| Outlaws MC | |
| Founded: | [1] |
| Founding Location: | McCook, Illinois, United States |
| Years Active: | 1935–present |
| Territory: | 416 chapters in 42 countries[2] |
| Membership Est: | Over 3,000[3] [4] |
| Activities: | Drug trafficking, arms trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, bombings, auto theft, intimidation, insurance fraud, kidnapping, robbery, theft, stolen property, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, murder, extortion, arson, and assault[5] |
| Allies: | |
| Rivals: | |
| Notable Members: | |
The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, also known as the American Outlaws Association, or A.O.A., is classified as a motorcycle gang by various law enforcement agencies internationally.[21] [22] [23] The Outlaws have been implicated in various organized crime activities, including drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering, prostitution rings, weapons trafficking, and violent acts directed at rival motorcycle clubs.[21] [24] Members of the Outlaws have continuously denied that the club is an organized crime syndicate, asserted that the organization is simply a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who live a nonconventional lifestyle, and described allegations by investigators and prosecutors as exaggerated.[25] [26] [27]
The Outlaws are considered a criminal motorcycle gang by the Belgian Federal Police.[28] The club's first chapter in Belgium was formed in Mechelen on 5 March 1999.[11]
In April 2000, "full-patch" member Jan Wouters was killed by Outlaw André Renard in the presence of two other Outlaws on the club's domain in Mechelen. All three members were given life sentences for the murder of their fellow Outlaw. Among them was the brother-in-law of the victim. According to the three convicted Outlaws, the murder took place after an argument escalated. Upon escalation, Wouters supposedly aimed a gun at his brother-in-law after which he himself was killed. It was largely believed that the murder was not the result of an escalated discussion, but rather an execution approved by the club's hierarchy.[29]
On 4 October 2009, several Hells Angels and allied Red Devils performed a raid on an Outlaws clubhouse in Kortrijk. Shots were fired and three Outlaws were wounded before the Hells Angels and their Red Devils comrades fled the scene. The incident occurred after members of the Outlaws supposedly pushed over a motorcycle belonging to Red Devils president Johan F. in Moeskroen. The raid is also thought to be a part of a territorial dispute between the Hells Angels and the Red Devils on one side and the Outlaws on the other. Several months before the raid, on the 24 July 2009, members of the Red Devils and Hells Angels already retaliated by setting fire to motorcycles outside an Outlaws clubhouse. Eventually, six Hells Angels and two Red Devils were convicted for attempted murder and given sentences from five to twenty years in prison.[30]
On 21 May 2011, one "full-patch" member, one prospect, and one supporter of the Belgium Outlaws were shot and killed by rival bikers of the Belgian Hells Angels. The killings took place in Eisden, not far from Maasmechelen where the Outlaws had opened a new clubhouse just several days earlier.[31] Two days after the murders, several Hells Angels were linked to the murder and arrested, including the president of the Zwartberg chapter.[32] The funeral of the "full-patch" member, Freddy Put, was joined by some 200 Outlaws from across Europe.[33] The investigation concerning the murders in Eisden is ongoing and is made difficult because within both the Hells Angels and the Outlaws there is a code of silence. In a response to these murders, the Belgian Army is investigating the possibility of removing members of criminal motorcycle clubs from their ranks since two of the primary suspects were paracommandos.[34]
On the night of 24 December 2012, during a rock concert in Dilsen-Stokkem, members of the Hells Angels were attacked by members of the Outlaws. Several Hells Angels were inside the Nieuwenborgh hall listening to the evening's last rock band finishing their final songs when, at about 1:30 a.m. by local time, several Outlaws armed with expandable batons (illegal in Belgium) arrived at the scene. The situation quickly escalated into a brawl with three wounded as a result. The police quickly arrived at the scene in large numbers. One of the wounded was a 41-year-old man who suffered an open fracture to the leg.[35]
The Outlaws entered Canada on 1 July 1977 when a number of Satan's Choice chapters under the leadership of Garnet "Mother" McEwen "patched over" to join the Outlaws. In Canada, the Outlaws claim seven chapters and a membership of approximately 60.[36]
The Outlaws' two chapters in Newfoundland and Labrador are based in Grand Falls-Windsor and Gander.[36]
The Outlaws remained the largest club in Ontario until 2000. The club has four chapters in the province; in Toronto, Ottawa, South Simcoe and Sault Ste. Marie.[36]
In 1981, Satan's Choice made an alliance with the Lobos and the Chosen Few gangs against the Outlaws. On 17 July 1983, a bus carrying two Hells Angels was shot up in Wawa by a group of Outlaws led by Mario "Mike the Wop" Parente. On 17 September 1983, an Outlaw, David Eugene Séquin, went on a shooting rampage when he stormed into the clubhouse of the Chosen Few in Emeryville. Séquin killed three people and wounded three more. One of those he killed was the national president of the Chosen Few, Edward Bruce Morris. In 1984, the Outlaws entered Toronto when their national president, Stanley "Beamer" McConnery, persuaded the Iron Hawgs gang to "patch over" to the Outlaws. In July 1985, Séquin, who had fled to the United States, was killed in a shoot-out with the police in Steger, Illinois, when he chose to resist arrest.
