The Mongols Motorcycle Club was established on December 5, 1969 in the East Los Angeles area in the city of Montebello, California. 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. The Mongols Motorcycle Club has solidified its reputation of violence and crime, having been involved in gang wars, drug deals, and human trafficking. ", Rules That Members Of The Mongols Bike Gang Have To Follow. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. In 2002, members of the Mongols and the Hells Angels had a confrontation at the Harrah's Laughlin Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, that left three bikers dead. Cox and Hannigan were captured on videotape confronting Mongols inside the casino. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; money laundering conspiracy; distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and interstate travel in aid of racketeering. In October 2008, a grand jury returned an 86-count federal racketeering indictment against 79 Mongols, accused of crimes ranging from murder to drug trafficking to money laundering. Judge Carter further wrote that since the jury determined that the Mongols logo was forfeitable only on the racketeering conspiracy count, but not racketeering itself, taking away the insignia was an inordinate punishment. The trend of new, rebellious motorcycle clubs being started by returning servicemen continued with both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. "I wanted him to feel kind of what I was feeling, the shame and embarrassment and betrayal. Now the Mongols want a new trial and say their former president, David Santillan, was a confidential informant for the ATF. Initially, both it and all the other clubs that started cropping up around the country were harmless. SANTA ANA, Calif. Nearly two months after a . [2] When the Clarksville Mongols learned that Bradley had failed to accede to their demands, she was kidnapped and murdered in the woods behind a cemetery in Bumpus Mills, Tennessee. Ric Francis/Associated Press. Life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for the drug offense and seven years for the firearms offense to be served consecutive to all other sentences. If youve ever wondered about the origins of one of Americas most notorious motorcycle clubs, heres what you need to know about the Mongols Motorcycle Club. But then he began to talk about now-retired ATF agent John Ciccone, the lead agent on the racketeering case. The Mongols MC is ecstatic that they could successfully defend the First Amendment for themselves and all motorcycle clubs, the clubs general counsel, Stephen Stubbs, said. If youre a rat, youre the scum of the earth, he said in an interview. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Undercover agent exposes Hells Angels sex rules: A violent price to pay, Las Vegas biker gangs shootout possibly caused by prior shooting death, Seven hurt after rival biker gangs get in shootout on Nevada highway: cops, Inside the swinging 60s home where Dennis Hoppers marriage unraveled. ", 3 Kansas City officers shot while executing search warrant, chief says, Roof collapses at nonprofit South LA clinic, causing $500K in damage, Video shows group of sharks in feeding frenzy off Louisiana coast. He said they discussed matters such as public safety when the Mongols or other clubs were planning parties or motorcycle rallies to ensure that members stayed in line and that rival groups kept their distance. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the Clarksville Mongols were a violent motorcycle gang operating in and around the city of Clarksville. When Ling replied, "People have fought and died for the patches," Dave confirmed her statement (per YouTube). Official websites use .gov As its ranks swelled, so did its notoriety. Presumably, they are interested in associating themselves with the US motorcycle club primarily to profit from their infrastructure and trading channels in drug trafficking. Mr. Santillan said he talked with the A.T.F. [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 attempt to do so was rebuffed by the Central District of California Court, concluding that the seizure of the trademark violated the First Amendment right to free expression and the Eighth Amendment protection from excessive punishment. "The relationship was just cordial, respectful relationship just to keep the peace between us and the club," Santillan said. [34], Local daily newspaper Klnische Rundschau reports that a further German Mongols chapter has become active in Cologne, which is a traditional Hells Angels area. and other law enforcement agencies have long gone after biker organizations by co-opting members as informants and infiltrating the groups with their own undercover agents. A former ATF agent denied during courtroom testimony Friday that a now-deposed leader of the notorious Mongols Motorcycle Club served as a secret source of information for the government during a . [19], On October 28, 2014, in San Gabriel, California, Mongols member David Martinez allegedly shot and killed Pomona Police SWAT Team member Shaun Diamond. [7][8][9][10][11] Current[when?] Also