealers sold multiple kilos and had connections to major drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. But they are also Sureños loyal to the Mexican Mafia.

In October of 1995, Florence gang members Ricardo Perez, 21, Cesar Merino, 21, and Jose Munguia, 20, drove up to a Huntington Park residence. Jose Munguia opened up on the residence with an AK-47 from the vehicle. On the front porch, 11-year-old Erica Izquierdo was swinging on a hammock with her father when she was fatally hit in the head by the AK round. Luis Lopez, 15, and Adrian Garcia, 14, were also struck by the F-13's bullets, but they survived.

Ten days later, Perez and Merino got a visit from a Mexican Mafia member. The Eme member demanded to know just who had fired the fatal shots. Unlike in the American legal system, the two gang members did not have the right to remain silent, or not to incriminate themselves. They quickly ratted out their homeboy Munguia to their demon master.

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Christopher 'Dudus' Coke has to be extradited, elements of the criminal underworld could put aside political differences to wage a united battle

Christopher 'Dudus' Coke has to be extradited, elements of the criminal underworld could put aside political differences to wage a united battle against law and order.
Three senior lawmen with understanding of how local gangs operate, Wednesday said they believed such a situation was very possible. The cops requested that their names not be disclosed, as they were not authorised to speak to the Observer."We are not ruling out anything at this time," said one of the lawmen who, at the same time, warned that the police would not cower in fear in the face of any such assault.The other two cops, each with over 10 years' experience in the force, referred to the incident that occurred in 1998 when Donald 'Zeeks' Phipps, then PNP strongman from the Matthews Lane area, was first held by police, as evidence of a scenario that could be re-enacted.The cops recalled that over 1,000 angry, placard-bearing protesters converged on the Central Police Station in downtown Kingston where Zeeks was being held, shouting "Justice for Zeeks!" and demanding his release."The angry mob, some of them not PNP (People's National Party) supporters, protested for two days demanding that if Zeeks was not released, life would not return to normal," one of the senior lawmen recalled.The incident resulted in the death of one person and the injury of several others. Phipps was later brought onto a balcony where he was allowed to address his supporters, calling for calm from a police megaphone.The lawmen said they believed that the Zeeks incident would pale in comparison to what could take place in the case of 'Dudus', the Tivoli Gardens don."Right now, there is a strong belief that Tivoli Gardens is a 'stronghold' revered by gangs from all political corners," one of the senior officers suggested to the Observer.
Another member of the group shared the same view but believed that other gangs from across the island could get involved for other reasons."What you have to understand is that many of the criminals, because of 'assistance' that Tivoli may have provided for them in the past (in terms of equipment), might want to join hands and help to create diversions to draw the police attention away from the area," said the cop.National Security Minister Dwight Nelson has gone on record as saying that high-level police intelligence revealed that 268 gangs were operating throughout Jamaica.
He said Government was focusing on preparing strong anti-gang legislation that would target, infiltrate and dismantle criminal gangs.The legislation, Nelson said, would also identify and arrest members of criminal gangs; ensure long sentences for gang members; conduct a thorough historical and proactive investigation into the activities of gang members; and develop intelligence as to each member's association with and participation in gangs.

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the Hells Angels and the Comanchero - as the target for the first declaration.

the Hells Angels and the Comanchero - as the target for the first declaration.
Fifteen people have been charged over the brawl, including 12 members of the Comanchero and two Hells Angels.There are believed to be about 40 Hells Angels in NSW - but it is considered the most famous international outlaw motorcycle club. The Comanchero remain a local gang, with about 100 members in NSW. It was one of the gangs involved in the Milperra massacre in 1984.Only the Supreme Court can declare a club a criminal organisation, after an application by the police commissioner, which must also be advertised publicly.After a successful declaration police can apply to stop members associating with one another, and to seize assets of the declared club.
The government announced its plan for anti-bikie laws within days of the killing of Mr Zervas at the domestic terminal after a fight between members of two rival gangs. The laws were rushed through Parliament within weeks and later had to be amended because of concerns about how they would work.On the day the laws were passed police raided 31 properties linked to the Hells Angels and its members across Sydney, targeting its ''entire membership''.

