Author: terry.katz

Erie man spared prison for acting as drug courier for Pagans Motorcycle Club in Pittsburgh
Defendant, Mark Stockhausen, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in cocaine he transported from Michigan to Pennsylvania in 2020. Case focused on the Pittsburgh chapter of the Pagans.

Ed Palattella Erie Times-News Erie Pennsylvania January 24, 2024

An Erie resident has avoided prison for his role as a drug courier with the Pittsburgh-based chapter of the Pagans Motorcycle Club.

The defendant, Mark Stockhausen, has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh to time served and ordered to serve three years of supervised release, similar to probation.

Stockhausen, 43, faced a sentence in the recommended guideline range of 12 to 18 months for his guilty plea to conspiracy to traffic in at least 252 grams of cocaine, or about a half a pound, in 2020, according to court records.

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville sentenced him to time served and supervised release on Jan. 9.
A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh in December 2020 named Stockhausen and 29 other defendants in a sweeping indictment that targeted the Pittsburgh chapter of the Pagans. The defendants were members or associates of the club, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh said.

Stockhausen was arrested on Dec. 21, 2020, and had been out of prison on an unsecured bond of $20,000, according to court records. He was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Erie but prosecuted in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, where the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania is based.
Pagans accused of running drug conspiracy

The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged accused members of the Pagans and their associates violated federal gun laws and conspired to traffic in cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin from January to November 2020. The office said the drugs were distributed in the counties of Allegheny, Erie, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland.

The lead defendant was Bill Rana. The U.S. Attorney’s Office described him as a “fully patched” member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club and the sergeant-at-arms of the club’s Pittsburgh chapter. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies used wiretaps on 10 telephones to build the case against the defendants, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In announcing Stockhausen’s guilty plea, in May 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said investigators identified Stockhausen as “an associate of Mr. Rana’s and a courier for Mr. Rana’s drug-trafficking operation.” The office described Stockhausen as a “drug courier for the Pagans Motorcycle Club.”

The office said Stockhausen got cocaine in Michigan from another codefendant, Hasani James, and returned to Pennsylvania with the drugs, which others in the conspiracy distributed.

“Stockhausen was intercepted over the telephone operated by Rana and also communicated with Rana over Facebook Messenger,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The U.S. Department of Justice classifies the Pagans Motorcycle Club as a violent outlaw motorcycle gang, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The office said the Pagans’ membership is alleged to distribute cocaine, meth, fentanyl, heroin, marijuana and other illegal drugs.
“The Pagans are one of the most prominent outlaw motorcycle gangs in the eastern United States,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh said in announcing the indictment in the case that involved Stockhausen, Rana and the 28 other defendants.
Defense urged judge to impose a lenient sentence
Stockhausen asked for a sentence that would keep him out of prison.
Scheduling conflicts were among the reasons cited in court records for why more than two years elapsed between his guilty plea and sentence.

Stockhausen’s court-appointed lawyer, David DeFazio, of Pittsburgh, said in a sentencing memorandum that Stockhausen, while out on bond, had been “a model citizen” and had displayed “exemplary and substantially drug-free conduct.”

DeFazio in the memo said a sentence that did not include prison would allow Stockhausen to “support his family and maintain his home” and that Stockhausen “requests and expects to participate in substance abuse treatment regardless of the sentence imposed.”

DeFazio also argued that the evidence showed Stockhausen was neither “involved in any planning or organizing” of the conspiracy nor “exercised any decision-making authority with regard to the conspiracy,” according to the memo.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office submitted a sentencing memo in which it asked the judge to “impose an appropriate sentence.” The office cited Stockhausen’s guilty plea, “minor criminal history” and other factors.
Other defendants in case were sent to prison

The codefendants with whom Stockhausen associated are incarcerated.
James, of Detroit, pleaded guilty in February 2022 to one count of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. Judge Colville sentenced him to five years in federal prison and four years of supervised release on Sept. 28, 2022, according to court records.

Rana, of Cheswick, outside of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty in April 2023 two two counts that he conspired to traffic in meth and cocaine. Colville sentenced him to four years in federal prison and four years of supervised released on Nov. 7.

