Under and Alone (33 page)

It took me a moment to regain my composure. “Yes, Your Honor. It’s William Queen. Q-U-E-E-N. Special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.”

Epilogue

Our undercover investigation was a massive blow to the Mongols Motorcycle Club, but the gang was by no means decimated. Exactly two years after my last day with them, a large convoy of Mongols rolled into Laughlin, Nevada, for an annual show of strength at River Run 2002. And just as I’d seen in the Flamingo casino, the Mongols went prepared for anything the Hells Angels might try.

This time the showdown went beyond posturing.

On April 27, 2002, just after two
A.M.,
a group of about thirty-five Hells Angels left the Flamingo Hotel and cruised on their Harleys to nearby Harrah’s Casino to back fifty Angels who were already there. On the casino floor they squared off against about forty Mongols. An Angel delivered a karate kick to the chest of a Mongol. Then all hell broke loose, with fists flying, and a blur of wrenches and hammers and knives. In the mêlée, one Mongol pulled a semiautomatic and shot an Angel point-blank in the belly.

When the battle was over, three bikers lay dead—two Angels and one Mongol. Dozens of innocent bystanders had been hurt in the rioting. A third Angel was later found shot to death on the highway in San Bernardino County. He had been on his way home from the Laughlin run.

The Mongol who was stabbed to death inside Harrah’s was my friend Bronson, the mellow, older brother from the L.A. Chapter who had helped me paint my Softail Springer. I’d imagined many of the Mongols I knew dying in battle with the Hells Angels, but Bronson wasn’t one of them. I was very sorry it had to be him.

But it’s the nature of the 1 percenter world. Motorcycle gangs like the Mongols, for all the terror and violence they inspire in law-abiding citizens, wreak their most complete devastation on their own. Prison, drug addiction, or violent death is the expected end for any man willing to wear that black-and-white patch.

Mongols Motorcycle Club Defendants’ Court Proceedings

DEFENDANTS WHO PLED GUILTY

1. AFANESKO, James “Jimmy”:
Pled guilty to a violation of the Federal Firearms Laws (Title 18, U.S. Code, sec. 922[g]1). Sentenced to federal prison.

2. ALARCON, Phillip “Evel”:
Pled guilty to Interstate Transfer of Stolen Motorcycles (RICO Predicate Act). Sentenced to federal prison.

3.  McDONALD, Jeremy “J.R.”:
Pled guilty to Interstate Transfer of Stolen Motorcycles (RICO Predicate Act). Sentenced to federal prison.

4. CHAVEZ, Raymond “Ray-Ray”:
Pled guilty to a violation of the Federal Firearms Laws (Title 18, U.S. Code, sec. 922[g]1) and violations of the Federal Narcotics Laws (Title 21, U.S. Code, sec. 841[a]1). Sentenced to federal prison.

5. JARVIS, Donald “Red Dog”:
Pled guilty to a violation of the Federal Firearms Laws (Title 18, U.S. Code, sec. 922[g]1). Sentenced to federal prison.

6. LUNA, Thomas “Tommy T”:
Pled guilty to a violation of the Federal Narcotics Laws (Title 21, U.S. Code, sec. 841[a]1). Sentenced to federal prison.

7. BERRARA, Carrena:
Pled guilty to a violation of the Federal Narcotics Laws (Title 21, U.S. Code, sec. 841[a]1). Sentenced to federal prison.

8. BOYSON, Bruce:
Pled guilty to unauthorized use of a law enforcement computer. Boyson was a dispatcher for the California Highway Patrol, who accessed law-enforcement computers on behalf of the Mongols. Boyson was fired from the CHP, received a felony conviction, and served a short jail term. After serving the term, Boyson was placed on probation for three years.

9. VEGA, Johnny “Cowboy”:
Pled guilty to a violation of the Federal Firearms Laws (Title 18, U.S. Code, sec. 922[g]1). Sentenced to federal prison.