South Australia was the first state to declare a bikie gang, the Finks, a criminal organisation last May. But in September its Supreme Court ruled that the laws were invalid. That decision will be reviewed by the High Court, but the state has continued to target the Rebels.The NSW government and police are keen to avoid having their attempts to declare the gangs criminal organisations defeated in the Supreme Court, or the legislation successfully challenged in the High Court.At least 13 officers and several lawyers have been preparing the application. The process involves gathering information to prove the targeted gang is involved in criminal activities.Initially the Government was aiming for the first application to be lodged before Christmas but it is understood legal concerns caused the delay.Laws allowing police to tap the phones of alleged members of a declared bikie gang were passed in the Federal Parliament last month.The legislation was criticised by lawyers and civil libertarians, who raised concerns it might not be restricted to bikie groups.After the introduction of the legislation, Sydney's bikie gangs hired a PR agency and formed their own lobby group, the United Motorcycle Council.
The bikie violence and drive-by shootings prevalent in Sydney in late 2008 have also since abated.A police spokeswoman said last night that police could not comment on the timing of a declaration or the group for whom it might be sought.

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shoulder-bumping" members of the Hells Angels and the Throttle Lockers

shoulder-bumping" members of the Hells Angels and the Throttle Lockers puppet gang inside the nightclub, provoking a street fight outside.

Cpl. Annie Linteau said the officers charged, Const. Chris MacDonald of Prince Edward Island, and Const. Kiel Samotej of Alberta, remain on duty though they are also the subject of an internal code of conduct review.MacDonald, 40, and Samotej, 25, were in the Okanagan with others on vacation. They are due to make their first appearances in a Kelowna courtroom April 22.

Kelowna resident Errol Milsom-Gardener, 25, will appear in court April 8 for allegedly striking Mac-Donald, who ended up in hospital.Linteau said the fight outside the night club involved 15 to 20 individuals wearing Hells Angels and Throttle Lockers colours and about seven members of MacDonald's group."This alleged assault involved a 'shoulder bump' inside the nightclub and is believed to have instigated the much larger altercation that later took place outside," she said.

Linteau said a shoulder bump would constitute an assault if it was done intentionally, which is what the evidence showed in this case. The shoulder bump did not result in anyone being injured, she said.

After the incident inside, the Mountie group left the bar and the biker group followed them.

"The group of 15 to 20 tracked them down the street for about half a block and that's where the altercation happened," Linteau said.

While the Mounties could identify the bikers, Linteau said she didn't know if the bikers knew there were police officers in the opposing group.

She said others with Mac-Donald sustained minor injuries that did not require hospitalization. Mac-Donald was held overnight at Kelowna General Hospital and then released.

Kelowna RCMP investigated the fight and sent the findings to Crown counsel for consideration of criminal charges, Linteau said. Those charged were approved Feb. 5.

The Hells Angels established a Kelowna chapter in the summer of 2007, and several members of the notorious biker gang have moved to the Okanagan.

The Throttle Lockers are one of several puppet clubs that have surfaced across B.C. over the past year. Police say these clubs have a direct relationship to the Hells Angels. The Throttle Lockers club is based in 100 Mile House and has about 10 members and ties to the Kelowna Hells Angels.

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motorcycle gangs played any role in the shooting death of a tattoo parlor owner.

 Police say Ferraiolo was ambushed Tuesday night outside his parlor, A Touch of Color, on Dixwell Avenue. The medical examiner's office says he died of multiple gunshot wounds. gangs played any role in the shooting death of a tattoo parlor owner.Chief Thomas Wydra said Wednesday that police are investigating whether the victim, 64-year-old Joseph Ferraiolo, had any affiliation, membership or involvement in any motorcycle gang, and whether his killing may have been retaliation for something.Wydra declined to say why police were looking at motorcycle gangs and wouldn't say if any suspects had been identified. Investigators are looking for a black truck they say was connected to the killing.

