Mongols MC
The Mongols Motorcycle Club, shortened to "Mongols MC" is a "one-percenter" motorcycle club headquartered in southern California that was originally formed in Montebello, California in 1969.[1]. Law enforcement officials estimate there are approximately 1,000 members.[2] In addition to their presence in southern California, the club claims chapters in Nevada, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, Montana, Oregon, New York, Indiana, Florida, Virginia, Canada, Italy and Mexico. [3]. Norwegian mainstream news also reports that the Mongols have spread to Scandinavia, April 2008. The Mongols Motorcycle Club states on their website that they have a chapter in Italy.
The Mongols motorcycle club is named after the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia, the Mongols that conquered the largest contiguous empire in world history. The Mongols MC main website includes a quote on the front page from Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. However, there is no other relationship between the Mongol ethnic group and the motorcycle club other than the shared name.
A half dozen brothers came together to form the club. The club began to attract many with criminal tendencies and soon the label "Outlaw" stuck to them.
On October 21, 2008, 38 members including Ruben "Doc" Cavazos were taken into Federal custody after 4 ATF agents infiltrated the group for a second time, becoming full patch members. 110 arrest warrants and 160 search warrants were issued in California, Ohio, Colorado, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon. [1] On October 23, 2008, US District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper granted an injunction that prohibits gang members, their family members and associates from wearing, licensing, selling or distributing the logo, which typically depicts the profile of a Mongolian warrior wearing sunglasses. Prosecutors requested the injunction after authorities arrested dozens of Mongol members under a racketeering indictment. If this holds up to appellate scrutiny, it could spell the demise of the club as it is known today. [2]
Criminal activities
In 1998, ATF agent William Queen infiltrated the clubs, eventually becoming a full-patch member and rising to the rank of treasurer using the undercover alias of Billy St. John. In April 2000, based on evidence gathered during Queen's 28-month undercover time with the club, 54 Mongols were arrested. All but one of the accused were later convicted of various crimes including drug trafficking, motorcycle theft, and conspiracy to commit murder.[4]
In 2002, members of the Mongols and the Hells Angels had a confrontation in Laughlin, Nevada at the Harrah's Laughlin Casino, that left three bikers dead. [5] Mongol Anthony 'Bronson' Barrera, 43, was stabbed to death; and two Hells Angels -- Jeramie Bell, 27, and Robert Tumelty, 50 -- were shot to death.
On February 23, 2007, Hells Angels members James Hannigan and Rodney Cox were sentenced to two years in prison for their respective roles in the incident. Cox and Hannigan were captured on videotape confronting Mongols inside the casino. A Hells Angel can be clearly seen on the casino security videotape performing a front kick on a Mongol which in turn started the ensuing melee.
It is clear that the Hells Angels came to confront the Mongols. Charges were dismissed against 36 other Hells Angels and Mongols originally named in the indictment.
On September 2, 2008 witnesses identified Mongol Christopher Ablett of Modesto, CA as the man who shot and killed Mark "Papa" Guardado, the President of the San Francisco chapter of Hells Angels. By the time 2000 members of the Hells Angels and other various motorcycle clubs attended the funeral of Mark "Papa" Guardado police had issued a $5 million warrant for the arrest of Christopher Ablett.
On October 6, 2008 Christopher Ablett turned himself in to authorities in Bartlesville, Oklahoma for the murder of Mark Guardado. He fought extradition back to San Francisco and was held at a location away from the general prison population for his own protection. He indicated he hired an attorney and stated that he wished to take his 5th Amendment right to remain silent.
On or around 2:00 a.m. on October 8, 2008 Manuel Vincent Martin was shot while riding his motorcycle on the Glendale Highway in California. According to the San Gabriel Valley News Martin's riding companion at the time was seen wearing a Mongols T-Shirt. While the police were investigating the scene of the accident several people showed up wearing the Mongols apparel and tattoos. The police did not rule out gang retaliation, nor did they admit to it.