convicted was Derek Leighton Stanley, 48, of Owensboro, Kentucky, for engaging in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Anyone can read what you share. Come over and get in the know with everything happening in the Biker Scene. In February 2019, also reported by NBC, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter declined to approve the jury's decision, citing constitutional protections againstexcessive fines and for free speech. They called themselves "outlaws" and "one-percenters" - referring to a comment by the American Motorcyclist Association that 99% of motorcyclists were law abiding citizens, implying that one percent were not. [12], In January 2019, a California jury had ruled that federal prosecutors could strip the motorcycle club of its brand. The Mongols Biker Gang which was originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969, started as a mainstream motorcycle club. #MONGOLSMC #MONGOLS #LILDAVEFor more than two decades, federal law enforcement authorities pursued the Mongols, a notorious motorcycle club whose members had. Santillan says he and Ciccone had a "rapport" after 25 years of dealing with one another. Both Mr. Santillan, a Mongols member for almost 25 years who was voted out of the club in July, and the agent, John Ciccone, who retired in December after 32 years at the A.T.F., deny that Mr. Santillan was acting as an informant during the trial, though Mr. Ciccones sworn declaration does not address whether Mr. Santillan had acted as a confidential informant in the past. In 2018, the government scored a victory of sorts. Ciccone told him he was retiring. Racketeering conspiracy; conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; money laundering conspiracy; firearm offenses; and kidnapping. We've received your submission. The belief that the government should stay out of our lives. The Clarksville Mongols were a self-described "outlaw" motorcycle club with ties to Mongols chapters nationwide. Mr. Santillan has acknowledged that he talked often with Mr. Ciccone for a period of years, usually in the presence of other Mongols members. 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 . That was all it was about. Gualtieri said the Mongols, who are based in California, have a strong presence in the Tampa Bay area and conduct a range of criminal activity from prostitution to gun and drug dealing. A petition for a new trial and reversal of the half-million-dollar fine, which is scheduled for an initial hearing on Monday in the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., claims that Mr. Santillan, 52, covertly cooperated for years with a special agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 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. After Martinez was connected to the Mongols chapter in Montebello, California, the judge added a special gang allegation to the murder charge. Keeping with a continual forward movement in technology, innovation, and making upgrades to the, Read More 10 Things You Didnt Know About the 2020 Ducati Superleggera V4Continue, If you live in the state of New Jersey and youre thinking about riding a motorcycle, there are a few things you need to know about the laws. Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert at George Washington University, said that if a federal agent was seeking confidential information about a criminal defense, that would be an extraordinary transgression.. We will continue to work tirelessly with our local, state, and federal partners to combat violent crime and maintain public safety within our communities.. "He was afraid, and I think he turned on his loyalty to the club to protect himself. The Mongols Motorcycle Club was formed in Southern California, and today, the West Coast is still the club's stronghold. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. As hotcars.com notes, despite its growth, the Mongols MC has not yet joined the ranks of the Hells Angels MC, the Outlaws MC, the Bandidos MC, and the Pagans MC as a member of the Big Four, a group of motorcycle clubs whose criminal activities have achieved international notoriety. If hes found guilty, Martinez faces the death penalty. According to mongolsmc.com, the Mongols took the inspiration for their name from the Mongol Empire that was led by Genghis Khan. Pacific Coast Mongols Via Instagram Riding motorcycles with your mates is the very essence of any motorcycle club , it's all good and fun, so long as you don't mix up the biking and comradeship with a spot of . Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. The Mongols even have their own coded language that they use to communicate with one another, according to Hot Cars. While the current club president David Santillan has denied that the Mongols are a criminal enterprise, their long, troubled history suggests otherwise. After one year he's done and he can't protect me, so we have to have an exit strategy.". These people are not the people you see out on Sunday on a motorcycle ride, Gualtieri said at a press conference announcing Pogilevskys indictment. I commend the investigation and prosecution teams for the enormous amount of time and resources they dedicated during the past seven years to bring every member and associate of this ruthless gang to justice. 