“Over the course of the conspiracy,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release on Rana’s sentencing, “Rana obtained and redistributed over one kilogram of cocaine and over 140 grams of methamphetamine from multiple sources of supply that Rana redistributed.”

The office said investigators during the probe searched Rana’s residence in December 2020 “and seized a variety of ammunition, which Rana was precluded from possessing due to a prior felony conviction.”

Prosecutors seek forfeiture of 39 guns from Outlaws Motorcycle Club members, others in Pharaoh’s case

Dan Herbeck , Patrick Lakamp Buffalo News (Buffalo, New York) January 16, 2024
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-courts/prosecutors-seek-forfeiture-of-39-guns-from-outlaws-motorcycle-club-members-others-in-pharaohs-case/article_4fa9efdc-b1bb-11ee-baad-271235b8bf82.html

Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of 17 shotguns, 17 rifles, five handguns, 3,848 rounds of ammunition and 13 boxes of ammunition in connection with arrests related to the death of a witness in the Pharaoh’s strip club case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is also seeking the forfeiture of the home in Wellsville where government witness Crystal Quinn died of a drug overdose Aug. 1.

Sixteen of the guns and 1,844 rounds of the ammunition were seized by federal agents from the Lancaster residence of John Ermin, who has been identified by prosecutors as manager of Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga and the international president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

“Quite frankly, all of the guns were mostly shotguns and I think some long rifles – all used for hunting,” George Muscato, defense attorney for Ermin, told a judge during a December detention hearing.

There was nothing illegal about any of the firearms Ermin had, Muscato said, and “not any indication that these guns that were found in my client’s house was used in any kind of illegal activity.”

“Most of my client’s family was from Pennsylvania and are hunters, and this is where he got these firearms from,” Muscato said at the hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi acknowledged Ermin holds a hunting license but has doubts over whether he actually hunts.

“He has not reported killing any deer, bears or turkeys,” Tripi told Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford at the recent court proceeding. “So we submit that the cadre of weapons is really for the preparedness of use in the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.”

FBI agents also seized a shotgun and 133 rounds of ammunition from the Wellsville home of Simon Gogolack, who is accused of intentionally giving Quinn, 37, a fatal drug overdose to prevent her from testifying against Pharaoh’s owner Peter Gerace Jr.

Federal prosecutors claim Quinn was targeted for retribution because she testified last year before a grand jury investigating alleged narcotics and human trafficking activities, including prostitution at the strip club.

Ermin, Gogolack and Michael Roncone of the Rare Breed Motorcycle Club were named in a 28-count superseding indictment unsealed last week as part of a conspiracy to obstruct justice by targeting Quinn to keep her from testifying against Gerace.

Gerace faces federal sex- and drug-trafficking and bribery charges, and Quinn had entered a formal cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors.

Ermin now faces charges of obstruction of justice, witness tampering, witness retaliation and an unlawful user of controlled substances in possession of firearms.

Twenty-four of the guns and 1,629 rounds of ammunition were seized at the Rare Breed Motorcycle Club clubhouse in Wellsville and the Lancaster home where Roncone lived, authorities stated in court papers.

“That is a lot of firearms when you couple that with the evidence of drugs in the residence,” Wolford said at Roncone’s detention hearing.

Wolford released Roncone from custody under certain conditions as his case proceeds in court.
Roncone faces an obstruction of justice conspiracy charge connected to Quinn’s death in addition to a firearms charge and a charge of making false statements to the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Cooper, at Roncone’s detention hearing, cited a poster hanging on a wall of the Rare Breed’s Buffalo clubhouse that reads: “Due to the rising cost of ammunition, I’m no longer able to provide a warning shot.”

Given the Rare Breed’s role as a support club for the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, “this poster evinces a belief within members of the group a willingness to use firearms … to shoot individuals – not to hunt or target practice,” Cooper said.

Attorney Paul Dell, who represents Roncone, told Wolford all of the guns were legally possessed.
Scott Barnes, a member of the Outlaws who was living at the Outlaws’ Buffalo clubhouse, faces firearms charges but no counts related to Quinn.

When the FBI searched the clubhouse, they found a stolen Glock semi-automatic pistol the government also intends to seize.

Agents found it on a bedside table near his keys, wallet and cellphone.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the defendant lied to the agents when they asked him if there were any firearms or weapons inside the clubhouse,” Cooper said.