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Police have charged the wife of former Coffin Cheater Troy Mercanti with stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a trust fund

Police have charged the wife of former Coffin Cheater Troy Mercanti with stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a trust fund set up for the benefit of the children of slain gang member Marc Chabriere.In an attempt to ward off violence between the Cheaters and Mercanti's new gang the Finks, police and the Australian Crime Commission launched an investigation into the allegations last year.Yesterday they charged Tammy Cherie Kingdon with four counts of stealing and one of property laundering.It is understood that police are also investigating the theft of money from a trust fund set up by Mercanti in 2000 after the death of his close friend Richard Vickers.Police would not confirm last night whether any of the four stealing charges related to the Vickers trust.It is believed the property laundering charge flows from using the allegedly stolen funds in the purchase of the Finks' Balga clubhouse in Ms Kingdon's name last year.Ms Kingdon was at home when gang crime squad officers raided the family's Duncraig house yesterday.
She was released on bail to appear in Joondalup Magistrate's Court on Thursday. Mercanti, who is in jail for assault, is understood to have been charged with offences related to the same investigation.Mr Chabriere was shot dead in a hail of bullets in 1998 at the height of the gang war between the Coffin Cheaters and Club Deroes.Andrew Wayne Edhouse was charged but acquitted of the murder.After Mr Chabriere's funeral, the Coffin Cheaters organised a trust fund to help provide for Mr Chabriere's children.Senior gang members were put in charge of the trust, including Mercanti, who was sensationally expelled from the gang in 2008 on "bad standing" after being bashed by up to 15 members.Within months, Mercanti joined the Finks bikie gang and a Finks member was shot in the shoulder as he rode his motorcycle with three other men near Wooroloo, sparking fears of a new and deadly gang war.
The Finks Balga clubhouse was then bought in Mrs Mercanti's name.Mercanti was refused parole this month and is not due for release until next year.

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Red Deer has a 12 to 20-member chapter of the Nomads, a Hells Angels puppet club

Police say the man is a member of the outlaw motorcycle gang, and the women, neither of whom was seriously injured, had no prior connection to the bikers."There's no believed connection between them at all. It's not a domestic relationship or anything," said RCMP spokeswoman Const. Sabrina Grunow.Red Deer has a bylaw banning any sort of gang identification clothing, and Grunow said the man wasn't wearing anything to identify himself as a biker.But around 2:37 a.m. police were called to the Urban Rodeo in the 4700 Block of Gaetz Avenue on Jan. 24 where it was reported that a group of women were involved in an altercation with several members of the Hells Angels.Grunow said that by the time cops arrived, much of it had broken up.They're still trying to piece together what happened, but Grunow acknowledged that it's pretty unusual to find several macho members of a bike gang fighting with women on the street.It's even more unusual to find plenty of witnesses when outlaw bikers are involved."It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the long run," Grunow said. Red Deer has a 12 to 20-member chapter of the Nomads, a Hells Angels puppet club. Grunow said investigators are still trying determine whether the suspect is a member of that club, or another chapter.

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fight outside of a downtown nightclub has landed a Hells Angels member in jail.

A 58-year-old man from Spruce Grove was charged with two counts of assault after Red Deer City RCMP responded to multiple complaints of a large disturbance outside of Urban Rodeo shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 24. It was alleged that a physical altercation was ongoing between members of the Hells Angels and a number of women, according to an RCMP news release. The man was arrested without incident. Two women, ages 20 and 21, suffered minor injuries as a result of the altercation. The man, whose name isn’t being released pending the charges being sworn, was released from custody with conditions and is set to appear in Red Deer provincial court on March 23.

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80 motorbikes accompanied the coffin of popular Hells Angel Mike Bugler to his funeral on Tuesday.

Starting at Mr Bugler’s home in The Friary, the procession went around the ring road and on to Salisbury crematorium where scores more mourners were waiting to pay their last respects.
The coffin was carried in a sidecar and Mr Bugler’s wife Myra travelled on his Harley Davidson, with a police escort accompanying the bikers. Mr Bugler, 60, died at Salisbury Hospice on January 19.
He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2008. Born in Portsmouth, he moved with his
family to Herbert Road in Salisbury and grew up in the city. From an early age, he was an avid motorcycle fan and became Master of Arms in the Hells Angels. He made friends all over the country, and many of them travelled on their bikes to attend his funeral.
Mr Bugler’s family said he was known for his “happy, big personality” and he has been described as a “gentle giant”. They said he would do anything for anyone and played a huge part in the community.
Mr Bugler worked as a lorry driver and loved listening to the music of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Beatles. After the funeral, the mourners went to the Five Bells pub where Mr Bugler and his wife received a blessing last October.

