What is RICO,
and Why the Feds started using it Against Bikers
by Roadblock 1%er
Today, governments and their agencies worldwide are classifying their "Biker" populations as undesirable criminal organizations, slating them for harassment and selective prosecution. Our governments are blatantly determined to eradicate the biker lifestyle.
I will attempt to show how all of this began, and how RICO is connected to the U.S. government's "war on motorcycle clubs." No matter where you live, this "War On Motorcycle Clubs" is a serious threat is to our individual constitutional and human rights as citizens of our respective countries.
In 1961, during the John F. Kennedy administration, the office of Attorney General was held by his brother Robert Kennedy. With help from the U.S. Congress, Attorney General Kennedy got a special organized crime bill passed called the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organization Act of 1961 (RICO). This new law was designed to prosecute the secretive organized crime organizations such as the Mafia, Drug Cartels, and Domestic Terrorists.
The RICO Act was designed to allow Federal Prosecutors to go outside the normal rules of conduct to gain convictions. These new rules allowed the government to charge unconnected criminal acts committed by individual members of these organizations together in a single Indictment.
Since these organizations were classified as criminal organizations, all the prosecutor had to do was to persuade a jury that each of these independent criminal acts were somehow committed in furtherance of the organization's goals.
This helped establish the "Criminal Enterprise" to qualify as a RICO Act violation. The government could do this even though it was not necessary to prove any of the defendants knew or participated in the criminal acts of others charged in the RICO Indictment.
In 1980, former movie actor and governor of California Ronald Reagan was elected President of the U.S., with ex-CIA Director George Bush as Vice President. Soon after Reagan took office, he issued an Executive Order declaring America's top four Motorcycle Clubs to be classified as Criminal Organizations. This new classification added the motorcycle clubs to the list of traditional criminal organizations who could be easily prosecuted using the special RICO rules.
President Reagan ordered Attorney General William French Smith and his Justice Department to set up special regional task force headquarters across America. The Justice Department's mission was to profile and get the selected motorcycle clubs off the streets using whatever means necessary.
In my opinion, the reason behind President Reagan's Actions was his daughter's supposed involvement with the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. It doesn't seem to be just a coincidence that the Hell's Angels were the first Motorcycle Club the Justice Department went after using the RICO Act.
It seems obvious Ronald Reagan brought his own personal animosity against motorcycle clubs to the office of President. He then used the power of that office to pursue his personal vendetta against motorcycle clubs, using the broad RICO rules which almost guarantee conviction.
Over the last 30 years federal law enforcement agencies have expanded this selective prosecution to include more than 300 Motorcycle Clubs. These motorcycle clubs are now classified as "Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs/Criminal Organizations."
During my lengthy RICO sentence, I did extensive research and litigation in the courts. I’m fully aware of the uphill battle it will take to change the classification and profiling of the targeted motorcycle clubs, but it can be done. It is our constitutional right to be treated like any other citizen. The battle can be fought and won only in the courts.
Roadblock 1%er