Attorney David Cotter, who represents Barnes, noted at a court hearing what the government hasn’t said about the gun.

“It doesn’t say it’s in his pocket,” Cotter said. “It doesn’t say it has his DNA. All we know is that there is a gun in this clubhouse.”

Gerace, Gogolack, Ermin, Roncone and Barnes have denied charges filed against them in the case.

Note: 2 Lifeguard single shot .22 long rifle folding guns (credit card sized when folded) were seized along with 4 other pistols by the Halton Regional Police Service in Ontario Canada
The Iron Dragons Motorcycle Club is a support club for the Hells Angels MC.

Member of Iron Dragons Motorcycle Club arrested, facing 54 charges: police
Wellington Advertiser Staff in Ontario Canada January 17, 2024 @ 11:54 amhttps://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/iron-dragons-motorcycle-club-member-arrested-facing-54-charges-police

GUELPH/ERAMOSA – Police say a local member of the Iron Dragons Motorcycle Club was arrested last week and faces over 50 weapon charges and two drug charges.

Halton Regional Police Service officials issued a press release on Jan. 17 stating its officers, along with the OPP-led Biker Enforcement Unit, executed a search warrant on Jan. 11 at a rural residence near Rockwood, close to the Guelph/Eramosa border with Milton (Halton Region).

“Upon entry, the accused attempted to flee the residence. They were immediately apprehended by the OPP Canine Unit,” states the press release.

Police also noted, “The accused received non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to hospital.
Halton police say the man is “a member of the Iron Dragons Motorcycle Club,” which OPP officials have in the past referred to as a “supporter” club for the Hells Angels.

According to the press release, the following items were seized at the residence:
• six handguns;
• seven prohibited weapons (two pairs of brass knuckles, three prohibited knives and two conductive energy weapons);
• two crossbows;
• two expandable batons;
• 16.6 grams of fentanyl;
• 12 pounds of dried cannabis flower;
• a “significant quantity” of mixed ammunition; and
• five pellet guns; including four long guns.
Joseph Wells, 42, of Rockwood, was charged with 54 offences, including:
• possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking (fentanyl);
• possession of cannabis for the purpose of distribution;
• possession of property obtained by crime (over $5,000);
• escaping lawful custody;
• unauthorized possession of a prohibited device;
• two counts of importation of a prohibited weapon;
• two counts of unauthorized possession of a weapon;
• three counts of smuggling of prohibited weapons;
• three counts of possession of property obtained by crime (under $5,000);
• three counts of knowledge of unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon;
• five counts of possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order;
• six counts of knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm;
• six counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm;
• six counts of careless use or storage of a firearm;
• six counts of breach of firearms regulations; and
• seven counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Police say Wells was held in custody pending a bail hearing in Milton court on Jan. 12.
Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call 905-825-4777 ext. 2216.
To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.

Warrants: Surveillance video reveals how motorcycle club members followed rival before his shooting death
Raleigh police investigating the death of Jonas Padilla, a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, on Jan. 1, 2023, are reviewing video and audio captured from North Carolina Department of Transportation cameras at the intersections of Creedmoor, Lynn and Millbrook roads.

WRAL.com January 17, 2024

https://www.wral.com/story/warrants-surveillance-video-reveals-how-motorcycle-club-members-followed-rival-before-his-shooting-death/21240976/

Raleigh police investigating the January 2023 death of Jonas Padilla, a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, are reviewing video and audio captured from cameras at the inAccording to search warrants linked to the case, video shows Padilla being chased by five people on motorcycles and falling down an embankment into a yard.

A short time later, two people wearing motorcycle helmets walk down the hill and remove Padilla’s “cut,” or club vest, the warrants say. All five people then flee on their motorcycles.
tersections of Creedmoor, Lynn and Millbrook roads

. The cameras show five motorcycles, one of them with female passenger, as they travel north on Creedmoor Road, make a U-turn at Lynn Road and travel back south. As the riders travel through the intersection of Creedmoor and Millbrook roads, the Padilla, on his bike, turns right onto Creedmoor Road from Millbrook Road.

The five male Red Devils are visible in the video wearing the vests that identify them as members that club, according to the warrants.