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three members of the motorcycle gang known as the Hells Angeles were arrested under the suspicion of drug crimes in Ventura County

three members of the motorcycle gang known as the Hells Angeles were arrested under the suspicion of drug crimes in Ventura County. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Gang Unit reported the arrests over the weekend.Two of the men were arrested last Friday, one on the suspicion of transporting methamphetamine and the other under the suspicion of being under the drugs influences.They were stopped by gang unit officials who noticed them weaving in and out of traffic on Highway 101 at speeds over 85 miles per hour. David Olivares, the man who was under suspicion for transporting methamphetamine, was released from the Ventura County jail after he posted $55,000 bail. The other man was cited and released.A few days before this incident, another man known to be an associate of the Hells Angels, Martin Kada, was arrested under the suspicion of possessing methamphetamine. Mr. Kada was released on $20,000 bail.Drug crimes are extremely serious charges. A drug crime conviction can drastically change the course of your life after resulting in large fines, a felony record, and even jail time. If you find yourself in a situation where you have been accused of crimes such as these get in touch with Ventura County criminal defense lawyer Robert Helfend, he has the experience you need in your corner.Three members of the Hells Angels were arrested recently on suspicion of drug crimes, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Gang Unit said Saturday.On Friday, investigators arrested David Olivares, 39, of Carpinteria on suspicion of transportation of methamphetamine, and James Ivans, 37, of Carpinteria on suspicion of being under the influence of methamphetamine.
They were among six motorcyclists stopped by gang investigators who saw them weaving in and out of traffic at more than 85 mph on Highway 101 near Del Norte Boulevard, officials said.
Olivares was released from Ventura County jail after posting $55,000 bail. Ivan was cited and released. The others were cited for traffic violations.
Martin Kada, 37, of Ventura was arrested Jan. 22 near Saticoy on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine. He was jailed and released on $20,000 bail, sheriff’s officials said.

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most brutal news report surrounding the Hell’s Angels Australian member

most brutal news report surrounding the Hell’s Angels Australian member dates back to 2007 June. On that fateful day one of the members of the Hell’s Angels Australia chapter shot a gentleman who was trying to assist one of the gang member’s girlfriends and the six shots fired at passers-by resulted in two more people being injured. The 2007 Melbourne CBD shootings have angered this Australian city. The motorcycle gang also went on to further tangle with members of another motorcycle club in Australia known as The Comanchero Motorcycle Club. The Hell's Angels Australia has a very disreputable and negative public image and recent legislation has outlawed motorbike gang activity. The reason for the negative publicity is primarily because of the continued turf and gang wars that are leading to violence that spills out over to the general public.

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Kadir P’s “Centro” chapter has proven particularly brutal in this ongoing feud, and difficult to control. Its members have repeatedly made savage attacks on rivals in the Hell’s Angels

Officials believe that Frank H., the head of the Hell’s Angels club in Hanover, hammered out the details of the defection last week with “Centro” leader Kadir P. Likewise, Peter M., one of the highest-ranking Bandidos in Europe, confirmed to SPIEGEL ONLINE that the crossover took place on Tuesday evening. However, when questioned about the matter, Hell’s Angels member Rudolf “Django” T. declined to confirm that the defectors had been accepted into his organization yet, saying only: “We’ll let you know in the next few days.”While the defecting members of “Centro” — both notorious and feared in the biker scene for their violence — have cut ties with their old group, it appears that their membership in Hell’s Angels has not yet been finalized. But the bikers have stripped their club house in Berlin’s northern Reinickendorf district of all Bandido insignia.Recent months have seen an uptick in violence between the rival motorcycle gangs — particularly in Berlin, the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein and eastern Germany. And the attacks have been escalating, from knife assaults to shootings to explosives. The reason: the Bandidos have managed to recruit hundreds of young men, many of them from immigrant families in Germany’s east, and put the Hell’s Angels on the defensive.Kadir P’s “Centro” chapter has proven particularly brutal in this ongoing feud, and difficult to control. Its members have repeatedly made savage attacks on rivals in the Hell’s Angels camp, which has close ties to the far-right fan club of a local football club. Indeed, one newspaper article recently reported that the Hell’s Angels in Berlin refuse to allow foreigners into their ranks.Now, however, the brutality would appear to have been forgiven and forgotten — the avowed enemies may soon become brothers in arms.
In the meantime, police units have taken up positions in front of the Bandidos’ clubhouse in Berlin. Investigators also say that biker-related properties have been kept under observations in Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg since Tuesday evening. “We want to see whether a war breaks out,” one investigator told SPIEGEL TV.Nobody knows, after all, how the Bandidos will react to this mass defection. Revenge and retaliation? Do the “traitors” now have to fear for their lives? In short, what does the defection mean?
“That they’re gone,” says Peter M., the number-two man in Europe’s Bandidos organization, before hanging up the phone.