MURDER CASES

1. GUTIERREZ, Adrian “Panhead”:
Gutierrez was tried in Superior Court of Los Angeles and found guilty of murder with a “gang allegation enhancement” and sentenced to state prison.

2. HANNA, David:
Murder charges are still under investigation.

MACHINE-GUN CASES

The following five defendants pled guilty in the Central Judicial District of California to trafficking in machine guns and were sentenced to federal prison:

1. ALVAREZ, Timothy “Domingo”

2. GARCIA, Robert “Bobby Loco”

3. JIMENEZ, Ernest “AK”

4. LUJAN, Michael “Mansion Mike”

5. VOGEL, Richard “Shaggy”

The following two defendants pled guilty in the Central Judicial District of California to possession of a machine gun and were sentenced to federal prison:

1. JIMENEZ, Ernest
“
AK”

2. VEGA, Johnny “Cowboy”

FIREARMS CASES

With the one exception noted (Cardenas; see below), all of the following defendants were convicted in the U.S. District Court or Los Angeles County Superior Court of various firearms-related charges and were sentenced to federal or state prison:

1. CASTILLO, Christopher “Recon”

2. CLAYTON, Richard “Rancid”

3. CRAMER, Douglas “Bucket Head”

4. GALLEGOS, Lonnie “Slick”

5. GONZALEZ, Joe “Lil Joe”

6. GUEVARA, Martin “Largo”

7. HOWARD, Joseph “The Kid”

8. VALLES, Leonard “Lenny”

9. CARDENAS, Manuel “Woody”
(trial, found not guilty)*
 
¹⁰

NARCOTICS CASES

The following defendants were convicted in U.S. District Court or Los Angeles County Superior Court of various narcotics-related charges and were sentenced to federal or state prison:

1. FRANCHINA, Richard “Richie”

2. MARTINEZ, Rudy “Rocky”

3. NELSON, Donald “Hobbit”

4. RAMIREZ, Giovonni “Geo”

5. PANACCIA, Michael “Casper”

6. GARCIA, Robert “Bobby Loco”

INTERSTATE THEFTS OF STOLEN MOTORCYCLES

The following two defendants were convicted in U.S. District Court for removing vehicle-identification numbers (VINs) on motorcycles and submitting fraudulent motorcycle-registration documents and sentenced to federal prison:

1. MGRDICHIAN, Gerard “Buddy”

2. MGRDICHIAN, Joanne

STOLEN-PROPERTY CASES

The following two defendants were convicted in Los Angeles County Superior Court of possessing known stolen property and sentenced to state prison:

1. MARTINEZ, Vicky

2. Pam LAST NAME UNK

ASSAULT CASES

The following defendant was found guilty in state court, County of San Diego, for assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to state prison:

1. SLAYTON, Richard

STOLEN MOTORCYCLES

The following defendants were convicted in Los Angeles County Superior Court of motorcycle thefts:

1. GOMEZ, Felipe

2. MARTINEZ, Francisco

3. PIZANO, Jose

RICO

RICO charges against the Mongols Motorcycle Club and its members are still pending.

CASE AGENT:
Special Agent John Ciccone—L.A. Group II

UNDERCOVER AGENT:
Special Agent William Queen—L.A. Group II

Endnotes

*
 
¹
Not her real name.

*
 
²
In 1973, Jesse Ventura, later elected governor of Minnesota, came home from Vietnam a decorated Navy SEAL. Assigned to a naval facility outside San Diego, he began riding with the Mongols and became a member of the club. Just like the SEALs, the Mongols had a reputation for being hard-core and, even when badly outnumbered, would never back down from a brawl or gunfight. However, Ventura maintains that the Mongols shielded him from participating in (or even hearing about) any criminal activity, since he would have been subject to a military court-martial as well as civil prosecution.

*
 
³
According to the most recent law-enforcement estimates, there are approximately 3,000 Hells Angels in 27 countries; 3,000 Bandidos in 13 countries; and 1,100 Outlaws in 11 countries.

*
 
⁴
Not their real names.

