Author: terry.katz

50 Hells Angels go on trial in case alleging prostitution, murder, trafficking and other crimes in Spain

JANUARY 23, 2023 CBS/AP

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hells-angels-trial-spain-mallorca-prostitution-trafficking-murder/

“Prostitution, drug trafficking, possession and trafficking of weapons, extortion, as well as various forms of violence, including murder” — those are just some of crimes alleged in a 150-page indictment against 50 members of a Hells Angels chapter that operated on the Spanish island of Mallorca from 2009 to 2013.

The trial against the club’s former leader, Frank Hanebuth, and 49 alleged international collaborators, kicked off Monday in Madrid.

According to Spanish prosecutors, the Hells Angels conducted illegal activities in Mallorca under Hanebuth’s leadership. He allegedly appointed members who then carried out crimes including extortion, pimping, acquiring illegal firearms and robbery in popular tourist spots.

Hanebuth was seen arriving at court an hour before the scheduled start time for the trial. A total of 46 defendants were in the courtroom, while three others were expected to give evidence by videoconference.

The beginning of the session was delayed as lawyers tried to arrange plea agreements for some of the defendants. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Hanebuth’s lawyer was among those seeking a plea deal.

Spanish prosecutors are seeking a 13-year prison sentence for Hanebuth on charges of membership in a criminal organization, money laundering and illegal possession of firearms. They’re also seeking a $4.5 million fine for the money laundering charge.

Other alleged leading members of the group face charges of running a prostitution ring and drug trafficking, and could face up to 38 years in prison.

According to the Spanish newspaper 20 Minutos, the indictment listed prostitution as one of the group’s primary sources of income, accusing the members of exploiting and coercing women who worked in private clubs acquired by the Hells Angels chapter.

Prosecutors have alleged that the women were even subjected to cosmetic surgery with the sole purpose of “making them more productive and obtaining a greater profit from the activities they carry out.”

The trial is expected to last several weeks.

US 1 flooded with motorcycles; witness describes around 2,000 bikers gathering for large ride

Posted WRAL January 21, 2023

legacy.wral.com/us-1-flooded-with-motorcycles-witness-describes-around-2-000-bikers-gathering-for-large-ride/20682520/

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — Hundreds of motorcycle riders headed north along U.S. Highway 1 in Wake County on Saturday afternoon, catching the attention of drivers and onlookers.

WRAL News does not know the motive for the ride; however, the word ‘Pagan’ could be seen on the clothing of several bikers.

The group first gathered in south Raleigh outside Kickback Jack’s sports bar. Several businesses said the entire lot was filled with bikers.

One witness said the bikers began arriving around 10:30 a.m. – and believes there were more than 2,000 bikers.

Hundreds headed north through Raleigh to an area south of Henderson for an apparent memorial Saturday afternoon. They left the area a short while later.

The large gathering of bikers had some locals remembering that earlier this month, a man on a motorcycle was shot and killed on Bayberry Lane in Raleigh.

Multiple sources have told WRAL the man who died was a member of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club, and the five men charged in his killing are part of a rival club – the Red Devils.

So far, police have not released any information about today’s gathering. Employees in the area said it was peaceful, and they had no problems.

The ride came to an end at North Carolina Motorsports Park in Henderson around 1:30 p.m.

WRAL News is still looking into the reason behind the ride.

Marius Lazăr is a Romanian Hells Angels leader . He and others face federal charges in Texas for drugs trafficking by the Hells Angels. The drugs came from Mexico and were destined for New Zealand.

Romania extradites suspected Hell’s Angels leader to US on drug charges

By Reuters January 17, 2023 New York Post

https://nypost.com/2023/01/17/romania-extradites-suspected-hells-angels-leader-marius-lazar-to-us

Romania has extradited the suspected leader of the country’s Hell’s Angels chapter to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and complicity in attempted murder, police said on Monday.

Romanian media identified the man as the biker club’s country branch leader, Marius Lazar, who is wanted for being a member of an international group of drug traffickers and for negotiating the attempted killing of two rivals.

Lazar, 49, was arrested in Bucharest in December.

He was met on Monday by US Marshals with face coverings as he was led to a plane, according to a Reuters witness.

“The extradition request was approved in January 2023, and the Romanian citizen will be transferred to the USA, where he will be tried for the acts he is accused of,” police, who did not identify the individual, said”

Romanian police began investigating Hell’s Angels members in 2020, they said, working with US Marshals and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Mongols motorcycle club can keep logo, appeals court rules

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/01/06/mongols-motorcycle-club-can-keep-logo-appeals-court-rules/

CITY NEWS SERVICE | news@socalnews.com  Orange County Register California January 6, 2023 .

A Pasadena appeals court panel ruled Friday that the government cannot seize the logo of the Mongol Nation motorcycle club, but the court let a 2018 racketeering conviction stand.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision that cited the First and Eighth Amendments in a ruling rejecting the government’s forfeiture request of the club’s logo.

Stephen Stubbs, the Mongols’ general counsel, said in a statement that the ruling was “a victory not only for the Mongols Motorcycle Club, but for all motorcycle clubs, freedom, and America as a whole.”

The club, also called the Mongol Nation, is headquartered in Southern California and was originally formed in Montebello in 1969. Law enforcement officials estimate about 2,000 full-patched members are in the club.

The government has been prosecuting the Mongols since at least 2008, leading to the convictions of more than 70 members under racketeering and various other criminal statutes, according to the appeals court.

Following those convictions, the government indicted the Mongol Nation on charges of racketeering conspiracy violations. A Santa Ana federal jury convicted the club on both charges, finding various forms of Mongol Nation property, including the club’s trademark cartoon drawing of a pony-tailed Genghis Khan-type character aboard a motorcycle, was subject to forfeit.

A federal judge subsequently denied forfeiture of the trademarks, holding that under the circumstances of the case, forfeiture would be unconstitutional.

Mongol Nation appealed its conviction and sentence to the circuit court, and the government cross-appealed the order denying forfeiture of the trademarks.

The appellate panel affirmed the lower court’s ruling.

A U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman declined comment.

Mongols attorney Stubbs said the club’s patch “is a symbol of the esteemed brotherhood of its members, and the Ninth Circuit stood strong against the government’s unconstitutional attempt to ban and extinguish important symbolic free speech.”