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76 members and supporters of “Centro,” as the Berlin chapter of the Bandidos is known, are reportedly trying to defect to the Hell’s Angels camp.

There has never been a shortage of brutality between the biker gangs Bandidos and Hell’s Angels. But after 70 members of a Berlin club defected to their erstwhile rivals, police in the German capital are bracing for violence.It’s only been a few months since a group of Bandidos allegedly ambushed and assaulted a group of Hell’s Angels, their arch-enemies in the biker gang world, in Finowfurt, a small town northeast of Berlin. Investigators and prosecutors say that at least half a dozen Berlin-based Banditos chased down a group of Hell’s Angels from the city, resulting in a savage fight.
When all was said and done, a gravely wounded Hell’s Angels hanger-on named Enrico K. was lying on the street — with an axe in his leg. When the police questioned him about what had happened, he attributed his gruesome wound to “a traffic accident.”In the biker system of values, there have always been two constants. One is the sacred “code of silence.” The other is the hatred for enemy biker clubs. As such, a recent development in the Berlin biker scene — first reported by SPIEGEL TV and SPIEGEL ONLINE on Wednesday — is as unprecedented as it is explosive.A total of 76 members and supporters of “Centro,” as the Berlin chapter of the Bandidos is known, are reportedly trying to defect to the Hell’s Angels camp. Investigators say the would-be defectors have already appeared in public wearing brand-new red-and-white Hell’s Angels garb, and that they have seen André S., the head of the local Hell’s Angels club, speaking with members of the rival club. The 45-year-old S. was recently stabbed — likely by Bandidos.

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massacre of Bandidos Motorcycle Club members sheds more light on the lives of several York Region residents connected to the club.