*
 
⁵
Not their real names.

*
 
⁶
After an investigation, the California Highway Patrol dispatcher, Bruce Paul Boysen, pled guilty to a felony count of unauthorized computer access. On August 10, 2000, he was sentenced to 180 days in jail and placed on three years’ probation.

*
 
⁷
“Special construction” is the official State of California Department of Motor Vehicles registration designation for a customized motorcycle, as opposed to factory-made bikes by established manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson or Indian.

*
 
⁸
The piano was housed as evidence by the LAPD in the Erwin Piper Tech Center in downtown Los Angeles. Vicky Martinez pled guilty to grand larceny and was sentenced to probation.

*
 
⁹
In March 2002, during one of Slayton’s no-holds-barred events at the casino of the Morongo Indian Reservation in Cabazon, California, the Mongols initiated a brawl involving 200 to 300 people, when they rushed the ring after Slayton’s disqualification from a fight. There were numerous injuries and one stabbing, but no prosecution was ever made, as none of the victims or witnesses were willing to cooperate.

*
 
¹⁰
Defense witness, a Mongol, testified firearm was his. This witness’s testimony resulted in an indictment charging him with this offense.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my beautiful wife, Allysson, for lighting the fire that truly got things rolling on this book. Your love and encouragement kept it together. I love you.

To my children, who lost their dad for years. If I could trade the Mongol investigation for what we lost, I would. I love you.

To Carolyn, Jimmy, Gene, and Debbie, we lost that time too. I love you.

Thanks to Doug Century, my book doctor, who deserves a great deal of credit for the success of this book.

Thanks to Lee Boudreaux, my book editor, and the rest of the Random House team who contributed to the book.

To all those who made up the team that brought the Mongols to justice.

Thanks to John Ciccone, Darrin Kozlowski, John Carr, Eric Harden, Cleetus, and Paul.

Thanks to Tom Brandon, the Group II supervisor who stood up for John Ciccone and me.

Thanks to Sally Meloch, the assistant United States attorney in charge of this investigation.

Thanks to Jerry Friedberg, the assistant United States attorney who kept order when things got disorderly.

Thanks to John Cooper, for his support at bureau headquarters.

Thanks to Al Phoenix, for everything he did for me both in bureau headquarters and out in the field.

Thanks to George Bernard, Steve Campbell, and John Torres, for backing me and making things safer.

Thanks to Steve Trethewy, for the support in Phoenix and for the support in writing this book.

Thanks to Howard Levine, for being there for me when times got tough.

Thanks to Steve Martin, for propping me up as only he could.

During my career as an ATF agent, I was privileged to work for a few supervisors who went out of their way to back me and support me when it was unpopular with other administrators. They were the kind of people who would stand up for what is right no matter who it concerned or what perils it might bring them. They made decisions based on right and wrong with no regard for political or other self-serving interests. They are the kind of people who make our country great and who I sincerely admire. Thanks to Lanny Royer, Tony Ferguson, and Larry Cornelison.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

W
ILLIAM
Q
UEEN
spent twenty years as a special agent with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. During his career, Queen received numerous awards for his undercover work with the bureau. He served with the U.S. Army Special Forces and is a decorated Vietnam War veteran. After his military service, Queen devoted his entire career to law enforcement. For his groundbreaking undercover work playing the part of biker “Billy St. John,” William Queen was awarded the 2001 Federal Bar Association’s Medal of Valor, the Director’s Award from the Department of Justice, the Robert Faulkner memorial Outstanding Investigation Award from the International Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association, the Medal of Valor from the International Narcotics Investigators Association, and the Distinguished Service Award from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Copyright © 2005 by William Queen

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

R
ANDOM
H
OUSE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to the
Los Angeles Times
for permission to reprint an excerpt from “42 Arrested in Motorcycle Gang Raids” by Mitchell Landsberg, published in the May 20, 2000, edition of the
Los Angeles Times.
Copyright © 2000
Los Angeles Times.
Reprinted by permission.