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. When Ling asked "What if I refused?" However, it's also made some inroads nationwide and abroad. [34][35], Organized crime in Bremen is dominated by the Miri-Clan, a large family of Lebanese origin with more than 10,000 members, who first migrated to Germany beginning in the late 1970s, and rose to national notoriety with a number of large-scale criminal activities in 2010. 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. 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. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. It was the first time that a Muslim clan-based crime syndicate in Germany became active in the field of outlaw motorcycle clubs. You can't just be a deadbeat and enjoy this brotherhood. The sheriff categorized the group as an organized crime syndicate with national reach. [2] The Mongols' main presence lies in Southern California, but they also have chapters nationwide in 14 states and internationally in 11 countries. Carter went on to tell prosecutors he does not want their witnesses to use the words "to the best of my recollection.". Michael Tyrone Delaney for The New York Times. Prior to Bradleys kidnapping and murder in May 2015, the Clarksville Mongols believed that she had information relating to stolen drugs, money, and guns, and had been disparaging the Clarksville Mongols. On October 23, 2008, US District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper granted an injunction that prohibits club 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, because according to the police, they use the logo and names as an identity and as a form of intimidation to fulfill their goals. He noted that he was shot several times including in the head. Two years later, a confrontation between members of the Mongols and rival gang the Hells Angels at the Harrahs Laughlin Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, led to four fatalities on both sides. [33], A German chapter of Mongols MC was founded in Bremen by members of the local crime syndicate run by Lebanese immigrants in 2010. agent. In another instance, in 2014, Mr. Santillan and his wife got into a brawl with other people at a racetrack, the Mongols filing says. 2023 Getty Images. The club was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine in what prosecutors hoped would be a down payment on putting it out of business. ; kidnapping of Stephen Cole in aid of racketeering; and the murder of Stephen Cole in aid of racketeering. 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). This is my family. According to another Hot Cars article, one of the most important rules of being a Mongol motorcycle club member is never backing down from a fight. agent over the years because it helped avert trouble. Today, it has 14 chapters in the US and a presence in 10 countries internationally. Per One Percenter Bikers, the patches are in the club colors of black and white, and the main patch consists of a drawing of Genghis Khan riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Now the Mongols want a new trial and say their former president was a confidential informant for the ATF. A veteran federal agent who spent years undercover after infiltrating the notorious Mongols Motorcycle Club offered his first-hand account Thursday of a secretive culture of violence and . Whats more, Judge Carter wrote, There is no evidence that forfeiture of collective membership marks will lead to a less violent or capable organization., [Read: How to Crush an Outlaw Biker Club: Seize Its Logo?]. LOS . During the call, Santillan is heard talking about John Cicconne, the lead ATF agent on the case. A woman across the street appeared to take a picture of the four men, who were all wearing . In 1903, the first MC was established in the US the Yonkers Motorcycle Club. Former Mongols President David Santillan continued to testify. The club is headquartered in Southern California and was originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969. The Mongols Motorcycle Club, sometimes called the Mongols Nation or Mongol Brotherhood, is a "one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle club. Evidence at trial demonstrated that the Clarksville Mongols were responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Stephanie Bradley, as well as the separate kidnapping and murder of Stephen Cole. The government, in its own appeal, is making another run at the Mongols logo, renewing an earlier request for a narrower forfeiture order that would take away the clubs right to trademark exclusivity over the emblem. 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. The business was founded in 2002 by John Silseth. [3][4][5][6], Mongols members have a long history in the illegal drugs trade (especially methamphetamine), money laundering, robbery, extortion, firearms violations, murder, and assault, among other crimes. 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