OFF THE WIRE
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20110717/NEWS07/707179985
Laconia chapter slated to host Hells Angels World Run this month
By PAULA TRACY New Hampshire Union Leader Published Jul 17, 2011 at 3:00 am (Updated Jul 16, 2011) ShareThis
LACONIA — The center of the world for the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club will be at 65 Fillmore Road from July 27 to 31, when members from 29 countries are expected at the World Run.
P. Scott Bratton, attorney for the New Hampshire chapters of the Hells Angels, said about 2,000 bikers are expected to come with their families to stay by the lake.
City officials said a loud speaker permit has been obtained for the Laconia chapter's headquarters at the end of Fillmore Road, a dead-end off White Oaks Road and not far from the beach. A permit for use of public property has not been sought, officials said.
Laconia Police Chief Christopher A. Adams said the World Run was held in Laconia in 2003 without incident.
“It was uneventful,” he said, adding that it was a particularly wet and cold week.
Adams doesn't expect members of different motorcycle clubs to try to crash the upcoming party.
“It would be pretty silly, but you never know. We have operations in place and help of federal and state authorities” who have intelligence on the criminal aspect of the club, its rivals and outside threats.
Police Capt. Steve Clarke is in charge of keeping tabs on the World Run. He has many years' experience dealing with the Hells Angels clubs, which have recognized chapters in Manchester and Laconia.
The department has been in touch with Bratton — a longtime attorney for the club with offices in Nashua and Lowell, Mass. — and has let the organization know what is expected.
“I believe in open communication and have let them know in advance what we would like to see, and I don't anticipate it as a problem,” Adams said. Adams was recently sworn in as the city's chief, but has been a member of the department since 1994.
According to the its website, the club was founded in 1948. Its motto is: “What we do right, nobody remembers. What we do wrong, nobody forgets.”
Most members own and ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
The club has more than 100 chapters, including 34 in Canada. There are more members per capita in Canada than in the United States, which has 20 chapters.
Countries expected to be represented at the event include Germany, England, the Netherlands and Australia.
Many have come to the Lakes Region in years past for Bike Week, which is considered a Hells Angels event, where rivals of the group are not welcome wearing their “colors” or insignias. Hells Angels members, however, do wear their “colors,” with rockers identifying their chapter or nationality.
There has been no trouble with Hells Angels members at recent Bike Week events, with the various chapters having their own vending booths and selling T-shirts and other gifts and collectibles to fellow bikers.
In a statement, Bratton emphasized the World Run is about tourism and that it will have a positive financial impact on the region.