They dined at Bada Wings on Creedmoor Road immediately before the crimes were committed and video from the restaurant shows them using cell phones there. Police asked to search those phones as part of the investigation.

The warrant says cameras show the group stop on Creedmoor Road, and the woman gets off the bike she’s riding and walks to the Walgreens parking lot nearby. The Red Devils riders then cross over the median to again travel north on Creedmoor Road in pursuit of Padilla.

Padilla’s autopsy shows he was shot in the chest and leg.

Neighbors told WRAL News they heard gunshots after a motorcycle crash around 5 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2023, on Bayberry Lane near Fawndale Drive.

Note: The One Order Motorcycle Club have been observed associating with the Hells Angels MC
Brampton man arrested after firearm bust by OPP biker unit

Author of the article: Postmedia News Jan 15, 2024 •

https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/brampton-man-arrested-after-firearm-bust-by-opp-biker-unit
A 39-year-old Brampton man is facing numerous firearm-related charges after a bust by the OPP-led biker enforcement unit.

The biker enforcement unit — with help from the provincial weapons enforcement unit and Cambridge and Perth County detachments — executed a search warrant last Thursday in Brampton, the OPP said Monday in a news release, and arrested a member of the One Order Motorcycle Club, who was allegedly in violation of release orders

Police also said that a prohibited shotgun, non-restricted rifle, two imitation handguns, components to make seven restricted handguns, a vest containing ballistic panels, two cellphones and four One Order Motorcycle Club vests, including one with ballistic panels, were allegedly seized.

Sherwin Anthony “AJ” Jhingoree, 39, of Brampton faces firearm-related charges and three counts of breaching of a release order.

Alleged Hells Angels chief snuck into Thailand on private jet after fleeing Sydney, say police

By Perry Duffin Syndey Morning Heald in Australia January 14, 2024
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/alleged-hells-angels-chief-snuck-into-thailand-on-private-jet-after-fleeing-sydney-say-police-20240111-p5ewmr.html

An alleged leader of the Hells Angels bikie gang, wanted in NSW after a major drug network went up in flames, snuck into Thailand on a private plane with a false passport before being pulled from a luxury villa hideout, local officials claim.

Thai authorities, in unrelated stings, have also unearthed tonnes of drugs earmarked for Australia’s shores by major criminal syndicates.

Thailand’s Immigration Bureau last month alleged an Australian national had entered their kingdom using an Italian passport with what they suspected was a false name.

Fingerprints linked to the Italian passport matched a 31-year-old Australian, identified as Rodrigo Elices, Thai officials claim.

Thailand’s investigators worked with the Australian embassy to trace the Italian passport and discovered Elices had allegedly chartered a private plane to enter the kingdom on a 30-day visa exemption for tourists, and had tried to extend his stay.

But Elices was no rich tourist – Australian authorities told their Thai counterparts he was a major player in the Hells Angels and held a significant role in a drug network before it was dismantled in late 2022.

“Elices is a key suspect in Australia, a leader of the Hells Angels gang [allegedly] involved in a drug trafficking network, smuggling drugs and firearms … [With an arrest warrant] for importing 14 kilograms of methamphetamine, and for participating in an international criminal organisation,” the immigration bureau’s statement claimed.
NSW Police began hunting Elices after a drug house in Kogarah caught fire in October 2022, The Sydney Morning Herald has been told by Australian police sources who cannot be named for operational reasons.

Police found a badly burnt 51-year-old man outside the house and a search, in Kogarah and at other properties across the city, unravelled an alleged drug supply network.

Inside the properties, police allegedly uncovered 5.7 kilograms of cocaine, $15,000 cash and drug manufacturing equipment. The burnt man and two others were charged with supplying drugs and remain before the courts.

Elices, police suspect, fled to Thailand before the anti-gang squad Raptor and detectives from Strike Force Caste could catch him.

But Australian and Thai authorities tracked Elices to a “luxury condo” in downtown Bangkok last month and swooped, officials said.

The Australian Federal Police confirmed to the Herald that they had provided intelligence to Thai authorities about Elices’ alleged entry to the kingdom, and his suspected hiding spot.