Kingston Outlaws chapter president William "Wild Bill" Hulko died of natural causes at Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee on 12 August 2002 while awaiting trial on charges of sexually assaulted a girl under the age of 14 in 1992, and with using a weapon during the assault. Hulko's funeral was held in Sault Ste. Marie on 18 August 2002 and conducted entirely by members of the Outlaws and their support club, the Black Pistons.[37]
On 25 September 2002, the Outlaws were the subject of Project Retire by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) that saw 56 Outlaws arrested. On 15 April 2007, Marcus Cornelisse was questioned by the police about whatever he violated his bail conditions, leading him to attack and beat two police officers. Corelisse was arrested the next day. Cornelisse made a plea bargain with the Crown that he would serve a year in prison for assaulting the two police officers in exchange for which he was forbidden to associate with other Outlaws. William Mellow, the Outlaw national secretary, was found to have on his farm a loaded 10-mm handgun, 50 rounds of ammunition, a 12-gauge shotgun and $11,065 in cash hidden in his Cadillac. In exchange for a plea bargain, Mellow pleaded guilty to having a handgun without a license in exchange for which he accepted he was not to associate with other Outlaws. With the exceptions of the Outlaw national president, Mario Parente, and Luis Fereiria, all of the Outlaws arrested in Project Retire made plea bargains, which crippled the Outlaws.
Recently, the Outlaws have clashed with the Loners in at least one incident in Cornwall. The Loners relocated their chapter from Cornwall to Brockville around 2020 following an aggressive investigation into its alleged drug trafficking.[38] On 8 July 2023, members of the Loners and Outlaws were involved in an altercation in Cornwall which police believe was targeted. One person was shot and two people stabbed, but their injuries were not considered life-threatening. Five people were arrested and charged, with details yet to be released.[39] Less than 36 hours later, the Outlaw clubhouse in Brockville was destroyed by a large fire. The fire was deemed suspicious because of the building's ownership and the presence of accelerants in the building. Police are not yet linking the two events.[40] A series of raids in Southwestern Ontario earlier in the month saw police seize a large quantity of drugs as well as weapons, including two sniper rifles. Police stated the results of the raid showed that the Outlaws and other MCs were expanding into smaller communities and that they are able and willing to use deadly force.[41]
On 15 February 1978, two Outlaws were shot outside of a Montreal bar, sparking a biker war with the Hells Angels that lasted until 1984.
