In other words, she wrote, he is a rat.. "Absolutely not, unequivocally no," says David Santillan. Collect, curate and comment on your files. Mayor R. Rex Parris said he wants to keep the Mongols out because they "are engaged in domestic terrorismand they kill our children. The Mongols have been fixtures on the biker scene since 1969, when the club was founded in Montebello, Calif. After being turned away because of their Hispanic heritage, they decided to take matters into their own hands and form their own club. David Santillan, the president of the Mongols, was ousted by the group after a video surfaced that implied he was being protected by a federal agent. Come over and get in the know with everything happening in the Biker Scene. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. [36], According to Andreas Weber, the state of Bremen's chief of criminal investigation, the new Mongols chapter is only nominally a motorcycle group. The Mongols Motorcycle Club has solidified its reputation of violence and crime, having been involved in gang wars, drug deals, and human trafficking. [12], Members of the Glendale Mongols chapter, along with bikers from the San Bernardino chapter of the Hells Angels, the Straight Satans of Venice, and the Glendale Night Riders, committed a sexual assault on a fifteen year-old girl in August 1972. "I love you, I love you," David Santillan says in the call. However later on, since this gang activity is worldwide, more and more members were accepted. On Wednesday, defense attorney Joe Yanny and Santillan went back and forth over Santillan's relationship with retired Montebello police officer Christopher Cervantes and Ciccone. Presumably, they are interested in associating themselves with the US motorcycle club primarily to profit from their infrastructure and trading channels in drug trafficking. On April 5, 1973, Mongols member Ferman Benavides was among eleven motorcycle gang members convicted in Los Angeles of rape and sex perversion. However, it's also made some inroads nationwide and abroad. Marshal that Mr. Santillan and Mr. Ciccone had been seen chatting at a Starbucks near the courthouse. Established in 1969, the Mongols MC has earned the reputation of one of the most dangerous outlaw biker clubs in America - here's why. A spokesman for the United States attorneys office for the Central District of California, Thom Mrozek, said in a statement that prosecutors were disappointed by the decision and that they believed Judge Carter was required by law to issue the forfeiture order that the government had requested. "I want Ciccone here under oath," Judge Carter told the prosecution team. However, Annie testified this week, saying she only did it to get back at her husband for cheating. In the case that led to the racketeering conviction against the Mongols, Mr. Ciccone had acted as the case agent. Racketeering conspiracy; conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; money laundering conspiracy; assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering; firearm offenses; conspiracy to tamper with a witness and witness tampering; and kidnapping. According to sources listed above, the mongols would distribute (sell) drugs and also transport them to various locations, depending where they travel. A jury sided with the prosecution in 2019 and ordered the group to give up the emblem, but Judge David O. Carter rejected the verdict as an infringement on the clubs constitutional rights. READ ALSO | Was head of OC biker gang a 'rat'? We will use all of ATFs resources to disrupt the illegal possession of firearms, distribution of narcotics, and other violent crimes. [2] [19], On October 28, 2014, in San Gabriel, California, Mongols member David Martinez allegedly shot and killed Pomona Police SWAT Team member Shaun Diamond. The U.S. Attorneys Office has failed to force the Mongols to forfeit their trademarked logo. When the AMC eventually gave rise to the phrase one-percenter club in the early 1970s, the Mongols were most definitely one of them. The club is headquartered in Southern California and was originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969. One prospective member told Ling, "This is everything to me. He's written over 1000 articles in the space and continues to learn about it each day. [22], The Mongols established chapters in Oregon in 2007 and 2008, "astonishing" authorities, who described it as a breach of motorcycle club code of conduct, and who expected a turf war with rival motorcycle clubs to result. An attorney for the Mongols said he planned to sue the city and the mayor, potentially for civil rights violations, after previously threatening to sue the hotel for breach of contract should they comply with the mayor's demands. Carter went on to tell prosecutors he does not want their witnesses to use the words "to the best of my recollection.". club president David Santillan denies that the club as a whole is a criminal enterprise, and attorneys for the club claim that it has changed its code of conduct to exclude drug abusers and criminals. The mother chapter had a total of 15 members. I'd be willing to take a bullet for a brother and a brother who'd be willing to take a bullet for me." 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. In another instance, in 2014, Mr. Santillan and his wife got into a brawl with other people at a racetrack, the Mongols filing says. Racketeering conspiracy; assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering; kidnapping resulting in the death of Stephen Cole; kidnapping of Stephen Cole in aid of racketeering; and the murder of Stephen Cole in aid of racketeering. On September 16, 2015, Federal District Judge David O. Carter dismissed the case. