Canada - New biker gang moving in, Vagos MC

OFF THE WIRE
ROB LAMBERTI and
CHRIS DOUCETTE
 torontosun.com

There’s a new biker gang in town, the Vagos — and it’s growing fast.
And so is the threat of a deadly war with its traditional rivals the Hells Angels, law enforcement sources say.
“They’re at war with the Hells Angels in California” and any other place where each have chapters, share the same territory, Ontario Biker Enforcement Unit Det.-Sgt. Len Isnor says.
“If they spread into Canada, the Ontario Hells Angels will do whatever it takes to support their brothers in California,” he says.
“So there could be violence.”
A state of animosity between the Vagos and Hells has existed since the 1960s — mostly over turf and drugs but sometimes it’s because they simply hate each other.
“I think it comes into the machismo thing. I think it’s as simple as that in a lot of cases,” says a source with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The most recent violent spat between the Vagos and Hells Angels was in Chino Valley, Ariz., last July when members exchanged about 50 rounds in a street gun battle.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges in a fact sheet the Vagos have been implicated in assault, extortion, insurance fraud, money laundering, murder, vehicle theft, witness intimidation and weapons violations.”
Vagos members in Canada, known as the Nomads chapter, are so far only wearing soft patches, such as T-shirts and hoods with gang insignia, but it’s expected members soon will be officially patched — wearing the traditional vest with the logo on the back.
The California-based 1% biker gang known as Green Machine or Green Nation absorbed nine Toronto-area Rock Machine members, including its founder, in November.
(The term “1%” refers to biker gangs who live beyond the law and shun society’s rules.)
The Ontario members of the Rock Machine — a gang reborn three years ago with some surviving members of the now defunct Bandidos — were ousted in a nationwide vote among members on Nov. 23.
The members were kicked out in “bad standing,” including the founder of the reborn Rock Machine and then-national president, Sean “Dog” Brown.
The explanations for the vote vary, but sources say those who remain with the Rock Machine wanted to expand faster than Brown did.
The Rock Machine spread from the GTA to include Winnipeg, Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and a Montreal chapter. They are also in Australia, the U.S., and Indonesia.
Brown took pains not to provoke the Hells, and wanted to stay out of Quebec, concerned it could rekindle old animosities.
The original Rock Machine and the Quebec Hells were locked in a deadly drug-fuelled feud in the 1990s that left about 160 bodies on the streets.
In 2008, Brown relaunched the Rock Machine, using the same eagle-head logo but different colours.
He took pains to publicly declare the group is no threat to any other gang, particularly the Hells Angels, and was reportedly staying clear of drugs and Quebec.
Brown envisioned a return to the “glory days” of the 1940s and 1950s before the focus turned to drugs and money.
During the three years he ran the Rock Machine, they generally stayed out of trouble, both with the law and Hells.
But when a Rock Machine chapter recently formed in Montreal, it was an early sign Brown was losing control.
And since the Nov. 23 ouster of the Ontario members, a Rock Machine member in Edmonton was murdered.
Andrew Block, also known as Rock or Blaklistid, was found shot to death in mid-December and the slaying appears to be biker-related.
Contacted by the Sun, Brown refuses to comment about the ouster from the Rock Machine or the arrival of the Vagos.
“I have no comment on this matter,” Dog says.
However, piecing together Internet chatter on both the Rock Machine and Vagos websites, it appears Ontario’s Rock Machine members were considering jumping ship as early as last summer.
“Happy holidays to all my brothers around the world from all of us in the Green Nation Canada,” Brown wrote Dec. 23, using his nickname.
“It was many long months in the making my brothers and all our love goes out to the Vagos brothers who helped make this happen.”
“Canada’s finally gone Green! Live Vagos, Die Vagos,” Brown posted.
Other posts suggest American Rock Machine members also patched over in the summer.
Brown was successful at expanding the Rock Machine, so it’s not surprising the Vagos want him on board.
And it seems his building skills have already had an impact.
It’s believed the Vagos’ first Canadian chapter has already swelled from the nine bikers who joined with him to about 25, including members and prospects.
Originally called the Psychos and the Los Vagos, the Vagos were formed in the mid-1960s, incorporating an image of Loki, the Norse god of mischief, in its patch.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/01/08/16811596.html