The Outlaws expanded into the United Kingdom in February 2000 after amalgamating the Midland Outlaws, an independent club which had been in existence since 1992.[42] The club has approximately 150 members and fourteen chapters in the England and Wales, and is primarily based around the Warwickshire, Staffordshire, South Wales, Derbyshire, Birmingham and London areas.[43] [44] [45] The British faction of the Outlaws took over the club's European presidency in early 2007.[46]
On 20 October 1996, Outlaws member Anthony Stephens and a group of friends were damaging cars parked outside The Plough pub in Coventry when they were asked to leave the premises by the pub DJ. Stephens shot the man in the face and subsequently fled to Ireland but was arrested when he arrived at Birmingham Airport in November 2013. In April 2016, he was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of causing of grievous bodily harm at Warwick Crown Court.[47]
The first Welsh Outlaws chapter was formed in 1993 following a "patch over" of the Henchmen MC, which was founded in North Wales in 1969.[48] The West Wales chapter originated in as the Strays MC in 1979. The South Wales chapter is the most recent.[49]
The Outlaws came under investigation after Dyfed–Powys Police informed North Wales Police of drugs exchanges between members of the club's North Wales chapter and representatives of the West Wales chapter. Two Outlaws were found in possession of two kilograms of amphetamine when police searched their vehicle in Betws-y-Coed on 14 August 2008. Mobile phones seized from the two were examined and a pattern emerged of regular calls between Outlaws European president Stuart Ian "Dink" Dawson, West Wales chapter president Michael Barnes and another club member, Michael Byrne. In September 2009, police discovered cocaine after raiding the Outlaws' clubhouse in Colwyn Bay. Another two kilograms of amphetamine were recovered from the roof lining of a van stopped by police on the A55 road on 11 November 2009.[50]
On 21 May 2010, three Outlaws membersDawson, Byrne, and Adrian John Sherriffwere convicted at Caernarfon Crown Court of conspiring to supply more than £40,000 worth of drugs. Dawson and Byrne were sentenced to five years' imprisonment while Sherriff was sentenced to four years'. Barnes was cleared of conspiracy. Four other men involved in the drug ring received prison terms varying between eighteen months and years for their roles.[51] Furthermore, on 25 June 2012, Mold Crown Court banned Dawson and Sherriff from holding office in the club.[52]
The Outlaws are designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the United States Department of Justice. The dominant biker gang in the Great Lakes region, the Outlaws are based primarily in the Midwest, the Northeast and the Southeast, with more than 700 members and 86 chapters in twenty U.S. states.[21] [53] The club is involved in murder, bombings, assault, kidnapping, prostitution, money laundering, weapons trafficking, motorcycle and motorcycle parts theft, intimidation, insurance fraud, extortion, arson, robbery, stolen property, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, and the production, smuggling, transportation, and distribution of narcotics.[5] The Outlaws are major producers and distributors of methamphetamine, although they are also involved in the transportation and distribution of marijuana, cocaine, MDMA, and prescription drugs.[21] Additionally, the Outlaws are more heavily involved in prostitution than other motorcycle gangs, and the sex trade is the club's second-most lucrative racket after drug distribution.
The Outlaws are allied with the Bandidos,[5] the Black Pistons,[5] the Breed,[7] the Grim Reapers,[7] and the Gypsy Jokers[7] motorcycle gangs, as well as the Aryan Nations[6] and the Hammerskins.[10] The club has also been criminally associated with the Buffalo,[8] Chicago, Detroit,[9] New Orleans[11] and Pittsburgh crime families. They also maintain an alliance with fellow Hells Angels rivals, the Rock Machine.[54] [55] [56] Rival biker gangs of the Outlaws include the Devils Diciples,[14] the Diablos,[15] El Forastero,[7] the Galloping Goose,[7] the Hells Angels,[5] the Highwaymen,[16] the Iron Horsemen, the Mongols,[18] the Pagans,[19] the Sons of Silence, and the Warlocks.[7]
The Connecticut State Police raided a property belonging to the Outlaws in Enfield on November 9, 2021.[57] This raid was in relation to the homicide of 38-year-old Jason Comes, who was found shot to death in a car in the neighboring town of Somers on August 5, 2021.[58]
The influence of the once powerful South Florida chapter of the Outlaws waned severely following the RICO case against the club, which lasted from 1987 until 1989. By the end of the case, the chapter's membership had diminished to less than a dozen.[59] [60] According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe and Sergeant Bob Faulkner of the Broward County Sheriff's Office, the chapter suffered severely from the absence of its charismatic leader, James "Big Jim" Nolan.[59] Outlaws international president Harry "Taco" Bowman transferred Wayne "Joe Black" Hicks to the Fort Lauderdale chapter in order to revive the faltering South Florida faction.[61] [62] The Fort Lauderdale Outlaws had gone rogue, refusing to follow orders from national leadership in Detroit, skimming profits, and partaking in ever-increasing drug use. Under Hicks' management, Fort Lauderdale was revived and reclaimed its status as the Outlaws' strongest chapter after Detroit and Chicago. Hicks rose from chapter president to Florida regional president in 1990.[62] Following a prolonged period of near inactivity, the Outlaws emerged again as a major force following the establishment of two additional chapters in Daytona Beach and Walton Beach, in February 1991.