Photographs of the raid show Elices shirtless and handcuffed at a dining table as Thai officials lean over him, arraying photographs and documents in front of the alleged fugitive.

Another photograph shows Elices, his face blurred, flanked by officials displaying both Italian and Australian passports.

“Elices admitted to fleeing Australia using [the Italian] passport to enter Thailand and had previously applied to extend his stay in the kingdom,” the immigration statement, dated December 6, alleges.

“After learning that the Australian police had co-ordinated with the Thai Immigration Police, he attempted to evade capture.”

Elices was arrested and charged with using a passport inappropriately in a way that could harm the public.
This masthead has been told by police sources that Australia would seek to have Elices deported once his Thai court matters were finalised to face charges related to the drug network in Sydney.

Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam have become popular destinations for Australia’s most wanted over the past decade as criminal syndicates battle to control supply chains for the drug market.

Just a few months before Elices allegedly fled Sydney the Australian Federal Police vowed to crack down on the Hells Angels, Bandidos, Comanchero and Lone Wolf gangs who, the police said, had all “expanded their influence in South-East Asia”.

Thailand’s authorities, at the end of 2023, announced two major drug busts where foreign distributors were planning to ship their products to Australia – neither is allegedly related to Elices.

Narcotics police raided a tugboat, moored on a pier outside a Phuket steel mill, on the morning of December 4 finding two tonnes of what they said was highly pure methamphetamine.

Nearly 100 boxes were sealed with brown and blue box tape and stacked up inside the cabin. Inside officers found dried durian concealing the drugs.

A group of alleged smugglers leapt into the water but police managed to arrest all 13 men, local news reported.
“The drugs, once on board, were planned to be distributed to various smaller boats in international waters, with final destinations including the Philippines, Australia, and other countries,” a translated statement reads.

Thai authorities, in late October, revealed “Operation Mouse Hunt” which investigated a Nigerian drug trafficking syndicate, with an alleged leader going by the nickname “Mickey”, which was dealing in heroin, cocaine, ice and gold inside Thailand.

The syndicate was selling drugs to tourists in Bangkok but had “part of the drugs intended for further distribution” to Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan, Thai authorities said.

“This group hired a machine shop to make chocolate moulds, mixing cocaine with chocolate and baking soda, and pressed it into chocolate bars for smuggling and sale abroad,” the narcotics bureau said in a translated statement.

Thirteen arrested over Hells Angels motorcycle joyride

Jacob Shteyman Australian Associated Press January 12 2024
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thirteen-arrested-over-hells-angels-062424107.html

A New Year’s motorcycle ride from the Adelaide Hills to the city’s south has landed a baker’s dozen of alleged bikies a court date.

South Australian Police searched 16 houses and arrested 13 men under controversial anti-association laws on Friday over the January 2 joyride from Cherry Gardens to Pasadena.

It is alleged the men are members, prospects or associates of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang – a declared criminal organisation under the Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008.

Detectives from the Serious and Organised Crime Branch charged the men with being present with two or more other participants of a criminal organisation.

Detective Inspector Fraser Huntley, acting officer in charge of the Crime Gangs Task Force, put members of bikie gangs such as the Hells Angels on notice.

“The laws relating to public gatherings of those connected with declared criminal organisations, such as outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs), are in place to ensure public safety,” he said.

“Where gatherings of OMCGs are identified, the South Australia Police will investigate activities and take action to ensure the safety of the public.”

All 13 men, aged from 27 to 68, were released on bail to appear before Adelaide Magistrates Court on April 9.
South Australian parliament in September passed a law barring the Hells Angels from accessing a regular meeting place east of Adelaide.

The legislation declaring the Ponde compound – which hosted a rock music festival until 2002 – a prescribed place was the latest move by the government to limit the group’s ability to operate.

“We will do absolutely everything we can to make sure bikies have as little influence in this state as possible,” Attorney-General Kyam Maher said at the time.

Arson Attacks Linked to Finks Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. Two Wyndham Men Arrested.
WyndhamTV Australia, January 13, 2024

https://www.wyndhamtv.com.au/arson-attacks-linked-to-finks-outlaw-motorcycle-gang-two-wyndham-men-arrested/
In a joint operation involving the Echo, Lunar, and VIPER taskforces, as well as the Australian Federal Police, five individuals, including members of the Finks Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG), were arrested yesterday in connection with a series of arson attacks spanning three weeks. The attacks targeted various locations, including tobacco stores and a café.

