Outlaws Motorcycle Gang Members Found Guilty

National President, Other Leaders Convicted of Racketeering and Other Violent Crimes

WASHINGTON—The national president and three members of the American Outlaw Association (Outlaws) motorcycle gang have been found guilty of participating in a violent criminal organization by a federal jury in the Eastern District of Virginia.

U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; and Edgar A. Domenech, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division announced the verdict after it was accepted by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.

“Today’s conviction of the Outlaw’s national president strikes a crippling blow to his violent motorcycle gang,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Riding a Harley doesn’t make you a criminal—but you cross the line when your motorcycle gang engages in violent criminal activity as a way of doing business. Virginia is a safe place today because ATF agents put their lives on the line to bring this case. Thanks to their sacrifice, the leadership of this gang has been brought to justice, along with the enforcers who carried out his orders.”

“Today, a Virginia jury struck back against the violence that the Outlaws motorcycle gang has been spreading in our communities,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “In obtaining convictions against the gang’s national president and other members, the Justice Department is sending a strong message to organized criminal enterprises of all stripes that we will not allow them to operate without repercussion. We are committed to bringing significant prosecutions against the leaders of the country’s most notorious and violent groups.”

“This investigation would not have been a success without the dedicated and hard working agents and prosecutors that devoted several years to this undercover operation,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Edgar Domenech. “This is another example of how our agents work day in and day out to build cases against violent criminals.”

Today, the jury found Jack Rosga, aka “Milwaukee Jack,” 53, guilty of conspiring to engage in racketeering activities and conspiring to commit violence in aid of racketeering. Rosga is the national president of the Outlaws organization and is also a member of the Gold Region, Milwaukee Chapter. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the racketeering charge and a maximum of three years in prison for the violence charge.

The other members of the Outlaws who were convicted today include:

Mark Jason Fiel, aka “Jason,” 37, a former Outlaws member in the Copper Region and a former leader in the Manassas/Shenandoah Valley Chapter. Fiel was convicted of conspiring to engage in racketeering activities and conspiring to commit violence in aid of racketeering.

Harry Rhyne McCall, 53, an Outlaws member in the Copper Region, Lexington, N.C., Chapter. McCall was convicted of conspiring to engage in racketeering activities, conspiring to commit violence in aid of racketeering, violence in aid of racketeering, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence. The violence in aid of racketeering charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, while the firearm charge carries a consecutive sentence of five years up to life in prison.

Christopher Timbers, aka “Alibi,” 38, an Outlaws member in the Manassas/Shenandoah Valley Chapter of the Copper Region. Timbers was convicted of conspiring to engage in racketeering activities, conspiring to commit violence in aid of racketeering, and violence in aid of racketeering. Timbers was acquitted of one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Also today, Dennis Haldermann, aka “Chew Chew,” 46, a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club from Chesterfield, Va., was acquitted of a violence in aid of racketeering charge.

Sentencing for Rosga, Fiel, McCall, and Timbers is scheduled for April 8, 2011.

Evidence at trial showed that the Outlaws motorcycle gang is a highly organized criminal enterprise with a defined, multi-level chain of command that is ultimately overseen by Rosga, the national president. Leaders and members of the Outlaws in multiple states including Wisconsin, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Virginia are charged in a June 2010 indictment. Under Rosga’s leadership, the enterprise is alleged to have engaged in violent racketeering activities with the intent to expand its influence and to control various parts of the country against rival motorcycle gangs, particularly the Hell’s Angels.

According to evidence at trial, the Outlaws planned multiple acts of violence against rival motorcycle gangs, including shows of force at the Cycle Expo in Henrico County, Va., in 2006; Dinwiddie Racetrack in Virginia in 2008; the Cockades Bar in Petersburg, Va., in 2009; Daytona Bike Week in Florida in 2009; and the Easyrider Bike Expo in Charlotte, N.C., in 2010. The indictment alleges that in the Cockades Bar show of force, members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club joined the Outlaws in the assault against rival gangs.

In addition, the evidence at trial showed that in 2008, the Outlaws established a clubhouse in Rock Hill, S.C., in territory traditionally controlled by the Hell’s Angels. The Outlaws understood that this act would create violent friction between the two organizations.

Evidence at trial also established that in September 2009, two members of the Outlaws were assaulted in Connecticut by members of the Hell’s Angels. This caused the Outlaws to increase their already violent approach to the Hell’s Angels in retaliation. In October 2009, this led to the alleged attempted murder of a Hell’s Angels member outside the Hell’s Angels’ clubhouse in Canaan, Maine. The victim was seriously injured from gunshot wounds to his neck.

In addition, the evidence showed that on April 17, 2010, Outlaw members of the Milwaukee and other Wisconsin chapters in the Gold Region, participated in a charitable event known as the Flood Run, crossing from Wisconsin into Minnesota where they brutally beat members of the Hell’s Angels and stole their club patches, also known as “colors.”

Witnesses at the trial also testified that the Outlaws regularly used and distributed narcotics and regularly used firearms or other dangers weapons.

The four men convicted today are among 27 individuals indicted in June 2010 as a result of a long-term investigation into criminal activities of the Outlaws motorcycle gang. To date, 17 of those indicted have pled guilty and one was previously convicted in an earlier trial.

The case was investigated by the ATF’s Washington Field Division; the FBI’s Washington Field Office; the Virginia State Police; the Chesterfield County Police Department; the Maine State Police, and numerous other law enforcement partners throughout the country. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dennis Fitzpatrick and Peter S. Duffey, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Kaplan, and Trial Attorney Theryn G. Gibbons of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Gang Unit.