The Outlaws entered Georgia when the Iron Cross gang of Atlanta "patched over" on October 31, 1970.[63] The Outlaws in Georgia obtain methamphetamine from Mexican cartels and also transport the drug into the state from Mexico, California and Southwestern states, which the club then distributes at midlevel and retail level quantities, primarily in the Atlanta metropolitan area.[64]
Frank Rego Vital of Roberta, an Outlaws member, was shot and killed in an early morning gunfight on June 24, 2007, in the parking lot of The Crazy Horse Saloon strip club in Forest Park by two members of the Renegades MC in what has been described as a self-defense shooting after Vital and other Outlaws members followed the men from the club. Both Renegade members were shot several times but survived.[65]
The Outlaws have 14 chapters and over 150 members in Illinois.[66] The chapters are based in Chicago, Joliet, Pontiac, Kankakee, Peoria, Rockford, and in numerous counties in Downstate Illinois.[27] The club has three chapters in Chicago; "South Side", "West Side", and "North Side". The South Side chapter, located at a clubhouse on 25th Street and Rockwell Street, was designated the Outlaws' "mother chapter" in 1964.[27] [67] The North Side chapter was initiated via the absorption of the Wheelmen MC in 1993 and was based on Division Street before relocating to a West Side industrial park in 2017.[27] [68] The West Side chapter was formed in 1994 when the Outlaws amalgamated the High Spirits MC in Bensenville; the chapter later moved to Elgin.[68] In 1993, the club also initiated its "Stateline" chapter in Antioch by absorbing the Booze Runners MC led by Kevin "Spike" O'Neill.[68] [69] The Stateline chapter subsequently relocated to Janesville, Wisconsin.[68]
The Outlaws are involved in the distribution of marijuana, methamphetamine and powdered cocaine in the Chicago metropolitan area.[70] The club has been criminally associated with the Chicago Outfit. The Outlaws are also affiliated with the Menard Brotherhood, a "prison biker gang" operating in the Illinois state prison system.[71]
In November 2022, four members of the Outlaws were shot and injured during a confrontation with members of the Mongols at a bar in the Archer Heights area of Chicago.[72]
The coalition between the Outlaws and the Outfit, known as the "Double O Alliance", began as far back as early 1975, when Peter "Greased Lightning" Rogers, the club's security chief, bodyguarded by two Outlaws enforcers, Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano and William "Gatemouth Willie" Edson, held a meeting with senior Mafia members at a Chicago pizzeria.[73] Links between the Outlaws and representatives of mob boss Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo pertaining to vice rackets were established in 1977 by Thomas R. "Westside Tommy" Stimac, a Chicago Outlaws chapter president who later became a member of the club's national ruling board.[74] [75] Stimac served as the contact between various Outlaws chapters and the Mafia. Beginning in 1977, the bikers and mobsters controlled and shared the profits of organized prostitution in Chicago.[74]
From 2001 or earlier, members and associates of the Outlaws and the Outfit colluded to oversee a gambling and burglary ring which was active primarily in and around Cicero but also operated throughout Illinois and in the neighboring states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana.[76] [77] The enterprise was headed by Michael "The Large Guy" Sarno, a "made man" in the Outfit, and his second-in-command, Mark "Pork Chop" Polchan, a "patched" member of the Outlaws. Another prominent member of the group was Anthony Volpendesto, an Outfit associate, who was the main perpetration in numerous robberies carried out by the gang.[77] Through a business called Amusements Inc., the gang distributed electronic gambling devices to local bars and restaurants, with the enterprise and establishment owners each taking a share of the profits from the machines. Video gambling devices were also placed in Outlaws clubhouses in Chicago's south and west suburbs. In addition to gambling, the enterprise committed over a dozen robberies on homes and jewelry stores in several states. Many of the stolen items were fenced through Goldberg Jewelers, a store owned by Polchan. Members of the enterprise also dealt in other stolen goods, such as cigarettes and electronics.[77]
