~Feds: Pagans plotted killings out of Rocky Point tattoo parlor

OFF THE WIRE
BY: SAMANTHA BRIX
Source: northshoresun.com


Federal investigators arrested 17 members of an outlaw motorcycle gang Wednesday, storming locations across the region that included a Rocky Point tattoo parlor that was serving as one of the gang's headquarters, authorities said.

The men, members of the Pagans, are accused of conspiring to kill members of the rival Hell's Angels gang, as well as assault, extortion, drug distribution, firearms offenses, racketeering and witness tampering, federal officials said.

Seven Pagan motorcycle gang members were nabbed at House of Tattooing on Broadway early in the day; they were later arraigned in Central Islip federal court.

Members were arrested in a sweep Wednesday that spanned Long Island, upstate New York and New Jersey.

The arrests were made after a 21-month investigation, during which agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives went undercover, pretending to be gang members.

“It's been a very successful investigation so far,” said Joe Green, an ATF spokesman. “We fathered a lot of intelligence on this group over the years and we were able to bring the federal resources in on this case.”

Federal agents investigated the Pagans a decade ago and several members were arrested and jailed, but the gang never fully dissipated. The gang has reconvened illegal activity, the main one being the shipment of illegal narcotics and firearms. Members accomplished this enterprise using threats of force and violence and committed extortion and robbery, authorities said.

The Pagans' national governing board is called the “Mother Club.” Each local chapter is governed by a president, vice-president, a sergeant-at-arms and a treasurer, and chapters hold weekly meetings referred to as “church,” law enforcement officials said. Members wear sleeveless jackets emblazoned with a diamond-shaped patch with the “1%” symbol or with the word “Pagan.”

The Pagans' biggest rival is another outlaw motorcycle gang called Hell's Angels, which maintains a chapter in Hempstead. Charges against the Pagans include conspiracy to commit murder of two Hell's Angels members.

Members of the Long Island chapter who were indicted in federal court include John Ebeling Jr. or “J.R.”, Jason Blair or “Roadblock,” Ezra Arthur Davis III or “Izzo,” Kenneth Van Diver or “Hogman,” and Robert Hamilton or “Boston Bob.”

samantha@northshoresun.com