Taskforce Lunar investigators believe the recent arson attacks stem from conflict among criminal syndicates competing for profits in the illicit tobacco market. The syndicates, reportedly comprising members of Middle Eastern Organized Crime groups and Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, are believed to enlist local networks, street gangs, and low-level criminals to carry out the offences.

Detective Inspector Graham Banks of the Lunar Taskforce emphasized that the arrests demonstrate a collaborative effort by state and Commonwealth agencies to address the issue of illicit tobacco. He expressed concern for public safety, highlighting the potential for serious harm or fatalities resulting from the reckless criminal activity.
AFP Detective Inspector Chris Salmon underscored the close collaboration between the AFP and Victoria Police to disrupt organized crime, particularly outlaw motorcycle gangs, to minimize the harm caused by their criminal activities. Authorities urge anyone with information about the incidents or illicit tobacco to contact Crime Stoppers.

New indictment targets those who prosecutors say had motive to kill Pharaoh’s witness
Patrick Lakamp Buffalo News January 9, 2024

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-courts/new-indictment-targets-those-who-prosecutors-say-had-motive-to-kill-pharaohs-witness/article_4be0a986-af1d-11ee-98e1-df01e4bee237.html

A 28-count superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday names six people – including Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club owner Peter Gerace Jr. and Outlaws Motorcycle Club national leader John Ermin – as part of a conspiracy to obstruct justice by targeting a federal witness for retaliation.

The overdose death last summer of that witness, Crystal Quinn, ratcheted up the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation in what had already been an intense criminal case against Gerace on sex- and drug-trafficking and bribery charges. And that investigation led to the new indictment.

Three others named in the indictment face other charges – but not the obstruction count.
The new federal grand jury indictment spells out allegations of witness tampering, retaliation, kidnapping, narcotics and firearms charges.

Simon Gogolack, who called 911 to report Quinn had died in his Wellsville home, faces 17 counts – the most of any other person named in the indictment.

In addition to obstruction, witness tampering and retaliation charges, he faces distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. He’s the only defendant in the indictment to face that charge. On July 31 or Aug. 1, Gogolack intentionally gave Quinn fentanyl, which resulted in her death, according to the grand jury charge. Prosecutors have said she was found to have 400 times a lethal dose of the potent opioid drug.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Jeffrey T. Bagley, who represents Gogolack, could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but he has previously discounted the prosecutors’ assertions about Gogolack.
“He eagerly awaits his day in court where he can properly defend himself,” Bagley told The News on Friday. “The reality is far simpler and less interesting: Simon had known Crystal Quinn since high school and is deeply saddened by his friend’s death.”

Others named in the indictment are:
• Gerace on obstruction, tampering and retaliation counts.
• Ermin, the Pharaoh’s manager and national president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, on obstruction, tampering, retaliation and firearms counts.
• Michael Roncone, who was the president of the Rare Breed Motorcycle Club Wellsville Chapter and is associated with the Outlaws, on obstruction, making a false statement and firearms counts.
• Frank Knight, a Wellsville resident linked to Roncone and Gogolack, on obstruction and false statements counts.
• Howard Hinkle Jr., a Wellsville resident associated with Roncone, on obstruction, tampering, retaliation, marijuana, drug-involved premises and firearms counts.
• Cortnie Barber on kidnapping and narcotics conspiracy counts.
• Bernard Byrd III on a narcotics conspiracy count.
• Scott Barnes, who lived at the Outlaws’ Northumberland clubhouse and has been described by prosecutors as a national enforcer for the Outlaws, on firearms charges.

• Many of those named in the indictment are already in custody on previous charges, including Gerace, Ermin, Barnes, Hinkle and Gogolack, and have pleaded not guilty.

• For the most part, many of the counts in the indictment do not come as a surprise.
• During recent detention hearings for already-arrested Outlaws bikers, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Tripi and Nicholas Cooper provided information – but did not answer all questions from judges – about what happened to Quinn during her fatal trip to Wellsville.