In the summer of 2002, Vincent Dublino, the owner of a rival video gambling business, C & S Amusements, began supplying video devices to the 47th Street Grill in Lyons, a business previously serviced by Amusements Inc. Dublino was warned by Sarno to "stay the fuck away from the 47th Street Grill" and began to receive threatening phone calls.[77] On February 25, 2003, Polchan, along with Samuel "Sam" Volpendesto, the father of Anthony Volpendesto, detonated a pipe bomb outside the premises of C & S Amusements in Berwyn.[78] The ring was also responsible for numerous heists, including the April 26, 2001 robbery of The Gold Mine Jewelry Store in St. Charles; the May 1, 2002 robbery of Lenna Jewelers in Hinsdale; the May 23, 2002 robbery of Jacqueline's Jewelry in Valparaiso, Indiana; the June 6, 2002 robbery of Husar's House of Fine Diamonds in West Bend, Wisconsin; the March 2003 attempted armed robbery of a residence in Berwyn; the July 9, 2003 armed robbery of Uffenbeck Jewelers in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; the July 24, 2003 armed robbery of LD Jewelers in Hickory Hills; and the August 25, 2003 armed robbery of Marry Me Jewelry Store in LaGrange Park.[78] The robberies began to taper off following the botched robbery of Marry Me jewelers, during which a salesman was shot in the chest when he resisted.[77]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched an investigation, known as Operation Double O, into the enterprise.[76] In 2007, one member of the ring, Kyle Knight, was arrested by the government and charged with participating in the Berwyn bombing. Knight pled guilty to a federal charge and agreed to turn state's evidence.[77] On July 30, 2008, several facilities associated with the Outlaws in the Chicago area were raided by agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).[79] The FBI brought in a SWAT team and an urban assault vehicle to the clubhouse in the west side of the city in case violence were to break out.[80] Polchan and Samuel Volpendesto were arrested in the raids, and numerous weapons, including a live grenade, as well as police badges, a bulletproof vest and a stun gun were seized.[81] On May 27, 2009, federal agents executed search warrants at over two dozen locations in suburban Chicago, and five additional suspects in the Double O Alliance — Sarno, Anthony Volpendesto, Mark Hay, Cicero police officer Dino Vitalo, and Berwyn police officer James Formato — were indicted on racketeering conspiracy charges related to armed robberies, thefts, arson, illegal gambling, and obstruction of justice.[78]
Three defendants in the case, Formato, Hay and Vitalo, pleaded guilty before trial. Hay and Formato agreed to cooperate with the government. Five other members of the enterprise went to trial and were convicted of numerous offenses, including racketeering conspiracy, illegal gambling, conspiracy to damage property by means of an explosive device, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.[77] Anthony Volpendesto was sentenced on August 4, 2011 to 15 years' imprisonment.[82] [83] Samuel Volpendesto was sentenced to 35 years', on August 17, 2011.[84] [85] Polchan was sentenced on October 28, 2011 to 60 years'.[86] [87] On February 8, 2012, Casey Szaflarski, the owner of Amusements Inc., was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, and on February 9, 2012, Sarno was sentenced to 25 years' and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution.[88] [89] [90] [91] [92]
Samuel Volpendesto died in prison at the age of 89 on May 17, 2013.[93] [94]
On September 18, 1987, Outlaws were involved in a brawl with two Hells Angels members in a bar outside Joliet which left Cleveland Hells Angels chapter president Kenneth "Kenny" Yates shot in the foot and robbed of his club "colors".[95] [96] The shooting reportedly thwarted an attack on an Outlaws clubhouse by Yates and another Hells Angel using automatic firearms and other weaponry.[97]
The Outlaws attempted to coerce the Hell's Henchmena motorcycle gang of around 20 members with chapters in Calument City, Rockford and South Bend, Indianainto "patching over" to join the Outlaws after the Henchmen had forcefully amalgamated the Devil's Ushers gang on the West Side of Chicago, bringing them into the Outlaws' Chicago turf.[98] The Outlaws had previously coexisted with the Hell's Henchmen as the Henchmen had showed no ambition to expand their territory.[99] The Hell's Henchmen resisted the Outlaws' attempts to merge, however, and instead agreed to "prospect" for the Hells Angels after holding a meeting with the Angels in Indiana. In late 1993 or early 1994, Outlaws leaders came to suspect that the Hells Angels were attempting to gain a presence in the Chicago area by "patching over" the Hell's Henchmen.[100]