Latin Kings Leader Sentenced To Over 21 Years in Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy

Gang Activities Included Two Attempted Murders, Armed Robbery And Witness Tampering

Greenbelt, Maryland — U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Francisco Ortiz, a/k/a “Francis Gabriel Ortis,” “Pone,” and “King Pone,” age 26, of Rockville, Maryland, today to 262 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in connection with his gang activities as a member and leader of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings).

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A Breuer, of the Department of Justice Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy; Chief Roberto L. Hylton of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey.

U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said, “The strategy of combining the resources and intelligence of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to pursue federal racketeering charges is proving effective.”

“As part of his plea, Mr. Ortiz admitted to being the leader of this violent gang, and today he is seeing the consequences,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “By targeting gang leaders, we weaken a gang’s structure and, ultimately, make safer the communities that gangs terrorize.”

“This sentencing demonstrates how serious and determined ATF and our law enforcement partners are in bringing violent criminals to justice,” says ATF’s Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop. “We have and will continue to work tirelessly to protect our communities from senseless acts of gang violence and intimidation. Violent criminals involved in gang activity have no place within our communities and we will target and remove them to ensure the public is safe.”

According to Ortiz’s plea agreement, the Latin Kings is a violent street gang with thousands of members across the country and overseas. The Latin Kings have a detailed and uniform organizational structure, which is outlined — along with various “prayers,” codes of behavior and rituals — in a written “manifesto” widely distributed to members throughout the country. Members of the Latin Kings are also traditionally given “King Names” or “Queen Names,” which are names other than their legal names, by which they are known to members of the gang and to others on the street. At the local level, groups of Latin Kings are organized into “tribes,” including, the Royal Lion Tribe, MOG, Sun Tribe and UTL.

According to the plea agreement, in mid-2007, Ortiz became a member of the Royal Lion Tribe in Maryland and the tribe’s Third Crown/Enforcer. Ortiz became the First Crown/Inca of the tribe in 2008, when members of the Royal Lion tribe formed the MOG tribe. Ortiz led the MOG tribe until mid-2009, when he was removed from power, then formed and became the leader of the UTL tribe. As a Latin King leader, Ortiz organized meetings where dues were collected from members and gang business was discussed. As First Crown/Inca, Ortiz traveled to Pennsylvania, New York and Florida where he met with other Latin King leaders.

Ortiz admitted that as part of his gang activities, in late summer or fall of 2007, Ortiz and other Latin King members carried out the armed robbery of a drug dealer at condominiums in Langley Park, Maryland. According to the plea agreement, one of the Latin Kings knocked on the drug dealer’s door and when the door opened, Ortiz and two other Latin King members and associates forced their way into the apartment, each carrying a gun. Once inside, they put their guns to the heads of the dealer and his young daughter. The Latin King members held the drug dealer and his daughter at gunpoint in the bedroom while they searched the residence, eventually stealing powder cocaine.

According to the plea agreement, in December 2007, Ortiz and other Latin King members and associates participated in the attempted murder of a suspected rival gang member. When several Latin King members began walking in the wooded area behind a condominium complex in Langley Park, one or more people - suspected to be MS-13 members — began shooting at them. After the Latin Kings began running to their cars, Ortiz made them stop, get out of their cars and retaliate against the suspected MS-13 members. When the Latin Kings found an individual whom they believed was a member of MS-13, they attacked and stabbed him.

Ortiz admitted that on January 19, 2009, he and other Latin King members and associates threatened and attempted to physically assault a Latin Queen, who was the intended victim of an earlier firebombing. Three days earlier, three members of the Latin Kings had been sentenced after pleading guilty in that case. Ortiz and other Latin Kings attended the sentencing at U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Believing that if the Latin Queen was not a witness or changed her testimony the three Latin Kings would be able to successfully appeal their convictions for the firebombing, Ortiz and other Latin Kings put a plan in place to assault the Latin Queen in an attempt to influence or prevent her testimony. ATF agents learned of the plan and were able to prevent the attack.

Finally, Ortiz admitted that on July 8, 2009, he and members of the UTL tribe attempted to murder a person in Germantown, Maryland. The victim was walking on a residential street with two friends when a car approached them. Several people got out of the car and began chasing the victim. The victim was eventually caught and struck in the back of the head. The victim fell to the ground where Ortiz and other Latin Kings beat the victim with a bat, kicked, punched and stabbed him multiple times. Ortiz was arrested two days after the attack and at the time of his arrest had three machetes with him.

Six co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy. All remain in federal custody.

Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Breuer thanked the ATF-led RAGE Task Force, including the Gaithersburg Police Department; the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office; Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office; the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Maryland National Capital Park Police — Prince George’s County Division; and the Maryland State Police; as well as, the New York Police Department; the U.S. Secret Service, and the Internal Revenue Service — Criminal Investigation, for their assistance in this investigation and prosecution. United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Glatfelter and David Salem, and Lara M. Peirce, a Trial Attorney with the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit, who are prosecuting the case.

Criminal Behavior of Gang Members and At-Risk Youths

During the past decade, the problem of gang-related crime has become a significant policy issue in the United States. According to recent estimates, more than 16,000 gangs are active in this country, with at least half a million members who commit more than 600,000 crimes each year. Two recent studies conducted by researchers at Ohio
State University were designed to address three critical questions:

What is the nature and magnitude of self-reported criminal behavior among youth gang members?

What is the nature and magnitude of such behavior among at-risk youths -- those who are not yet gang members?

What is the effect of gang membership on criminal behavior?

To answer these questions, the National Institute of Justice funded research in three communities -- Aurora, Colorado; Denver, Colorado; and Broward County, Florida -- and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) funded research in Cleveland, Ohio. Also, as part of the OJJDP grant, researchers in Columbus, Ohio, tracked leaders of youth gangs to determine what happens to gang leaders over time.

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