• In successfully seeking to keep Ermin detained, Tripi sought to tie together Quinn’s March 9, 2023, grand jury appearance with Gerace’s eventual detention, Gerace’s ties to Ermin and the motorcycle clubs, and the Rare Breed club’s links to Gogolack.

• On Feb. 3, 2023, Quinn was charged related to Facebook messages she sent to threaten a witness against Gerace. Prosecutors describe Quinn as a former Pharaoh’s employee, a longtime friend, associate and cleaning lady for Gerace, and she was associated with several members of the Outlaws.
• Quinn met with FBI agents three times over the next month, providing information about Gerace and the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, according to the indictment.

• On March 9, Quinn testified before a grand jury.
• Two weeks later, the grand jury returned an indictment charging Gerace with three counts of witness tampering and one count of distribution of cocaine – on top of the sex- and drug-trafficking and bribery charges he already faced. After his detention hearing proceedings on March 24 and March 27, a judge revoked his previous release order and he was ordered detained.

• On April 3, Quinn entered a pretrial diversion agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Probation Office, and also entered a formal cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors.
• On April 6, the criminal charge against her was dismissed, and that dismissal was noted on the public docket.
• The government told Wolford at a detention hearing that Gerace figured Quinn cooperated.
• “We look back and say, standing here today, that she cooperated. She flipped,” Tripi said at a Dec. 19 hearing. “She testified in grand jury. Gerace got detained. Gerace got mad. Gerace made statements that he could have people killed and had a long reach. And the manager of his club is the national president of the Outlaws, who controls legions of people, who has support clubs and puppet clubs under him, which includes the Rare Breed. And then someone who wants to be a hit man and hangs out with the Rare Breed in Wellsville injects himself back into her life and lures her and she overdoses and it is staged to look like (an accidental or suicidal) death.”

• Prosecutors have previously identified Gogolack, 39, a previously convicted drug dealer, as someone who had a role in her death. He was indicted on narcotics and firearms charges after Quinn turned up dead in his home. Another indictment in September followed, adding two kidnapping and six witness tampering charges against him.

• “We believe the evidence shows and will show at a later court proceeding that he fed her the fentanyl that killed her,” Tripi told Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford at a recent court proceeding.

• But the name Cortnie Barber, charged with kidnapping, has not come up at previous court proceedings or public court filings, and the indictment includes scant information about what role prosecutors believe Barber had in the alleged retaliation against Quinn.

• The indictment lays out how those charged with obstruction of justice conspiracy did so in several ways to keep her from testifying against Gerace at his Pharaoh’s trial.

• They caused dead rats to be placed at Quinn’s residence; members and associates of motorcycle clubs were told to threaten her; and then they caused her death, according to the indictment.
• Once she was dead, they concealed from law enforcement how she died and misdirected FBI agents to prevent information from being discovered.

• They also concealed the identities and the extent and nature of the relationships between individuals who caused her death and the Rare Breed Motorcycle Club, the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, Ermin and Gerace, according to the indictment.

• On Feb. 25, 2021, Gerace was indicted on five counts including drug- and sex-trafficking and bribery. The government contends Gerace and his associates groomed vulnerable and drug-addicted women into a life of daily drug use and coerced and manipulated them into engaging in commercial sex acts. Prosecutors have charged now-retired DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni with accepting $250,000 in bribes from Gerace and drug dealers whom he thought were associated with organized crime and shielding them from arrest, as well as providing them with information about investigations and cooperating sources.

Bongiovanni’s name does not appear in the superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Frequent visits by Hells Angels shuts down Chez Parée strip club for two weeks
On one occasion, members of the Hells Angels used Chez Parée’s VIP area for a private party protected by two security guards.
Paul Cherry • Montreal Gazette Canada January 11, 2024

Chez Parée strip club shuttered for two weeks after frequent visits by Hells Angels

A series of frequent visits by members of the world’s most notorious biker gang and violent events, including the sexual assault of a client inside a bathroom, were behind a recent decision to have one of Montreal’s most popular strip clubs shut its doors for two weeks.

Chez Parée was also fined $30,000 in a decision made in December by Natalia Ouellette, an administrative judge with the Régie de alcools, des courses et des jeux. Ouellette agreed with a recommendation made by both sides of the case where the Montreal police argued the strip club was disturbing the peace in its neighbourhood on Stanley St. over the past six years.