A Federal raid on the Mongols, on charges "ranging from murder and robbery to extortion, money laundering, gun trafficking and drug dealing." The interesting twist is that the authorities are asking the courts to seize the IP of the biker club — specifically, their trademarked name "Mongols."[6]
Rivals
"La EME" (The Mexican Mafia)
January, 2004
The trouble began in Rosemead, California, a small town 11 miles east of Los Angeles. La Sangra, a gang loyal to La EME was running a Meth lab out of a motel room. Profits from the lucrative drug operation were going directly to the mafia. Several Mongols that were staying in the same motel got curious after seeing the the drug dealing and confronted the gang members in their room. Shortly thereafter, a verbal confrontation ensued between the members of the La Sangra gang and the Mongols. One of the Mexican Mafia members pulled out a pistol and fatally shot a Mongol. Police rapidly moved in and discovered the Meth Lab. The incident infuriated Mexican Mafia leaders who lost money in the bust (approx. $10,000). The Mexican Mafia saw this as an insult and demanded that the Mongols cover the lost earnings. After discovering that members of gangs loyal to the Mexican Mafia were joining the Mongols, a sweeping demand of a percentage of all Mongols drug sales was issued. A representative of the Mexican Mafia paid a visit to Mongols President Ruben "Doc" Cavazos and said it "was time to pay uncle". Ruben stated that the Mongols would not pay and later called the Mongol members together for a vote. The members in the meeting were adamant about not paying and stated that they would rather "go to war". Authorities were concerned that it would be a bloodbath.
Hells Angels
As they grew in numbers, the Mongols established chapters in Northern California. Soon these two clubs went to war over a bottom rocker. The HA claimed California. By putting California on the Mongols Patch infuriated the HA and the Mongols were told to remove the word California. The Mongols had no intention of doing so. 1977 Summer
The Mongols were holding a funeral for two brothers killed just outside of San Diego by the HA. Just before the ceremony began someone placed red and white carnations at the funeral casket (the colors representing the Hells Angels). The deliverer then proceeded to walk down the street away from the mortuary. The vehicle that he drove up in then exploded and three Mongols were injured. 2 months later, the HA struck again at a motorcycle shop in Highland Park,CA. A tire was brought in for repair and exploded. The younger brother of a Mongol was killed. Shortly after the attack, the Mongols killed a high ranking member of the HA at a biker bar called "Dumont's" in El Cajon,CA a suburb of San Diego. Shortly thereafter, the Mongols struck again killing a chapter president. After the war escalated to a point in which high ranking HA were being executed, the two clubs made a pact in 1994 delivering Northern California to the HA and So Cal to the Mongols. Mongols fly California!
1990's
Membership had dwindled to an all time low of approx. 100 members in the early 1990s. This looked like a turning point for the Mongols and the HA did not perceive them as a threat.
1998 an Agent with the ATF infiltrated the gang.
May 2000 - homes and offices of members were raided by the ATF in California, Oklahoma, Colorado and Georgia. The operation nabbed 42 bikers. No top leaders were arrested. The exposure on the news created a frenzy of new recruits and the Mongols began to grow rapidly.
2001
Due to expansion, the Mongols wanted to open a Chapter in San Jose, California. This was forbidden by the previous pact with the Hells Angels. The Mongols opened one anyway infuriating the Hells Angels.
April, 27th 2002 - Annual Laughlin River Run
Large numbers of bikers from across the country converged on Laughlin for the Annual River Run. The two gangs stayed away from each other renting rooms in hotels on opposite sides of the city. The Hells Angels; however, came looking for fight. A group of Angels went to Harrah's. (the Mongols chosen hotel} Roger Pinney and Ruben Cavazos were on the floor of the casino with dozens of foot soldiers. Pinney entered into the center of the swarm of Angels in hopes of lessening the tension and preventing a catastrophe. At the same time, across the casino floor, a Hells Angel did a front kick at a Mongol and the entire crowd erupted into a sea of violence. Pinney was then stabbed four times by a Hells Angel. Within minutes, police stormed the Casino and broke up the brawl. One Mongol and Two Hells Angels were killed and dozens injured.
Footnotes & references
See also
External links
- Mongols MC website
- Gangland: Mongol Nation A documentary show about the Mongols Motorcycle Club
Vorlage:OutlawMotorcycleGroups
- ↑ Organized Crime in California Annual Report the California Legislature 2004
- ↑ Queen, William Under and Alone : The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, Random House, 2005 (ISBN 1400060842)
- ↑ Mongols MC main page, retrieved 16 October 2007
- ↑ Queen, William Under and Alone : The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, Random House, 2005 (ISBN 1400060842)
- ↑ Las Vegas Review Journal, 4/30/2002; LAUGHLIN SHOOTOUT: Signs told of melee in making
- ↑ "Feds seize biker gangs trademark". Andrew Orlowski, The Register, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/22/doj_seizes_biker_trademark/, accessed 25th October 2008.