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. Innocent citizens do occasionally get caught in the crossfire, but as onepercenterbikers.com notes, that old maxim of stay out of their way and they will stay out of yours generally rings true. 10 Their Motto Is Bigger, Better, Stronger! Per their archived official website, which appears to have been last updated in 2010, there were 15 members in the original club, and within five years, there were additional chapters inLos Angeles, San Diego, Bakersfield, Long Beach, San Gabriel Valley, and San Fernando Valley. They offered an opportunity for motorcycle enthusiasts to socialize, meet up, and race. Initially, both it and all the other clubs that started cropping up around the country were harmless. Criminal - Organized Crime and Gang Section. The Mongols described their presence in Southern California as a "stronghold" and note that "[a]t the time and even now there were really no other 1%er clubs co-existing in these areas." The U.S. Attorney's office asked him whether he is - or ever was - any sort of informant for the ATF or for any state or federal agency. These days, theyre even more so. 2023 Getty Images. SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Testimony resumed inside an Orange County federal courthouse on Wednesday morning for a hearing in which a judge will decide if the Mongols Motorcycle Club will get a . But the group that was once the most powerful biker organization in the West other than its archrivals, the Hells Angels, is returning to court next week, hoping to set aside the racketeering and conspiracy convictions based on what it says is new evidence about its previous leader, David Santillan. The Mongols Motorcycle Club was convicted in late 2018 of racketeering and conspiracy. The Mongols were formed in the 1970s in Montebello by a group of mostly Latino men who reportedly had been rejected for membership by the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, which has become the. We look forward to the sentencing phase and seeking lengthy and life sentences for these defendants convicted today., The criminal activities and horrendous acts of violence are dangerous and damaging to everyone involved, said Special Agent in Carge Mickey French of the ATFs Nashville Field Division. There is no way hes gotten away with these incidents without more significant legal repercussions unless someone in law enforcement is in the background greasing the slides for him, Mr. Yanny said. Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; money laundering conspiracy; distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and interstate travel in aid of racketeering. Thats what I meant by protect in the video.. The indictment did not target any individuals but alleged that the club itself had engaged in an organized conspiracy of crimes such as murder, attempted murder and drug dealing. Mongols Motorcycle Club was founded in Montebello, California on December 5, 1969. A federal jury convicted six Tennessee men Friday for racketeering conspiracy and other charges involving murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and other crimes, all stemming from their involvement with the Clarksville chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club (Clarksville Mongols). A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. We will continue to work tirelessly with our local, state, and federal partners to combat violent crime and maintain public safety within our communities.. Paternoster was a member of the Raiders biker gang, a group Gualtieri described as a lower-level club that served as a feeder to the more powerful Mongols. In April 2000, based on evidence gathered during Queen's 28-month undercover time with the club, 54 Mongols were arrested. In the second phase of that wide-ranging, eight-week trial, the jury found that the Mongols must give up their rights to the emblem, which is emblazoned on the vests, T-shirts and motorcycles of hundreds of members. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca speaks during a news conference in 2008 with the trademarked Mongols logo seen on a motorcycle at right. Ling called her experience "an interesting time" and "exhilarating" and even suggested that the club could serve a positive influence on "a lot of guys who ordinarily might do things they're not supposed to do.". ", "So, he gave me a heads up and that was it. Members and associates of the Clarksville Mongols interrogated Bradley, threatening her and demanding that she should not mention the Mongols again. Current estimates put its ranks at around 2,000 full-patched members. The unusual legal imbroglio provides a rare glimpse into the hidden and volatile politics of the outlaw motorcycle club and the degree to which law enforcement and its targets may engage in limited cooperation when it is seen as mutually beneficial. There could be a particular concern that the defense lawyer was unwittingly receiving directions from someone aligned with the government, he said. [23], Operation Black Rain was an operation by the ATF in 2008 to stop alleged criminal activity within the Mongols. Despite certain members of the club wearing the symbols while committing violent crimes or being rewarded with other patches for the commission of crimes that did not justify the forfeiture of the logo, Judge Carter wrote. "Because I needed evidence to show the military that they had someone having an affair with a married man.". Some of the most infamous legal cases to involve the Mongols include the arrest of 54 Mongols in 2000 after FBI agent William Queen uncovered drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit murder, and theft during a 28-month undercover operation. Current estimates put its ranks at around 2,000 full-patched members. The A.T.F. "All I wanted to do was to tarnish his image," says Annie Santillan. Julie Platner for The New York Times. motorcycle club chapter support gear and news The Mongols, who feared that losing the rights to their logo a brawny Genghis Khan-like man sporting a queue and sunglasses and riding a chopper while brandishing a sword would have severe consequences, hailed the ruling as not just a victory for the group, but for other biker clubs that law enforcement authorities have tried to take down. He and his wife, Annie, were estranged after he had an affair. During that time, they did what no one else, Read More The 10 Best Harley Davidson V Rod Models of All-TimeContinue, Viper is a motorcycle manufacturer in Big Lake, Minnesota with locations across the nation. The site compares the code to that used by the military and notes that club members use them to communicate when other methods are unavailable or when they want the content of their conversations to remain private. 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