Livingston man indicted in Outlaws motorcycle gang roundup

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http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_8422da90-79a7-11df-af89-001cc4c002e0.html Livingston man indicted in Outlaws motorcycle gang roundup John "Bull" Banthem
Related Documents Indictment of 27 Outlaw gang members
Posted: Thursday, June 17, 2010 12:15 am | Updated: 9:00 am, Thu Jun 17, 2010.
By JODI HAUSEN, Chronicle Staff Writer | 8 comments
A 46-year-old Livingston man was arrested in an undisclosed location in Park County early Tuesday morning -- part of a nationwide roundup of 27 leaders from a notoriously violent motorcycle gang.
John "Bull" Banthem, a "long-time Livingston area resident," is president of a prospective Outlaws motorcycle gang, Park County Attorney Brett Linneweber said Wednesday.
"He was actively recruiting members and trying to establish a chapter with influence between Livingston and Butte," Linneweber said. "The public should be aware, this is not a recreational biker group but an established dangerous and violent gang that engages in a wide range of crimes including murder, assault, extortion, witness intimidation, narcotics distribution and weapons violations."
Due to gang activity at the group's "clubhouse," a tattoo parlor on Park Street in Livingston, the shop had been shut down by Montana Rail Link, the building's owner, Linneweber said.
There have been multiple assault reports between gang members and individuals in the region, he added, but said he couldn't comment further on the ongoing investigation.
Banthem and 26 others were indicted in federal court in Virginia on charges ranging from conspiracy to commit violence, witness tampering, felony possession of firearms, drug trafficking and racketeering.
In February, at an Outlaws gathering in Waterbury, Conn., Banthem told undercover agents about his "plan to establish a large marijuana distribution network from Montana to Maryland," the indictment says.

The document also states that during a boss meeting in Lexington, N.C., when plans for an Outlaws function in Bozeman was discussed, Banthem also "described how every member of the Montana chapter has a medical marijuana card and access to high grade marijuana."

Banthem was indicted on racketeering charges Wednesday, though he had been arrested a week earlier in Iowa when authorities there found he had five pounds of marijuana in his vehicle. Banthem had arranged to sell the marijuana to an undercover Outlaws member in Virginia for $25,000.

In March, Banthem sold nearly three pounds of the drug to an undercover agent in Virginia, court documents say.

The several-year investigation resulted in the arrest of 27 people, including the group's national president, Jack "Milwaukee Jack" Rosga, 53, of Wisconsin, and others in Maine, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia, according to a press statement from the United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern Virginia District.

The Outlaws planned multiple acts of violence against rival motorcycle gangs, particularly the Hell's Angels Club.

Brad Beyersdorf, spokesperson for U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, whose agents were leading the investigation, couldn't comment on the ongoing investigation Wednesday.

However, he, Linneweber and Peter Carr of the U.S. Attorney's Office all confirmed the investigation is ongoing in Montana and elsewhere.

"These investigations are typically long term," Beyersdorf said. "Oftentimes years and years."

The Outlaws typically represent their membership through distinctive markings on leather or denim vests, often including a diamond-shaped "one-percenter" patch.

"This one-percenter designation was in response to a proclamation issued in the 1940s by the American Motorcycle Association that 99 percent of persons in motorcycle clubs were law-abiding citizens," the indictment explains. "The one-percent patch signifies that the Outlaws member is in the other one percent, that is, not a law-abiding citizen."