The Outlaws chapters in Indiana are involved in the wholesale distribution of methamphetamine and maintain a sophisticated methamphetamine distribution network by utilizing associates and puppet clubs to conduct retail operations in the Evansville, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, Lake County and Vigo County areas.[101]
On July 11, 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided Outlaws clubhouses in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne and arrested 42 members for crimes ranging from mail fraud to money laundering.[102] Law enforcement agencies conducted the raids at dawn in an attempt to catch members off guard. U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett said their offenses included using violence to collect debts and illegal gambling operations.[103]
The Outlaws merged with the Gypsy Raiders motorcycle gang of Louisville in August 1964.[104]
Two Outlaws members were shot and wounded while riding motorcycles on Interstate 275 in Campbell County on September 10, 1982.[105]
On June 15, 2010, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) carried out raids in seven U.S. states, including Maine, and arrested 27 members and associates of the Outlaws who were indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia.[106] [107] Maine chapter president Thomas "Taz" Benvie, former Maine chapter president Joseph Allman, and Michael "Madman" Pendini, a former enforcer in the Northern Maine chapter, were taken into custody.[106]
The New Hampshire State Police, along with the Belknap County Sheriff's Office and local police, planned to provide additional security at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert scheduled to be held at the Meadowbrook Musical Arts Center in Gilford on June 15, 2005 during Laconia Motorcycle Week due to the expected presence of members of the Outlaws and the Hells Angels and anticipated gang violence. The concert was ultimately rescheduled due to a recurring case of strep throat suffered by Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant.[108]
The Outlaws transport various drugsprimarily cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuanainto North Carolina via allied motorcycle gangs and associates in the Southwestern United States, which are then distributed at retail-level throughout the state on the club's behalf by smaller biker gangs and female associates from fronts such as motorcycle shops, exotic dance clubs, bars, and tattoo parlors.[109]
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) carried out raids in North Carolina and six other U.S. states on June 15, 2010, arresting 27 Outlaws members and associates who had been indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia.[106] [107] Copper region president and Charlotte chapter member "Little" David Lowry; Copper region vice president and Lexington chapter member Harold "Lil Dave" Herndon; Asheville chapter president Chris Gagner; Lexington chapter president James "Vern" Townsend; Hickory chapter president Michael Smith; William "Rebel" Davie, a former enforcer in the Asheville chapter; Hickory chapter members Mark "Lytnin" Spradling and Brian McDermott; and Harry Rhyne McCall of the Lexington chapter were taken into custody.[106]
The Outlaws have formed chapters in Dayton, Columbus, East Columbus, Warren, Middletown, Toledo, Sandusky, Canton and Athens.[110] The Outlaws in Ohio are involved principally in drug manufacturing and distribution, prostitution, and extortion. The Youngstown Outlaws chapter has been associated with the Pittsburgh crime family in contract killing, witness intimidation, debt collection, drug dealing, arson and assaults.
A gunfight between members of Outlaws, the Animals, and the Invaders resulted in an Invaders biker being shot in the hip in Batavia on March 2, 1969. The Outlaws allegedly initiated the conflict in an effort to prevent the rival clubs from gaining prominence.[105]
A violent rivalry between the Outlaws and the Iron Horsemen in Greater Cincinnati began in the late 1960s.[111] [112] An Outlaws biker was shot in the back by a member of the Iron Horsemen on Montgomery Road in Cincinnati on December 2, 1972 following a fight between two women associated with the clubs.[105]
The Iron Horsemen's clubhouse in Norwood was bombed by the Outlaws on July 10, 1973. Two days later, on July 12, 1973, the home of an Iron Horsemen member in the Pleasant Ridge neighborhood of Cincinnati was also bombed.[105]
On May 18, 1975, Invaders member Billy J. Schmidt was killed and four others were wounded during a gun battle at the Fugueros clubhouse in Middletown that also involved members of the Outlaws, the Iron Horsemen and the Saints.[105]
The conflict between the Outlaws and the Hells Angels resulted in at least twelve homicides in Northeast Ohio in the years leading up to 1986.