A notice sent to the company that owns the bar in February, summoning it to a hearing before the liquor board, details a staggering number of visits made by members of the Hells Angels as well as members of their support clubs like the Minotaures, the Devil’s Ghosts and the Demon’s Choice.

In the summons, the liquor board noted how, between Jan. 5, 2018 and Oct. 26, 2019, the Montreal police noticed full-patch members of the Hells Angels inside the bar on 27 occasions. In her decision made in December, Ouellette noted the police recorded 40 occasions in all when they noticed members of “outlaw motorcycle gangs” inside Chez Parée.

The very detailed list included in the summons begins on Jan. 5, 2018, when two members of the Hells Angels were seen inside Chez Parée proudly displaying their infamous logo, the winged death head.
“As for the (bar’s) manager, he was present and in the company of other subjects of interest,” the liquor board wrote in the summons.

On Aug. 13, 2018 around 1:44 a.m., the Montreal police noted the presence of several Hells Angels wearing their leather jackets with the gang’s logo on the back. During Quebec’s biker gang war, between 1994 and 2002, it was widely known that the Hells Angels would openly wear their gang colours as a way of marking territory they considered to be theirs.

“On Oct. 26, 2019 around 10:45 p.m., the police observed a private party in the establishment involving members of the Hells Angels. There was a ribbon prohibiting customers from entering the private section where the party took place and two individuals acted as security agents. The latter declared that they were known to the bar’s managers and were authorized to negotiate with people connected to outlaw biker gangs. Some subjects of interest entered the establishment without having to line up and without going through a search (at the entrance).

“On Oct. 30, 2019, a meeting took place between investigators from the Montreal police morality squad and Mr. John Barile (Chez Parée’s owner). The goal of the meeting was to discuss the gathering of members of the Hells Angels that occurred in the establishment on Oct. 26, 2019.”

In 2015, the bar’s owner at the time was advised “of the importance of not granting preferential treatment to members of criminal groups in the bar” after a stripper was assaulted by a member of an “outlaw motorcycle gang.” The woman did not file a complaint “for fear of reprisals.”

Another section of the summons described how, between Jan. 22, 2018 and May 9, 2019, during about 40 visits to the establishment, “members of the police Éclipse group noted the presence, in the bar, of several known subjects tied to organized crime and/or being heavily criminalized.”

“On Sept. 24, 2022, at around 12:25 a.m., the police witnessed the entry into the establishment, of a known individual linked to organized crime. The latter entered without being searched after winking at a doorman and placing his index finger on his lips as if to say ‘silence’.”

The summons also details several events where clients were assaulted, including one who was attacked by a stripper. Also, on June 25, 2018, after closing time, a client was sexually assaulted by another client inside a bathroom.
Ouellette’s decision notes that the Montreal police caught 11 people carrying firearms or other weapons inside the bar. They also had to intervene more than a dozen times to deal with clients who were drunk.

On June 9, 2022, a man named Yanis Demmouche, now 25, was arrested as he exited the club with what police believed was a firearm. The officers watched as Demmouche climbed into a Volkswagen parked across the street from the club before he and the other man returned inside Chez Parée. When the Volkswagen was searched police found the two loaded firearms in inside a satchel along with Demmouche’s passport and more than $7,000. On Dec. 1, the St-Léonard resident was sentenced to a 27-month prison term after he pleaded guilty to possessing two loaded firearms.

“The violence reached a climax when on the morning of March 6, 2023, when three individuals fired shots in the direction of a group of customers located in front of the establishment,” Ouellette wrote in her decision ordering the bar to close for two weeks. “The individuals left the scene quickly while several of the customers targeted by the shots took refuge in the establishment. The police discovered 16 shell casings as well as around 10 projectile impacts, some of which were visible on the facade of the establishment.”

Chez Parée’s owner agreed “to undertake to ensure that a minimum of three doormen are present at the establishment on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 9 p.m., as well as during special events attracting a larger clientele.”

The owner also agreed “to refuse access to the establishment to any person deemed undesirable and likely to cause problems of violence and, particularly, to any person wearing distinctive signs identifying them with a gang of street or to an outlaw motorcycle gang.”

pcherry@postmedia.com