Jump to content

Pagan's Motorcycle Club

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jomaine23 (talk | contribs) at 19:45, 27 August 2010. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Pagans MC
Founded1959[1]
Founded byLou Dobkins[1]
Founding locationPrince George's County, Maryland
Years active1959-present[1]
TerritoryEast Coast of the United States
Criminal activitiesDrug trafficking, gun running, auto theft, arson, assault, chop shops, racketeering, prostitution, extortion and murder[2]
AlliesVicelords and DeCavalcante crime family[3]
RivalsHells Angels,[1]

The Pagans Motorcycle Club is a one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate formed by Lou Dobkin (or Dobkins) in 1959 in Prince George's County, Maryland.[1][4] Known simply as The Pagans colloquially, the club rapidly expanded and by 1965, the Pagans, originally clad in blue denim jackets and riding Triumphs, began to evolve along the lines of the stereotypical one percenter motorcycle club.[1]

The Pagans are categorized as an outlaw motorcycle gang by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They are known to fight over territory with the Hells Angels (HAMC)[1] and other motorcycle clubs, such as Fates Assembly MC, who have since merged with the HAMC.[citation needed] They are active in eleven states; Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.[5]

Insignia

The Pagans MC patch depicts the Norse fire-giant Surtr[1] sitting on the sun, wielding a sword, plus the word Pagan's [sic] in red, white and blue. Unlike most one percenter motorcycle clubs, the Pagans do not include on their club insignia a bottom rocker indicating the geographical chapter of the member wearing the club's full patch. It is believed the club declines to follow this one percenter tradition because they do not want law enforcement to know what state chapters individual Pagans belong to. Members wear blue denim vests called cuts or cutoffs with club patches, known as colors, on the front and back and symbols of the Pagans also include a black number 13 on the back of their colors (indicating that they are affiliated with the club's Mother Chapter), the number "4" (which signifies the motto "live and die"), the number "5" (which signifies the Nazi SS motto), the number "7" (an "in memory of" patch) and the number "9" (the chapter with which the member is affiliated). Nazi or White supremacist patches are also common on the front of the cuts, as are tattoos reading "ARGO" (Ar Go Fuck Yourself) and "NUNYA" (Nun'Ya Fuckin' Business).

Membership

Recently, the Pagans' membership has begun to decline as their rival Hells Angels’ membership has grown.[1] Pagans have approximately 350 to 400 members and 44 chapters and are active along the East Coast of the United States. Chapters are common in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia. The Pagans have a Mother Club or ruling council which ultimately rules the gang. The Pagans headquarters is currently in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

Members must be at least 21 years old and owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles with engines 900 cc or larger. The national sergeant-at-arms' responsibility is to hand-pick 13 chapter members to serve as the "enforcers" or "regulators". This body uses violence and intimidation to prevent any and all opposition to the Mother Club.

Members join for a variety of reasons. First, bikers often consider themselves loners and join gangs for mutual protection. The bonds with other motorcyclists are strengthened by the subscription to non-conventional norms and the rejection of mainstream society. Secondly, they use MCs as mechanisms of power. Oftentimes, MC membership brings them legitimate and illegitimate job opportunities and financial prospects. Additionally, members feel a sense of control while intimidating less powerful, defenseless citizens. Generally, the values of this MC subculture lie in the value of brotherhood, the interest in motorcycling, and respect for mechanical skills. Although many motorcycle gang members are loners, many have families, are gainfully employed, and have much to lose despite their risk-taking.[6]

Criminal activities

The Pagans have been linked to the production and smuggling of drugs such as methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and PCP. The Pagans also have had strong ties to organized crime, especially in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Pagans often use puppet clubs, smaller affiliated motorcycle clubs, or small street drug trafficking organizations that support larger Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs) for distributing drugs. Pagans have also engaged in assault, arson, extortion, motorcycle/car theft, and weapons trafficking. Most of the violence carried out by the Pagans is directed to rival OMGs such as Hells Angels. [7]

New York/Pennsylvania

On February 23, 2002, 73 Pagans were arrested in Long Island, New York after appearing at an indoor motorcycle and tattoo expo called the Hellraiser Ball.[8] The Pagans had shown up to the event to confront Hells Angels who were at the Ball. Dozens of Pagans rushed the doors of the event and were met with violence by the Hells Angels. Fighting ensued, ten people were wounded, and a Hells Angel allegedly shot and killed a Pagan member. Two weeks later, a Pagans owned tattoo parlor located in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was firebombed.[9]

In 2005, Pagans allegedly opened fire on and killed the Vice-President of the Hells Angel's Philadelphia chapter as he was driving his truck on the Schuylkill Expressway.[10] Later that year, the Hells Angels closed their Philadelphia chapter.[citation needed]

Maryland

A Pagans MC leader, Jay Carl Wagner, 66, was arrested in Washington County, Maryland, by 60 plus officers from state, local and federal officials with a bomb disposal robot on May 9, 2007, and later charged with possession of a regulated firearm after conviction of a violent crime. Police and agents recovered seven handguns, two alleged explosive devices and 13 long rifles [11]. On March 5th, 2008, Wagner plead guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.[12] On August 8, 2008, U.S. District Chief Judge Benson E. Legg sentenced Wagner to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.[13]

Multi-State

In 2009, 55 Pagans members and associates were arrested from West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Florida.[14] Charges range from attempted murder and kidnapping to drug dealing and conspiracy.[15]So far, seven defendants in the case have plead guilty.[16][17][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mallory, Stephen L. (2007), Understanding Organized Crime, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, pp. 157–160, ISBN 0763741086
  2. ^ Police say Pagans trafficked drugs, weapons
  3. ^ Gangs in Maryland: Pagans
  4. ^ Barker, Tom (September, 2005), "One Percent Biker Clubs -- A Description", Trends in Organized Crime, vol. 9, no. 1, Springer New York, doi:10.1007/s12117-005-1005-0, ISSN 1084-4791 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Feds arrest members of Pagan Motorcycle Club in multistate sweep
  6. ^ http://gangs.umd.edu/wfrmGangsinmdDetail.aspx?id=Pagans
  7. ^ http://gangs.umd.edu/wfrmGangsinmdDetail.aspx?id=Pagans
  8. ^ http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_60914.html
  9. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/05/us/a-biker-shot-dead-is-laid-to-rest-and-a-bloody-turf-war-rages-on.html?pagewanted=all
  10. ^ http://www.southphillyreview.com/view_article.php?id=2910
  11. ^ Herald-Mail.com, May 10, 2007: Police search for weapons during raid on area home
  12. ^ http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Public-Affairs/press_releases/press08/PagansMotorcycleGangLeaderPleadsGuiltytoGunCharge.html
  13. ^ http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Public-Affairs/press_releases/press08/PaganMotorcycleClubPresidentSentencedtooverTwoYearsinFederalPrison.html
  14. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/16/AR2009111601144.html
  15. ^ http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20091022_North_Jersey_Pagan_held_in_racketeering_case.html
  16. ^ The Associated Press (November 17, 2009), "Va. man set to plead guilty in Pagans Motorcycle Club case", The Washington Post, retrieved 2009-11-18
  17. ^ Clevenger (Andrew), "Contractor admits using Pagans for debt-collection muscle", The Charleston Gazette, retrieved 2009-11-18 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ http://wvgazette.com/News/200912180613

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pagan%27s_Motorcycle_Club&oldid=381366615"