The outlaw biker scene in Cincinnati has historically been dominated by the Iron Horsemen, and Outlaws members traditionally avoided the city.[105] [113] In early January 1989, two Outlaws members were assaulted by members of the Iron Horsman in Cincinnati. On January 14, 1989, two members of the Freeboarders, an AMA-sanctioned biker club affiliated with the Outlaws, were assaulted by Iron Horsemen during a bar brawl at Franz Brothers Cafe in the Camp Washington neighborhood of Cincinnati, after inviting Outlaws members to a party at the bar.[105] One of the victims was hit in the face with a baseball bat and the other was shot in the back.[113] According to law enforcement, the Outlaws were in the process of recruiting the Freeboarders in order to gain a foothold in Cincinnati, which provoked retaliation from the Iron Horsemen.[105] [113] [114]
On January 21, 1989, members of around ten motorcycle clubs, including the Freeboarders, the Aeolas, the Iron Horsemen and the Outlaws' Dayton chapter, were meeting at Vic's Brew and Cue, a tavern in Mount Carmel, to organize various motorcycle runs and charity events when a shootout erupted, killing two peopleKenneth "Hambone" Hammond, the president of the Dayton Outlaws and the club's international sergeant-at-arms, and Kenneth Cassella, an Iron Horsemen member from New Yorkand leaving another four OutlawsJoseph Brown, William Bragg, Patrick Puttick, and James Russellhospitalized in serious condition.[111] [112] [115] Three people were arrested and charged with carrying concealed weapons, and an assortment of guns, including a high-powered assault rifle, were confiscated by police.[115] [116] Hammond was buried next to the graves of other Outlaws members at Bear Creek Cemetery in Dayton on January 27, 1989, following a funeral attended by around 300 gang members.[111]
A police officer was critically wounded in a shootout during a raid of the Outlaws' clubhouse in Miamisburg on January 8, 1980.[105]
On February 24, 2001, several members of the Dayton Outlaws chapter, along with members of the Avenger Motorcycle Club, visited Spanky's Dollhouse, a strip club in the Dayton suburb of Harrison Township.[117] A fight broke out between the bikers and a group of four African-American men after racially-charged comments were made. One of the black males, Eric Lavern Coulter Jr., struck an Outlaws member, James Foster, in the head with a chair.[118] Foster responded by beating Coulter with a wooden club, and another Outlaw, Allen Chester "Psycho" Lawson, hit Coulter with a beer bottle.[118] [119] A third Outlaws member, Glen D. "Hot Rod" Carlisle, then shot Coulter in the buttocks before an Avenger member shot him a second time, causing Coulter to die from his wounds at the scene.[117] Foster pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment,[118] Lawson was convicted of felonious assault and sentenced to three years', and Carlisle pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to nine years'.[117]
In August 1984, two leaders of the Youngstown Outlaws chapter and three associates were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and charged with manufacturing and distributing drugs, including LSD, methadone and cocaine, distributing 2,000 Valium tablets, and possession with intent to distribute 16,000 more.
In December 1997, the Toledo office of the FBI, along with various state law enforcement agencies, initiated an investigation of the "Green region" of the Outlaws, consisting of chapters in Dayton; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[120] The investigation began after the FBI was tipped off by an Outlaws member who owed a drug debt to the club that the Outlaws were attempting to forcibly amalgamate a rival gang in Lima.[121] Several Outlaws became confidential FBI informants during the operation.[120] In April 2003, following a five-year investigation, 38 Outlaws members and associates, including international president James Lee "Frank" Wheeler, were indicted by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and charged with various offenses, including RICO violations; conspiring to distribute large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD, marijuana, ecstasy and Valium; extortion; and firearms offenses.[120] [122] 800 pounds of cocaine, 500 pounds of marijuana, 100 pounds of methamphetamine, 900,000 units of Valium, and over 100,000 doses of LSD were seized.[123]
After a two-month trial in U.S. District Court in Toledo, a federal jury on June 1, 2004 found ten of fourteen defendants in the case, including Wheeler, guilty of racketeering, and twelve of the defendants guilty of conspiracy to participate in racketeering.[124] [125] 101 witnesses testified in during the trial, including former Outlaws members who had recorded conversations on behalf of investigators by wearing recording devices.[121] On December 20, 2004, Wheeler was sentenced to life in prison.[126]
On August 1, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit overturned the racketeering convictions of Wheeler, who argued that he had been convicted on the same charges at an earlier trial in Florida, for which he was sentenced to sixteen-and-a-half years in prison, and Gregory Driver, for whom the court ruled there had not been enough evidence to convict. Wheeler was not released from prison, however, as he had been sentenced to life. The court ordered Driver be resentenced on a drug conspiracy charge.[127]
In September 1985, Ronald "Huey" Scherrer, a member of an Outlaws chapter based in Armstrong County, and his partner, Karen "Level" Askey, were arrested after selling over 9,000 doses of LSD to an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent outside a Holiday Inn in Butler. According to the FBI, the LSD was manufactured in an Outlaws laboratory located in Ohio.[128] Scherrer died on January 17, 2023, at the age of 68.[129]