The Bandido Massacre: A True Story of Bikers, Brotherhood and Betrayal, was compiled after three years of interviews and trial coverage said author and Toronto Star crime reporter Peter Edwards. The book published Tuesday.massacre of Bandidos Motorcycle Club members sheds more light on the lives of several York Region residents connected to the club. The outlaw biker club is perhaps best known publicly in Ontario for a mass murder and subsequent trial, which concluded late last year with the conviction of six men, after the bodies of eight bikers were found near Shedden, ON.
Among those murdered in 2006 were York residents Paul "Big Paul" Sinopoli, 30, of Jackson's Point, the secretary-general of the Bandidos Toronto chapter and Jamie "Goldberg" Flanz, 37, of Keswick.
The book offers a rare glimpse into the often insular biker realm. But rather than just its seedy, dark image, Mr. Edwards paints a different picture of some of the men.For instance, Mr. Flanz, owned a computer business and was a Bandido prospect for six months before his death, and Toronto's George Kriarakis, who reportedly had a strong marriage, likely wanted camaraderie, according to Mr. Edwards.In late October, six men, Wayne Kellestine, Frank Mather, along with Winnipeg residents Marcelo Aravena, Brett Gardiner, Michael Sandham - a former police officer - and Dwight Mushey were found guilty for their roles in the killings.The Texas headquarters of the club was upset with the Canadians for breaching club rules. The night of the murder, there was an attempt to rescind the membership of several men, Mr. Edwards wrote.Even before the Bandidos massacre, Mr. Flanz's home was connected to another violent incident.In December 2005, a 20-year-old woman, who is now in witness protection and who Mr. Edwards referred to as Mary Thompson, was in a home on Hattie Court, in Gerogina, owned by Mr. Flanz.Ms Thompson had experienced a rough home life and a car accident and a high school friend of hers recommended Flanz's home as a good place to stay, he said.
She got a room upstairs and had been there a few weeks when Keswick resident Shawn Douse, who Mr. Edwards described as a husband, father and drug dealer, arrived at the home. Mr. Flanz was not home at the time.After a confrontation about drugs, Mr. Douse was taken into the basement. Upstairs, Ms Thompson could hear Mr. Douse screaming, Mr. Edwards wrote.
Mr. Douse's body was later found in a north Pickering field.Four men, who Mr. Edwards has described as connected to the Bandidos, including Keswick resident Cameron Acorn, a Bandido, and former Keswick resident Bobby Quinn as well as Randy Brown of Jackson's Point, were later convicted in connection with Mr. Douse's death. An Oakville man was also convicted.Mr. Flanz had nothing to do with the death of Mr. Douse, according to Mr. Edwards.Mr. Flanz's home was simply a "good place to meet", Mr. Edwards said.Mr. Flanz had a good rapport with Ms Thompson, the book states."He was like a big brother," Mr. Edwards said. "(Ms Thompson) was terrified the next day, she listened to the beating, which was really traumatic and then the next morning she has to clean up the blood. Her reaction was more emotional more than anything else. There was also a real fear for her life ... that she's a witness and not really part of the group."In the book, Mr. Edwards thanks Mr. Douse's father for reminding him of the human toll the murder took.
Meanwhile, Mr. Edwards said Mr. Sinopoli weighed several hundred pounds and constantly fretted about his health. Mr. Edwards describes Mr. Sinopoli, a former security guard, as having "dabbled in selling drugs".However, he was well like, Mr. Edwards said.While acknowledging the men were outlaws, Mr. Edwards said it was important to show that they were also people."A lot of them are like people we went to high school with," he said. "They might not have been on the honour roll but they were still human. A lot of them, if they stayed around a little bit longer, they probably would have floated out of it. Sometimes it's the situation that makes people the way they are."
York Regional Police is monitoring the activities of outlaw biker groups in the region, investigative services Insp. Richard Crabtree said.Today, there are two outlaw biker clubhouses in York, including one in Keswick and one in King Township, York police said.Meanwhile, Mr. Edwards also writes about Francesco "Cisco" Lenti, a Vaughan man who court records show was the subject of a Hells Angels plot to curb his attempts at Bandidos expansion. In 2008, Mr. Lenti pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of David John "Dread" Buchanan the sergeant at arms for the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club West Toronto chapter and aggravated assault for the wounding of another Hells Angel and a then-prospect member of the club. The shooting took place at a Vaughan club."He's what someone would call a one-percenter's one-percenter," Mr. Edwards said of Mr. Lenti, referring to the term by which some motorcycle riders identify themselves or are identified as being outlaws."If Lenti had been listened to, the massacre probably wouldn't have happened," Mr. Edwards said. "Lenti had a really strong, uneasy feeling about Sandham. There was something in his antennae about Sandham that he didn't trust."Mr. Edwards said he finds it unlikely that the Bandidos will make a push to expand into Ontario again soon. According to Mr. Edwards, the club is headquartered in the United States.
"The best of them were murdered and the worst of them went to prison for the murders," he said

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Sylvain Boulanger openly described to Police how he had murdered someone

Sylvain Boulanger was also granted immunity from prosecution, despite admitting to Police that he'd actually murdered someone himself. His defection from the notorious biker gang led to more than 150 arrests during Operation SharQc in 2009.The three-year operation saw Boulanger, an Angels member for over 20 years, spill the beans over murders, attempted murders and other crimes committed by his former associates.
Boulanger openly described to Police how he had murdered someone:
"The door was open, I come up on the side and I shoot. I hear 'Ow! Ow! Ow!' I see him there and in my head, he's dead. So I get out of there running," he told police in a videotaped conversation obtained by Radio-Canada.Boulanger initially asked for over £5 million but the request was turned down.

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