A year-long federal drug investigation centered on New Kensington and northern Westmoreland County resulted in the arrests of 23 members, former members and associates of the Outlaws, the Pagans and the Hells Angels, including Western Pennsylvania Outlaws chapter president John J. "JJ" Flick, on drug and firearm charges in January 1986.[128]
On June 15, 2010, 27 Outlaws members and associates were arrested in raids carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in seven U.S. states, including South Carolina, after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia.[106] [107] Copper region enforcer and Rock Hill chapter president Michael "M & M" Mariaca and Leslie "Les" Werth, the Rock Hill chapter vice president and former Copper region president, were taken into custody.[106]
Raids were carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Tennessee and six other U.S. states on June 15, 2010 after 27 Outlaws members and associates were indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia.[106] [107] Knoxville chapter member and former Grey Region president Mark "Ivan" Lester was among those arrested.[106]
The Outlaws expanded into Virginia in 2006 after reaching an accord with the Pagan's.[130] In September 2008, a group of over fifty Outlaw and Pagan bikers prepared to confront members of the Merciless Souls Motorcycle Cub, a gang affiliated with the Hells Angels, at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie. Violence was prevented, however, due to a large presence of law enforcement personnel at the event.[130]
In November 2008, Outlaws members assaulted an African American man in a racist attack at the Hard Times Café in Fredericksburg. The bikers then intimidated witnesses and instructed fellow Outlaws members to lie to obstruct a law enforcements investigation of the assault.[106]
On March 14, 2009, Outlaws and Pagan's members lured members of the Hells Angels and the Desperados Motorcycle Club into an ambush by sending three Outlaws wearing their "colors" into the Cockade Bar in Petersburg in which the rival bikers were drinking. Three other Outlaws inside the bar, who were incognito without club "colors", as well as others who waited outside then trapped and assaulted the Hells Angels and Desperados. Local police arrived and ended the violence, seizing a knife and brass knuckles from an Outlaws member, after the brawl spilled out into the bar's parking lot.[130]
On June 15, 2010, a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia indicted 27 Outlaws members and associates on various charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) related to participating in a criminal enterprise that engaged in assaults, kidnapping, drug dealing, illegal gambling, and attempted murder.[131] The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrested the defendants during a series of raids carried out in seven U.S. states. In Virginia, Mark Steven "Snuff" Fiel, Brett Longendyke, Thomas "Jo Jo" Petrini, Christopher "Alibi" Timbers and Mark Jason Fiel of the Outlaws' Manassas/Shenandoah Valley chapter and four members of the Pagan's were taken into custody.[106] [107]
The American Outlaws Association "patched over" the Gypsy Outlaws gang of Milwaukee on July 4, 1964. Establishing drug trafficking and car theft operations, the Milwaukee Outlaws chapter came to be known as the "Wrecking Crew".[132] [133] The club has seven chapters and approximately 60 "full-patched" members in Wisconsin.[134] The Outlaws are involved in the distribution of cocaine and marijuana throughout the Milwaukee metropolitan area.[135]
On September 30, 1977, three members of the Milwaukee Outlaws chapterMichael "Sledge" Goodman, Roger F. "Rocker" Lyons and "Horrible" Harry Rosswere involved in a bar brawl with three other men who were playing pool at the Bus Stop Tavern on Milwaukee's northwest side. After police were called, twelve officers arrived and evicted five of the men from the premises. Lyons refused to leave until he was allowed to finish his drink, however, and he was restrained and handcuffed. According to several witnesses, Lyons was then beaten unconscious by police with batons and placed in a police van. He was first taken to District No. 7 station house and subsequently pronounced dead on arrival at Milwaukee County Hospital. A medical examiner's inquest ruled that Lyons' death was "the result of brain swelling and concussion due to multiple blunt trauma injuries" and concluded that the "manner of death was the unlawful homicide by reckless conduct caused by a person or persons undetermined".[136] A coroner's inquest and a federal grand jury found no evidence to justify prosecution of the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD).[137]
After private detective Ira B. Robins was hired by the Outlaws to seek new evidence in the case, retired police officer Robert M. Schmidt shed new light on the events surrounding Lyons' homicide in 1995, claiming that Lyons was already dead when he arrived at the District No. 7 station house and that the officers involved convened in a room to write their reports as the van carrying Lyons sat in the station garage for "at least 15 minutes". In 1996, Wisconsin State Senator David Zien sought to reopen the case, saying: "There has been a wrong done here, and we need to right that wrong".[136] [137]
On June 15, 2010, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrested 27 members and associates of the Outlaws during a series of raids carried out in seven U.S. states, including Wisconsin.[106] [107] Outlaws international president "Milwaukee" Jack Rosga was among those taken into custody.[106]
